The Boneless Mercies, by April Tucholke

Frey, Ovie, Juniper, and Runa are the Boneless Mercies―girls hired to kill quickly, quietly, and mercifully.

But Frey is weary of the death trade and, having been raised on the heroic sagas of her people, dreams of a bigger life.

When she hears of an unstoppable monster ravaging a nearby town, Frey decides this is the Mercies' one chance out. The fame and fortune of bringing down such a beast would ensure a new future for all the Mercies. In fact, her actions may change the story arc of women everywhere.

Full of fierce girls, bloodlust, tenuous alliances, and unapologetic quests for glory, this elegantly spun tale challenges the power of storytelling―and who gets to be the storyteller.

"The Boneless Mercies feels like a cathartic war cry advocating for the power of girls and women. [...] A dynamic critique of the hero's journey: Who is granted honor and glory, and at what cost does it come?" ―The New York Times Book Review

"Tucholke injects close intimacy into her lush saga, interweaving love and murder, mercy and glory into her portrayal of life and death. It is a beautiful, haunting modern-day epic that stars a bold and resourceful sisterhood of heroines unafraid to claim agency." ―Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Narrator and protagonist Frey is quite unusual among female heroes: hungry for glory ― bloodthirsty, even . . . These fierce, honorable adolescent female warriors hold their own and break all the rules. Marked by flawless worldbuilding. Wow." ―Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"[T]his story heroically contemplates female strength and agency, compassion
versus vengeance, and the value of glory." ―Booklist

Teen Game Days at the Visalia Branch this Summer

Got game? So do we. Loads of them. So join us for our free & fun gaming get-togethers this summer. Gamers from noob to Deity level are welcome. If you have your own games you would like to share, bring them! --Carrie

Ship of Smoke and Steel, by Django Wexler

In the lower wards of Kahnzoka, the great port city of the Blessed Empire, eighteen-year-old ward boss Isoka enforces the will of her criminal masters with the power of Melos, the Well of Combat. The money she collects goes to keep her little sister living in comfort, far from the bloody streets they grew up on. When Isoka's magic is discovered by the government, she's arrested and brought to the Emperor's spymaster, who sends her on an impossible mission: steal Soliton , a legendary ghost ship―a ship from which no one has ever returned. If she fails, her sister’s life is forfeit. On board Soliton , nothing is as simple as it seems. Isoka tries to get close to the ship's mysterious captain, but to do it she must become part of the brutal crew and join their endless battles against twisted creatures. She doesn't expect to have to contend with feelings for a charismatic fighter who shares her combat magic, or for a fearless princess who wields an eve

New Books!

New Books Red Hood Arnold, Elana Elana K. Arnold, author of the Printz Honor book Damsel, returns with a dark, engrossing, blood-drenched tale of the familiar threats to female power-and one girl's journey to regain it. You are alone in the woods, seen only by the unblinking yellow moon. Your hands are empty. You are nearly naked. And the wolf is angry. Since her grandmother became her caretaker when she was four years old, Bisou Martel has lived a quiet life in a little house in Seattle. She's kept mostly to herself. She's been good. But then comes the night of homecoming, when she finds herself running for her life over roots and between trees, a fury of claws and teeth behind her. A wolf attacks. Bisou fights back. A new moon rises. And with it, questions. About the blood in Bisou's past, and on her hands as she stumbles home. About broken boys and vicious wolves. About girls lost in the woods-frightened, but not alone. The Lucky Ones Lawson, L

Tulare County Teens

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