Two years after they graduate from Camp Okahatchee, Zoe, Joy, Luce and Tali—once the four musketeers—have drifted so far apart they hardly speak to one another anymore. But when Joy calls the other three out of the blue, begging them to meet her at the Camp OK reunion, the old friends agree to get together. That night, a novelty photobooth sends the girls back in time to their last summer at camp, offering them second chances at first love and self-discovery and an opportunity to mend their friendship before it even falls apart.

Debut author Lexa Hillyer is a former YA editor, award-winning poet and accomplished literary entrepreneur. In the vein of Sarah Dessen or Ann Brashares, Proof of Forever is an ode to summer camp—to the intensity of the friendships formed and the soul searching inspired there. The four protagonists, each colorfully and distinctly rendered, represent a group of teenage girls with very little in common—except that they are all still growing into their own skin—whose thick-as-thieves friendship blossoms in that mysterious summer camp air. Hillyer so adeptly captures this phenomenon that readers who have experienced the magic will be transported, while those who have not will feel equally welcomed.

At more than 300 pages and spanning just under a week, the novel doesn’t exactly clip along, but the girls’ journey is equal parts funny and heartwarming, and its leisurely build to a dramatic climax makes it a perfect read for a sprawling summer day.

Aaron Soto lives in the Bronx projects, crammed into a one-bedroom apartment with his mom and brother. Aaron’s still reeling since his dad committed suicide, so when he meets Thomas, their friendship lifts him up—until he realizes his feelings go beyond just being friends. But in Aaron’s scary, concrete world, there’s a trendy new scientific procedure that offers a fantastic possibility. The new Leteo procedure can wipe his memory clean: no more tragedy, no risk of beat-downs for being gay, no Thomas.

Author Adam Silvera is at his best when he’s taking readers through Aaron’s neighborhood. The bodegas and hangout spots feel real and like home, albeit one that can turn on you with frightening speed. The details of the Leteo procedure sometimes drag the story down a bit, but the ethical questions it raises are juicy ones: How much of your past are you willing to surrender for the relative safety of a fresh start? And what if who you are can’t so easily be erased?

More Happy Than Not wrestles with several big questions—at times it seems too many, and the book suffers for it. But the grittiness of the setting combined with sci-fi flourishes make the novel a sure bet for reluctant readers and a great pick for reading groups. This is not dystopian fiction; the sad world portrayed here is all too real and comes to eye-opening life on the page.

Seventeen-year-old Abe Sora wants to fit in—play baseball, complain about homework, worry about college. Unfortunately, he’s dying. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, but dying nonetheless. In The Last Leaves Falling, a debut novel set in Japan and written by Sarah Benwell, Abe has ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and is slowing losing control of his body. Isolated and succumbing to a disease that typically affects people three times his age, Abe turns to an Internet chat board to disconnect from his life—and ends up finding the one thing he was looking for.

Almost by accident, Abe becomes first virtual and then in-person friends with two very different people—MonkEC (Mai) and NoFace (Kaito). As the three grow closer together, Abe finds, for the first time since his diagnosis, friendship without pity. However, he also grows in his realization that his life is drawing to an end, and he wants that end to be on his own terms. For that, he will need to test the strength of the bonds of his friendship.

Beautifully and hauntingly written, The Last Leaves Falling seamlessly blends Samurai death poetry and Internet chat logs to create the immersive and heartbreaking story of a young man faced with an impossible choice. Readers will find themselves struggling along with Abe as he weighs a decision with no right answer and remembering him long after the last page.

Claire Takata’s father was always a bit of a mystery, but on the 10th anniversary of his death, she stumbles upon a cryptic letter he’d written to her now-stepfather, and Claire realizes just how little she knows about either man. A sleuth by nature, she gathers her brothers and her closest friends and begins to investigate. Claire quickly discovers that her father had been a member of a Japanese crime syndicate called the yakuza. Before she can learn more, her discovery sets off a chain of events that puts Claire and her family and friends in more danger than she’d ever imagined.

Valynne Maetani’s debut young adult novel (a New Visions Award winner and Junior Library Guild selection) is equal parts gripping mystery and engaging coming-of-age story. Claire’s confusing mix of grief and indignation at discovering her father’s secrets is powerful and relatable, and her colorful cast of friends offers both the unwavering support and the comic relief that the protagonist and readers desperately crave. (Not to mention, of course, the romantic tension that manages to be at once cringe-inducingly cheesy and heart-flutteringly adorable.)

Maetani does an admirable job weaving the mystery of Claire’s family history and creating realistic, escalating stakes that build the story from a Nancy Drew-level adventure into a climax that is pure thriller. The novel is compelling from the start, but for the last 150 pages or so, it’s impossible to put down.

Presumably, Charlie was flying solo in his father’s airplane when it exploded over the North Sea. Plane wreckage and Charlie’s blood-soaked jacket attest to the certainty that he died, but at his funeral, Charlie’s American girlfriend, Aubrey, catches the eye of a beautiful girl who seems to be just as heartbroken as Aubrey herself. This is Lena, Charlie’s other girlfriend, who believes that Charlie is still alive.

