With The Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo. Harper Teen, 2019, 388 pages.

Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite. Ink Yard Press, 2019. 417 pages.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Penguin, 1993, 112 pages

We Were Liars by e. lockhart. Delacorte Press, 2014, 227 pages

Looking for Alaska by John Green. Dutton, 2005. 221 pages.

John Green's first novel. Printz Award. My first John Green book. It is fiction, not autobiographical, but he really did live in Florida and he really did go to boarding school in Alabama and a student really did die while he was a student there. A very good book.

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson. Viking Books for Young Readers. 2014. 391 pages.

PTSD in the family. Daughter and her very messed up Dad. Frightenly realistic.

Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina. Candlewick, 2016. 356 pages.

Summer of 1977, NYC, hot and gritty. Son of Sam is on the loose and Nora is poor and street smart and seventeen. I love the tension of the hot-son of sam- background and I love Meg Medina's female characters. The men do not measure up though. Still, a very strong enjoyable read. Quick one too.

Soundless by Richelle Mead. Razor Bill (Penguin), 2015. 266 Pages.

Hugely popular at Tattered Cover and PLA in Denver. YA distopian romance and adventure. What's not to love? Well written to boot.

Winger by Andrew Smith. Simon and Schuster, 2013, 448 pages.

Great  upper middle school/younger high school book recommended to me by a patron. Teenage boy coming of age at an elite prepschool filled with jocks. And he makes mistakes too. Very well written, first person narrative with an authentic voice. For a reader though-- 400 plus pages.

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina. Candlewick Press, 2013., 260 pages.

Piddi Sanchez is in a new school when one day, in a hall crowded and noisy between classes, a girl she thinks is named Vanesa jumps in front of her and says "Yaqui Delgado wants to kick your ass". Then Vanesa disappears into the crowd before Piddi can even ask "Who is Yaqui Delgado?".
Piddi needs to learn how to navigate this-- as well as other life situations-- the best friend she left behind seems to be moving on; her mother works all the time and Piddi cannot talk to her anymore; Hair salon chisme leads to a terrible revelation about the father she never met-- and more. A quick read sprinkled with spanish slang terms that do not always work in english (caramel) I loved this coming of age story that stays real about bullying and the behavior of adults, the predicaments kids find themselves in and the limits and possibilities of school anti bullying and discipline policies. Loved it.

Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick. Balzer + Bray, 2012. 216 pages.

Cambodia, 1975. told in the 9 year old voice of co-author Arn Chorn-Pond, founder of Children of War. McCormick at her best-- compelling and beautifully written horrors. Quick read. Fiction, issue book, reads like nonfiction. Recommend for everyone.

Secret Saturdays by Torrey Maldonado. G.P. Putnum's Sons, 2010. 195 pages.

Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah. Scholastic, 2007. 360 pages.

When 16 year old Amal decides to wear the hijab full time-- including to high school--all her well thought out plans had not prepared her for the reaction she gets; reactions from her friends, her enemies, her family. This well written and fast moving book is Abdel-Fattah's first and best work. Funny, believeable and strong females from this Australian import. Highly recommended.

The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler. RazorBill, 2011. 356 pages.

The story line-- that in 1996 Emma Stone installs AOL on her new computer and, inexpicably, finds her facebook page from 15 years in the future-- promises more than it delivers. The writing and the plot were mediocre at best. EEEh, its alright.

Ten Things I Hate About Me by Randa Abdel-Fattah, Scholastic, 2010. 297 pages.

Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff. Henry Hold & Co. 1993, 200 pages.

First person narrative written in verse. LaVaughn is 14 and wants to go-- is determined to go-- to college. She has lots of support from her mother and her teachers and while it will not be easy, she is going to get out. LaVaughn agrees to babysit for  17 year old single mother -2 kids- Jolly because she needs to save money for college. Jolly, with no support, is, of course, a mess. Their unlikely friendship helps Jolly find her way to a better life and gives LaVaughn some important life lessons.

I am glad is stuck with this book-- it was recommended by a young patron. Initially, i thought i knew where the story was headed-- yadddah yaddah yaddah-- but i was wrong. The story is not new but it is very real and is told in an honest and truthful way that is hopeful without being deceptively simple or trite. I really enjoyed it and just added the rest of the trilogy to the ya collection. And the verse style really enhances the telling. 

Keesha's House by Helen Frost. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2003, 116 pages.

A novel in verse, told in the voices of  at risk teens in crisis. Most feel they cannot go home-- 'Keesha's house' offers  safety and a chance to pause and try to pull yourself together.
 The book is brief but full of story and emotion, the teens who give voice are varied in race, class and issues-- it will speak to teens on many levels.

An added surprise for me was that the author includes backpages that recount the sestinas and sonnets she employed in creating Keesha's House.  Real poetry with organized rhythm and meter in voices so compelling and current that we did not even notice. Well done and very impressive. Printz Award.

Shine by Lauren Myracle. Amulet Books, 2011. 359 Pages.

A good teen read-- not great literature but a dark mystery taking place amid rural poverty, meth addictions, gay bashing, coming of age, hope amoung the hopeless, friendships, secrets, lies, rape and abuse. 17 year old Cat is entering her senior year. She has isolated herself from everyone --including her supportive friends-- because she was sexually abused by a local boy from a powerful family (a theme that runs throught the work). She is compelled to reengage, however, when her formerly best friend, Patrick, is found comatose and near death strung up to a gas pump with the nozzel shoved down his throat and SUCK ON THIS carved into his torso.While the church ladies blame the victim and the sheriff looks for gay bashing outsiders, Cat begins her own investigation, certain the answer is to be found in the local red neck posse and friends who,like all bullies, operate in plain view of the adults who never see a thing. i like the mystery and the setting and the inclusion of gay characters. it is good teen lit but not great-- i solved the mystery long before the book ended and the ending is very very neat and too happy for the rest of the book (left me wondering if publisher or focus group told her to lighten it up at the end.) i am also disturbed by the relationship she ends up having with her abuser. He is not a monster and a little unhappy with the redemption and acceptance of him or of her abuse-- i will think on this for a while. let me know how you see it. still, i will recommend with caveats.


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SuckerPunch by David Hernandez. Harper Teen, NY. 217 pages.

Dark. Disfunctional family, teens with problems. Domestic Abuse. Very dark. thought i would like it more than i did. could not finish it.