Mina was born in Afghanistan. Her tragic story begins when her father is gunned down in their home, leaving his small family no option but to flee. After a long, terrifying journey, Mina and her mother arrive in an Australian detention camp. It takes years for them to build a life in Western Sydney, a place both lauded and feared for its vibrant commingling of cultures.

Michael is the son of parents deeply invested in the Aussie Values movement. He has never really questioned their belief that Islamic refugees are terrorists bent on destroying “true” Australian culture. But then he meets beautiful, smart, hardworking Mina and loses his heart. It’s a Romeo and Juliet story for our times, infused with the insight of accomplished author Randa Abdel-Fattah.

Mina can barely remember Afghanistan, but her refugee experience separates her from her white peers. Like the United States, Australia is a nation of immigrants, which undermines claims by predominantly white-skinned people who cling to so-called intrinsic values. Antagonism against the refugees pits the Aussie Values organization against Mina’s family, leading to the outing of undocumented workers. Michael tries to help, but it becomes apparent that he must take bold action against his own family.

The current tide of Islamophobia is well integrated into The Lines We Cross, and the teen characters believably work through the fears and prejudices of family and society to find their own convictions. Abdel-Fattah offers young readers immeasurable perspective into a present-day crisis.

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

This article was originally published in the May 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

When Bannerman Prep invites Tanner McKay to leave his public school and join their world-class debate team, he sees it as his big chance to catch the eyes of Stanford recruiters and to set himself on the path to success. But when the debate teacher partners Tanner with “The Duke,” that clear-cut path no longer seems quite so straight and narrow.

The Duke is untouchable: He’s a straight-A student who rarely cracks a book; he’s adept at pulling strings and calling in favors; and he’s a notorious host of elaborate parties in the city. But the Duke isn’t all he seems, and soon his carefully crafted identity begins to unravel.

Katie A. Nelson’s debut novel, a contemporary retelling of The Great Gatsby, captures the glitz, glamour and mysterious emptiness of its predecessor with very few of the cheap winks and nudges so prevalent in modernizations. Though Nelson’s characters feel, at times, like incomplete renderings, she deftly recreates the high-stakes environment of an elite prep school as well as the fierce competition for social status that will feel familiar to any young reader.

The high-pressure world of Bannerman Prep, the intrigue of Tanner and the Duke’s strange friendship and the lavish social scene all harken back to Fitzgerald’s classic but stand on their own in this compelling new novel.

This article was originally published in the May 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Alice lost both parents when she was 9 years old. She was forced to move from San Francisco to live with her aunt, uncle and cousin Leo in Chicago. Nine years have passed since then; Alice and Leo are now inseparable and have brought fellow classmate Teddy into their fold. While Alice secretly harbors a crush on Teddy, she’s too afraid to let him know. On Teddy’s 18th birthday, Alice decides to play the odds and buys him a lottery ticket, and miraculously he wins. Teddy, also no stranger to hardships, gladly accepts his prize. He goes on spending sprees and enjoys his newfound fame, owing it all to Alice. But when he offers Alice a portion of the winnings, she declines, and a chasm opens between the two.

Jennifer E. Smith’s latest novel will have readers laughing out loud as often as wiping away tears. Alice is easy to fall in love with, from her courage in dealing with her parents’ deaths to insisting on making decisions on her own terms and her ability to adapt when things don’t go as planned. With a tight set of characters, complete with realistic relationships and issues, Windfall fearlessly explores the impact of wealth, particularly when it is sprung on a teen. Smith pulls at readers’ heartstrings as Alice, Teddy and Leo struggle to find themselves in the midst of the unexpected.

A novel with crossover appeal, Windfall is an excellent choice for older teens to read with parents or mentors.

This article was originally published in the May 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

“We all have a deep desire, a deep need, to ignore what is happening here,” writes Marcus Sedgwick midway through Saint Death. Sedgwick, who sets his new novel amid the violent borderlands of Juarez, Mexico, might be describing human migration or death itself, embodied in this story by the mystical appearance—both literal and figurative—of Santa Muerte, or Saint Death. Either way, Sedgwick’s latest novel forces readers to look at what’s happening in regions of Mexico, and at the pressures that have created the drug cartels, which are provoked by U.S. demand and, in many cases, armed by the U.S., too.

Caught in the crosshairs of this volatile situation is a lonely young man, Arturo, a cardsharp who is enlisted to help save the life of his old friend Faustino—but who finds himself in a bargain he has no real way to win.

With Saint Death, Sedgwick offers a timely story that often reads like a thriller—or like a fable. Suffused with elements of magical realism and informed by real-world facts and statistics, Sedgwick’s narrative is remarkably immersive, providing both context and a human face for an issue that too often remains abstract but that, as he suggests, cannot be ignored.

This article was originally published in the May 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Jordan Sun is a Chinese-­American junior at elite arts-­focused boarding school Kensington-Blaine, but she doesn’t have much to show for it. Her first years were spent wrapped up in an intense relationship that ended badly, so she has no close friends to lean on when she fails, yet again, to get a callback for a musical. As a theater student on scholarship, Jordan feels extra pressure to prove to her parents that Kensington is worth it, but her low singing voice keeps her from landing traditional female musical roles. Dejected and isolated, Jordan notices an open call for a tenor in the Sharpshooters, Kensington’s top all-boy a cappella group. Jordan is determined to find a place at school, even if it means months of deception and possibly extreme consequences. But life as Julian—the male alter ego she adopts for the Sharpshooters—is freeing in a way Jordan never expected, despite the complications.

Riley Redgate tackles big topics in her second novel, as Jordan unpacks the complicated interplay between her class, gender and friendships. Jordan’s insights on femininity and masculinity are effective. However, the exploration of her sexuality, which is supposedly fluid or bisexual, feels incomplete, especially since the romantic angle unfolds traditionally. With an amusing plot reminiscent of familiar teen movies, Noteworthy is a solid, realistic YA novel with enough new notes to entertain even avid readers.

This article was originally published in the May 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

A story about processing grief takes a different turn when painful experiences bring two teens together in Sonia Belasco’s profound debut.

Summer deals a severe blow to Damon Lewis and Melanie Ellis. Damon loses Carlos, his best friend, to suicide, while Melanie loses her mother to cancer. Both live in the shadow of loss, keeping their feelings guarded, but neither knows the other exists. Their hard emotional shells begin to crack when Damon takes a picture of a grieving Melanie at a local park. This awkward moment leads Damon to give her a picture of Carlos. Soon a romance blossoms between them, but friction develops when Damon blocks Melanie from his deepest pain.

Ten years in the making and inspired by a traumatic event in the author’s own life, Belasco’s novel sends a powerful message about the complicated nature of grief. Speak of Me as I Am teems with raw emotion as the dual first-person narratives center on Damon and Melanie’s personal struggles and their relationship. As chapters shift back and forth between the two protagonists, Belasco weaves in a third character. Tristan, who is best friends with Melanie, is a charismatic and confident gay teen, and he immediately connects with Damon. The deep ties between these three friends play a crucial role in the development of the young lovers and provides refreshing twists to Belasco’s gut-wrenching plot.

This powerful, emotional work should be earmarked to be a favorite with teen readers.