Don't Look Back

by Jennifer Armentrout

Summary:
If Sam could remember that night, or anything from her life before that night, maybe she could help them find Cassie. If the person she is discovering she was, the mean girl who was both loved and hated alongside Queen Bee Cassie, was anything like the person she thinks she should have been maybe things would make sense. But nothing is adding up. As Sam tries to remember what happened, threatening notes begin to appear warning her off the case. But nothing is adding up, and Sam is left to wonder, can she not remember because she killed Cassie herself?

Review:
A thriller which will keep you guessing until the very end, Don't Look Back is a fantastic read for anyone who likes suspense fiction. Sam is a very realistic character, and you struggle along with her wishing she could just remember what happened. The book builds to a big reveal, with a little romance on the side (though her love interest just might end up being the killer himself...).

Genre: Mystery
Age Level: 8th Grade

After the End

by Amy Plum

Summary:
Growing up in a commune in the Alaskan wilderness, Juneau never had any reason to doubt what her elders told her. That there was a world wide war that wiped out everyone. That they were lucky to have survived. But that was a lie. When Juneau returns to camp after being out hunting she finds her entire commune gone, and now she'll have to find them in a world she's been told doesn't exist.

Review:
Most dystopian novels start with the end of the world, and After the End is no different. But from here it changes. Instead of the world actually being over, it has thrived. It's an interesting twist that Plum pulls off. The novel is told in alternating perspectives between Juneau and Miles, the boy who becomes her companion. It's the first in a series, so don't expect it to be resolved in this one book.

Genre: Dystopian Fiction
Age Level: 7th Grade

Conversion

by Katherine Howe

Summary:
When girls at Colleen's high school in Danvers start having seizures, losing their hair, developing tics, and more, it starts off a panic. At first it's just a few girls, but as more and more develop symptoms that can't be explained by any disease, it becomes clear that maybe something else is at work. What few people remember is that Danvers wasn't always called Danvers. It used to be Salem. And maybe the witchcraft that once infected Salem village is back.

Review:
Told in alternating perspectives by Colleen and Ann Putnam from Salem village in 1706, Howe's story is remarkable because it is based on true events. Ann's story is told verbatim from her confession about the accusations from the Salem Witch Trials. Colleen finds herself in the middle of a modern day bewitching, and while she doesn't believe that the girls are really ill, falls prey to the illness herself. It's a shocking tale because it's based on a story that actually happened just a few years ago, but it's also a cautionary tale about just how much pressure high schoolers are under. Great for slightly older teens, or those who have an interest in the Salem Witch Trials.

Genre: Fiction
Age Level: 9th Grade

We Were Liars

by E. Lockhart

Summary:
If Cadence could remember her 15th summer, maybe things would make more sense. If she could remember, maybe her cousins would stop acting so odd. Maybe her aunts and mother would be ok. She had hoped spending the summer with everyone on their island would make things better. But remembering might just be worse than anything she could imagine. Maybe it's better to remain a liar.

Review:
I had read a lot of really positive reviews about We Were Liars, and as a result wasn't too optimistic about it being as good as everyone said. However I found myself pleasantly surprised by the title, and unable to put it down once I started. Lockhart has created a title with a shocking twist at the end. A great read for teens who like realistic mysteries, and who don't mind a tragic tale.

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 9th Grade

A Breath of Eyre

by Eve Marie Mont

Summary:
Emma has always loved stories. But she never expected this. When a lightening strike catapults Emma into the world of the novel she is reading, which just happens to be Jane Eyre, she finds herself in a world where she truly fits in. As the days go by she realizes that she has a choice to make, stay in heroine Jane's world, or go back to her less than perfect real world.

Review:
I had low expectations on picking up this book, but I could not have been more pleasantly surprised. The plotline spans both present day and Jane's world, and Emma is a great character in both. This book-and it's 2 sequels- made me want to pick up and reread the original books that Mont bases them on. It's a great book to give to those who love to read, though I think that it might be less exciting to someone who is not a huge book lover since so much of the books are taken almost right from the originals. It's better for slightly older teens as well, as there is some drinking in them.

Genre: Fiction
Age Level: 10th Grade

Expiration Day

by William Campbell Powell

Summary:
Tania has always believed she was rare. One of the few human children in a world where most are actually robots. But when that turns out to be a lie, she finds herself at the center of a debate about what it truly means to be human. And she only has until her 18th birthday to prove she has a right to exist.

