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Snowbirds
by Crissa-Jean Chappell
Every year, Lucy waits eagerly for the arrival of the "snowbirds," the Old Order Amish who come trundling into Florida on buses from the north, bringing Lucy's best friend Alice, with whom she's spent every winter she can remember. This winter is different. At sixteen, Alice is in the middle of "Rumspringa," a season in which Amish teens try out forbidden temptations, in order to get them out of their system. Lucy is part of a different sect, in which teens aren't allowed such bold experimentation, and she's fighting to keep up as Alice races from one wild party to the next. Then, one night after just such a party, Alice vanishes. Wracked by guilt, Lucy knows that she should have been watching out for Alice, but instead, she was kissing Faron, an Older Order boy shunned by his society. Now, Lucy plunges into a search for her best friend--while also hiding her own secret, which could put her in even more danger.
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The Loose Ends List
by Carrie Firestone
Seventeen-year-old Maddie O'Neill Levine is primed to spend the perfect summer with her best friends and beloved young-at-heart grandmother. But Maddie's plans change when Gram announces that she is terminally ill and has booked the family on a secret "death with dignity" cruise to leave the world on her own terms-and give the O'Neill clan a trip of dreams come true in the process. Soon, Maddie is on the trip of a lifetime with her over-the-top family where she bonds with other passengers and falls for Enzo, who is processing his own grief. But despite the laughter, glamorous destinations, and headiness of first love, Maddie knows she is on the brink of losing Gram. She struggles to find the strength to say goodbye in a whirlwind summer shaped by loss and love.
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| At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David HutchinsonFantasy. Ozzie's boyfriend, Tommy, has been erased from existence and memory, and only Ozzie knows it. Though no else remembers Tommy, Ozzie is convinced that his disappearance is due to the universe shrinking. The problem of how to get him back, however, is just the most urgent of the many problems Ozzie faces: he's also dealing with his parents' divorce, his brother's decision to join the military, the small-town struggles of his friends, and his own confusing feelings for his physics partner, Calvin. Similar to Adam Silvera's inclusive speculative stories, At the Edge of the Universe asks painful yet intriguing questions about the nature of relationships and reality. |
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| We Are Okay by Nina LaCourFiction. At the end of last summer, Marin left her home in San Francisco and boarded a plane with nothing but what she had in her pockets. Now, after her first semester of college in New York, she's facing a lonely winter break in an empty dorm. Holed up against the icy weather, Marin allows herself to remember the devastating events that led to her abrupt departure from California, and finally confronts their consequences during a visit with her estranged friend, Mabel. Written with pensive intensity, We Are Okay is a "poignant and affecting exploration of grief and betrayal" (Booklist). |
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Frogkisser!
by Garth Nix
Poor Princess Anya. Forced to live with her evil stepmother's new husband, her evil stepstepfather. Plagued with an unfortunate ability to break curses with a magic-assisted kiss. And forced to go on the run when her stepstepfather decides to make the kingdom entirely his own. Aided by a loyal talking dog, a boy thief trapped in the body of a newt, and some extraordinarily mischievous wizards, Anya sets off on a Quest that, if she plays it right, will ultimately free her land-and teach her a thing or two about the use of power, the effectiveness of a well-placed pucker, and the finding of friends in places both high and low.
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Our Chemical Hearts
by Krystal Sutherland
Henry Page has never been in love. He fancies himself a hopeless romantic, but the slo-mo, heart palpitating, can't-eat-can't-sleep kind of love that he's been hoping for just hasn't been in the cards for him—at least not yet. Instead, he's been happy to focus on his grades, on getting into an Ivy League college and finally becoming editor of his school newspaper. Then Grace Town walks into his first period class on the third Tuesday of senior year and he knows everything's about to change. Grace isn't who Henry pictured as his dream girl—she walks with a cane, wears oversized boys' clothes, and rarely seems to shower. But when Grace and Henry are both chosen to edit the school paper, he quickly finds himself falling for her. It's obvious there's something broken about Grace, but it seems to make her even more beautiful to Henry, and he wants nothing more than to help her put the pieces back together again.
