(2) YA Sydney, a teen raised primarily by her down-to-earth grandmother in Seattle, spends the summer with Lila, her movie-star mother, in San Francisco. Lila's impossibly rich and glamorous lifestyle seems to be at odds with her fading fame. Syd must cope with her mother's ever-hungry ego and volatility and with Lila's mysterious and shady real-estate mogul/art dealer boyfriend, Jake. As Lila and Jake's fights become more frequent and violent, it is clear that their relationship is based more on control than affection. When Syd is immediately smitten with a boy she meets at the beach, Jake becomes obsessively concerned with "guarding [her] virtue." Syd is angered by his attitude and by the salacious behavior of just about every man she comes into contact with. Each chapter opens with a list of courtroom exhibits, and it is clear from the get-go that the story is building to something ominous. The writing is thoughtful and engaging. While the focus of the narrative seems to be Syd's sexual awakening and her determination to be seen and desired on her own terms, Caletti also explores Syd's discovery of the frailty and betrayals of the adult world, often by the very people who are supposed to be taking care of her. Give this page-turner to readers of Elana K. Arnold (Red Hood, rev. 5/20), Courtney Summers (Sadie), and Caletti's previous YA novels (The Last Forever, rev. 5/14, and others).

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2020

(2) YA In the summer of 1962 in an alternate-universe Jim Crow South, Black teenager ­Evalene Deschamps learns that the women in her family are blessed with magical abilities (including telekinesis, telepathy, and visions of "haints") called Jubilation. These powers, granted with the onset of menstruation, are tied into the women's emotions and provide them with the protection they need to survive in an anti-Black world--though they need to control their feelings to control their magic. With her grandmother's help, Evalene learns that the Deschamps women, and many other Black women, have used "jubin'" to keep themselves and their families safe from predators. When an evil white man from Evalene's past comes to haunt her, she must rely on her ancestors and her Jubilation to save herself and the ones she loves. Corthron's novel uses an innovative landscape to explore Black girl magic and intergenerational family trauma while also excavating the horrors of anti-Black violence in the past and the present. With its combination of magic, realism, and horror, this is a perfect choice for readers searching for stories where Black girls unapologetically use their magic to save and, when necessary, destroy.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021

(2) YA Two years ago, seventeen-year-old Sia Martinez's mother perished in the Sonoran Desert, attempting to return home to (fictional) Caraway, Arizona, after being cruelly deported to Mexico. Sia's loving father and her loyal best friend, Rose, help support her through grief, even as the sadistic sheriff's son torments her at school (to his detriment; Sia is no slouch in the self-defense department). When a handsome new guy shows up and starts flirting, Sia is cautiously intrigued. Rose is suspicious (it has to do with the sheriff), but she's distracted by her own love interest, causing jealous Sia to ignore the warning signs. The first quarter of the book is realistic and engaging contemporary YA--and then Something Happens, and we're launched into sci-fi. Very short chapters--there are 224 of them--keep the pace snappy, and a cliffhanger ending, plus deliberate loose ends, point to more adventures to come. There's a content warning at the start ("Sexual Assault, PTSD, Physical Abuse, Parental Death, Racist Violence"), and those issues are addressed head-on. Through Sia's wry first-person narration, however, the tone remains mostly light: "Aliens, government conspiracies, secret experiments. That's all unbelievable enough as it is. No need to add meddling dead abuelas to the mix."

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021

(3) YA British teens Eden and Bonnie share a bond that transcends class differences. When high-strung Bonnie runs off with a teacher just before finals, Eden is bewildered but keeps Bonnie's secret despite a missing-person investigation. Eden's effort to protect and understand Bonnie is both believable and increasingly tense. A compelling exploration of friendship's expectations and limits.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(3) YA Acerbic teen Kirby, grieving the death of his sister, usually spends his nights watching Die Hard and writing in a secret notebook. When he takes a night off to go cow tipping with his two best friends, they set off a cascade of rollicking events that pit them against school authorities and bullies. This fast-paced romp features a cast of hilariously offbeat characters and strikes a balance between comedy and pathos.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(2) YA As Dino started falling for his first boyfriend, Rafi (who is trans), he became ex–best friends with July. After July unexpectedly dies of a brain aneurysm, Dino gets a shock in his family's mortuary: July's corpse inexplicably comes back to life. Dino and July are complex characters; their easy banter is witty, philosophical, and engaging as Hutchinson's story blends speculative fiction, existential dread, morbid fascination with death, and surrealism.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(2) YA Seventeen-year-old narrator Kiera is (secretly) the creator of the hugely popular multiplayer gaming community SLAY, which is rooted in Black culture and which she developed to "showcase how awesome we are as Black people, how multifaceted, resilient, and colorful we are." When a troll disrupts SLAY--and an act of real-life violence follows--Kiera must investigate the events without losing herself or compromising her creation. Morris has truly captured the holistic experiences of many Black digital users.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2019

