Three teenagers living in the same area die unexpectedly (and within a short time of each other) of leukemia, a car wreck, and suicide. Left behind to grieve and somehow make sense of their tragedies are a twin sister, a… Read More ›
Diversity
Strange Star
Felix, a free black man who has sailed from America via the French coast city of Calais to England, has found himself employed as a servant working for Lord Byron at the Villa Diodati in Switzerland. Visiting Lord Byron are… Read More ›
Chaotic Good
Cameron Birch and her twin brother Cooper have moved with their parents from Portland, Oregon, to Eugene, where her mother has accepted a job with the university and where her dad has retired to work in his garden. Having recently… Read More ›
Sunkissed
This is just an excellent little happy but not silly book, for the most part. A teenage girl gets shipped off to a small island in Sweden for a month-long vacation stay with her hippie aunt. Dismayed to find there… Read More ›
What to Say Next
There are two protagonists in this book : One is David, a teenager with Asperger’s who has a great family supporting him. The other is Kit, a girl whose father was recently killed in a car accident. The book alternates… Read More ›
Foolish Hearts
This is a rather traditionally-told high school story with a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream a central focus. There is also an online gaming component. A fair range of characters appears and none are one-dimensional. Thoughtful insights are revealed… Read More ›
Ashes to Asheville
A lesbian couple has two biological children (one per wife) and moves from their home state of West Virginia to Asheville NC because NC permits same-sex marriage. The story is told from the youngest girl’s point of view. She is… Read More ›
Good and Gone
A 15-year-old girl goes on a road trip with her clinically depressed older brother and gay next-door neighbor to find a rock star who’s gone missing. Along the way they meet interesting characters and learn things about themselves and others…. Read More ›
The Date to Save
This is a charming book in the vein of “High School Musical,” where different students of all kinds come together for a big united finish. Largely due to incompetence on the part of the principal, four major annual school events… Read More ›
Shadow Girl
A Chinese-American girl in New York City lives with her mom and n’er-do-well brother in a tiny apartment. The father/husband was abusive and finally walked out on them. The girl works up a business as an academic tutor and goes… Read More ›
Before You Buy YA 