Ava Lavender was born with a pair of wings. Her twin brother, Henry, rarely speaks and hates to be touched. In the rainy Seattle spring of 1944, these two siblings become the newest members of a family already known for its mysterious powers: Their grandmother can smell feelings and bake them into bread; their great-aunt once turned herself into a canary to attract the attention of her ornithologist beau; and their murdered great-uncle haunts his family in the hopes of delivering an important message.

Using detailed imagery and an almost mythical storytelling style, teenage Ava tells the history of four generations of her family. Readers learn of Ava’s great-grandparents’ emigration to the American city of “Manhatine,” of her grandparents’ acquisition of a house believed to be haunted by a frail and peculiar child, and of the various loves that her mother and grandmother have found, lost, guarded against, found again and then lost again over the years. Ava’s narration connects these past events to her current struggles to live a normal teenage life despite the huge and mostly useless wings that set her apart from her peers. A final, violent event brings together ghostly warnings, Henry’s unsuspected talents and the darkly twisted effect that Ava’s angelic appearance has on those around her.

Teens picking up The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender in hopes of a similar read to Amelia Atwater-Rhodes’ Hawksong or Patrice Kindl’s Owl in Love may have to adjust their expectations; author Leslye Walton’s debut novel is less of an adventure story about a winged girl and more of an atmospheric, poetic work of multigenerational history and magical realism. However, those willing to enter Ava’s world on its own terms will find themselves richly rewarded.

Jill Ratzan reviews for School Library Journal and works as a school librarian at a small independent school in New Jersey. She learned most of what she knows about YA literature from her terrific graduate students.

Best friends Hannah and Zoe understand each other, “like we’re some kind of Siamese twins connected at the soul.” Zoe is there when Hannah’s abusive father sends her out in a bikini to sell hot dogs, ostensibly to raise money for college. Hannah is there when Zoe bounces between moods of elation and despair, and makes sure Zoe stays properly clothed and relatively safe.

While Hannah is root-bound and comfortable living near the lake in their New Jersey town and crushing on Danny, the kid who drives the ice cream truck, Zoe is ready to fly. But after her father steals her hot dog money, Hannah reacts with uncharacteristic haste and agrees to take off on a road trip with Zoe.

The plot has a deliberately outlandish feel as Zoe sets out to teach practical Hannah about intangible qualities such as insouciance (by sleeping in an IKEA store) and audacity (by releasing the Kermit balloon before the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.) But realism isn’t the point of The Museum of Intangible Things. It’s the steady flow of offbeat humor as well as Hannah and Zoe’s genuine bond that keeps readers fully invested in their story.

Secondary characters, such as Danny, Zoe’s younger brother; Noah, who has an “Asbergery thing”; and Hannah’s awful father are loosely sketched around the central drama of Zoe’s bipolar disorder. As the girls make their way west, Zoe burns as bright as the title character from John Green’s Looking for Alaska, and her exploits spin further from credulity. Hannah meets up with Danny at a gas station in Wyoming where their long-awaited romance ignites, leaving Zoe with enough freedom to complete her mad scheme. Quirky and bittersweet, this story will appeal to readers who have shared their lives with a best friend.

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.

If you think you know all about Dorothy and her trip to Oz, you may be surprised to discover you only know half the story. Much like A.G. Howard did to Alice in Wonderland in Splintered, Danielle Paige turns a beloved tale and movie into an intriguing novel of dark magic for older teens.

Amy Gumm’s father abandoned the family; her alcoholic mother has become despondent; and she’s often the victim to a high school bully. Amy at least finds protection in her Flat Hill, Kansas, trailer park. But when the first hint of a tornado swirls, it’s no surprise where her mobile home lands.

Of course a yellow brick road awaits Amy, but so does a dramatically different Land of Oz. What most readers don’t know is that Dorothy came back and took control of Oz’s magic. To maintain her power, the now Goth-garbed Dorothy steals and mines the countryside of its magic. Dorothy’s famous friends still vow to help her, but now the Scarecrow performs diabolical experiments, the Tin Woodman is building an army of hybrid tin humans, and the Lion commands the creatures of the forest by stealing their fear.

As she tries to make sense of this new world, Amy unwittingly becomes bound to the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked, a band of renegade wicked witches determined to restore magic to Oz before Dorothy drains it all. They look to Amy as their new hero to take down Dorothy. As this second girl from Kansas trains with a possible love interest, learns to use magic and prepares to sneak into the Emerald City, she discovers her own abilities and learns to rely on herself for the first time. Fans of the original story will relish the Tim Burton-like twists along the way.

In her searing new novel, National Book Award finalist Beth Kephart paints a vivid picture of a divided Berlin and the wall that separates friends, lovers and families.