As outrageous as that seems, Lena convinces Aubrey that the two of them should team up and track him down. As the narration switches back and forth between Aubrey and Lena, it becomes clear that both have secrets. As Lena says, “The thing I can’t figure out—the thing this whole crazy idea depends on—is whether I can trust her. Because I know she can’t trust me.” Following clues gleaned from Charlie’s acquaintances, the girls travel from London to Mumbai to Kerala to Bangkok. At each turn, Charlie’s personage is transmuted into someone increasingly unrecognizable.

Author Anne Heltzel eases into the suspense slowly, taking it one uneasy revelation at a time. The story gradually morphs from one of romantic betrayal to outright horror, as the girls’ actions place them in mortal danger. Like Amelia Anne Is Dead and Gone, the characters are not who they seem; like We Were Liars, the truth is masked by delusion.

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.

New Yorker Carson Smith and his mother are spending the summer in Montana, caring for Carson’s estranged and dying father. Quirky Carson felt like an outsider in New York, but quiet Montana feels downright lonely—until he meets Aisha Stinson. Aisha is beautiful, funny and homeless, kicked out by her religious father when she told him she’s gay. Carson and Aisha quickly become best friends when he invites her to live with him and his dysfunctional parents. Carson’s father is still reeling from his own father’s abandonment, so Carson and Aisha embark on a journey to locate Carson’s grandfather, in hopes that solving the mystery will heal years of pain. But their adventure proves to be more emotionally difficult—and hilarious—than they thought possible.

Award-winning author Bill Konigsberg explores heavy themes of sexuality, religion and prejudice with humor and honesty. As heartwrenching as it is heartwarming, Carson and Aisha’s journey isn’t so much about finding Carson’s grandfather as it is about finding peace within themselves and forgiving the mistakes of others.

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

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

It’s a long tumble from Hollywood darling to inmate, but Pagan Jones has done a terrible thing. While drunk, she drove her vehicle off the edge of Mulholland Drive, killing both her passengers—her father and her little sister. 

The year is 1951, and America is enjoying a postwar boom. Pagan receives a too-good-to-be-true movie offer that frees her from imprisonment and takes her across the world to the eerie streets of Berlin. But Pagan has no idea of the post-World War II divisions of the city, or the rumors of a wall that will be built around the Soviet sector. The tension builds as Pagan’s “guardian,” 19-year-old Devin Black, keeps an abnormally close watch on his charge. International intrigue unfolds as the complexity of a city divided into four parts, each ruled by a separate nation, becomes increasingly dangerous. 

The taut plotting and historical details will appeal to fans of Elizabeth Wein’s Code Name Verity and Beth Kephart’s Going Over.

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

Shopaholic series author Sophie Kinsella bursts onto the YA scene with an adorable, heartwarming story, and it’s a perfect blend of her well-loved British charm, comedy and, just for teens, first love. Kinsella holds nothing back, starting off on a laugh-out-loud note and quickly and articulately pulling the reader into the depth of the story. 

Audrey suffers from an anxiety disorder and depression, the combination causing her to wear dark glasses, hole up in a dark den and avoid contact with new people. Then she meets Linus, one of the members of her brother Frank’s gaming team. After Audrey suffers an anxiety attack during their first meeting, Frank brings Linus up to speed on her condition. Linus then enters Audrey’s world with a sweet, uncommon tenderness: He has conversations via notes while sitting next to her; they touch shoes before holding hands and eventually make actual eye contact. Linus has a soft, sensitive way of pulling Audrey out of the shadows that will leave readers sighing with delight as this sweet story unfolds.

Kinsella is spot-on in her descriptions of anxiety, providing an honest look at the disorder through Audrey’s therapies and recovery. The author nails the teen voice—complete with parent-induced embarrassment, accurate inner monologues and foul language—making a seamless transition from adult to YA fiction.

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

BookPage Teen Top Pick, June 2015

Ever since her father died in a plane crash two years ago, Eva’s ability to write poetry has dried up, and much to her feminist mother’s frustration, she’s begun gobbling up poorly written romance novels. So when real romance comes into her life, in the form of the enigmatic senior Will, Eva’s more than ready for the happiness that comes from mooning looks and stolen kisses.

When Will suddenly moves across the country, Eva concocts a plan to follow him. She and her best friend, Annie, enter a teen game show, and with the hesitant approval of Eva’s fearful mother, Annie and Eva travel by bus from New York City to Los Angeles, where the show will be—and where Will now resides.

In between drilling with flash cards and admiring the scenery, Annie and Eva stop at various friends’ and relatives’ houses, where Eva learns about her mostly forgotten Jewish heritage. Both experience Texan pride, meet attractive cowboys and marvel at the oddities for sale at roadside convenience stores. When the travelers finally arrive in LA, Eva can’t wait to be with Will again. But can reality live up to her romance novel-inspired expectations?

Award-winning author Margo Rabb delivers a poignant yet funny road-trip novel about chasing someone else and finding yourself in the process. Kissing in America is perfect for fans of John Green and Gayle Forman, or anyone who seeks the highest quality in young adult literature.

RELATED CONTENT: Read our Q&A with Margo Rabb about Kissing in America.

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

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