Review:
A poignant book about what it means to be human, Expiration Day is a good read to hand to teens who like science fiction. Tania is very relatable as explores what she is and what that means for her life. Though a robot, she is extremely human, making her struggles growing up very similar to those we all undergo. The book wraps up pretty neatly, with a twist at the end that makes the difficult choices leading up to it ok. Good for younger teens as well as slightly older ones, it would be a little simple for older teens to really appreciate.

Genre: Science Fiction
Age Level: 7th Grade

Nearly Gone

by Elle Cosimano

Summary:
Nearly just wants to keep her head down until the end of the school year. She's one of the top 3 contenders for a huge chemistry scholarship that is her ticket out of town and into college. But when the students she tutors start turning up dead, she finds herself the prime suspect in the police investigation. When she discovers an ad in the personal section that promises more attacks, she realizes that it's up to her to figure out who's behind the killings before she becomes the final victim.

Review:
There's not too many books that glorify girls who love math and chemistry, but this one does a great job of making up for that! Nearly is a great character. She's incredibly smart and knows it, and is using those smarts to get a better life for herself. The premise of the book is good, and the twists and turns in the plot keep you guessing who's behind it all until the very end. There are references to drugs and alcohol, and an entire plotline about a drug dealer. And there's a little romance mixed in for Nearly as well. It's a great read about a strong female character, but one that will appeal to both boys and girls.

Genre: Mystery
Age Level: 9th Grade

Picture Perfect

by Elaine Marie Alphin

Summary:
Imagine waking up in a closet to discover mud on your boots and your best friend missing. But you can't remember anything about how you got there or what happened. What if this wasn't the first time you had missed time? What would you believe? A thriller about the things the mind does to protect itself, this book will keep you guessing about who did what until the very end.

Review:
Picture Perfect is not only about Ian's best friend going missing, but about the power of perception. Tough topics like child abuse are covered, in particular verbal abuse which leaves fewer outside scars on it's victims. The book wraps up a little too nicely, but it's a good mystery which addresses some tough topics without being heavy handed.  Good to give to fans of 17 & Gone or Pretty Girl-13.

Genre: Mystery
Age Level: 9th Grade

When Audrey met Alice

by Rebecca Behrens

Summary:
It's not all bad being the President's daughter, there's a kitchen with everything you could want, you get movies before they come out in theaters, books sent to you before they're published. But you've also always got to act perfect, support your mom, and do great in school. And having friends over? Don't even think about it without them passing security protocols. Audrey just wants a little more excitement. in her life. When she discovers Alice Roosevelt's diary hidden in her room, she gets more than a few ideas from Alice for how to make her White House experience a little more fun.

Review:
When Audrey Met Alice is a fun read sure to appeal to younger teen girls. Audrey is a great heroine, relateable even as the President's daughter- because how many 13 year old girls haven't felt trapped by their age and parents expectations. Alice Roosevelt is a great figure for girls to learn about, and the book should inspire many readers to learn more about her.

Genre: Fiction
Age Level: 7th Grade

True Blue

by Deborah Ellis

Summary:
Would you be able to stand up for your best friend if she was accused of murder? What if all the evidence pointed to her? What if everyone else already believed it? Jess might have thought she would, but when her best friend Casey is arrested for the murder of a  young girl who was in their cabin at summer camp, she finds herself swayed by the masses. As Casey is put on trial, Jess harbors a secret that could set her free. But she has to be brave enough to say it. And what happens if she is not?

Review:
When I picked up this book I thought it would end pretty typically, with Jess coming to Casey's rescue and becoming a better person. Without too many spoilers, it doesn't, and in not coming to a perfect happy ending the book becomes more realistic. It is incredibly hard to stand up for something when everyone else isn't behind it. We'd all like to think we'd stand up for the right thing, but how many of us actually would? Jess' story is a bit of a cautionary tale, and one that is definitely worth reading.

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 8th Grade

The Midnight Dress

by Karen Foxlee

Summary:
Rose is used to travelling with her father; it's not a perfect existence, but she's at least got a system for dealing with it. When they arrive in their latest town, she finds that she's ready for things to change. She doesn't want to keep leaving every time her father runs out of work and goes on a drinking binge. She's made friends and is going to the Harvest Festival. But as she makes her dress for the Festival, with the help of an old lady named Edie, the past and present are set on a collision course which someone won't survive.

Review:
I really enjoyed The Midnight Dress. It's a mystery which keeps you guessing until the end. Rose is an interesting character, as is her utterly romantic friend Pearl. The book moves swiftly, keeping the reader engaged until the end. The book takes place in Australia, but you can't really tell too many differences. All in all it's a good read for anyone who likes mysteries.