It’s 1983, and Ada scrapes out an existence in West Berlin. Her world is full of secrets: A childcare worker by day, she spends her nights roaming the city armed with a can of spray paint. Her best friend is hiding a pregnancy, and a little boy in her care is also harboring a secret, a dangerous and terrible one. But perhaps Ada’s greatest secret is Stefan, the boy on the other side of the Berlin Wall whom she loves and begs to cross over, and to do it now.

For his part, Stefan must balance his desire for freedom and to be with Ada with his responsibilities to his grandmother. He knows full well the consequences of a failed escape attempt, and so he makes lists of all the tiny things that could go wrong. Then he meets Lucas, and his plans start to become reality.

Inspired by a trip the author took to Berlin in 2011, Going Over is told in alternating chapters by Ada and Stefan, giving us a glimpse of life on both sides of the Wall. Kephart gets under the reader’s skin, raising questions and leaving us unsettled, unsure. And that, in the end, is just what graffiti artists are after.

Deborah Hopkinson lives near Portland, Oregon. Her most recent book for young readers is The Great Trouble.

Prenna James was born in the 2080s, during a time of disease and environmental catastrophe. She and her mother escape a blood plague by traveling to the present day with a group of time travelers. Forced to assimilate, Prenna attends high school with kids who must never know she’s from the future—except for Ethan Jarves, who makes her feel special and safe.

But Prenna is under constant surveillance by the community elders, and she knows what happens to time travelers who fall in love with present-day people—they disappear. Rather than working on a solution to save the future, Prenna’s people haven’t done a thing except intimidate other time travelers into submission. Eventually she must make a decision: be with the boy she loves or save the world.

The Here and Now seems like a departure for Ann Brashares, whose best-selling novels focused on friendships and romance. Readers are given more to consider here, such as environmental abuse and self-sacrifice for the good of others. Prenna and Ethan are truly selfless and brave, and readers will root for their happiness—whether or not it’s what the future holds.

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

Near Albuquerque, New Mexico, a teenager struggles to define herself in the aftermath of her parents’ divorce, the harsh newness of high school life and the recent death of her sister.

Laurel’s childhood innocence came to a sudden end when May, her beloved older sister, was killed just when Laurel was transitioning between middle school and high school. In the wake of the tragedy, Laurel’s mom split from the family and escaped to the California coast to clear her head. Laurel’s father has remained, but the death of his oldest child weighs heavily on him. To avoid an atmosphere of constant sadness and pain, Laurel chooses to attend a high school where nobody knows her family history. She doesn’t want anybody’s pity.

As she tries to fit in, Laurel befriends the eccentric and chain-smoking Natalie and Hannah, catches the eye of the mysterious and attractive Sky, and gets taken under the wing of kindly rebellious couple Tristan and Kristen. All the while, Laurel chronicles her grief process by writing letters to her deceased idols, starting with Kurt Cobain. But eventually Laurel will have to reveal her true self to her loved ones still living, or else risk losing their companionship forever.

Debut author Ava Dellaira earned her MFA in Poetry from the Iowa Writer’s Workshop and has worked under the famous Stephen Chbosky, author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Dellaira even mimics Chbosky’s narrative device of addressing letters to people who may never read them, allowing her protagonist to be immensely honest and open. Dellaira handles these delicate subjects with such innocent deftness that it’s easy to forget this is a work of fiction.

Justin Barisich is a freelancer, satirist, poet and performer living in Atlanta. More of his writing can be found at littlewritingman.com.

BookPage Teen Top Pick, April 2014

When 16-year-old Travis Coates, dying from acute lymphoblastic leukemia, donated his head (the only part of his body not ravaged by cancer) to be cryogenically stored at the Saranson Center for Life Preservation, he imagined being reinstated in 100 years, alongside jet packs and other futuristic gadgets. But when technology advances sooner than expected, he “wakes up” five years later with the body of another teen who suffered from a brain tumor. In Noggin, by Printz Award winner John Corey Whaley, Travis recalls the initial days, weeks and months of his second chance at life.

Although Travis feels like he just briefly went to sleep, he’s now an overnight celebrity and must face the reality that life went on without him and that nothing will ever be the same again. His parents grieved. His best friend, Kyle, who once revealed that he’s gay, is hiding his sexuality in college. Cate, his girlfriend and first love, has moved on and is engaged to be married. Yet Travis remains the high schooler he was—or has he, too, changed? Although he has a new body, it’s seems the world keeps rejecting him.

