Emma Mills’ debut YA novel plants a Jane Austen-loving high school senior squarely on the playing field with a football jock in this story about growing up, feelings and forgiveness.

Devon Tennyson is a likable slacker—until a teacher seizes an offhand comment Devon makes about college and propels her toward some new extracurricular activities, which place her in the path of Ezra, the football phenom. While she’s prepared to dislike him on principle, she actually thinks he’s pretty nice, especially when he takes her awkward cousin under his wing. Of course, Ezra's not nearly as nice as her best friend, Cas, a boy she’s crushed on since middle school.

Even with the drama associated with teen dating and mixed messages, Devon’s able to keep everything in perspective until she sees the true nature of her relationship with Cas. A friend’s close call with death and her cousin’s injury during a football game help Devon learn a little something about priorities.

Profanity appears sparingly in First & Then, and the story covers parental death and abandonment, teen pregnancy and drinking. Despite these topics, the story remains upbeat. Devon transforms from an aimless girl to a mature young adult as she begins to recognize her own special ability to really listen to others.

Leah Westfall can sense the presence of gold. It sings to her, thrumming and tingling. This secret talent helps keep her family afloat in their fading mining town in 1849 Georgia. When news of boundless California gold reaches town, her best friend Jefferson dreams of joining the burgeoning gold rush. Leah ignores the news—and Jefferson’s invitation to marry her and travel west together—until a sudden change of circumstances forces her to rethink her plans.

Dressed as a boy to avoid the dangerous man who’s searching for her, Leah begins her westward journey, first alone and then in the company of others. On this long and sometimes slow path, Leah and her companions face threats from buffalo, disease, raiders and the unforgiving landscapes of plains, mountains and the desert.

Rae Carson, author of the Girl of Fire and Thorns series, uses Leah's disguise to tease out subtle issues of gender and identity, a process echoed by the ambiguities of Jefferson's mixed ethnicity. Like many books about American expansionism, Carson's depiction of Native Americans can be problematic. But the focus of the story is on Leah's evolving relationships with her traveling companions—as her secret gold-witching talent lurks in the background, springing up at odd times to both frustrate and assist her.

Teens looking for the fast-paced excitement of The Hunger Games won’t find it here. But those hoping for a thoughtful and satisfying work of historical fiction can anticipate two more volumes of Leah’s adventures.

Jill Ratzan matches readers with books in a small library in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Centuries in the future, after humans have decimated the Earth’s population with war and pestilence, artificial intelligence (AI) is fed up and has taken control of the planet. Talis, Earth’s AI ruler, has proposed a sinister plan to keep warring nations at peace: Each nation must provide a royal child as a hostage. If the child’s country goes to war, the child dies.

Greta is the 16-year-old Duchess of Halifax. She’s been a hostage since she was 5 years old and is the unofficial leader of the other teen hostages. Educated and stoic, Greta is prepared to go to her death with dignity—until she meets Elian, a hostage from an enemy nation. Elian is gutsy and reckless, and his actions put Greta and the other royal teens at risk for painful punishments. Despite their enemy status, Greta and Elian form a bond. But when war is on the horizon and the royals are attacked, will Elian and Greta be on the same side?

Thoughtful and intriguing, though with a slow build-up, The Scorpion Rules is a morality tale cloaked in science fiction. In the spirit of Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke, Erin Bow explores whether humans will ever cease destruction of the planet, when having their children taken hostage is not enough of a deterrent to maintain peace. In doing so, she introduces readers to the snarky and memorable Talis, the AI overlord who sees humans as fallible creatures with no moral compass.

Kimberly Giarratano is the author of Grunge Gods and Graveyards, a young adult paranormal mystery.

Despite waking up with the mother of all hangovers, Kate Weston has it pretty good. Ben, the childhood friend who made sure she got home safe from last night’s party, may be ready to take their relationship into new territory. But when a photo from the party turns up online showing one of Ben’s basketball teammates carrying an unconscious and barely clothed girl over one shoulder, all hell breaks loose. The town’s loyalty to their sports teams supersedes their concern for a girl who they quickly write off as “asking for it.” But Kate wants answers. What We Saw shows how close-knit communities are willing to close ranks when their interests are threatened.

Author Aaron Hartzler (Rapture Practice) based this story on the Steubenville, Ohio, rape case, where video footage showed kids watching an assault and egging on the participants. While What We Saw reads like a hybrid of mystery and romantic drama, it also includes a conversation (literally, in the classroom) about rape culture and should spark further discussion among readers. Perhaps most importantly, Hartzler keeps the story from feeling exploitative.

