tough topics

Tag

Goodbye, Perfect — Sara Barnard

TITLE: Goodbye, Perfect AUTHOR: Sara Barnard RELEASED: January 29th, 2019; Simon Pulse (US re-release) GENRE: Contemporary AGE RANGE: YA If there’s one thing in life Eden can count on, it’s her best friend, Bonnie—until Bonnie runs away with their music instructor, and everything gets thrown into a whirlwind of police interrogations, suspicion, and fear. The worst part is that Eden knows where Bonnie’s gone, but how can she betray her best friend? If there’s anything I enjoy in the YA contemporary genre, it’s conflict—especially when...

Even if I Fall — Abigail Johnson

TITLE: Even if I Fall AUTHOR: Abigail Johnson RELEASED: January 8th, 2019; Inkyard Press GENRE: Contemporary AGE RANGE: YA The world has been a scary place for Brooke ever since her older brother—her hero—confessed to murdering his best friend a year ago. She’s tried so hard to stay under the radar and keep her family afloat, but how can she be strong when the murder victim’s younger brother suddenly appears in her life, and an unexpected bond forms despite the haunting past between their families?...

The Kiss Quotient — Helen Hoang

TITLE: The Kiss Quotient AUTHOR: Helen Hoang RELEASED: May 30th, 2018; Berkley GENRE: Contemporary AGE RANGE: Adult SYNOPSIS: Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases–a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old. It doesn’t help that Stella has Asperger’s and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned...

A Very Large Expanse of Sea — Tahereh Mafi

TITLE: A Very Large Expanse of Sea AUTHOR: Tahereh Mafi RELEASED: October 16th, 2018; Harper Teen GENRE: Contemporary AGE RANGE: YA SYNOPSIS: It’s 2002, a year after 9/11. It’s an extremely turbulent time politically, but especially so for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who’s tired of being stereotyped. Shirin is never surprised by how horrible people can be. She’s tired of the rude stares, the degrading comments—even the physical violence—she endures as a result of her race, her religion, and the hijab...

That Night — Amy Giles

TITLE: That Night AUTHOR: Amy Giles RELEASES: October 23rd, 2018; Harper Teen GENRE: Contemporary AGE RANGE: YA SYNOPSIS: The year since a mass shooting shook their Queens neighborhood has played out differently for Jess and Lucas, both of whom were affected by that night in eerily similar and deeply personal ways. As Jess struggles to take care of her depressed mother, and Lucas takes up boxing under the ever-watchful eye of his overprotective parents, their paths converge. They slowly become friends and then something...

Finding Baba Yaga — Jane Yolen

TITLE: Finding Baba Yaga AUTHOR: Jane Yolen RELEASES: October 30th, 2018; TorDotCom GENRE: Fantasy AGE RANGE: YA PAGE COUNT: 144 SYNOPSIS: A harsh, controlling father. A quiescent mother. A house that feels like anything but a home. Natasha gathers the strength to leave, and comes upon a little house in the wood: A house that walks about on chicken feet and is inhabited by a fairy tale witch. In finding Baba Yaga, Natasha finds her voice, her power, herself…. I’ve always loved the story...

Imagine Us Happy — Jennifer Yu

TITLE: Imagine Us Happy AUTHOR: Jennifer Yu RELEASES: October 23rd, 2018; Harlequin Teen GENRE: Contemporary AGE RANGE: YA SYNOPSIS: Stella lives with depression, and her goals for junior year are pretty much limited to surviving her classes, staying out of her parents’ constant fights and staving off unwanted feelings enough to hang out with her friends Lin and Katie. Until Kevin. A quiet, wry senior who understands Stella and the lows she’s going through like no one else. With him, she feels less lonely,...

The Roses of May — Dot Hutchison

It's hard enough on the agents when the butterflies start falling apart, but suicides of girls who can't seem to fit back in outside of the Garden are only half of the heartache that Eddison has to face down now. While the girls await their day in court with the Gardener, another killer is at large: the Spring Killer, who kills one teen every spring, and has done so for 17 years without exposing himself. His only marker is the flowers that he leaves around each girl's lifeless body.

Paperweight — Meg Haston

When Stevie is admitted against her will to a rehab for her eating disorder, she sees it as nothing more than a temporary setback. Her loving father and the hippie shrink, with all of their good intentions, aren't enough to take away the fact that there are only 27 days left until the anniversary of Stevie's older brother's death. There are only 27 days left until the anniversary of the night she killed him.

There are only 27 days left until she repays that debt with her own life.

All the Bright Places — Jennifer Niven

When Finch and Violet meet one another on the ledge of their school's bell tower, it's a mystery who saves who; though Finch talks Violet down, she can't be seen as "the girl who almost jumped after her sister died", so Finch takes the fall, and Violet is a hero. It doesn't matter to Finch, though; he's met the first person he can relate to in a long time, and now he's determined not to let her go. A school project brings them together: a task to wander their home state of Indiana, to find all of its Hoosier Wonders. As Violet begins to heal, though, Finch finds himself torn between the joy of puppy love, or the ache of the storm inside his own head.