Okay, let me start with a disclaimer that Ben Philippe is currently my very favorite YA author. Yes, I wish he didn’t sometimes use religious profanity and occasional slang that undoubtedly gives offense to some readers, but he is spot-on… Read More ›
Norris Kaplan arrives in Austin TX on a blazing hot day with his mother, a Creole/Patois linguist who has just accepted a tenure-track position at the University of Texas after months and months of applying for jobs all over the… Read More ›
High-school junior Del Rainey can’t get back from family vacation fast enough, having heard from his best friend Qwan that Kiera Westing is now a free woman since she broke up with her boyfriend Colossus. Del has been secretly in… Read More ›
Set in Los Angeles in the year 1992–the year LA erupted into violence after the brutal beating of Rodney King by four LAPD officers–this story traces the evolution of senior Ashley Bennett, her friends, and her family as they confront… Read More ›
Jill is a high school senior enjoying exclusive membership in a small group of eight who rule a secretive club called the Players at her private prep school. (Well, it used to be eight, except one was killed some months… Read More ›
Set in New Jersey in 1991, this novel’s action is almost entirely confined to the local mall. This is a clever idea, and the author surprisingly is able to realize it nicely. Cassie Worthy is a new high school graduate… Read More ›
Author Katharine McGee had a clever idea for this book, imagining that George Washington did NOT decline to be made king after the American Revolution but instead founded an American dynasty. Fast forward to today, where we have the House… Read More ›
Beverly is the only Black girl in her high school. She lives with her alcoholic, needy, and not-always-responsible mom in a ratty apartment. She takes care of her mom more than vice versa. She has an “aunt” who parties hard… Read More ›
Pup Flanagan has spent most of his seventeen years as (in his mind) an undistinguished person compared to his seven older siblings. At school he is accepted by his classmates but generally ignored, neither liked nor disliked. He has no… Read More ›
The protagonist of this book, Grace (aka Tiger), is a high school sophomore living in a small Arizona desert town. She does not know who her father is/was, and her mother is secretive about most other parts of her past… Read More ›
Before You Buy YA 