Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2007. 346 pages.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz. Simon & Schuster, 2012. 357 pages

Teenagers, Ari, named after his Mexican grandfather and Dante, son of a literature professor, meet in the early 1980s. Seemingly very different but both outsiders they become friends. lots happens here- family dynamics and problems and growing pains and sexuality and secrets  but through it all, love prevails. So well written and compelling that even though i knew what where we were going , i did not know how we would get there. And,  unlike LIE, i genuinely liked the characters who were believable and lovingly portrayed. Recommended absolutely.

LIE by Caroline Bock. St. Martin's Griffin, 2011.

Oh no! I wanted to like this. It is dedicated to the Southern Poverty Law Center and is promoted as a tool to stop hate crimes. It is listed on multiple YA good read lists. It got starred reviews in no less than 3 Library Journals. And it sounded like such a great book.
-- A group of teens routinely amuse themselves by jumping Salvadoran immigrants. One night someone dies and a witness escapes. He lives and talks. As police come in to investigate the teens try to hang together and stonewall, but group dynamics come into play and now the questions are: what really happened? who did what? who knows, will someone tell, should some one tell, or should they stay quiet.
I expected a "Killing Mr. Griffith" but the book was nothing but disappointment from the beginning.
The characters are wooden stereotypes-- who were very predictable and really unlikeable. I could not bear to finish the book and never came to that "couldn;t put it down" part as promised.
the book was super hyped up but it left me so cold i never finished it. I would be interested in what teens themselves have to say. Until then, Don't Bother.