Change of Plans by Sarah Dessen

CHANGE OF PLANS by Sarah Dessen (Lock & Key; Just Listen; The Truth about Forever and more) is her first novel in seven years and offers the chance for new readers to sample Dessen’s expressive writing. Booklist says, “Dessen’s greatest strength is her creation of vivid atmosphere, which enhances both her characters' personalities and their conflicts.” Here, the award-winning young adult author introduces readers to Finley, a graduating high school senior who lives with her stepmom, dad, and their young family. Finley has a strong, two-year relationship with Colin, but must decline his family’s invite to a cruise because her career-oriented and distant mother, Catherine (Cat) has plans for the two of them to travel together. Quite a bit does change when Colin meets another girl on the cruise and Finley’s Mom chauffeurs Finley to The Woods, a family home on a rural lake, instead of heading to New York City. Finley meets new friends (Clark, Ben, and Lana) and aunts (Liz and Kasey) as she begins to learn more about her Mom – and herself. CHANGE OF PLANS received starred reviews from Kirkus (“she discovers strength, independence, and the transformative power of being fully present …. A sweet, nuanced, and reflective coming-of-age love story filled with moments of true beauty between family and friends”) and Publishers Weekly (“delightfully layered, bighearted novel”). As Clark says, “Everything changes. You have a choice: make it hard or make it work. And there's enough hard shit already.”

Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley

SISTERS IN THE WIND by Angeline Boulley (Firekeeper's Daughter and Warrior Girl Unearthed) received an impressive six starred reviews. It is a rather tragic tale of Lucy, a young girl whose father dies when she is just 13 and who spends the next five years mostly in foster care. Some of her placements are heart-warming but most are heart-wrenching, and she develops resilience and self-reliance while also forming bonds with fellow foster care teens. Like many of Boulley’s characters, Lucy has Native American heritage. She encounters racism, human trafficking, drug use, even murder. The writing is excellent (even with the frequent flashbacks), but this is a difficult story to read at times: Publishers Weekly describes it as “a devastating yet gripping tale of finding family, recontextualizing faith, and reclaiming ancestry that serves as a searing critique of the ways that systems can fail vulnerable youth.” School Library Journal calls SISTERS IN THE WIND “a gritty story of trust and betrayal” and Booklist says, “this unforgettable novel is impossible to put down.” While this story works as a standalone, Boulley chronicles events between her two previous novels and has incorporated many of those characters. All three mysteries are excellent. 

I Killed the King by Rebecca Mix & Andrea Hannah

I KILLED THE KING by Rebecca Mix and Andrea Hannah is a very creative take on a locked room mystery. The cast of characters is complex: Oak, personal guard to Costis, King of Avendell; Prince Kellam, heir to the throne; Melarie, a princess from Istellia and Kellam’s betrothed; Clove, an empathetic beast handler; Vesryn, an assassin planning to murder King Costis; and Ellion, a failed healer turned necromancer; plus various court attendants, other royals, and the Gods themselves. The six young people build a bond as more and more bodies are discovered, magical powers are tested, and romantic feelings are expressed. Tension builds as they frantically race against the clock to ensure that a treaty is signed. Perhaps it was intentional, but I found the multiple points of view and travelling across the barrier between life and death added a great deal of confusion. I KILLED THE KING has so many twists and unexpected pivots that it could make a good movie or streaming series. One of Us is Lying by McManus is frequently recommended as a read-alike. The audiobook is narrated by Dan Bittner who does an excellent job.

Dream School by Jeffrey Selingo

DREAM SCHOOL by Jeffrey Selingo (Who Gets In and Why) is the latest round in his writings about “Finding the College That's Right for You.” Here, Selingo leverages his decades long experience plus surveys with thousands of parents collected during two years of research; he once again stresses the benefit of looking beyond super selective schools. The book is divided into three main sections which outline often faulty assumptions, the “new admissions landscape,” and what to look for in a dream school. An appendix lists specific colleges (Hidden Values, Breakout Regionals, and Large Leaders), with a brief description and anecdotal standout factor for each. Learning about and choosing between schools is a difficult task, filled with emotion and incomplete information. Called a “refreshingly practical approach to choosing where to apply” by Lisa Damour, resources like Selingo’s offer a helpful perspective to both students and parents. DREAM SCHOOL received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and was the subject of a recent Family Action Network session with Frank Bruni (scroll to bottom of that page for video).

Codebreaker by Jay Martel

CODEBREAKER by Jay Martel is an action-packed young adult novel which is highly entertaining. This debut is written by the husband and wife writing team of Andy Bennett and Katy Helbacka. They have created high school age (or slightly older) characters named Mia and Logan who share an amazing adventure after Mia’s mother, a famous journalist, is killed and her father, a renowned cryptographer, disappears. Mia starts to get coded messages from him that readers can participate in solving. They are fun and illustrate a variety of coding types. The action really picks up when a powerful group takes off after Mia and Logan trying to locate a missing “treasure.” The setting is in DC and the city and its history (particularly early post-Civil War times) play a part in the story, too.  In addition to probing possible consequences of economic inequality, an underlying theme is whether the official story is always a true one. CODEBREAKER has already appeared on a number of recommended booklists and received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. An excerpt is available on Macmillan website and discussion questions are available through Follett Titlewave.

The Wilde Trials by Mackenzie Reed

THE WILDE TRIALS by Mackenzie Reed (The Rosewood Hunt) is an entertaining read, but it felt a bit like a knock off of The Hunger Games. Reed created a boarding school with a hallowed tradition of terrorizing selected Seniors with a “wilderness experience” and multiple trials held in the two weeks prior to graduation. The rather unbelievable prize is $600,000 – cash.  Chloe Gatti applies to compete so that she can use the money for her sister’s medical bills. Her boyfriend, Hayes Stratford, objects because his brother died at the trials a few years previously. Suddenly, though, the two of them break up, Hayes decides to apply to compete, and they along with other friends, Keana, Wolfe, Mina and not so much friends Dodge and Soho are all chosen as Challengers. That leaves four previous Champions in charge of dangerous trials filled with blackmail, near death experiences, and betrayal. THE WILDE TRIALS is any entertaining, fast-paced read suitable for younger high school students.  

