1) "In Real Life" by Jessica Love
High school senior Hannah has one night in Vegas to discover whether her online friendship with Nick can blossom into real-life romance.
For four years Hannah and Nick have been long-distance BFFs. She lives in Southern California, he’s in Nevada, and they’ve never met in person. Lately Hannah’s feelings for Nick have taken a romantic turn. When she find herself without plans for spring break, she rebels against her “Good Korean Girl DNA” by driving up to Las Vegas with her older sister and real-life best friend to visit Nick. However, Nick’s not the only one surprised when Hannah shows up unannounced at his rock band’s show. Hannah’s also shocked, because she meets the girlfriend Nick’s somehow failed to mention. Life-changing road trips, friendship becoming romance—this is well-trodden ground in teen literature. For the most part, Love sticks close to the usual formula. The tour of Vegas’ sights and temptations is predictable and therefore slightly boring, and Hannah’s sister is the only supporting character to leave much of an impression. Nevertheless, the story manages to find its heart when it focuses on Hannah and Nick’s relationship. The warmth and intimacy of their friendship is convincing, and readers sighing over their long history will root for their relationship.
An undemanding read for fans of the genre. (Romance. 14-18)
2) "The Mystery of Hollow Places" by Rebecca Podos
The daughter of a bestselling mystery author turns to her favorite literary sleuths for inspiration to find her missing father.
A few days before winter break of her senior year, 17-year-old Imogene Scott's father, a medical mystery writer (think Robin Cook meets Patricia Cornwell), leaves in the middle of the night and doesn't return home. While her therapist stepmother wants the police to go public with the news, Imogene secretly believes he's gone looking for her birth mother, who abandoned the family when she was a baby. With just a couple of clues and a lifetime of investigative skills she's memorized from reading her father's books and classic mysteries, Imogene goes on a hunt to find both her long-lost mother and her now-gone father. Refreshingly direct and unapologetic, Imogene is far from a stereotypical people-pleasing, boy-obsessed teen girl. She's intelligent and courageous and has no patience for foolishness, even though she nurses an unrequited crush on her best friend’s older brother. She's not always easy to like, but she's captivating as she delves into the murky waters of her dysfunctional family tree. Imogene's fiercely determined to arm herself with the spirits of Lisbeth Salander, Annika Bengtzon, Sherlock Holmes, and her father's own protagonist, Miles Faye, to figure out her life's greatest mystery: the truth about her parents. Although there's a sprinkling of romantic tension and an authentically portrayed best friendship, the author smartly focuses on Imogene's journey of self-discovery.
This heartfelt and page-turning debut introduces readers to a whip-smart and wise heroine.(Mystery. 13-18)
3) "Up to This Pointe" by Jennifer Longo
Six months in an isolated Antarctic research station give Harper, a recent high school graduate, time to reflect and heal after the painful end of her ballet aspirations.
Withdrawn Harper Scott arrives at the McMurdo Station, having pulled strings because of her family relationship to the famous Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott. Her tale of loss slowly unfolds through flashback chapters describing her life back home in San Francisco. Although Harper and her best friend have dedicated their entire lives to becoming professional ballerinas, recent events have forced Harper to accept that her body is fundamentally unsuited for professional ballet—regardless of her incredible passion and willingness to make sacrifices. While many readers will make early, accurate predictions about the death of Harper’s career, rather than spoiling the big reveal, this foreknowledge makes witnessing Harper’s denial of obvious warning signs incredibly painful. But, ultimately, given time to collect herself in a land where just surviving is challenging, and with the sage advice of another Antarctic explorer—Ernest Shackleton—Harper eventually charts a course toward a future that will honor her love of ballet and her talents for teaching young dancers (and might even leave room for a sensitive boyfriend).
A moving love letter to dance, dreams, and San Francisco, and a look at how embracing personal passion leads to fulfillment (even if it wasn’t part of the plan). (Fiction. 12-18)
4) "This Is Where It Ends" by Marieke Nijkamp
A minute-by-minute account of mass murder at a high school by a former student.
