2025-2026 Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl 

The Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl is a state-wide competition for students who are in the 4th grade and above.  Elementary, middle and high school each hold their competitions respectively.  The Richmond County School System's competition will be held in January.   Winning teams proceed to further competition across the state of Georgia.  The Thomas Walter Josey Media Center has copies of all the titles, either in print and/or eBooks on Follett Destiny.  Even if you are not in the reading bowl, these are great titles for high school students.  

 Congratulations to our 2024-2025 Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl Team for placing third in the district competition.

Age 16 by Rosena Fung
A . . . coming-of-age graphic novel about three generations of mothers and daughters passing down and rebelling against standards of gender, race, beauty, size, and worth. Sixteen-year-old Roz is preoccupied with normal teenage stuff: navigating high school friendships, worrying about college, and figuring out what to wear to prom. When her estranged Por Por abruptly arrives for a seemingly indefinite visit, the already delicate relationship between Roz and her mother is upended. With three generations under one roof, conflicts inevitably arise and long suppressed family secrets rise to the surface. Told in alternating perspectives, [this book] shifts seamlessly between time and place, exploring how this pivotal year in adolescence affects three women in the same family, from Guangdong in 1954 to Hong Kong in 1972, and Toronto in 2000"--Provided by publisher. 

Bright Red Fruit by Safia Elhillo
Samira is determined to have a perfect summer filled with fun parties, exploring DC, and growing as a poet--until a scandalous rumor has her grounded and unable to leave her house. When Samira turns to a poetry forum for solace, she catches the eye of an older, charismatic poet named Horus. For the first time, Samira feels wanted. But soon she's keeping a bigger secret than ever before--one that that could prove her reputation and jeopardize her place in her community"--Provided by publisher. 

Crashing into You by Rocky Callen
Seventeen-year-old Leti Rivera's love of street racing is put to the test when tragedy strikes her family and threatens to tear her apart from the boy she is falling for -

Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay 

Set in the 1930s to today, four generations of Filipino American boys grapple with identity, masculinity, and father-son relationships 

Gather by Kenneth M. Cadow   
Ian Gray isn't supposed to have a dog, but a lot of things that shouldn't happen end up happening anyway. And Gather, Ian's adopted pup, is good company now that Ian has to quit the basketball team, find a job, and take care of his mom as she tries to overcome her opioid addiction. Despite the obstacles thrown their way, Ian is determined to keep his family afloat no matter what it takes. And for a little while, things are looking up: Ian makes friends, and his fondness for the outdoors and for fixing things lands him work helping neighbors. But an unforeseen tragedy results in Ian and his dog taking off on the run, trying to evade a future that would mean leaving their house and their land. Even if the community comes together to help him, would Ian and Gather have a home to return to?"--Publisher.

Looking for Smoke by K.A. Cobell 
Since moving to the Blackfeet Reservation with her parents, Mara Racette has felt like an outsider, taunted by her tight-knit classmates for growing up far away. So when a local girl includes Mara in a traditional Blackfeet giveaway to honor her missing sister, Mara thinks she'll finally make some friends. Instead, a girl from the giveaway, Samantha White Tail, is found murdered. Because the four members of the giveaway group were the last to see Samantha alive, each becomes a person of interest in the investigation: New girl Mara, who hated Samantha for being particularly cruel. Grief-stricken Loren Arnoux, who was Samantha's best friend until Loren's sister's disappearance drove a wedge between them. Class clown Brody Clark, whose unreciprocated crush on Samantha is an open secret. And tough guy Eli First Kill, who has his own complicated history with Samantha. Despite deep mistrust, the four must now take matters into their own hands and clear their names. Even though one of them may be the murderer"--Provided by publisher. 