Dust by Alison Stine

DUST by Alison Stine features Thea, a sixteen-year old who is deaf in one ear, but whose parents choose to ignore that reality. In fact, her father seems to increasingly separate from reality and has moved the family to a place called Bloodless Valley in Colorado where dust is everywhere and farming, especially without any modern aides, is almost impossible.  Thea and her younger sister are “unschooled,” kept at home and made to work on the farm, although Thea has a brief reprieve when she is able to work to support the family at a small café. Through the owner’s kindness she meets the agricultural agent and his great nephew, Ray, plus the local librarian and some other homesteaders.  Ray is also hard of hearing and begins to teach Thea to sign. Her father objects and her life narrows considerably. It is obvious that Stine, who is herself half deaf due to a congenital disability, has compassion for people with differences. She writes, “What I hope you take away from this book is: desire and energy to protect Earth and all its inhabitants, and also the knowledge that your story, whatever it is, matters. It's sometimes hard being both/neither, but there's a lot of joy too. And you're okay the way you are.” Stine effectively uses empty spaces and underlining to convey the frustration of Thea’s inability to hear clearly. Plus, the author does build suspense about an impending storm, but the pat way in which Thea’s father is suddenly transformed into accepting help and technology like new cell phones does not seem probable. DUST was very sad and the pace was slow. Reflecting on other books with hard of hearing characters, I would highly recommend True Biz which received multiple starred reviews and was an Alex Award nominee as well as a New York Times bestseller. 

10 to 25 by David Yeager

10 TO 25 by David Yeager is subtitled “The Science of Motivating Young People” and is self-described as “A Groundbreaking Approach to Leading the Next Generation—And Making Your Own Life Easier.” I am honestly not sure how “groundbreaking” this text is, although it seems likely to make relationships easier as Yeager stresses the responsibility of involved adults to adjust their own mindset, setting high standards while intentionally becoming more aware of young people’s need for respect. Building on case studies and interviews with successful mentors, 10 TO 25 offers an important perspective and provides numerous helpful suggestions for working with the next generation. Yeager is a professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin and has conducted research with Carol Dweck (Mindset), Angela Duckworth (Grit), and Gregory Walton (Ordinary Magic, forthcoming). His dozen chapters deal with taking action related to traits like Transparency, Questioning, and Belonging. The final section, called Putting It into Practice, includes specific “activities and pieces of advice” related to key ideas. Encouraging readers to keep a journal as they work through the exercises, Yeager notes that he uses these interventions in his own work and co-developed them with Rosalind Wiseman (author of Queen Bees and Wannabes). That section is an excellent summary and guide; it is followed by an extensive (roughly twenty percent of the book) series of notes and references. Booklist calls 10 TO 25 a “goldmine…” We have ordered this title and know it will receive much interest, especially at this high energy time of year as schools are opening.

Stay Dead by April Henry

I have commented over the years on suspenseful young adult reads by April Henry like Eyes of the Forest or The Girl I Used to Be and STAY DEAD is another gripping mystery from this prolific, talented author. Sixteen-year-old Milan (great name, right?) has just been expelled from her third boarding school after the death of her Dad, Senator and environmentalist, Jack Mayhew. She and her Mom, Heather, who is now the serving Senator, are with staff aboard a private plane when it crashes. As the only survivor, Milan must rely on quick thinking and her past hiking experiences to beat the cold, the snow, and an animal predator as she struggles to get to Portland, Oregon and the only person her Mom told her to trust. That hazardous journey is exciting enough, but Henry treats readers to added perspective from Lenny, the woman hired to kill Milan and her parents, plus details from Jane, a dairy farmer dealing with the consequences of allowing fracking to occur on her farmland. The pace is quick – and Milan needs to draw on inner resources, remembering a favorite quote of her Mom’s from Amelia Earhart: “The most difficult thing is the decision to act. The rest is merely tenacity.” In her acknowledgments, Henry sounds super curious and adventuresome herself; she says, “as a writer, I've done many things for research, but probably the most intense was a three-day course called Urban Escape and Evasion. The final day of class you are kidnapped; hooded, cuffed, and mouth duct-taped.… You must use all your newly learned skills to escape...” Wow – that is serious research! And her adrenaline-charged writing reflects it. Enjoy! 

Also wanted to note this quote... from another character who reflects on his departed wife: “She just got to heaven a little sooner than me, … she always liked to be early to things.”

These Deadly Prophecies by Andrea Tang

I picked up the newly published THESE DEADLY PROPHECIES by Andrea Tang because I had not read much young adult fiction lately. This clearly fits the label with several main characters in their teens and plenty of romantic angst as well as rebellion against authority figures. It is an unusual mystery in that the murder victim foretold his own death: Julian Solomon was a skillful and powerful prophetic sorcerer who made his apprentice, Tabatha Zeng, promise to help protect his youngest son, Callum, who attends her high school. Studious Asian girl thrown together with popular white jock try to solve the mystery. They are hampered by the involvement of Callum’s older siblings, Felix and Circe, as well as interference from Julian Solomon’s two wives and also the chief detective of the local occult crimes unit. If readers can deal with the numerous sorcery references, the story moves along fairly well for its intended audience, with Tabatha and Callum having to decide if they trust each other or not. A diverting blend of mystery and magic that seems to fit within the newer "romantasy" genre.