Every day at 4:33 a.m., high school junior London Lane’s mind resets and her memory is wiped clean for no apparent reason. Much like Drew Barrymore’s character in 50 First Dates, who suffers from anterograde amnesia, London forms no new memories of each day’s events. But she can “remember” memories of events that will happen to her in the future. Relying on meticulous notes from the days and weeks before, she pieces together her life for the current day, from what she should wear and which classes have homework due, to why her best friend, who is dating one of their teachers, refuses to speak to her, to how Luke Henry, the cute guy who picks her up each morning, has become her boyfriend.

Part romance and part thriller, London’s story intensifies when she notices that she has no memories of her future with Luke and a recurring memory of a funeral begins to haunt her. Will the funeral be for Luke, her absent father or even a stranger she hasn’t met yet? With the discovery of a hidden envelope in her mother’s closet and help from Luke and their growing love (“I wonder whether my heart keeps time even when my head doesn’t”), London realizes that her funeral memory from the future may actually be from the past. Stuck between these two times, she must find out if her breakthrough in memory is the family tragedy that’s been kept secret all these years and what impact her memories hold on the future.

Forgotten is a thought-provoking debut novel and a glimpse at the mysteries of the brain. Experiencing London’s dilemmas, readers can’t help but ponder the importance of their own memories.

Born under a full moon at midwinter, 18-year-old Saba and her twin brother Lugh live in a dry and desolate wasteland left behind by the Wrecker civilization. Their Pa learned how to read the stars, but that skill can’t save him when the King’s henchmen, high on a drug called chaal, kidnap Lugh—killing their father in the process. Saba’s not sure if “eether Pa was readin the stars wrong or the stars was tellin him lies.” But she does know that she has to rescue Lugh—at any cost.

Spare storytelling plus one very tough heroine equal nonstop adventure in this atmospheric dystopian debut novel, told in Saba’s primitive dialect. As the plot unfolds, Saba braves fighting warriors, sandstorms fierce enough to uncover abandoned Wrecker cities in seconds and other undesirable surprises. Sometimes the real battle, though, is with her own guilt and the responsibility she feels to her family, and even to what’s left of humanity. Aiding Saba on her quest are her tagalong younger sister (whom she can’t seem to leave behind—no matter how hard she tries), a renegade group of female revolutionaries and the quick-witted—and frustratingly handsome—Jack. Fans of the Hunger Games and Chaos Walking trilogies will welcome this exhilarating new series. 

In the fictional town of Ayala, California, where orange groves and old Spanish missions dot the landscape, 15-year-old Angie Arnaz is confiding her troubles to Felix, a saint of questionable origin who lives in her church basement.

Angie’s mother has abruptly left her stepfather without any indication why and insists that Angie move out of their home too. When Angie doesn’t budge, her mother threatens to call the police. Angie says, “I’m mad but I’m sort of enjoying how nuts it’s driving her.” Meanwhile, 19-year-old Jesse Francis has just returned home from fighting in Afghanistan and has enrolled in Angie’s high school. Angie is the only one who doesn’t treat him like a freak or a victim. Against everyone’s advice, the two quickly form a romantic relationship. Despite their age gap, Angie really loves Jesse’s maturity and sensitivity. Unfortunately, she doesn’t know how to handle his violent outbursts or erratic behavior. Suddenly her desire to save him is at odds with her desire to save herself.

In What We Keep Is Not Always What Will Stay, Amanda Cockrell has created an engaging, sharp and endearing protagonist who speaks to the reader like a best friend. Angie is instantly likable, as are supporting characters such as goofball Noah, lovable and wry Grandpa Joe and St. Felix, Angie’s stand-in shrink who doles out the tough advice, even if it isn’t what she wants to hear. Angie’s voice will resonate with anyone facing difficult choices and wondering if anyone is listening.

When a group of orphans in Calcutta form a secret society, they vow to protect one another as a family would. Little do they know how much that pledge will demand of them later. As the children prepare to “graduate” from the orphanage to the real world, Ben learns he has a twin sister, Sheere, whose grandmother separated the two at birth to protect them from a force of evil that travels under the name Jawahal. Ben entreats his fellow society members to help secure Sheere’s safety and find out what Jawahal wants. Welcome to The Midnight Palace.

Author Carlos Ruiz Zafón (Shadow of the Wind) has created a dark and unforgiving world for these children to navigate. The stench of raw sewage seems to leap off the page, and Jawahal is a truly frightening and violent character. But this bleak backdrop is warmed by the love Ben feels for his friends and newfound family, and by several small mysteries that they must solve along the way. Even the perilous final showdown with Jawahal takes the form of a game: Ben must reach into boxes, hoping to withdraw the names of his friends to win their release . . . but one box contains a poisonous snake.

The story’s conclusion is explosive, literally and emotionally, and deeply moving. Fans of Zafón will love this book for its rich storytelling and co-mingling of fantasy and reality, and new readers will quickly become fans after visiting The Midnight Palace.

It’s been said that there’s only a certain amount of luck in the world, and some people have more of it than others. For high school junior Nick Brandt, his wealth of luck is his birthright. He has it all—good grades, a best friend who could be an honorary brother and a perfect relationship with his parents. Not only that, but Nick is well on his way to finally getting the girl of his dreams, Eden Reiss.

Until that one little phone call.

Unfortunately, Nick doesn’t have the foresight to just let it ring, and on a random Tuesday, his life changes forever with a simple lift of a receiver. Nick does not want change, because he’s a lucky one, and change is an intruder come to disrupt his pristine world. But that one phone call sends Nick’s dad into silence as secrets about his life are slowly revealed, and Nick is positive that a) things will never be the same again and b) his lucky life was false to begin with. As Nick fumbles around and redefines “angst” for teenagers everywhere, he must discover what it really means to be The Lucky Kind.

Alyssa B. Sheinmel, author of The Beautiful Between, has captured the sinfully annoying whine of a teenager who can’t stand someone messing with his perfect life. Nick might kick and scream the entire way, seemingly regressing from a junior hotshot to a toddler in mere pages, but in the end, teen readers will be touched by the unexpected friendship and change of heart that will help him put his life back together again.

Joy has just moved from California to Utah; for a devout Mormon teenager, her social potential has multiplied exponentially, but the conformity is crushing. As she says, “Even now that I live in a town where it’s hard to tell where belief ends and culture begins—I don’t like the culture, but I do like the belief.” This may explain why she finds Zan so compelling. Staunchly individual, gorgeous and quirky, Zan seemed to care for Joy too, but their brief romance blew up when he quickly got his GED and transferred to a California college a year early. Now Joy is deflated, devastated and irritated by Zan’s ex-friend Noah, who keeps trying to help her. Needing closure, and lacking a ride, she persuades Noah to take her on a road trip to Zan’s school, a situation she saw in a prophetic dream, so it has to be a good idea, right?

Back When You Were Easier to Love tells this story in jump-cuts and flashbacks, letting events unfold like a mystery. Were Joy’s friends right to dismiss Zan, or was he really all that? Might there be someone better for her in her midst, who shares her beliefs and eschews mocha java for the virtues of Sprite? Author Emily Wing Smith may indulge Joy’s pining for her lost love a bit too long, and while she represents Mormon culture thoughtfully, other groups sometimes read as stereotypical, like the “cardboard cutouts” Zan gripes about. But this novel has far too much charm to be undone by these minor quibbles. After all, how many books in recent memory have featured personal revelations taking place while in the presence of a Barry Manilow impersonator? Get yourself a decaf caramel steamer and settle in for a good time.