Aya

Abouet, M., & Oubrerie, C. (2007). Aya. Montreal: Drawn & Quarterly. ISBN 9781897299418; hard cover; $19.95. It’s no use – Adjoua and Bintou will never be able to convince Aya to sneak out with them to the maquis to meet boys. Aya is always too busy with homework, and besides, she has other plans for …

Upstate

Buckhanon, K. (2005). Upstate. New York: St. Martin’s Press. ISBN 0-312-33269-6; paperback; $11.95. Imprisoned for the murder of his father, 17-year-old Antonio’s only connection to the outside world is his girlfriend, Natasha. Antonio and Natasha are madly in love with each other, so when Antonio receives a sentence of ten years, they are devastated – …

Two-Way Street

Barnholdt, L. (2007). Two-way street. New York: Simon Pulse. ISBN 978-1-4169-1318-4; paperback; $8.99. Courtney doesn’t want to admit it, but she’s still kind of in love with her ex, Jordan, who dumped her for some girl he met online. To make matters worse, she has to spend 30 agonizing hours in the car with him, …

Party Games

Stine, R. L. (2014). Party games. New York: Thomas Dunne Books. ISBN 978-1-250-05161-5; hard cover; $17.99. “All those scary Fear family stories are ancient history – aren’t they?” – Party Games, by R. L. Stine Rachel has heard the stories. She knows the old superstitions whispered around Shadyside about the Fear family and their evil …

Akata Witch

Okorafor, N. (2011). Akata witch. New York: Viking. ISBN 978-0-670-01196-4; hard cover; $17.99. “We embrace those things that make us unique or odd. For only in these things can we locate and then develop our most individual abilities.” – Akata Witch, by Nnedi Okorafor Why has Sunny always been so good at sneaking around like …

Tessa Masterson Will Go to Prom

Franklin, E., & Halpin, B. (2012). Tessa Masterson will go to prom. New York: Walker & Company. ISBN 978-0-8027-2345-1; hard cover; $16.99. Tessa Masterson Will Go to Prom is a story about the courage it takes to come out as lesbian in a small Indiana town, but on a more basic level it’s a book …

Hate List

Brown, J. (2009). Hate list. New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-04145-4; paperback; $11.00. “People do it all the time--assume that they "know" what's going on in someone else's head. That's impossible. And to think it's possible is a mistake. A really big mistake. A life-ruining one if you're not careful.” – Hate List, …

Mo’ Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove

Thompson, A. Q., & Greenman, B. (2013). Mo’ meta blues: The world according to Questlove. New York: Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4555-0136-6; e-book; $9.99. In this sprawling memoir, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson documents his life through music. Starting from age two when he tripped and fell on the radiator while listening to “Soul Train,” Ahmir remembers …

A Wish After Midnight

Elliott, Z. (2008). A wish after midnight. Las Vegas, NV: Amazon Publishing. ISBN 978-0-98255-505-7; paperback; $8.49. Growing up in Brooklyn, 15-year-old Genna dreams of getting her family out of their two-bedroom apartment so that her baby brother Tyjuan can grow up in a neighborhood where drug deals don’t happen outside their front door every day. …

Weetzie Bat

Block, F. L. (1999). Weetzie bat (10th anniversary ed.). New York, NY: Harper Collins. ISBN 0-06-440818-3; paperback; $7.95. Weetzie Bat and her best friend Dirk are just normal teenagers living under the bright lights of L.A., until the day that Grandma Fifi gifts Weetzie a golden lamp, out of which appears – of all things …