At the conclusion of Becky Albertalli’s Morris Award-winning Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Simon Spier and his mysterious online crush finally become a couple. But what happens to Leah, Simon’s best friend? In the sequel, Leah on the Offbeat, we learn that Leah is a talented drummer and artist, comfortable in her overweight body and okay with being economically disadvantaged in a wealthy town. She’s perfectly fine with staying out of the college-choice drama that consumes her friends; she’ll be going to a local university where a scholarship awaits. She’s also confident in her bisexuality . . . even if she hasn't told any of her friends about it yet.

A perfectly nice guy is interested in Leah, but she only has eyes for her friend Nick’s girlfriend, Abby. Leah longs to kiss Abby, but she worries that doing so will cause her friendships to shatter irreparably. Should she pursue her dreams—in romance and in art—or settle for always feeling slightly off beat? Leah initially dismisses prom night as a high school cliché, but everything ends up converging there, and the very prom-night magic she mocks might just be exactly what she needs.

Leah on the Offbeat is funny, authentic and totally in step with contemporary sensibilities, both serious and silly (Leah calls out racism when she sees it, speaks in teen patois and draws Harry Potter fan art). This one is highly recommended for Simon fans, or anyone wondering how to navigate saying goodbye to one part of life as another begins.

As a blond-haired blue-eyed Jew in 1939 Germany, 15-year-old Sarah’s best option is to hide in plain sight, right in the jaws of the beast, which is exactly what happens in Matt Killeen’s stunning first novel a ferocious tale of life in Nazi Germany set within the framework of an elite girls’ school.

After soldiers kill Sarah’s mother, a stranger, who the Germans are also hunting, gives Sarah sanctuary in his home. In return, he asks Sarah to infiltrate an elite boarding school that’s attended by the daughters of the Nazi elite. After relaxing momentarily in the luxurious surroundings of this house, Sarah soon becomes determined to accept his mission and do something about the German National Socialists and their monstrous treatment of Jewish citizens.

While steadfast in her resolve to play a part in influencing the course of history, Sarah is also exceedingly fragile. She blunts her sorrow and anger over her mother’s death by remembering the insults that her mother hurled at her while she was alive. Her mother’s unkind words fill her head, but rather than destroy her, these thoughts empower Sarah and give her the resolve and insight she needs to survive.

Sarah’s mission in the girl’s school is to befriend the daughter of a Nazi scientist. Sarah finds this seemingly easy task nearly impossible as the daughter is protected by a phalanx of über mean girls. The school serves as a microcosm of the wider Nazi culture, and the girls rule by intimidation, sadism and social decree.

Orphan, Monster, Spy has so much to offer readers beyond its gripping content; it serves as a reminder that people must speak out against societal wrongs because, ultimately, they will affect everyone.

Julie Murphy’s companion to 2017’s Dumplin’ (read it first to avoid spoilers) is as full of heart, hope and hilarity as its predecessor. With an incredibly diverse cast of new characters, two unlikely love interests and emotions that are bigger than the state of Texas, Puddin’ will have readers laughing, crying and rooting for these teens as they navigate the tough terrain that is high school and find the strength to persevere when life throws a curveball or two.

While beauty queen Willowdean Dickson is still in the mix, Murphy’s new novel focuses on life after the pageant for reader favorite Millie Michalchuk. Millie hangs with a group of unpopular misfits and is a regular attendee of fat camp, but she’s thrown into an unlikely friendship with popular girl Callie Reyes when a prank goes wrong. Callie is co-captain of the Shamrocks, Clover City High School’s dance team, and the girlfriend of the school’s ace football player. When Millie’s family-run gym gets into financial trouble and has to drop their sponsorship of the Shamrocks, putting the dance team’s chance at winning a national competition in jeopardy, Callie and her fellow dancers decide to take revenge into their own hands—by vandalizing the Michalchuk’s gym, with Callie as the only identifiable culprit. Millie’s Uncle Vernon, the owner of the gym, agrees to drop all charges if Callie will work at the gym for free. Millie and Callie are then forced to either be miserable together or make amends.

