Closed for Veterans Day, 11/11/24

All Ventura County Library branches will be closed November 11th in observance of Veterans Day.

Todas las sucursales de la Biblioteca del Condado de Ventura estarán cerradas el 11 de noviembre en celebración del día de los veteranos.

Teens

teens working together in library

Upcoming Events

This event is in the "Children" group.
This event is in the "Elementary" group.
This event is in the "Teens" group.
This event is in the "Middle School" group.
This event is in the "High School" group.
This event is in the "Family" group.

LEGO PLAY

2:00pm - 4:00pm
Children, Elementary, Teens, Middle School, High School, Family
Library Branch: E.P. Foster Library
Age Group: Children, Elementary, Teens, Middle School, High School, Family
Program Type: Games & Play, Science & Technology
Event Details:

Join us for for a world of creativity and fun. Build a tower or craft fantastical creatures, each session is a chance to explore new worlds and express your creativity brick by brick. 

This event is in the "Preschool" group.
This event is in the "Elementary" group.
This event is in the "Teens" group.
This event is in the "Middle School" group.
This event is in the "High School" group.

Doodle Time

2:00pm - 5:00pm
Preschool, Elementary, Teens, Middle School, High School
Library Branch: Ojai Library
Age Group: Preschool, Elementary, Teens, Middle School, High School
Program Type: Arts & Crafts
Event Details:

Explore different doodling techniques with friends.

This event is in the "Elementary" group.
This event is in the "Middle School" group.
This event is in the "High School" group.

LEGO Play

4:00pm - 5:00pm
Elementary, Middle School, High School
Library Branch: Albert H. Soliz Library
Room: ELR-Library Branch
Age Group: Elementary, Middle School, High School
Event Details:

The club is For grades K-12. Club is at capacity, please register at the library to be placed on the waitlist.

ALA/YALSA Recommendations

Image for "Warrior Girl Unearthed"

Warrior Girl Unearthed

An Instant New York Times bestseller!
A #1 Indies Bestseller!
A Publisher's Lunch Best YA of 2023!
An Amazon Best Book of the Year!
Winner of the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award!
A Horn Book Fanfare Title!
A BookPage Best Book of the Year!
An Indigo Teen Staff Pick of the Month!
An Indie Next Pick!
FIVE STARRED REVIEWS FOR WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED!

#1 New York Times bestselling author of Firekeeper's Daughter Angeline Boulley takes us back to Sugar Island in this high-stakes thriller about the power of discovering your stolen history.

Perry Firekeeper-Birch has always known who she is - the laidback twin, the troublemaker, the best fisher on Sugar Island. Her aspirations won't ever take her far from home, and she wouldn't have it any other way. But as the rising number of missing Indigenous women starts circling closer to home, as her family becomes embroiled in a high-profile murder investigation, and as greedy grave robbers seek to profit off of what belongs to her Anishinaabe tribe, Perry begins to question everything.

In order to reclaim this inheritance for her people, Perry has no choice but to take matters into her own hands. She can only count on her friends and allies, including her overachieving twin and a charming new boy in town with unwavering morals. Old rivalries, sister secrets, and botched heists cannot - will not - stop her from uncovering the mystery before the ancestors and missing women are lost forever.


Sometimes, the truth shouldn't stay buried.

Pick this up if you love:
high stakes heist
will-they-won't-they romance
family secrets spanning decades

Image for "The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen"

The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen

LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD!
A WILLIAM C. MORRIS AWARD WINNER!

The Chosen meets Adam Silvera in this irreverent and timely story of worlds colliding in friendship, betrayal, and the hatred that divides us.

Hoodie Rosen's life isn't that bad. Sure, his entire Orthodox Jewish community has just picked up and moved to the quiet, mostly non-Jewish town of Tregaron, but Hoodie's world hasn't changed that much. He's got basketball to play, studies to avoid, and a supermarket full of delicious kosher snacks to eat. The people of Tregaron aren’t happy that so many Orthodox Jews are moving in at once, but that’s not Hoodie’s problem.

That is, until he meets and falls for Anna-Marie Diaz-O’Leary—who happens to be the daughter of the obstinate mayor trying to keep Hoodie’s community out of the town. And things only get more complicated when Tregaron is struck by a series of antisemitic crimes that quickly escalate to deadly violence.

As his community turns on him for siding with the enemy, Hoodie finds himself caught between his first love and the only world he’s ever known.

Isaac Blum delivers a wry, witty debut novel about a deeply important and timely subject, in a story of hatred and betrayal—and the friendships we find in the most unexpected places.

Praise for The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen:

“A deeply authentic story about the terror and glory of encountering the outside world without sacrificing who you are—and who you want to be. It’s touching, tragic, and as Jewish as your Bubbe’s cholent.” –Gavriel Savit, New York Times bestselling author of Anna and the Swallow Man

“Blum gives the common but often-dismissed spiritual journey of many teens the respect it deserves in this witty, profound look at cross-cultural friendship, courageous honesty, and how a willingness to truly see and love our neighbors can change an entire community.” –Vesper Stamper, National Book Award-nominated author of What the Night Sings

“A refreshingly human look at the day-to-day nuances of Orthodox Judaism and the terror of modern antisemitism. I laughed, I gasped, I craved kosher Starburst. Two thumbs up from this nice Jewish girl!” –Tyler Feder, Sydney Taylor Award-winning author of Dancing at the Pity Party

“Bold, brave, and brutally honest, it holds a permanent piece of my heart.” –Dahlia Adler, author of Cool for the Summer

"Isaac Blum has the rare talent of telling searing, visceral truths in a witty, funny, punchy way . . . The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen is a vital voice in Jewish YA canon." –Katherine Locke, Sydney Taylor Honor author of The Girl with the Red Balloon
 

Image for "All the Fighting Parts"

All the Fighting Parts

In the vein of Grown and The Poet X, Hannah V. Sawyerr's All the Fighting Parts is an award-winning, searing, and defiant young adult novel in verse about reclaiming agency after a sexual assault within the church community.



A YALSA William C.Morris Award Finalist

A Walter Award Honor Book

An ALA Rise List Top Ten Selection

A Kirkus Books Best of the Year



Sixteen-year-old Amina Conteh has always believed in using her voice as her weapon--even when it gets her into trouble. After cursing at a classmate, her father forces her to volunteer at their church with Pastor Johnson.



But Pastor Johnson isn't the holy man everyone thinks he is.



The same voice Amina uses to fight falls quiet the night she is sexually assaulted by Pastor Johnson. After that, her life starts to unravel: her father is frustrated that her grades are slipping, and her best friend and boyfriend don't understand why the once loud and proud girl is now quiet and distant. In a world that claims to support survivors, Amina wonders who will support her when her attacker is everyone's favorite community leader.



When Pastor Johnson is arrested for a different crime, the community is shaken and divided; some call him a monster and others defend him. But Amina is secretly relieved. She no longer has to speak because Pastor Johnson can't hurt her anymore--or so she believes.



To regain her voice and sense of self, Amina must find the power to confront her abuser--in the courtroom and her heart--and learn to use all the fighting parts within her.