As senior year draws to a close and college looms, Andrew finds himself very much alone. He’s lost his two best friends to a car crash, and his parents are more distracted than ever following his football star brother’s return. Andrew is left with nothing but his obsessive crush on Laura, the prettiest girl in school. But as he begins spending more time with Laura and her fundamentalist Christian youth group, he starts to question everything he’d once held true.

Debut author Pratima Cranse’s gentle treatment of a huge array of characters—from flirty to bookish, from deeply religious to sexually confused—paints a vibrant and familiar picture of a teenage social scene. Despite the large cast, Cranse treats every supporting character with equal respect, building complex personal histories that make each one as compelling and relatable as the protagonist.

And as for Andrew, the author deftly captures his frenzied attempts to navigate one upheaval after another during a summer that would be climactic under the most normal circumstances. Without his best friends by his side, Andrew’s desperation for community and belonging leaves him vulnerable to new experiences. As he begins to shed the assumptions he’d always held of Laura’s clique and see these kids in a new light, he can’t help but see himself differently, too. Cranse’s portrayal of Andrew’s struggle is sometimes heartbreaking, often wryly funny and ultimately very compassionate and true.

All the Constellations is a novel not to miss, and Cranse is a voice to watch.

Ryan Graudin’s second novel, Wolf by Wolf, is an alternative history mash-up that mixes X-Men, The Hunger Games and Philip Roth’s The Plot Against America. It’s 1956, and Germany and Japan have won World War II. To celebrate their victory, the Axis powers sponsor an annual cross-continent motorcycle race in which the winner meets Adolf Hitler and the losers are lucky to come out alive.

Yael is a 17-year-old Holocaust survivor, having been sent to the death camps as a child with her mother. A victim of extreme Nazi experimentation, she can transform her appearance to impersonate any female. She’s also a spy for the Resistance. Her mission is to enter the race as Adele Wolfe, last year’s winner, and assassinate Hitler at the Victor’s Ball. Yael has studied Adele’s files and her mannerisms and has training in combat and languages, she’s unprepared for the emotional turmoil stirred up by Adele’s twin brother, Felix, and fellow competitor, Luka. The Resistance is counting on Yael’s success, but with motorcycle sabotages, harsh climates and kidnappings, Yael’s ability to complete her mission hangs precariously on trusting her uncertain heart.

Despite its substantial length, Wolf by Wolf is a heart-pounding, quick read with romantic tension and suspense. Graudin doesn’t bog down the audience with much world-building, which can be a detriment for who can’t visualize Europe and the 1950s. Regardless, this genre-bending adventure and its powerful yet scarred heroine will be popular for those eager to see how Yael’s future plays out.

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

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.