In chapters that alternate between Millie’s and Callie’s point of view, Murphy nails the teen voice with online and in-person conversations that are filled with snort-laugh-out-loud lines. The characters are faced with typical teenage dilemmas, from dating and sneaking around (nobody is perfect, even Millie) to facing realistic consequences for their actions.

Hysterical and perfect for teen readers looking to have their voices heard, Puddin’ encapsulates everything that a high-caliber YA novel should.

This article was originally published in the May 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

BookPage Teen Top Pick, May 2018

Twins Mara and Owen are closer than close, so when Mara’s best friend, Hannah, accuses Owen of rape, Mara is shattered. Torn between the brother she loves more than anything and her own visceral understanding of the truth, Mara doesn’t know where to turn or how to reconcile family loyalty with right and wrong. As she tries to grasp this new reality, Mara must come to terms with a trauma from her own past as well.

In her highly anticipated novel Girl Made of Stars, Ashley Herring Blake (Suffer Love, How to Make a Wish) delivers a thoughtful, genuine exploration of consent, victim blaming and sexual assault—themes that fill the media today. Far from an ideological lecture, the novel forces readers to grapple with a difficult question: What do you do when someone you love is accused of rape?

Blake’s prose is specific and captivating, but what really brings this book to life is her ability to render fully developed, complex and diverse characters. From Mara and Owen to Hannah and Mara’s ex-girlfriend to the teens’ parents, all of the characters struggle in their own ways with what this situation means for their relationships moving forward. Each character is both deeply likable and deeply flawed, and readers will struggle to find their footing right along with Mara.

Though younger teens should be aware of Blake’s no-holds-barred exploration of the themes of sexual assault, homophobia and anxiety, Girl Made of Stars adds an important dimension to the discussions we’re having today, both in public and in private, and Blake’s deft handling of tough topics makes for an engaging and powerful read.

This article was originally published in the May 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Near the end of Sarah Nicole Smetana’s debut novel The Midnights, her protagonist, Susannah, muses about “the strangeness of these in-between moments, these points of intersection between one thing and the next.” The Midnights follows Susannah through a sort of in-between year, one in which she loses someone precious and perhaps gains something priceless.

Susannah’s dad was once the guitarist for a band called the Vital Spades, a rock group that was on the verge of greatness until personal circumstances broke them apart. Ever since they called it quits, her dad has mourned what could have been. Susannah secretly harbors her own musical ambitions but has always been too unsure of herself to share them outside of the midnight music lessons with her father. After he dies suddenly at the start of her senior year, Susannah and her mother move from Los Angeles to Orange County, California, where Susannah discovers she’s not the only one in her family with secrets. In her new surroundings, Susannah quickly makes friends with a charismatic free spirit and finds an opportunity to redefine herself as a fearless musician with a strong voice of her own—but is it possible she’s still undervaluing her own worth?

Smetana’s debut is ambitious but thoughtful, especially when it comes to Susannah’s knowledge and intuitive understanding of music and lyrics. Some narrative paths turn into dead ends while others (especially romantic ones) remain at times frustratingly unexplored, but the story’s occasional meanderings mirror Susannah’s own circuitous journey toward knowledge and self-respect, one on which readers will be more than happy to accompany this talented young woman.

Author Jane Yolen has won so many awards in so many genres that it is impossible to list them all in a succinct way. Her latest book, Mapping the Bones, will probably be added to her list of award-winning titles because it is just that good. It is also her 365th book, which means you can read a Yolen book each day of the year, and if Mapping the Bones is your first brush with the prolific author, it likely won’t be your last.

Loosely framed around the folk tale “Hansel and Gretel,” Mapping the Bones follows the story of Chaim and Gittel, 14-year-old Jewish twins living in Poland during the Nazi invasion. The twins and their parents are first moved from their comfortable life in Łódź to a five-room apartment in the Jewish ghetto, and then make an escape attempt when they are scheduled to be sent to the concentration camps. The two children almost make it to the Russian border before they are caught and sent to one of the many child labor camps run by the Nazis during the war.