Four students from a range of different backgrounds at Alabama's Opportunity High, all of whom have a history with Tyler, the gunman, take turns telling this harrowing story in the first person. They include his sister, Autumn, and her clandestine girlfriend, Sylv, who have only each other for solace as the home lives of both are in upheaval. Tomás, Sylv's brother, recounts his and his friend Fareed's desperate efforts to help from outside the school's auditorium, where their fellow students and teachers are locked in with Tyler as he picks them off one by one. Finally, Claire, Tyler's ex-girlfriend, realistically agonizes over what to do when she and a few others outside running track realize that the gunshots they hear are coming from inside the school. Grounded in the present, the story makes effective use of flashbacks that lay bare the pain and deception that have led up to the day's horror. The language can occasionally feel a bit melodramatic, with lines like "we're fighting for hope and a thousand tomorrows," but this is a minor side note to this compelling story of terror, betrayal, and heroism.
This brutal, emotionally charged novel will grip readers and leave them brokenhearted. (Fiction. 14-18)
5) "Don't Get Caught" by Kurt Dinan
In Dinan’s debut novel, Max Cobb and four other Asheville High School students are out for revenge after being caught on the vandalized town water tower, a setup by the school’s notorious Chaos Club.
Enough is enough. Max is tired of being Just-Max, a nobody stuck in “a stupid, boring life”—“Mr. 2.5 GPA, Mr. No Social Life, Mr. I’m So Lame the Career Interest Survey Recommended ‘Worker’ As My Future Profession.” Now he and the Water Tower Five are on a mission to take down the Chaos Club after falling victim to a humiliating prank. Planning to fight Chaos with chaos, Max, Ellie, Malone, Wheeler, and Adleta, step up. “The pin’s pulled and the grenade heaved,” says his new alter ego, Not-Max. Fake business cards, a fake Chaos Club website, plenty of high school humor involving puke, boners, a naked and anatomically correct mannequin, an ever expanding list of heist rules, self-consciously pompous code names, and a satisfyingly complex and unpredictable plot will keep readers involved and amused. And just when the tale threatens to wilt under the accumulation of so many sleazy machinations, it turns out that Max has developed a conscience and the strength to stand up to the devil herself. “Game on,” the story ends, hinting at a possible sequel. The cast is not notably diverse.
This caper comedy about an Ocean’s 11–style group of high school masterminds will keep readers guessing. (Fiction. 12-16)
6) "My Kind of Crazy" by Robin Reul
A young man without direction unknowingly finds it when he comes up with a harebrained scheme to ask a girl to prom.
Following an online suggestion, Hank plants sparklers in the lawn of Amanda Carlisle's house—sparklers that spell out “PROM.” When the sparklers start a fire, Hank hightails it, but there were two witnesses: Amanda and someone else. That witness is Peyton, a loner who likes to start fires. While Amanda launches a website to find out her secret admirer, Hank spends time with Peyton and his friend Nick, discovering he has a connection with Peyton. But Nick likes Peyton, too, and Hank knows he has nothing to offer anyone; not with his drunk father, who has resented Hank ever since the death of Hank's mother and brother. When Amanda announces the winner of a date to prom with her, the relationships among Hank and his friends will change, and Hank just might discover how much he has to offer. While Hank makes for a flat protagonist and his father is two-dimensional, such secondary characters as Peyton and Nick shine (the cast is largely white). Still, it’s a sweet story, and there are engaging enough twists to keep readers turning the pages.
A sensitive look at two teens with complicated histories learning to build a future together. (Fiction. 14-18)
7) "Underwater" by Marisa Reichardt
Confined to her apartment for four months by crippling panic attacks, Morgan tries to recuperate from the school shooting she witnessed, but her fear of the world’s unpredictable dangers hampers her efforts.
Morgan seems to embrace the safety of her isolated apartment routine: online classes, the same lunch every single day, and TV until her mother and brother return home in the evenings. Still, when prompted by her psychologist, Brenda, to describe what summer means to her, Morgan immediately conjures an evocative list of sensations—from “crisp ocean water” to “bonfire smoke” and “cold beer and warm kisses”—illustrating how deeply she still desires the outside world. Morgan’s entrapment powerfully illustrates how, left unchecked, fear and trauma can eventually dictate a person’s behaviors. But Morgan’s mother, brother, Brenda, and her new neighbor Evan all offer equally compelling support that helps Morgan understand how continuously embracing small positive changes—even just a few steps outside of the apartment door—will eventually lead her to a perspective in which she has been changed by her traumatic experiences but is no longer controlled by them. Subplots involving a potential romance and her father’s PTSD aren’t strictly necessary, but they also don’t detract much from the intensely personal truths of Morgan’s growing understanding of her own recovery.
A moving, reflective exploration of grief, trauma, and how individuals find their paths toward resilience. (Fiction. 14-18)
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