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Uptown Teens Top 20: 2025

Staff favorite Promise Boys found an audience with Uptown teens - and if you haven't read it, you should, too! Uptown books ranged from adventure manga to swoony romances to stories of justice demanded. They're all great reads.

User from Kenosha Public Library

20 items

  • We could blame the One Piece Netflix show for the fact that this volume of the manga was the most popular of the year...and we will. But we'll also say it's a great series that readers continue to discover and rediscover. We hope you enjoyed!
    Graphic Novel, 2004San Francisco : Viz, [Â2004] — Y ONE #3
  • KPL librarians love this novel, where three teens have to find their principal's murderer and clear their names, and so do Uptown readers!
    Book, 2023New York : Henry Holt and Company, 2023. — T FIC BROOKS
  • Delicious in Dungeon is hilarious, beautifully drawn, and had a great anime adaptation come out this year. No wonder Uptown patrons read the whole series!
    Graphic Novel, 2021New York : Yen Press, 2021. — MANGA DELICIOUS
  • Kakegurui

    Compulsive Gambler. 1

    Kawamoto, Homura,
    A teen gambler's adventures - risking money, freedom, health, and more - were compulsive reads for our patrons.
    Graphic Novel, 2017New York, NY : Yen Press, 2017.
  • Women in the Military

    From Drill Sergeants to Fighter Pilots

    Goldsmith, Connie, 1945-
    Patrons learned more about the US military and the ways women serve throughout the branches with this book.
    Book, 2019Minneapolis : Twenty-First Century Books, [2019] — YA 355.0092 GOL
  • Angie Thomas' first novel crushed it with Uptown patrons. We totally get it.
    Book, 2022New York : Balzer + Bray/Harperteen, 2022. — YA THOMAS
  • Naruto's up there with One Piece as one of the great action manga. Uptown readers picked it up this year for good reason.
    Graphic Novel, 2015San Francisco, California. : Viz LLC., [2015] — YA KIS (VOL. 2)
  • The fist book of the Woven Kingdom series caught the attention of Uptown readers looking for a Spanish-language romantasy with great cover art. We can also recommend it in English!
    Book, 2023Madrid : Puck, 2023. — YA SPA MAFI
  • Were Uptown readers revisiting the end of Twilight or experiencing the series for the first time? We're not sure, but we hope you had a great time.
    Book, 2008New York : Little, Brown, and Co., c2008. — YA PARANORMAL MEYER
  • You might be getting the sense that shounen manga - stories aimed towards teenage boys, often with a heavy focus on action and adventure - are popular at Uptown. You would be correct.
    Graphic Novel, 2022San Francisco, California : VIZ Media, LLC, [2022] — YA GN DRA #16
  • Lola's summer goes awry when she learns that her family's cursed to suffer if they fall in love! That doesn't stop her, and it didn't stop readers, either.
    Book, 2023New York : Kokila, 2023. — YA ROMANCE CERON
  • Ebony's move to a small town in rural Texas is a struggle, especially when she starts to make reckless choices. Her story got Uptown patrons interested.
    Book, 2023New York : Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2023. — YA FIC TAM
  • Trey and Ariel can't stand each other, but neither of them want to see Trey's family's bookshop close. This swoony romance featuring British teens warmed Uptown hearts.
    Book, 2024New York, NY : Soho Teen, 2024. — T FIC BELLO
  • Uptown readers were intrigued by the story of a magic school that might be the key to understanding a young man's past.
    Book, 2024New York : Labyrinth Road, 2024. — YA WILLIAMS #1
  • Selina DaSilva's search for the truth behind a series of murders on her Caribbean island home is a dark fantasy that got checkouts at Uptown.
    Book, 2024Los Angeles : Hyperion, 2024. — DASS
  • Is the appeal of Clutch Time its exciting basketball storyline or the fact that it's written by real-life Miami Heat coach Caron Butler? We think both!
    Book, 2024New York, NY : Harpercollins Childrens Books, [2024]. — J T FIC BUT
  • Mysteries were big all over KPL, but this one - about six teens who have to prove their innocence when they're accused of terrorism - was especially well-received at Uptown.
    Book, 2024New York : Little, Brown and Company, 2024. — YA FIC SHU
  • Flamboyants

    the Queer Harlem Renaissance I Wish I'd Known

    Johnson, George M. (George Matthew), 1985-
    Uptown patrons picked up some incredible Black history in 2025, thanks to this fantastic collection by George M. Johnson. If you haven't read it, you've got to give it a try.
    Book, 2024New York : Farrar Straus Giroux, [2024] — YA 920 JOHNSON
  • This horror graphic novel, where friends investigate a local suicide and discover terrible secrets, made the grade at Uptown in 2025.
    Graphic Novel, 2024Milwaukie, Oregon : Dark Horse Books, 2024 — GN ERMAN