(3) YA In these short stories, thirteen teens are connected by their experiences on Hungry Heart Row: an atmospheric fictional neighborhood renowned for its variety of eclectic, magical cuisines. Some stories are realistic and others supernatural; all are grounded by sensitive portrayals of the teens' cultural and economic backgrounds and themes of love, food, and community. A strong, consistent, and satisfying compilation.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(3) YA In this anthology, authors reflect on their challenges involving mental health--usually their own, sometimes that of people close to them. This candid look at a range of mental health issues also offers some discussion of individuals' management. The inclusion of multiple authors with similar conditions (particularly anxiety) underscores their varying effects. Websites.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(3) YA Twenty-one female YA authors offer personal essays about moments and life experiences that shaped their feminist worldview. The timely topics covered include the intersection of race and gender, sexual assault and rape, issues around weight and body image, and the experience of growing up a girl in an immigrant family. Engaging, emotional, and perfectly attuned to today's young women, this feminist collection promises to make an impact. Websites.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) YA Anxiety-sufferer Stefanie Brons hates the diagnosis "selective mutism": it makes others think she has control over her inability to speak. (Her narrative voice, however, is wonderfully sardonic and plainspoken.) When Steffi befriends cute new boy Rhys, who's deaf, and communicates with him through sign language, she sees herself anew. Thunder is the rare, authentic novel that dives into the day-to-day of debilitating anxiety.

Reviewer: Robyn Bahr

(3) YA When astronomy-loving seventeen-year-old Zorie Everhart joins a "glamping" trip in Northern California, she gets stranded in the wilderness with her former best friend/crush Lennon Mackenzie. Luckily, he has survival skills, and over challenging terrain and under meteor showers, Zorie and Lennon rekindle their relationship and divulge family secrets. Romance and survival are entwined with issues of divorce and betrayal in this appealing realistic novel.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) YA Bowman here mines similar material as in her debut Starfish, with its focus on distant mothers and making art in the face of pain. Musician Rumi contends with the sudden death of her sister/songwriting partner, Lea, as well as her mother's abandonment after Rumi is sent away to live with an aunt in Hawaii. Though it's slow to take hold, this story of loss and catharsis is ultimately emotionally satisfying.

Reviewer: Rebecca Kirshenbaum

(3) YA High-school senior Ali never expected she'd be road-tripping up the California coast in a 1968 Firebird convertible with her ex-boyfriend. But that's what happens when she inherits the classic (stick-shift) car from her estranged father and needs Nico to drive it to a buyer. Along the way, Ali confronts painful memories and finds forgiveness and love. This lyrically written romance is populated with memorable and imperfect characters.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(2) YA Eighteen-year-old distance runner Annabelle embarks on a cross-country run to manage the anxiety, guilt, and sorrow dogging her since the boy she calls "The Taker" irrevocably changed her life nine months ago with a gun. Readers take the physical and mental journey with Annabelle as she relinquishes feelings of self-blame and inspires others to act. Caletti's lyrical third-person, present-tense narration blends immediate detail with gut-wrenching flashbacks to great effect.

Reviewer: Jennifer Hubert Swan | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2018

(3) YA Fifteen-year-old Ronney is grudgingly keeping his family together after his depressed father attempts suicide. His fragile equilibrium is rocked when his best friend starts dating his crush--and when a bevy of zoo animals are released into his suburban Indiana hometown. This gritty, voice-driven novel has a blend of dark humor and surreal violence that should appeal to fans of Andrew Smith.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(3) YA Despite her fear of germs and her indifference to biology, seventeen-year-old MIT freshman Mei Lu is on the path to becoming a doctor, per her strict Taiwanese parents' wishes. But her first few months away inspire big changes: unbeknownst to her parents, Mei reconnects with her disowned older brother and indulges in her passion for dance. An endearing and at times laugh-out-loud coming-of-age story.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) YA Chloe (Confessions of a High School Disaster) relates in diary entries the ups-and-downs of sophomore year in her "hellishly pleasant New England suburb." Mean-girl dynamics affect longtime friendships; a sweet romance with a younger boy unfolds; and she struggles with her father's new relationship and her mother's absence. Chloe's voice is refreshingly honest and often humorous in this engaging and not-at-all-facile novel.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) YA When a new girl--bold, confident Chloe Donnelly--arrives in small-town Iowa, smart but isolated Chloe Sanders (soon known as "Other Chloe") feels increasingly inferior. After Chloe Donnelly introduces a secret-swapping game, the increasingly high stakes have Other Chloe fighting hard to protect her own secrets and those of her crush. Desir generates plenty of tension and suspense in this psychological thriller.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl

(3) YA Isolated seventeen-year-old Penny Talbot lives in a small, seaside Oregon town haunted by the executions of three sisters accused of witchcraft centuries ago: every year since they drowned, the sisters' spirits exact revenge by luring teen boys to their watery graves. Can Penny save enigmatic newcomer Bo? Ignore the soggy premise and embrace Ernshaw's plush, eerie prose and taut Gothic mystery.

Reviewer: Robyn Bahr