About to start his first year of middle school, Rick is both nervous and excited. He looks forward to the new system of changing classes and teachers each period, but he is nervous about making new friends. Up to this… Read More ›
Friendships in YA Fiction
Cloud Hopper
Named after the famous French balloonist Sophie Blanchard who, in 1804, was the first female to take to the skies in her own balloon and who remained a sensation until her death in 1819, the fourteen-year-old heroine of this novel… Read More ›
The Field Guide to the North American Teenager
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 ›
Dress Coded
Transition from elementary school to middle school has got to be one of the hardest changes a person’s got to endure–boys and girls maturing at different rates, childhood friendships evolving or ending and new ones being formed, and new anxieties… Read More ›
The Voting Booth
Too bad I didn’t discover this book sooner (its publication date was July 2020) so that I could have pushed it as a voter’s primer for YA readers and in particular for senior students voting for their first time. It… Read More ›
midnight sun
Here we have the 658-page retelling of the first part of the Twilight saga, told from Edward Cullen’s point of view. Fans will remember that the author had started work on this a long time ago but reportedly someone prematurely… Read More ›
Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From
Right in the middle of Miss Deborah’s passing out female condoms during a presentation in the Making Proud Choices class at the high school Liliana Cruz attends, Vice-Principal Seaver pulls Liliana out for a conference in his office. There he… Read More ›
Not So Pure and Simple
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 ›
We Are Not From Here
Chico, Pulga and Pequena are three teenagers living in the small village of Puerto Barrios, Guatemala. They are not related but are close enough in friendship to be so. Chico lives with Pulga, having been orphaned when his mother died… Read More ›
They Wish They Were Us
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 ›
Before You Buy YA 