A graceful combination of raw heartbreak and biting wit (including plenty of head puns) guides Travis through this existential search for life’s meaning and survival. With the help of old loves and new friends, he learns to accept Travis version 2.0 and discovers that life may be even harder than death. While the novel’s premise may be straight out of Hollywood, Travis’ voice could not be any truer. Fans of John Green will welcome this smart tearjerker.

Forbidden love among teenagers has been a hot topic since long before Romeo first met Juliet at a party in fair Verona. The latest YA entry in this genre has Kestrel, daughter of a conquering Valorian general, falling for Arin, a native Herrani slave. Romance and politics quickly intersect as the Herrani stage a violent attempt to take back their land, and loyalties are tested when Kestrel, Arin and their various allies must choose between love, power, security and family.

Plots, counterplots and counter-counterplots can ordinarily become confusing, but author Marie Rutkoski’s accessible writing style lets the reader follow them easily. With climactic scenes as varied as a duel and a formal ball, The Winner’s Curse seamlessly blends action and adventure with the decadence that’s become characteristic of “luxe lit.” Kestrel’s character is well drawn—she’s an excellent pianist who also has a talent for military strategy—and Arin’s blacksmithing skills and stubbornness make him a drool-worthy love interest.

Readers who like their books sprinkled with high-stakes romance, strong heroes and heroines and the trappings of royalty won’t want to miss this one . . . and will finish it impatiently awaiting its two planned follow-ups.

And what of the attention-grabbing title? As the author explains, it refers to a phenomenon in economics in which the price of winning is so high that it amounts to a different form of losing. By buying the slave Arin at a high price at an auction in the opening scene, has Kestrel won—or lost? It’s left to the reader to decide.

It’s 1917, and 16-year-old Russian noble Natalya feels confident of her future: She’ll become tsarina when she marries Romanov heir Alexei and live a life filled with glittering parties and beautiful gowns. Her plans seem especially secure when Alexei shows her a Fabergé egg that’s been infused with magical healing powers by royal advisor Grigori Rasputin. The protection offered by the Constellation Egg may be an especially valuable antidote to the threat posed by the Reds, a revolutionary group who oppose the absolute power of the monarchist Whites.

After violence breaks out one winter night, Natalya and her friend Emilia, along with an unexpected companion, begin a journey that soon has them chasing the Egg from St. Petersburg across the Russian countryside to Moscow. Meanwhile, a group of Russian mystics also seeks the Egg for their own ends. As the two sets of searchers converge, Natalya finds herself questioning her previously held distinctions between right and wrong, royals and commoners, and even Whites and Reds. How can the two sides, with their radically different views, both claim to be pursuing the best interests of their beloved homeland? Tsarina’s finale leaves readers open to wondering what’s coming next, and leaves the story open to a sequel.

YA author J. Nelle Patrick, who also writes under the name Jackson Pearce, blends magical realism with the events surrounding the start of the Russian Revolution, a natural pairing in view of Rasputin’s reputed association with the supernatural. An author’s note clarifies some, but not all, of the historical details that have been conflated or modified and which are based in reality.

With its early-20th-century setting and its focus on romance blooming among the constraints of social class, Tsarina is a great choice for teen fans of period drama “Downton Abbey” or devotees of the emerging genre of historical fantasy.

Jill Ratzan reviews for School Library Journal and works as a school librarian at a small independent school. She learned most of what she knows about YA literature from her terrific graduate students.

Mia is famous because she fell into a well at the age of 4. Now she’s nearly 17 and attends Westbrook, an elite boarding school, and people still call her “Baby Mia.” Westbrook happens to be located in Mia’s hometown of Fenton, which gives her “townie” status and keeps her close to her widowed father. Not that she sees him very often. He’s obsessed with his secret work at the Cave, which Mia believes has something to do with microchips and the government. Mia is wrong.

In a horrific turn of events, the students of Westbrook are suddenly in lockdown, guarded by soldiers in HAZMAT suits. A terrible virus that rapidly ages its victims is tearing through the faculty and is now infecting students. And Mia keeps remembering her last desperate phone call to her father, when he said, “Mia, all of this has to do with me.” Tension ratchets up as Mia and her friends stage a daring escape from the school to reach the Cave.

Between the carnage that she witnesses and the betrayals that she fears, Mia is desperate for answers. Unfortunately for both Mia and the reader, the answers are slow in coming. Too many conversations end with some version of, “I’ll explain later.” When the truth is finally revealed, author Seth Fishman switches the narrative point of view from Mia to her father as a young man, which allows the backstory to be revealed with a youthful voice. At times, the characters veer too close to nebulous stereotypes like computer geek, football player or best friend. Nevertheless, there’s plenty of adventure and a satisfyingly creative resolution. This is a good recommendation for fans of James Patterson’s teen series.

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.