When a crime is committed, trial by social media is not the answer; What We Saw looks unflinchingly at the way the justice system fails victims and perpetrators today.

This article was originally published in the October 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Evan is grief-stricken after the sudden death of his father, Clifford. His estranged grandfather, the legendary Marine lifer Griff, comes to help “get things in order,” but all Evan knows about Griff is the mutual hate between him and Clifford, culminating in Clifford’s move to Canada to avoid the Vietnam draft. But there may be a hidden motivation for Griff’s sudden willingness to care for his grandson. Evan finds a book on Clifford’s desk that chronicles bizarre, fantastical events from the end of World War II. Griff is determined to get his hands on the book, so Evan intends to keep it from him, suspecting that the book implicates his grandfather in some terrible deed.

The book reveals the story of a Japanese soldier who survives a battle against the United States and finds refuge on a deserted Pacific island called Kokoro-Jima, the Heart-Shaped Island. There, mystical ghost children follow him, and zombie-like beings feast on the memories of dead soldiers that wash ashore. This incredible story alternates with—and greatly overshadows—Evan’s present-day interactions with his cold-hearted grandfather. Like Evan, the reader can scarcely wait for each installment of the tale of Kokoro-Jima.

Literary master Tim Wynne-Jones has penned another outstanding book for adventurous readers, combining history and horror to grip the imagination.

This article was originally published in the October 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Two months after moving to Hawaii in the middle of her junior year, Lea Lane still feels like the new girl. For the most part, she’s OK with that, but when her mother announces that they’ll be moving into the wealthy West family’s guest cottage, Lea is mortified. Embarrassed at feeling like a charity case, she’s more determined than ever to keep her head down and fit in. But soon she can’t help but befriend the West kids. Popular Whitney is a completely different person outside of school, and could it be possible that gorgeous Will is attracted to Lea?

Juniors is Kaui Hart Hemmings’ first foray into young adult fiction, and the acclaimed author of The Descendants proves that she’s up to the challenge. Hemmings fully inhabits her teenage characters in their attempts to navigate high school politics and discover their own individual identities. Confusing relationships, false steps and awkward feelings all ring true to the 17-year-old experience, as do the after-school moments of joy and abandon. The masterfully executed Hawaiian backdrop adds to the book’s charm, imbuing the hyper-realistic story with a hint of fantasy (at least for mainland readers). 

Juniors drags in places, as Lea’s uncertainty becomes monotonous here and there, but overall the novel is a dead-on depiction of the high school social scene told in simple, elegant prose.

This article was originally published in the October 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

The indie kids are dying again. This time it’s not vampires or soul-eating ghosts but the Messenger of the Immortals seeking a Permanent Vessel. As an ordinary teen, Mikey is safe from the romances and battles with supernaturals, but he still has plenty of problems. Graduation is only weeks away, and he still hasn’t confessed his love to Henna. This uncertainty has increased his obsessive-compulsive disorder, leaving him raw inside and out.

At least Mikey’s not alone as he faces these major life events, as well as the glowing blue lights that hint of death around town. His older sister, Mel, is graduating a year late as she tries to keep her anorexia in check. Henna has to spend the summer before college in a war-torn African country with her missionary parents, and their friend Jared has even bigger secrets than being the gay son of a goddess of cats.

All this transpires as the dark, humorous mystery of the indie kids runs in the background. No matter that Patrick Ness never fully describes what an indie kid is; readers are sure to have already met one of these uber-emotional teens with enabling parents. Despite—or perhaps because of—the witty outlandishness, Mikey displays a vulnerability that will resonate with readers. He may not solve the world’s problems, or even those in his own suburb, but he finds resilience to rival any superhero. Ness continues to surprise in this sarcastic yet honest depiction of teen angst.

This article was originally published in the October 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Identical twins Isabelle and Giselle were born holding hands, and 16 years later, Isabelle dies in a car crash while holding her sister’s hand. Giselle survives, along with her parents, and is forced to face the world without her twin, her own appearance a reminder of what she has lost.

Giselle is in a semi-comatose state in the hospital, trying to piece together the accident’s details while the doctors mistake her for her sister. It isn’t until her mother visits that they realize that Isabelle has died, while Giselle is still living and steadily recovering. They begin to suspect that what was originally considered an accident might not have been, prompting further investigation by the police. 

