1) "Written in the Stars" by Aisha Saeed
A Pakistani-American teen, caught between two cultures, finds herself at risk of losing her independence to a deceptively arranged marriage.
Seventeen-year-old Naila just wants to be a normal high school girl who goes to soccer games and dances. But her immigrant parents have strict rules about where and how she spends her time and with whom—and that does not include contact with boys. When they discover that Naila has slipped off to the school prom with her secret Pakistani-American boyfriend, Saif, her parents appear on the dance floor to take her home. Soon after, in lieu of attending graduation and going to college, she is whisked away to Pakistan for a thorough introduction to her roots. While some plot details may feel predictable or strain credulity, readers will be drawn into Naila’s trials and tribulations as she navigates the reality of her new life in Pakistan and explores what inner resources she needs to change her fate. Debut author Saeed is a Muslim Pakistani-American writer, teacher and attorney, as well as a founding member of the We Need Diverse Books campaign.
A competent narrative that sheds light on the difficult phenomenon of forced marriage, still prevalent in many cultures around the world and often shrouded in silence. (author’s note, resources) (Fiction. 12-18)
2) "The Distance Between Lost and Found" by Kathryn Holmes
Hallelujah thought that if she kept her head down, pastor’s son Luke, the popular boy she once crushed on, would stop bullying her and spreading humiliating lies about what happened between them.
Instead, her refusing to defend herself has allowed Luke’s lies to go unchallenged and estranged Hallie from her friends. Compounding her isolation, her naïve, deeply religious parents accept Luke’s account of her behavior and enroll her in a church-sponsored, spring-break camp in Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains, where Luke’s bullying continues. Mistrustful, immobilized by despair, Hallie avoids former close friend Jonah and rebuffs friendly overtures from a new girl, Rachel. When Rachel quits a contentious hike (no cellphones allowed) to return to camp, Hallie and Jonah join her. Inexperienced in the wilderness, they head in the wrong direction, then—in a heavy rain squall—lose the trail altogether. No one’s brought a flashlight; provisions are lunch leftovers, water and a can of soda. They move instead of staying put, fail to recognize poison ivy, freeze at night. The struggle to survive is terrifying but galvanizing, even cleansing. In calmer moments, they ponder life’s unanswerable questions, and faith (there are no atheists in foxholes) is proven a power in its own right. Readers will root for Hallie, a compelling original, to find faith in herself.
Vivid, gripping and believable from beginning to end—a strong debut. (Fiction. 13-16)
3) "The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly" by Stephanie Oakes
A girl who has just escaped a destructive cult after her hands were cut off lives in juvenile detention, found guilty of assault, a crime she indeed did commit.
Minnow was taken at a young age to live with her family in an extreme cult called the Community. The Prophet rules through fear, inflicting sadistic punishments for any infraction, including chopping off Minnow’s hands. Girls are kept illiterate, and polygyny is the order of the day. (Manufactured whole cloth by the Prophet, their religion has nothing to do with Christianity.) In the woods, she meets Jude, to whom she is drawn even though he is an outsider and forbidden. Jude tries to teach her to read, but he too has been kept in ignorance. While in juvenile detention, however, her savvy cellmate, Angel, introduces her to the world of science. Minnow learns to read and discovers that, although she believes she’ll be sent to the adult prison when she turns 18, she would like to learn much more. Oakes uses flashbacks to slowly unveil the major plot—how Minnow lost her hands and the aftermath—as she follows Minnow’s life in prison. The absurdity and cruelty of the cult and its Prophet also slowly come to light, all occurring as Minnow herself begins to find her own way.
Dark and not just a little sensational but hugely involving nevertheless. (Fiction. 12-18)
4) "Tiny Pretty Things" by Sona Charaipotra
Harassment and manipulation abound at a competitive feeder school for New York's American Ballet Company.
