Madeline hasn’t left her house for 17 years and only comes in daily contact with her mother (who is, coincidentally, also her doctor) and her nurse Carla. Madeline suffers from SCID (Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disease), making her essentially allergic to being outside. As a result, her home is sterile, with a special air filtration system, an air lock at the front door and a decontamination treatment for anyone who needs to visit her. She reads a lot of books and does all of her schooling via Skype. She has made peace with her life as she knows it—until a new family moves in next door.

From her window, Madeline spots Olly, a boy about her age, and he stares back up at her. What starts out as an innocent crush quickly turns into more, as Madeline and Olly communicate through email, instant message and finally, after much cajoling from her nurse, meeting in person. Romance ensues, battles are fought and their love grows stronger.

Nicola Yoon’s debut is unique, starring an interracial couple and featuring hand-drawn illustrations. Readers will root for Madeline as she fights her disease, growing stronger and more confident with Olly’s help. The relationship’s fast pace may lead some readers to question its authenticity, but Yoon expertly handles mature family issues such as trust, love and, most of all, grief. Best suited for older teens, this is a quick summer read for fans of realistic teen fiction centered on romance.

I admit it: In junior high I had the soundtrack from Les Misérables on permanent replay. I saw the musical on Broadway and even read the unabridged book by Victor Hugo, all 1,500 pages of it. So when I heard that adult author Susan Fletcher’s debut YA novel would retell this classic novel from Eponine’s point of view, I jumped at the chance to review it.

Fletcher’s story opens just as Eponine’s closes, on a French street the night of the failed Paris uprising of 1832. It then backtracks to Eponine’s childhood as the oldest daughter of the amoral Thenardier family, who become the guardians of Cosette, a girl Eponine’s age whose mother cannot afford to keep her. At first, Eponine and her sister have lavish clothes and dolls (for which they help their family steal) while Cosette sweeps floors, fetches water and endures the endless taunts of her foster sisters. Fortune changes, and 10 years later Eponine, not Cosette, finds herself begging and dressed in rags. The teenage Eponine is determined to be a good person despite her family’s thieving ways, but amid swirling political unrest, can she expect to find forgiveness for her past crimes—let alone love?

Fans of the book (and the musical) know this story well and will recognize familiar characters like Marius, Inspector Javert, Jean Valjean and even little Gavroche. The magic of Fletcher’s work is in the way she weaves in and out of Hugo’s classic tale, giving a voice to one of literature’s most tragic, voiceless characters.

I had to dig up my old Les Mis tapes (yes, tapes) as I read; I dare any other Les Mis fans not to do the same!

Jill Ratzan teaches research rudiments in central New Jersey. She learned most of what she knows about YA lit from her terrific grad students.

Willowdean Dickson is fat and doesn’t care what anyone thinks about it. But she’s growing up in Clover City, Texas, where the church, high school football and the annual beauty pageant are all equally revered. Will’s mom is a former pageant queen who begins to tune her out as the event draws near. But with two potential boyfriends, a shaky relationship with her BFF and the usual crap from bullies, Will has nowhere to turn for advice.

Author Julie Murphy draws a clear distinction between Will’s confidence, which is largely unshakeable—truly, she’s awesome—and her fears about getting closer to hot boyfriend Bo. She has a lingering sense that people will wonder how she landed him, and so she takes unusual chances, aided by her love of Dolly Parton, her late aunt and several drag queens who know a thing or two about pageantry. As these pressures bring out Will’s worst as a friend and girlfriend, they also show a clear path to her best self.

Dumplin’ is inspiring while never lecturing, sexy but still classy, and may inspire you to roll down the windows and belt out “Jolene” next time you’re on the highway.

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

After her parents' divorce, Zoe Webster must move from an “almost good part of Brooklyn” to River Heights, “a small city in the armpit of upstate New York.” She is friendless, unless the annoyingly enticing company of Digby can be counted. Digby’s modus operandi is to pop into Zoe’s life with a vaguely adventurous plan that could as easily end in assault charges.

However, Zoe isn’t displeased to discover that Digby’s partner-in-crime is strikingly handsome Henry Petropoulos, the earnest, well-intentioned quarterback of the school’s football team. But Zoe seems like one of the guys as she, Digby and Henry investigate the disappearance of Marina Miller, a high school girl who vanished from her room in the middle of the night. The mystery thickens when Zoe discovers that a 4-year-old girl, Digby’s younger sister, disappeared in the same way years earlier. Are they connected? And does the strange religious cult that lives in a mansion across the street from Zoe play a role in any of this?

Stephanie Tromly’s debut novel reflects her experience as a screenwriter; the dialogue is by turns funny, poignant and ominous. There are so many emotional undercurrents here: romantic, manipulative, vicious and big-hearted. It’s a gloriously fast-paced mystery with authentic, eccentric characters that should appeal to fans of Ellie Marney’s Every Breath or Jodi Lynn Anderson’s The Vanishing Season. At the book’s conclusion, readers will be begging for more Zoe and Digby.

Dan Cereill (say “surreal,” not “cereal”) was OK with being an outsider—one best friend and two parents ought to be enough for anyone, right? But when his father comes out as gay and leaves Dan and his mother penniless, starting over in a new home and new school is too much, too soon. His crush on new neighbor Estelle is just one more of the Six Impossible Things he has to face before life begins to even out.