Narrated by Giselle, who is wise beyond her years, Untwine tells an emotional story full of heartbreak, agony and hope. Written in elegant prose, with each chapter ending in a profound emotional statement, the novel draws readers through the aftermath of unexpected loss. Author Edwidge Danticat not only exposes the delicate bond that twins share but also beautifully weaves in Haitian culture and family traditions throughout the novel. Mystery and emotions run high in this work, taking readers on a realistic ride through the various stages of grief. 

Untwine is recommended for older teens and those dealing with the loss of a loved one.

This article was originally published in the October 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

BookPage Teen Top Pick, October 2015

Every once in a while a book comes along that inspires readers to rethink everything they thought they knew about how fiction works. Given author A.S. King’s talent for writing boundary-pushing YA lit, it’s no surprise that her latest offering does exactly that.

Gustav is building a red helicopter that the biology-obsessed Stanzi—which isn’t her real name—can only see on Tuesdays. China, a poet, has turned herself inside out. Lansdale’s hair grows every time she tells a lie, which is often. All four teens, hiding their pain behind elaborate defense mechanisms, are desperate to escape a life in which parents tour the sites of school shootings, abusers walk free and daily bomb threats disrupt their classes . . . especially as the time for high-stakes testing looms. And all the while, a strange man who lurks in a bush sells letters (like A, B, C, not the kind with stamps) in return for kisses and other favors.

When Gustav’s helicopter is finished, he and Stanzi fly it to the haunting Place of Arrivals—where, in theory, there are no departures. But one resident has already departed, and another hopes to be next. 

References to cultural icons such as “M*A*S*H,” Amadeus and “Sesame Street” (at least in my interpretation of the letter-selling man) give characters a language to express the inexpressible. Surreal and unsettling but ultimately redemptive, this piece of magical realism—if that indeed is what it is—will speak to fans of Francesca Lia Block and anyone seeking a thoroughly postmodern read.

Jill Ratzan matches readers with books in a small library in southeastern Pennsylvania.

This article was originally published in the October 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Once described as “recklessly loyal,” Arden Huntley has always taken pride in putting her loved ones first. However, as junior year wears on, Arden begins to wonder why no one—not her fame-seeking boyfriend, her haphazard best friend nor her absent parents—seems to appreciate her loyalty. Then she discovers a blog written by a boy named Peter, a kindred spirit, and begins to feel as though she’s finally found someone who understands. When she reaches her boiling point, she decides to drive to New York and track the blogger down. In the wild night that ensues, Arden learns that Peter isn’t who he’s made himself out to be, and that, just maybe, Arden isn’t either.

The premise of Leila Sales’ fourth novel is an eyebrow-raiser: A high school girl, fed up with being taken for granted, heads off to New York City to find a blogger she’s developed a crush on. That said, Sales pulls it off. Her prose is sharp and witty, making for a breezy (but still edgy) read in a tone reminiscent of Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen. And while her characters could do with a little more complexity, they're all dynamic and relatable. Most importantly, Arden’s growth throughout the novel sets an important example for teen readers—especially girls—who have grown up believing it’s their duty to please everyone around them. While it’s important to take care of our loved ones, we have to learn to take care of ourselves first.

In an Orwellian society where the government promotes unity through conformity, 15-year-old Kivali Kerwin is at risk for being sent to Blight, a prison-like ghetto. Kivali is genderfluid, and she’s refused to transition to one gender. Unfortunately her government doesn’t allow that, and Kivali is sent to an agricultural camp to train for her adulthood as a young woman. At first, Kivali really enjoys camp. She’s given the endearing nickname "Lizard" and begins a budding romance with a female camper—although same-sex pairings are strictly forbidden. But camp has its downsides, too: Every movement is monitored; social time is mandatory; and the campers are given drugs to make them compliant. Plus, two kids have already disappeared. Then the camp director, Ms. Mischetti, takes a special interest in Kivali, and Kivali suspects Ms. Mischetti’s intentions are not what they seem. Step out of line and Kivali goes to Blight; conform and she loses herself entirely.

Pat Schmatz, award-winning author of Bluefish, has created a nuanced world with newly coined language, such as mealio (mess hall) and privo (bathroom), in which readers will have to rely heavily on context. Lizard Radio is a timely and empowering story about identity that will resonate not just with genderqueer teens but with all readers who don’t see themselves fitting into binary categories. This novel will enrich the ongoing conversation on gender identity, conformity and human sexuality.

Kimberly Giarratano is the author of Grunge Gods and Graveyards, a young adult paranormal mystery.