Sixteen-year-old Sarah has always defined herself as an artist, an avid and talented drawer who prides herself on making keen and detailed observations of the world around her. She may be one of the only people who really sees the homeless man creating his own bizarre form of art near her Philadelphia neighborhood. She sees injustice and unoriginality, things that have made it impossible for her to continue making her own art or even attending school, which she now considers meaningless. Lately she’s been seeing past and future versions of herself. So why does she find it impossible to see her own troubled family clearly?

When she is visited by her 10-year-old self, Sarah is finally forced to confront something that happened on a family trip to Mexico when she was 10, something that prompted her beloved older brother to leave the family and never return. Perhaps, at long last, she can see her family with clear, open eyes—and thereby find her way back to making the art that sustains her.

A.S. King is known for crafting deeply sympathetic portraits of teenagers in crisis, and Still Life with Tornado is no exception. Readers who travel with Sarah through her past, present and future are likely to become—like Sarah herself—disoriented and absorbed by visions that border on the surreal and by questions about the reliability of memory that may prompt readers to see their own worlds just a little differently.

This article was originally published in the October 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Loosely based on the author’s own struggles prior to gaining U.S. citizenship, Melissa de la Cruz’s latest teen read is a tender yet unlikely romance between an illegal immigrant and a congressman’s son.

Jasmine de los Santos has been offered a National Scholarship, the most prestigious award in the nation—quite a feat for an immigrant who has been in the United States since the age of 9. For her parents, leaving the Philippines for “the land of hope” proved to be more difficult than expected, as they had no choice but to take less than stellar jobs with meager wages. But Jasmine knows she has finally made her parents proud.

Prior to sharing the exciting news with her folks, Jasmine meets Royce Blakely and is quickly enamored. Thoughts of Royce momentarily disperse when Jasmine learns that she and her family have been living in the U.S. illegally. Against all odds, Jasmine resolves not only to find a way to fulfill her educational dreams, but also to hold fast to the love of her life.

Through engaging dialogue and a flurry of unanticipated scenes, de la Cruz shines a light on the pressure immigrants face within an unjust and politically driven system. Provocative, eye-opening and poignant, Something in Between is a timely read in a troubled era.

This article was originally published in the October 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Libby Strout is no longer “America’s fattest teen,” but her biggest fear in returning to school for the first time since fifth grade is that her classmates won’t look past her weight. Nonetheless, she’s ready to leave the house where she’s been grieving her mother’s death, and embrace everything high school has to offer. Meanwhile, Jack Masselin’s devil-may-care attitude may seem effortless, but nobody knows how hard he has to work, because nobody knows about his face blindness—how, even among his closest friends, he feels as though he’s surrounded by strangers. That is, until a vicious prank lands Jack and Libby in the same counseling group, and they’re forced to see beyond each other’s masks.

Jennifer Niven’s Holding Up the Universe is another bright place for fans of her bestselling YA debut, All the Bright Places. Niven once again introduces two protagonists who, at first glance, have little reason to cross paths, but who are uniquely positioned to help each other repair their broken pieces. These characters may be facing extreme circumstances, but their conflicting emotions will be utterly relatable to teen readers. 

Niven treats her protagonists with admirable respect, tackling the issues that seem so big in high school with prose that dances on the line between seriousness and whimsy. Holding Up the Universe is a perfect fall read to inspire readers to embrace the new school year.

This article was originally published in the October 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

BookPage Teen Top Pick, October 2016

Sixteen-year-old Rani Patel is part of the only Indian family—Gujarati, to be precise—on the Hawaiian island of Moloka'i. And that family is falling apart. When Rani discovers her father’s affair, he is unrepentant. After years of unquestioning obedience, Rani’s mother finally finds the strength to kick him out. Feeling abandoned by her father and invisible to her mother, Rani deals with it all through the music that has always saved her: rap. Rani’s deep love of hip-hop culture empowers her to write lyrics and slam poems full of swagger, female empowerment and social awareness. But while her alter ego, MC Sutra, exudes confidence, Rani has yet to confront the horrific truth of her relationship with her father. As she hones her skills as an MC and a flirtatious relationship with an older man becomes something more, Rani’s past continues to intrude on her present.

Rani’s environment leaps off the page in vivid and satisfying detail, from the winding roads and small shops of Moloka'i to the intricacies of ’90s hip-hop fashion. The lyrics she writes are particularly convincing—good enough to show that her talent is serious, but just unpolished enough to be written by a teenager. Author Sonia Patel is a psychiatrist, and her determination to portray Rani’s response to trauma truthfully is unrelenting. Rani’s past affects her choices again and again, despite her undeniable intelligence and drive. 

As young readers root for Rani, they will gain a deeper understanding of abuse and addiction through this powerful and gripping novel. 

This article was originally published in the October 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Is there a more painful year of life than the 13th year? For Claire, the answer is a big dramatic no. There’s the devastating news that all of her dance friends are moving up a year, except for her. There’s the tremendous zit on her nose on the first day of school. And then Claire’s father has a stroke, and pain is completely redefined. Claire can hardly bear to be in the same room with the man who used to be her dad.

Jordan Sonnenblick (Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie) truly understands middle schoolers. He taps into young people’s craving for attention that vies with crushing self-consciousness, and the flippant attitude that hides vulnerability. While his earlier books feature male protagonists, this portrayal of Claire is also utterly believable. She finds it difficult to express her grief over the loss of the father she once knew, but immediately freaks out when she gets her period while wearing her white marching band pants.

