The Baird Center location will be closed temporarily while repairs are made. Please check here for schedule updates.

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Youth Services: Teens

Welcome to the Teen Page

SOPL is open in our temporary locations! The main library on Scotland Road is closed for construction until late 2026. You can learn more about the Building Construction Project here.

Programs & Events

Click Teen Programming to see activities for teens in grades 6 & up.

All programs and events will require registration (unless otherwise noted). Residency is not required to attend or participate in programs; however, under the library policy children under the age of 10 must be accompanied by an adult 18 or older. 

Teen Programming

Library Policy: Unattended Children

The mission of South Orange Public Library is to provide a welcoming space for everyone.  Acceptable behavior in the library allows us to uphold the mission where patrons can learn and be creative in a safe environment.

Reading Suggestions

Suggested Summer Reading Lists 2024

Recommendations for readers entering Middle School Grades 6-8

Recommendations for readers entering High School Grades 9-12

 

VolunTEENs (2017)

Click image to read op-ed piece by Teen Library Advocate, published April 2024.

VolunTEENs ready to work together for Summer 2024!

Teen Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteering during the School Year

Students interested in continuing community service during the school year are encouraged to sign up to be a TEEN LIBRARY ADVOCATE (TLA), a teen advisory group that meets during the school year  once a month.  To participate, click on the tab below to complete an application to become a teen library advocate.

2024-2025 TEEN LIBRARY ADVOCATE APPLICATION

TLA meets on the third Wednesday of each month. Meetings for the 2024-2025 School Year:

October 16, 2024
November 20, 2024
December 18, 2024
January 15, 2025
February 19, 2025
March 19, 2025
April 23, 2025*
May 21, 2025
June 18, 2025
No meetings in July or August – Summer Volunteer Program in session.
*South Orange-Maplewood School District has spring break April 14-18, 2025

 

Summer Volunteering

Teens interested in volunteering over the summer months can participate in the annual VolunTEEN Program. This is held from the end of the South Orange-Maplewood district school year until mid-August, or 6-7 weeks. Started in 2009, this program has provided community service opportunities to students in middle school and high school, which equipping them with leadership and communication skills and building their confidence.

Applications become available in June; those interested must complete an application and attend ONE orientation session to participate.

Young Adult Titles

Layers: a Memoir

by Penelope Bagieu

Artifacts of An Ex

by Jennifer Chen

Two Tribes

by Emily Bowen Cohen

Fault Lines

by Nora Carpenter

The Blackwoods

by Brandy Colbert

Phoebe's Diary

by Phoebe Wahl

The Brothers Hawthorne

by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

My Hero Academia, Vol. 32

by Kōhei Horikoshi

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Vol. 9: Operation: Entertainment District

by Koyoharu Gotoge

Emmett

by L.C. Rosen

Lore Olympus: Volume one

by Rachel Smythe

Foul Heart Huntsman

by Chloe Gong

This Winter

by Alice Oseman

Families of All Kinds

Clap When You Land

by Elizabeth Acevedo

My Sister's Big Fat Indian Wedding

by Sajni Patel

Fangirl

by Rainbow Rowell

Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating

by Adiba Jaigirdar

A Snake Falls to Earth

by Darcie Little Badger

Caraval

by Stephanie Garber

With the Fire on High

by Elizabeth Acevedo

Everything Sad Is Untrue

by Daniel Nayeri

Parachutes

by Kelly Yang

Some Mistakes Were Made

by Kristin Dwyer

Cemetery Boys

by Aiden Thomas

On a Sunbeam

by Tillie Walden