Not Like Other Girls by Meredith Adamo 

When Jo-Lynn Kirby's former best friend--pretty, nice Maddie Price--comes to her claiming to be in trouble, Jo assumes it's some kind of joke. After all, Jo has been an outcast ever since her nude photos were leaked--and since everyone decided she deserved it. There's no way Maddie would actually come to her for help. But then Maddie is gone. Everyone is quick to write off Maddie as a runaway, but Jo can't shake the feeling there's more to the story. To find out the truth, Jo needs to get back in with the people who left her behind, and the only way back in is through Hudson Harper-Moore. An old fling of Jo's with his own reasons for wanting to find Maddie, Hudson hatches a fake dating scheme to get Jo back into their clique. But being back on the inside means Jo must confront everything she'd rather forget: the boys who betrayed her, the whispers that she had it coming, and the secrets that tore her and Maddie apart. As Jo digs deeper into Maddie's disappearance, she's left to wonder who she's really searching for: Maddie, or the girl she used to be"--Provided by publisher. 

A Place for Vanishing by Annn Friastat

Looking for a fresh start, sixteen-year-old Libby and her family return to her mother's childhood home only to discover that the house's strange beauty may disguise a sinister past.

Sky's End (Above the Black, Book 1) by Marc J. Gregson Invisible Son by Kim Johnson  

Sixteen-year-old Conrad enters a deadly competition to restore his power and rescue his sister from their devious uncle.

Songlight by Moira Buffini 

Elsa and Rye bond over having the ability known as songlight, which makes them outcasts in their world if they were found out.

Sunderworld, Vol. I:  The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry by Ransom Riggs 

After years of grief-fueled visions of creatures from his favorite television show, seventeen-year-old Leopold Berry discovers that magic is real, and he might be the chosen one after all.

Tangleroot by Lalela Williams

When eighteen-year-old Noni moves to Tangleroot plantation in rural Virginia for her mom's new position as a college president, she uncovers long-buried secrets of the town's racist past and present. 

That's Not My Name by Megan Lally

Told in two voices, a seventeen-year-old battered and bruised girl struggles to remember who she or the man claiming to be her father is while seventeen-year-old Drew stops at nothing to find his missing girlfriend.

Thirsty by Jas Hammonds  

In the summer before college, eighteen-year-old Blake Brenner works to join the exclusive Serena Society with her girlfriend, and turns to alcohol to cope with the pressure of pledging, as her pursuit of success begins to strain her relationships"-

This Book Won't Burn  by Samira Ahmed 

While still coping with her parents' sudden divorce and having to start at a new school midway through her senior year, Noor and two new friends take a stand against book bans at their small-town Illinois high school.

This Day Changes Everything by Edward Underhill
Queer teens Abby and Leo spend a life-changing day together lost in New York City. 

Touch of Death by Taylor Munsell 
George, a sixteen-year-old death witch and medium, hates her 'gift' of experiencing someone's future death with a touch, but when she sees herself killing the new student, she must embrace her magic before blood stains her hands"--Provided by publisher. 

Under the Surface by Diana Urban 
On her senior French trip, seventeen-year-old Ruby follows her classmates into the Paris catacombs to attend an exclusive party, but they quickly become entangled in a sinister pursuit underground and uncover dark secrets about the catacombs and each other. 

Wander in the Dark by Jumata Emill 

Two brothers must come together to solve the murder of the most popular girl in school after one of them is caught fleeing the scene of her death.

When the World Tops Over by Jandy Nelson 

Years ago, the Fall kids' father mysteriously disappeared, cracking the family into pieces. Now Dizzy Fall, age twelve, bakes cakes, sees spirits, and wishes she were a heroine of a romance novel. Miles Fall, seventeen, brainiac, athlete, and dog-whisperer, is a raving beauty, but also lost, and desperate to meet the kind of guy he dreams of. And Wynton Fall, nineteen . . . is a virtuoso violinist set on a crash course for fame or self-destruction. Then an enigmatic rainbow-haired girl shows up . . . Somehow, she is vital to each of them. But before anyone can figure out who she is, catastrophe strikes, leaving the Falls more broken than ever"--