Genre: Mystery
Age Level: 9th Grade

Dare Me

by Eric Devine

Summary:
It starts out simple. 10 dares in 10 months. It's a way for Ben, Ricky and John to leave high school as legends. But when the videos of their dares go viral, and a mysterious sponsor appears, the simple dares disappear. As the dares get more dangerous, and their videos grow in popularity, Ben starts to wonder if the infamy is really worth it.

Review:
Dare Me is a good quick read for guys. It's main characters are believable, though the complex relationship between Ben, Ricky and John seems a little too easy for their past. The mysterious donor and complexity of the dares make the story extremely unbelievable, but the lives of the boys as they struggle through family changes and growing up seem pretty realistic. The book wraps up nicely (a little too nicely) but it's overall a good story about friendship. I'd say it's a good read to give to reluctant guy readers, since the dares reminiscent of the Jackass movies will keep them interested, but there is some talk of sex and drinking, so it's better for slightly older readers..

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 10th Grade

Counting by 7's

by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Summary:
Willow is a genius. She's also obsessed with diagnosing medical conditions, plants and the number 7. When a freak car accident leaves her orphaned, she finds herself alone in the world. But Willow has left impressions on many people she knows, and these people might just lead her to a new life if she'll let them.

Review:
Superbly written, Counting by 7's is a book that's both heartbreaking and uplifting. Willow is a person who would be difficult to become friends with in real life, but through the book the reader is able to really understand. The relationships she forms, without even realizing it, become the backbone that helps her stand again. She's a great character who demonstrates that even the little things we do can have a big impact on those around us.

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 7th Grade

Parallel

by Lauren Miller

Summary:
Have you ever wondered if one decision can change our entire lives. If one small change could send you on a completely different path? For Abby, it's one small earthquake that sets her on two courses. In one she becomes a movie star, in another she meets a boy who she falls in love with. In both lives every decision sets off a chain of events that changes everything, but which life is actually real?

Review:
I'm not a huge fan of parallel universes, typically I find books based around them to be fluffy and too silly. Parallel, however, was not. The book's characters were all very relate-able, and even the course of events that ends up with Abby becoming a movie star was believable. The books main premise was that one small event can change your course completely. It's ending demonstrating that if somethings meant to be it will happen regardless of what decisions you make was a nice touch. A great read for girls looking for a love story with something more substantial built in.

Genre: Fiction
Age Level: 10th Grade

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock

by Matthew Quick

Summary:
Today, Leonard Peacock is going to kill himself and one of his classmates. He will first say goodbye to the only four people he cares about, but then he will do it. Leonard's last day is a cry for help, but no one pays enough attention or seems to care enough to follow through. As he says goodbye to his four, we learn the struggles that led him to the decision, and have to hope that someone will save him from himself. A haunting novel which portrays the struggle and many causes that lead someone to this decision, the book will keep you hoping that's it's protagonist finds something to live for.

Review:
While the premise itself is violent, the book is more about the myriad of factors that led Leonard to where he is now. We learn about the abuse he suffered in silence, about the constant bullying and his absent and clueless mother. The four people he says goodbye to are the only ones who appear to care, but even then are not aware of how desperately he struggles. It's a chilling reminder that you never know when how you treat someone will have the power to pull them from an abyss, or give them that last push to jump over. A great read for older teens.

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 10th Grade

The Running Dream

by Wendelin Van Draanen

Summary:
Imagine you had just set a school record for running, you were excited that you had beat your own time. Imagine that happiness and joy. But then imagine that on  your way home there was a horrific accident and  you've just woken up in a hospital bed. Minus one leg. For Jessie it was all too real. Now she has to learn to live with the results of that accident, realizing that she's still the lucky one, one of her teammates died. She'll have to learn to live with her disability. A disability that might just make her realize more of her life than she ever would have otherwise.

Review:
The Running Dream realistically portrays how a girl might cope with such a sudden loss of a limb. Jessie at times comes off as a bit selfish, but it's hard to fault her for that since she's going through such a traumatic time. One of the more interesting things the book touched on was the insurance issues that inevitably follow an accident like this, and the stresses that puts on relationships. The relationship Jesse develops with Rosa puts an inspirational spin on the book that is sure to touch anyone who reads it. It's ultimately a story about rising about your challenges and persevering.

