The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon Realistic Fiction Romance * * * * Stars (Great!) Natasha, an undocumented immigrant from Jamaica (now living in New York), is about to be deported thanks to her father who, after getting pulled over, announced to the police that he wasn’t even a citizen. This is her last day in the United States and her last opportunity to find a way to stay. While she’s fighting … Read more
Vegan Virgin Valentine by Carolyn Mackler Realistic Fiction Romance * * * * Stars (Great!) Mara Valentine is a model student and daughter and has her whole future mapped out for her when her “niece” V comes to live with her. V is almost the same age, and is wilder, freer, and more spontaneous than Mara could ever hope to be. And she’ll be attending the same high school. And Mara’s parents want Mara to … Read more
Scythe by Neal Shusterman Dystopian Science Fiction * * * * * Stars (Amazing!) In the future, humans have given over the governing and control of society to an artificial intelligence known as the Thunderhead (which evolved from the Cloud/data storage). “…[T]he Thunderhead was incorruptible. Not only that, but its algorithms were built on the full sum of human knowledge. All the time and money wasted on political posturing, the lives lost in wars, the … Read more
The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock Historical Fiction Realistic Fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) Told from the points of view of four different teenagers growing up in Alaska in the 1970s, this takes a look at what it’s like for Ruth, who is unknowingly following in the footsteps of her ancestors (and ends up in a nunnery), Alyce, who desperately wants to become a professional dancer, but has to work … Read more
Nerve by Jeanne Ryan Suspense Thriller * * * Stars (Pretty good) Vee is used to being overshadowed by her best friend who gets starring roles in theatrical productions while Vee works on makeup and costuming behind the scenes.But when the guy she likes dares her to shine by auditioning for the reality show, Nerve, Vee decides to take a chance. All she has to do is get filmed while completing a dare. It’s not … Read more
When We Wake by Karen Healey Science Fiction Suspense Thriller * * * * Stars (Great!) Tegan Oglietti’s life is just getting good when a sniper’s bullet accidentally finds her. She wakes up confused and disoriented 100 years later – the first successful revival in a cryogenics experiment. As Tegan learns more about the world she now lives in she’s equal parts delighted and dismayed to discover what’s changed – for the better and the … Read more
The Memory of Light by Francisco X. Stork Realistic Fiction (audio edition) * * * * * Stars (Amazing!) Vicky Cruz is just going through the motions of her life when she decides to take it. Her suicide attempt fails, but it lands her at Lakeview Hospital where she meets Dr. Desai and several other troubled teens who she can relate to (and who understand her) much better than anyone she knows. Through her interactions … Read more
Illuminae Illuminae Files #1 by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff Science Fiction Suspense/Thriller * * * * Stars (Great!) Kady breaks up with her boyfriend Ezra just hours before their world (a secret mining colony on Kerenza) is attacked by outside corporate interest BeiTech. They manage to put their differences aside long enough to survive and escape, but they end up on different ships. Kady finds herself on the Hypatia, while Ezra is conscripted into … Read more
The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer Holm Science Fiction Tween – grades 5-8 * * * Stars (Pretty good) Ellie, sixth-grader, takes it in stride when her grandfather – who has cultured the elixir of youth from a heretofore unknown jellyfish – comes to live with her and her mother after being arrested for breaking into his own lab. Because his elixir works. And he’s now the same cantankerous and opinionated old man (who loves Chinese … Read more
You Wish by Mandy Hubbard Funny Supernatural * * * Stars (Pretty good) Kayla McHenry turns 16 and her mother – the party planner – throws her the most horrifying Sweet Sixteen party ever. Too much pink, too much cake, and too many people – none of them friends. As she blows out her birthday candles Kayla wishes for all of her birthday wishes to come true, which they start to do the following day … Read more