Author Fiona Wood (Wildlife) infuses a story full of serious themes with great humor. Dan’s mother opens a boutique wedding cake business but chases away her clients by persuading them not to get married. Dan is equal parts bully magnet and adorable charmer, an easy guy to root for even when he’s messing up (which happens often). His crush feels like “someone has changed my default setting to ‘Estelle’ without my permission, or she’s become my brain’s screen saver.” If you are, or ever were, a teenager, you can likely relate.

The numerous secondary characters and finely detailed suburban neighborhood outside Sydney, Australia, feel true to life, and Dan’s struggle to accept his dad’s new life and the changes to his own is bittersweet. Six Impossible Things manages the near-impossible on its own, balancing insight and rollicking entertainment.

Dave and Julia are best friends. They have feelings for each other, but neither has admitted it. When they rediscover a list of “cliché” things they vowed never to do in high school, they decide to spend the remaining weeks of senior year checking off items. With this setup, Adi Alsaid’s novel Never Always Sometimes follows one of the most familiar high school plotlines, luring young readers into familiar territory for a quick, satisfying and eventually surprising read. Alsaid uses clichés throughout both the plot and the structure of the novel, but ultimately twists them into a relatively realistic outcome in the book’s final act.

Like many creators of classic American high school tales, from John Hughes to John Green, Alsaid requires from his audience almost as much suspension of disbelief as with a fantasy novel, with protagonists who are several degrees more articulate and far less self-conscious than any real teenager. But like those beloved stories, this does not make Dave and Julia’s story any less enjoyable for the reader. Told in three acts, first from Dave’s perspective, then Julia’s, then alternating chapter by chapter, the novel undercuts generic differences between boys and girls, instead highlighting the specific differences between Dave and Julia. How these differences can go unnoticed, and how they can ultimately affect a relationship when they bubble to the surface, is a refreshingly clear-headed spin on the best-friends-in-love plotline.

Alsaid delivers a quick, satisfying read about change and continuity that will resonate with young readers approaching their own periods of transition.

Throughout the politically charged 1970s, Ror’s father had been slowly going crazy. Raging against “the man,” he insisted that his family squat on secluded Staten Island property and avoid contact with “normals.” Ror, a gifted artist, was able to live with her Dado in relative peace, trusting his vision of the world. This abruptly ends the night Dado sets a fire and burns their home to the ground. Ror and her mother and sister escape, but Dado dies in the flames. Now Ror must attend public school in New York City. The sole redemption is art class, where she meets a talented rival named Trey. There are sparks of attraction and competition between the two. Through Trey, Ror discovers the art of graffiti, and soon enough she finds herself craving the feel of a spray can in her hand.

Author Julie Chibbaro does a good job portraying the mind of an artist, but J.M. Superville Sovak’s artwork transforms the book into something exceptional. Sovak masterfully depicts Ror’s emotional turbulence. Many drawings include Ror’s Dado, where Ror is able to confront him with her grief and anger. As Ror begins to explore the world of underground graffiti art, she finds a way to express her unique spirit separate from Dado.

Readers intrigued by stories of young cult members making their way in the world, such as Karen Finneyfrock’s Starbird Murphy and the World Outside, should identify with Ror’s alienation. In addition, graphic novel fans will love the novel’s synchronization of text and image.

Diane Colson works at the Nashville Public Library. She has long been active in the American Library Association's Young Adult Library Association (YALSA), serving on selection committees such as the Morris Award, the Alex Award and the Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award.

For as long as Cara can remember, the month of October has meant avoiding knives and wearing extra layers of clothing, not for warmth, but for protection against trips and falls. For Cara’s family, October is “accident season.” Sometimes those accidents are just burned fingers or stubbed toes; sometimes people die. This year’s accident season could be particularly bad, and everyone is on edge: Cara’s older sister, Alice, seems to be hiding something; their mom is becoming increasingly overprotective; Cara’s relationship with her ex-stepbrother, Sam, is getting complicated; and then Cara becomes obsessed with the mysterious disappearance of a classmate.

Moïra Fowley-Doyle’s debut is set in Ireland, where myth and magic often lie close to the surface of everyday life. Readers will wonder—as Cara does—what is magic and what isn’t, what is logical and what is unexplainable. An air of mystery and wonder will remain with readers long after the close of the accident season.

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

Set in the urban slice of fictional East Bridge, Bright Lights, Dark Nights is a charismatic tale of two teens wrapped up in the innocence of first love while reluctantly fighting racial tensions and parental overprotection.

High school senior Walter Wilcox is an average kid, growing up in the suburbs until his parents divorce and he moves with his police officer father to a part of the city known as the Basement. When his friend Jason Mills invites him over for dinner, Walter meets Naomi, Jason’s awkward and adorable sister. Walter feels a thump in his chest that he can’t easily ignore, but there are a number of problems: Walter is white and Naomi is black; they live in a city suffering from the adverse effects of gentrification; and Walter’s father is currently under public scrutiny and internal review for being accused of racially profiling a teen thief—and all these complexities are further exacerbated by the Internet. 

Tackling a number of social, racial and political issues—all within the microcosm of a young, inward-facing relationship—author and artist Stephen Emond has his thumb on the pulse of contemporary young adult life, showing how the intersection of race and love has the power to challenge and change the physical and digital landscapes of American cities.

Justin Barisich is a freelancer, satirist, poet and performer living in Atlanta. More of his writing can be found at littlewritingman.com.

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