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 7th Grade

Under the Never Sky

by Veronica Rossi

Summary:
When the aether storms destroyed most of the Earth, humankind was divided into two peoples. One who lived in man-made pods, shielded from the elements but never able to leave. The other survived in the wild, existing with little that was left untouched.  Aria, a Dweller who's lived in the pods, and Perry, who's senses have been refined from a life outside, could not be more different. But when a chance encounter suddenly changes both of their lives, leaving them each stranded from the lives they knew, they are left to pick up the pieces together.

Review:
It took me a few chapters to really get into Under the Never Sky. Rossi paints a world both very different and very similar to our own. There is not a lot of explanation in the book for the new names she calls things (like aether which are like electrical storms), which at first made it difficult to really get into. However Aria and Perry are both complex and engaging characters. The romance that develops between them takes second place for most of the novel, though by the end becomes the important theme they both struggle with. It's a good book for those who like dystopians or survivalistic books.

Genre: Dystopian
Age Level: 9th Grade

Series Information: Under the Never Sky (Book 1), Through the Ever Night (Book 2), Book 3 as yet untitled (to be released spring 2014)

Lucid

By Adrienne Stoltz and Ron Bass

Summary:
Maggie is an up and coming actress in New York City. She takes care of her little sister while her mom is at work, but for the most part she focuses on her craft. Sloane is your typical high school student living in a small town. She's got a family that loves her, but as the one year anniversary of her friend's death approaches, is finding it hard to cope with his loss.  What ties these two together isn't simple. You see, every night Maggie goes to sleep, and in her dreams, lives Sloane's life. And every night, when Sloane goes to sleep she lives Maggie's. Neither can remember when it started, but as their waking lives start to intersect they'll have to figure out who is living the real life, and who is just the dream. The only question is, can they do it before they both go insane?

Review:
Lucid kept me guessing until the very end. Both Maggie and Sloane are girls coping with issues they refuse to deal with. The problems are different for both of them, but at the heart of it deals with loss and moving on. Sloane suffered a terrible loss and didn't share the true extent of it with anyone, Maggie lost her father and still struggles to understand what happened. I had no idea who was actually the real person, and who was the dream,  until the very end. It's a great story about loss and the struggles we all have with dealing with it. Good for slightly older teens.

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 9th Grade

Lucid

by Adrienne Stoltz

Summary:
Every night, Maggie dreams of Sloane's day. And every night, after living her day, Sloane dreams of Maggie's.  One lives in New York, struggling to become an actress, the other lives in a small town with her tight-knit family and dreams of the day she goes to college. Each wakes up as the girl she is, after spending their nights as the other. But as time goes by the lines between where one girl ends and the other begins is blurred. Only one of them is going to be able to keep going, but which life is the one that will fade away?

Review:
Cunningly constructed, Lucid alternates between the viewpoints of Maggie and Sloane. Both girls are well developed characters, which lives that are both fulfilling and lacking. What one has the other does not, for Sloane there is a loving family, but not the independence Maggie has.  Both girls have experienced the loss of  someone close to them, and both realize that their connection is not quite normal. The book gives an interesting perspective to mental illness, as well as to the barriers we put up to deal with our own issues. The book keeps you guessing til the end about which girl's life is the real one.

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 9th Grade

Code Name Verity

by Elizabeth Wein

Summary:

When Verity is arrested as a spy in occupied France, she knows that the only way she will escape being tortured by the Gestapo is to collaborate. She knows that regardless at the end of her usefulness to the Germans she will be executed, so she might as well live out her last few days in comfort. The story she tells them is not just about her mission, but about two friends, Maddie and Julie. Two girls from different walks of life who might never have met but for the war. Whose fate is intertwined beyond what they even know themselves. For captured Verity and her pilot friend Maddie, trapped behind enemy lines, the mission of their lives may have only just begun.

Review:
Code Name Verity is one of the best books I've read in awhile. The book is full of intrigue, leaving the reader unsure til the end of the real motives of half the characters in the book. The more Julie reveals about herself in her writings for the Gestapo the more you wonder how she could become a collaborator.  The book has tons of twists and excitement, making it great for anyone who likes spy novels or thrillers.  I won't give much away, but it's definitely worth the read. (Full disclosure the book didn't completely grab me until about 100 pages in, and then I couldn't put it down). I would be cautious recommending it to younger teens just because of the torture scenes (they aren't terribly graphic, but because these things actually happened to people it might be a little hard for less mature teens to read).  Personally, the book made me wonder if I would ever have the courage to do what girls like this did during WWII.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Age Level: 8th Grade