When Gigi, a sunny, positive newcomer from California and the school's only black student, is cast as the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker, blonde, powerful Bette is furious. E-Jun, whom classmates call June, is simply dejected; she's the Sugar Plum Fairy's understudy, and her mother has been threatening to enroll her in a traditional high school if she doesn't start getting big roles. The three girls take turns narrating chapters, and readers learn secrets about each of them: Gigi has a potentially dangerous heart condition; Bette pops pills to endure her rich, alcoholic mother's cruel remarks; June has an eating disorder and a vicious rivalry with her former best friend, Sei-Jin, that began when Sei-Jin tried to kiss her. Lipstick-scrawled warnings appear on mirrors, confidential medical records are posted for all to see, and acts of violence, both petty and not-so-petty, are committed. Despite the book’s decidedly gossipy tone, however, each character is fully realized, and each is sympathetic in her own way. A climactic ending fails to resolve a few key questions, suggesting further twists and turns in a sequel.
A page-turner with a heart. (Fiction. 14-18)
5) "Lock & Mori" by Heather W. Petty
The brilliant daughter of Detective Sgt. Moriarty meets posh Sherlock Holmes, so obviously there will be murders.
Mori's got her hands full putting up with idiots at school, grieving her six-months-dead mum, and protecting her three younger brothers from their alcoholic and abusive father. Not so long ago, her family was happy: her dad spent time being manly with the boys, while Mori learned about martial arts and sleight of hand from her mother. With all that over, Mori has no intention of becoming friends with arrogant classmate Sherlock. Despite her best efforts to stay away from him, though, Mori fails. Both his intelligence and his affection for her are deeply compelling, and that's not to mention how interesting it is to be solving a murder with one of the few clever people she knows. When the crime they're investigating starts hitting too close to home—reminding Mori of her beloved mother's many secrets—she no longer wants Sherlock to be a part of her investigation. The story is set in present-day London and narrated affectingly by Mori. The conclusion leaves space for the fated collapse of the Holmes/Moriarty relationship in later series entries, putting a nice potential twist on the good girl–bad boy trend.
Mystery lovers will be pleased to have this whodunit, which is neither Victoriana nor steampunk.(Mystery. 13-15)
County Cat Link-not out yet
6) "Last Year's Mistake" by Gina Ciocca
After a painful parting, a girl’s first love suddenly reappears and turns her life upside down, forcing her to confront her biggest regret.
The summer before freshman year of high school, Kelsey and her family embark upon their annual trip from Norwood, Connecticut, to Newport, Rhode Island. Kelsey barely makes it out of the car before she collides with David, the boy who becomes her best friend for years to come. As time passes, it becomes clear David has feelings for Kelsey, but the moment he chooses to reveal them to her couldn’t be worse. Both end up hurt, and Kelsey pulls away, hoping to reinvent herself when her family relocates to a new town. A year later, Kelsey has moved on; she’s in love with her new boyfriend and has totally changed her style. But the moment David walks through the doors of her school, her carefully constructed house of cards begins to collapse. Soon she’s forced to confront unresolved emotions from her past and decide what she wants for her future. The love triangle offers no thrills; it’s built on Kelsey’s frustrating indecision and self-proclaimed possessiveness. Bitter banter takes precedence over romance, and it’s unclear why anyone wants to be with anyone by the end, especially Kelsey.
An exhaustion of soap-operatic romantic entanglements (Fiction. 14-18)
7) " 5 To 1" by Holly Bodger
Another debut. Another dystopia. Another leading man called by a number.
In Bodger’s soft dystopia, years of legislation restricting families to one child has resulted in a significant imbalance—roughly six boys to every one girl. In Koyanagar, a walled city-state formed on the edge of India in 2042, the small coterie of women in charge has created a series of tests to select the boys who will be lucky enough to win wives. A lottery determines competitors; girls are primped while boys compete, with death as a possible outcome; and no one is happy (sound familiar?). Sudasa narrates in poetry, and Contestant Five (readers do not learn his name until the very end, unless they read the flap copy that completely destroys that particular element of suspense) narrates in prose. They both hate the Tests and wish there were another way. Contestant Five could win but doesn’t want to; Sudasa just wants to live her life. It’s a match, although neither of them immediately sees how they can help each other. Set over just three days, this novel is a mishmash of tropes that have been done better elsewhere, sophomoric poetry that uses typographic elements for emphasis (“n#mber”), and weak characterization with about as much Indian flavor as the curry powder supermarkets sold in the 1950s.
Like most of the boys in the Tests, this one can’t compete. (Dystopian romance. 10-14)
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