This endearing blend of humor and empathy is reminiscent of Cammie McGovern’s Just My Luck.

Diane Colson is the Library Director at City College in Gainesville, Florida.

There was a prophecy that foretold of the next witch queen. She would be a descendant of one of the Hawkweed sisters, Raven or Charlock. To ensure that her own daughter would become queen, powerful witch Raven ensured her sister would only carry sons, which are unwanted by the coven and destined to die. When Charlock finally becomes pregnant with a girl, Raven switches the baby witch with a human child, in a flash of magic that no one notices.

But Raven never expected the girls to find one another in a wooded glen one day. The two girls—sweet Ember Hawkweed, with her inability to produce even the most meager spell; and troublemaker Poppy Hooper, who has lived her whole life with the strangest occurrences happening around her, from cats shadowing her to spontaneous fire—make an instant connection. But as the truth comes out about Raven’s betrayal, it won’t be easy to make things right, especially when the two girls begin to fall for the same boy, Leo, who feels electricity from Poppy and warmth from Ember.

In this world, created by the acclaimed screenwriter of The Little Prince, magic is a delicate lattice that connects witches in their jealousies, power struggles and insecurities. Everyone in this story is an outsider, from Poppy’s mother who has gone mad from believing that her daughter is not her own, to Leo who lives on the streets. It seems that no one belongs, but their efforts to make sense of a world that doesn’t want them is what connects them all. The love triangle between Poppy, Ember and Leo is but a mere distraction as magic builds, and despite all the spells in the air, it’s the most unbelievable aspect of the story.

Author Irena Brignull tugs heartstrings here and there in The Hawkweed Prophecy, but she excels at tapping into something a little wicked. In the end, the reader isn’t so concerned that Poppy will end up happy, as much as they want to see just how much havoc she can wreak.

Zoraida Córdova’s latest book for young adults, Labyrinth Lost, brings a new perspective to the fantasy genre. Drawing on her Ecuadorian heritage, Córdova tells a story that is both culturally new yet hauntingly familiar.

Most of Alex Mortiz’s family members are brujas and brujos—women and men with magical abilities. They do not care for the term “witches” because their power comes from the Deos, the benevolent gods, not from the evil that the English word inspires. Alex, however, is frightened by the ferocity of her magic. She thinks it makes her do bad things. So as her Deathday arrives—a day of celebration and blessing—she is ready to refuse it and send it back to the Deos. When her cantos seems to backfire and she sends her entire family to Los Lagos, the realm of the dead, she must use her power to rescue them.

This is a coming-of-age story in all its particulars. Alex struggles with her feelings for a girl at school, for a handsome brujo and with who she wants to be in the world. As she and the brujo Nova confront obstacles on their trip across Los Lagos, the plot allows each difficult encounter to be as symbolic as necessary for her personal growth—without interfering with the adventure and suspense. Córdova’s prose is fluid and accessible, though readers may encounter some awkward passages.

Jennifer Bruer Kitchel is the librarian for a pre-K through eighth grade Catholic school.

Garvie Smith is a British teenager who, despite having the highest IQ at his school, has some of the lowest grades and abysmal ambition. His single mother threatens to move them both to her native Barbados if he doesn’t start performing better. This is a palpable threat to Garvie, as he doesn’t want to leave, but the only things that seem to motivate him to use his intellect are tricky puzzles, and there just aren’t enough of those. When his ex-girlfriend, Chloe Dow, is murdered, Garvie is sure that Detective Inspector Singh is missing too many clues. As he delves deeper into Chloe’s life, Garvie finds himself unable to not solve the mystery.

The similarities to Sherlock Holmes cannot be overlooked in this fast-paced crime mystery from author Simon Mason. Garvie is sullen and withdrawn unless he has a really good conundrum to put his mind to, much like Holmes. And like Inspector Lestrade, D.I. Singh is intelligent and sharp, but still needs help from an outsider. There is no Watson to speak of in this book, but it will be interesting to see if Mason brings one in later installments to this new series. The associations are subtle and may be overlooked by some readers, but the whodunit is well done and is a nice addition to the canon of popular adaptations and rewritings of the famed detective.

Jennifer Bruer Kitchel is the librarian for a Pre-K through eighth level Catholic school.

Otis and Meg were neighbors, best friends and sweethearts, until tragedy left Otis’ little brother dead and both families shattered. It’s been three years since the accident, since Meg’s family moved away, since Otis has heard from her. He’s coped with his grief by joining forces with 18-year-old Dara, who’s determined to make him the Olympic swimmer she once dreamed of becoming. But when Meg suddenly announces she’ll be returning for the summer, Otis realizes it’s time to make some big decisions about what he can hold onto and what he must leave behind in order to move forward.

Phantom Limbs treats teenage love—romantic and platonic—in a manner at once lighthearted and heartbreakingly poignant. Otis is a refreshingly authentic male protagonist, who will win readers over as he navigates his way through his grief and the impact it’s had on his relationships with friends and family. While Meg is a sweet character, it’s Otis’ swim coach and best friend, Dara, who steals the focus for much of the book, using caustic humor to cover both her sincere affection for Otis and several layers of deep-seated trauma.

The power of Garner’s debut novel is understated as it unites three teens who are working through the heartaches that define their individual and collective pasts and threaten to overtake their futures. It’s not a light read, but Garner’s elegant prose makes for an uplifting story about resilience and the power of relationships.