While the majority of this story is told in third person from Chaim’s perspective, the chapters are interspersed with first person “Gittel Remembers” passages, allowing the reader to experience the events through each twin. As to be expected, Yolen’s prose easily draws you in and her character building is impeccable. Like her award-winning The Devil’s Arithmetic and her other blend of fairy tale and Holocaust history, Briar Rose, this latest of her great books will become an essential addition to the genre.

Jennifer Bruer Kitchel is the librarian for a Pre-K through 8th level Catholic school.

Jay Coles’ powerful, anguished debut novel, Tyler Johnson Was Here, inspired by so many tragic headlines, is already garnering worthy comparisons to 2017’s award-winning The Hate U Give. Of particular interest is the fact that Coles is a 22-year-old recent college graduate, composer and professional musician whose writing was inspired by the police brutality experienced by his family and community.

The story centers on twin brothers Tyler and Marvin. While a college recruiter from MIT courts Marvin, Tyler gets involved with “a legit thug” in their neighborhood in Sterling Point, Alabama. When the boys attend a warehouse party that’s raided by police, they lose track of each other in the ensuing chaos. One of the officers shoots Tyler, and a video surfaces that shows the unarmed teen saying, “Leave me alone. I’m just going home.”

Marvin is left to grapple with grief, guilt, hate, anger, the legal process and the fight for justice. What this novel may lack in nuance, it makes up in heart, soul and ambition, providing an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at the kinds of murders and tragedies fueling the Black Lives Matter movement.

Teen readers will be left with much to contemplate and with no easy answers. As Marvin concludes, “This is only the beginning of a long fight. It’s my turn to speak up and resist.”

This article was originally published in the April 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Tennis is Dara’s life—she’s been playing for as long as she can remember, so she’s stoked to have the chance to compete internationally. She’s eager to get a passport, but she’s a bit nervous to ask her mom, Mellie, for her birth certificate; Mellie has always been reticent about the identity of Dara’s father.

Dara secretly uncovers the document, only to realize she doesn’t recognize the names of her father or her mother. Her mind reels—has she been kidnapped? Adopted? What she knows for sure is that she’s been lied to. When Dara confronts Mellie, she learns the shocking and initially disconcerting truth—Mellie is transgender and was actually Dara’s biological father. Feeling betrayed, lost and uncertain of her past and future, Dara takes off with her best friend, Sam, to find her biological mother’s parents and learn more. When Dara meets them, she immediately feels loved and accepted. But as she learns more—from her grandparents and also from the simultaneous stream of constant and honest emails from Mellie—Dara comes to the crux of the matter as she posits, “Could it be possible that where I come from and who I am are two different things?”

And She Was is a stunning and timely novel that presents a raw story of what it means to be transgender. This is an important and conversation-sparking addition to any YA collection.

This article was originally published in the April 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Grace King is determined to avoid turning into her mother, who left when she was still a child. Since that day, Grace’s father has been doggedly researching a cure for the schizophrenia that his beloved wife suffered from. He has become distant and consumed by this goal, and he’s missing signs of the same disease manifesting in his daughter. But Grace is smart and independent, and her internship at her father’s lab helps her discover a potential breakthrough in schizophrenia research. However, the events leading up to her discovery are thrown into doubt by the unraveling of her own mind. Can Grace’s findings be trusted, and can she be trusted to know what is truly real?

Printz Award winner An Na’s brilliant new work is a slim yet power-packed read. She digs deep into the mind of a teen with schizophrenia, immersing readers in Grace’s scattered thoughts, hallucinations and delusions. The dizzying pace of the narration at times leaves the reader confused about what is truly happening around Grace and what is not. Through short chapters divided by seasons, readers witness the progression of Grace’s illness as her reality becomes more and more distorted.

An incredibly immersive story that is both excellent and unsettling, younger teens would benefit from reading The Place Between Breaths with an adult.

This article was originally published in the April 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.