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| The Hate U Give by Angie ThomasFiction. Sixteen-year-old Starr walks an uneasy line, with one foot in her poor, mostly-black neighborhood and the other in her rich, mostly-white school. After Starr sees her friend Khalil gunned down by a white cop, however, that line is obliterated. Amid the uproar, Starr knows she should speak out, but the pressure she's under from all sides makes it difficult -- and dangerous -- to raise her voice. With a movie already in the works, this "powerful, in-your-face novel" (Horn Book Magazine) is one of the year's most talked-about books. For further fiction about the personal cost of racial injustice, try All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. |
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Gem & Dixie
by Sara Zarr
Gem has never known what it is to have security. She’s never known an adult she can truly rely on. But the one constant in her life has been Dixie. Gem grew up taking care of her sister when no one else could: not their mother, whose issues make it hard for her to keep food on the table, and definitely not their father, whose intermittent presence is the only thing worse than his frequent absence. Even as Gem and Dixie have grown apart, they’ve always had each other. When their dad returns home for the first time in years and tries to insert himself back into their lives, Gem finds herself with an unexpected opportunity: three days with Dixie—on their own in Seattle and beyond. But this short trip soon becomes something more, as Gem discovers that that to save herself, she may have to sever the one bond she’s tried so hard to keep.
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Goodbye Days
by Jeff Zentner
One day Carver Briggs had it all--three best friends, a supportive family and a reputation as a talented writer at his high school, Nashville Academy for the Arts. The next day it all crashed and burned, literally, after he wrote them out of existence with an inane text sent to his friend Mars--the last words his friends ever see. Carver can't stop blaming himself for the fatal crash and he's not the only one. Eli's twin sister is trying to freeze him out of school with her death-ray stare. Even worse, Mars's father, a powerful judge, pressures the district attorney to open a criminal investigation into Carver's actions. Soon Eli and Mars's families are asking for a Goodbye Day with Carver--but he's unsure of their motives. Will they all be able to make peace with their losses, or will these Goodbye Days bring Carver one step closer to prison or a complete breakdown?
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| Huntress by Malinda LoFantasy. Set in the same universe as author Malinda Lo's Ash but centuries earlier, this is the story of two girls at the Academy of Sages: emerging seer Taisin and apprentice huntress Kaede. Spring hasn't come to the kingdom in years, and the relentless winter threatens the survival of both humans and fey. When the Fairy Queen invites the human King to confer, he sends his son, along with Kaede and Taisin, to the fairies' city. On the journey, a tender yet bittersweet romance blossoms between the girls, despite the obstacles presented by Taisin's visions and Kaede's family. Readers who enjoy lush, leisurely writing punctuated by heated action and adventure will be captivated. |
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| Crash by Lisa McMannParanormal Romance. As if being a teenager with a family-owned restaurant that requires her to drive a double-meatball-shaped food truck to school wasn't weird enough, Jules Demarco has begun seeing visions of a crash that results in the deaths of numerous people -- including her forbidden crush, Sawyer. As the visions escalate, Jules races to stop the deadly crash from occurring without making everyone around her think she's inherited her family's tendency to mental illness. Veteran author Lisa McMann's 1st entry in her Visions series is sure to appeal to fans of fun paranormal mysteries such as Kim Harrington's Clarity series. |
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| Poison by Bridget ZinnFantasy. Following a botched attempt to poison Princess Ariana, 16-year-old Master Potioner Kyra is on the run. Once, she was Ariana's best friend, but Kyra's pesky (not to mention terrifying) visions seem to indicate that Ariana will be the kingdom's downfall. So now, with an adorable tracking pig named Rosie for company and an annoyingly attractive rogue named Fred on her trail, Kyra's got to elude the army (not to mention witches, goblins, and her ex-fiance) long enough to stop Ariana and save the kingdom. Featuring a feisty and resourceful heroine, this frothy, fast-paced fantasy is a perfect pick for fans of Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted. |
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