(2) 4-6 Eleven-year-old Samantha and her older sister Caitlin have been sent away from their home in Los Angeles to stay with their aunt and her wife in Oregon. The mention of a caseworker and Sam's emotional fragility alert the reader to a backstory, gradually revealed, involving the violence of the girls' father. The realistic story line, in which Sam makes a friend and learns to trust her aunt, is paralleled by a fantasy story line begun when Sam discovers a card game called Fox & Squirrels. A charismatic fox character, Ashander, aided by his squirrel devotees, promises to give Sam her heart's desire--a return to her home--if she will only submit to his will. Through the tests that Ashander assigns--acts of vandalism that increase in seriousness--we are given a mirror portrait of the manipulative, abusive behavior of Sam's father. Sam is a bookish girl, and the world of Ashander contains references to Narnia and Middle Earth, but this is not a fantasy where the hero enters and leaves the fantasy world via some portal--rather it is one in which the two worlds are so intertwined that it seems at times as though Sam is undergoing a psychotic break. The squirrels, the kindly aunt and her wife, and Sam's new friend, a sunny boy who knits, add some warmth and lightness, but the overall temperature in this game is chilling.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2020

(2) YA African American sixteen-year-old Dove ("Birdie") is on the "right" track, with good grades and a clear life plan chosen by her parents. When Birdie's fresh-from-rehab aunt Carlene arrives, Birdie begins to rebel, including by dating Booker, a kindhearted boy with a difficult past. Vivid dialogue and rich descriptions of the Chicago setting serve the story well. Birdie's believable first-person perspective reflects a protagonist who evolves to trust her own instincts.

Reviewer: Christina L. Dobbs | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2019

(2) YA In 1965, sixteen-year-old Victoria runs away with the VanDrexel traveling circus. Fifty years later finds Victoria training her talented teenage granddaughter, Callie VanDrexel, on the tightrope. Then Victoria dies unexpectedly; Callie's mother moves to Florida, dragging a sullen, grieving Callie with her. Alternating chapters follow plucky Victoria's introduction to life in the circus and Callie's introduction to life without it. This multigenerational story speaks compellingly of the power of family.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2019

(3) 4-6 Gideon's unhappy that his family moved to Nevada the summer before seventh grade. He is, however, intrigued by next-door neighbor Roona, even though she sometimes wears a blanket cape and talks about magic. But Roona's life is complicated, leaving quiet, sheltered Gideon quickly out of his depth. Themes of parental mental illness and abuse are handled sensitively in this surprisingly weighty friendship story.

Reviewer: Renée Wheeler

(1) YA Four teens are connected by "The Freak," a mysterious girl who offers prophetic messages. Interspersed among the protagonists' voices are vignettes about a wealthy old married couple, whose sale of a legacy potato farm has brought no happiness; and two violent brothers hiding a sinister secret. With her trademark surrealism and sharp prose, King confronts her narrative concerns (racism, patriarchy, colonialism, white privilege) directly through her characters' unique (and sometimes twisted) worldviews.

Reviewer: Jennifer Hubert Swan | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(2) 4-6 In 1985 Tennessee, Lyndie and her parents move in with her grandparents after her alcoholic, Vietnam War–vet father loses his job and her mother develops recurring headaches. But Lyndie's grandmother has a firm idea of what a "nice Southern family" should look like and vehemently tries to force Lyndie into that mold. The well-developed characters in this moving, fast-paced story contain a realistic mix of charm and flaws, which makes their progress and setbacks feel especially affecting.

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(2) 4-6 Ten-year-old Annie Bianchi, the youngest in a large Catholic family in 1980s Massachusetts, is upfront about her siblings' bullying but makes excuses for her mostly absentee parents. Angelini cleverly hides the hoarding and physical abuse by Mom in plain sight, yet it still feels unexpected once revealed. Annie's loyal nature, naiveté, and struggle with dyslexia are sympathetically portrayed in this painfully vivid portrait of a dysfunctional family.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2018

(3) YA Despite being up to his neck in responsibility--taking care of his two sisters and fending off an abusive stepfather--Josh instantly falls for mysterious newcomer Chatham Claiborne. Chatham's past is murky, and she may have a connection to a local kidnapping twelve years ago. The immediate threat from Josh's stepfather keeps tension running high as readers try to untangle the twisted clues to the central mystery.

Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay

(3) YA Maya and her friend Lily discover that their grade-seven classmate Jewel has been living at school; Jewel's sister, who protected her from the worst of her parents' abuses, has disappeared, and Jewel is not safe at home. Garvie explores socioeconomic privilege (wealthier Maya initially sees Jewel as kind of a project), secret-keeping, and the nature of home. The quiet novel ends with a better (not perfect) situation for Jewel and believable growth in Maya.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) 4-6 After her stealing compulsion lands twelve-year-old Hush in the Sass, Georgia, sheriff's office, she's offered a second chance working at a plant nursery. Bolstered by a good friend, a compassionate community of quirky characters, and the discovery of her own ability to help others, Hush flourishes. Harkey softens a story of neglect and poverty with a resilient protagonist, distinct voices, and a touch of magical realism.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(2) YA When Monday doesn't show up on the first day of eighth grade--or in the days after that--Claudia undertakes a heartwrenching quest to find her missing best friend. The search leads readers through a winding, nonlinear tale of sisterhood, identity, loss, and secrets kept and revealed. Social issues such as neighborhood gentrification, race, poverty, as well as the healing of connection and the destruction in disconnection, underlie the gripping plot.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2018

(3) YA Emma is a talented computer-game designer dealing with a nasty internet troll while her parents' marriage crumbles. Rev is the weird kid at school with a secret: his estranged, abusive birth father is trying to contact him. A chance meeting brings the two sensitive teens together; their blossoming romance is sweet but doesn't distract from their equally complex and compellingly told personal dilemmas.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(2) YA A bright girl in a remote northern-Nigerian village dreams of winning a scholarship to boarding school. In very brief chapters, she relates spending time with her best friend, talking to her crush, and winning the scholarship. But then the radical Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram comes to her village, killing the men and kidnapping the girls; the rest of the book describes in clear, immediate prose the girl's horrific experiences.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019

(3) YA Teen twin brothers Cory and Ty Bic, on the lam from their foster family, discover a wrecked car in the wilderness. In the car's trunk is an injured, blindfolded, and bound teenage girl. What ensues is a suspenseful survival story, told in alternating voices and time periods, revealing a tangled web of secrets from the past that continues to threaten the brothers' present and future.

Reviewer: Grace Enriquez

(3) 4-6 Eleven-year-old Owen struggles to decide whether breaking his promise of silence to his best friend is worse than allowing Sean to endure sexual abuse. Owen is driven to act when he realizes Sean is contemplating suicide. The aftermath--legal, societal, and emotional--of the revelation is described with sensitivity and heart. Information about organizations supporting sexual abuse victims and young people considering suicide is appended.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(3) YA When Eddie was four, his mother's abusive partner locked them in a small, filthy apartment; tortured his mother; and intimidated young Eddie, who remained imprisoned. Once rescued, Eddie must adjust to life on the outside and also grapple with who he may become. Told from multiple points of view, including those of Eddie, his foster parents, and social workers, the novel is gripping and powerful.

Reviewer: Betty Carter

(3) YA Athletic, good-girl Hadley survived the small plane crash that killed her mother and father. She's grieving, but flashback chapters tell an unnerving story of her father's escalating emotional and physical abuse--and of Hadley's planned retaliation. Police interview transcripts and excerpts from post-suicide-attempt therapy sessions increase the tension. This gripping family drama explores how easily wealth and a "happy family" façade can mask abuse.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(4) YA Aspiring artist Isaac is the heir apparent to his parents' illegal marijuana grow-op; but when he gets romantically involved with a girl whose father is a cop, Isaac's future grows increasingly complicated. The novel twist on the star-crossed-lovers setup is perhaps more compelling than the lovers themselves, whose romantic attraction feels more like a plot device than genuine affection.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl

(3) YA Twelve-year-old Fishkill Carmel has developed a tough exterior thanks to a home life filled with extreme poverty, neglect, and abuse. But after her grandpa dies and her mother disappears, Fishkill begins to forge a new life with her friend Duck-Duck Farina and Duck-Duck's mother Molly, who offers unconditional care and acceptance. This moving, mature novel features lyrical writing and unforgettable characters.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(4) 4-6 Twelve-year-old Caleb, who has cystic fibrosis, struggles to cope with his overprotective mother and preoccupied remarried father. Caleb's life changes when he ditches summer camp to hang out with exuberant new friend Kit, who Caleb eventually learns has a mentally unstable and abusive mother. Accurate information about cystic fibrosis throughout overshadows the children's genuine friendship in this well-intentioned but issues-centric story.

Reviewer: Amy Seto Forrester