(3) YA Brazilian American TJ is "a surly nurse's aide"; Vivi (who is white) is a grieving, bird-obsessed college student/intern at a Florida hospital. Ángel is their Guatemalan male teen patient suffering from viral cardiomyopathy. In distinct, shifting perspectives that overlap and intersect, the three help one another survive a summer of transition, love, and loss. This stirring, compelling narrative will stay with readers.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(2) YA Illustrated by Carlos Alfredo Morataya. Gretchen (who has PTSD since being attacked and robbed) and Phoenix (who is in the U.S. awaiting a hearing for asylum after being forced to join a gang back in El Salvador) help each other heal from trauma. Alternating first-person chapters relate their (mostly) non-saccharine romance. Phoenix's story is especially compelling, avoiding stereotypes about immigrants, poverty, or Latin Americans. Occasional drawings add texture and verisimilitude.

Reviewer: Sarah Hannah Gomez | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2017

(4) YA Evan and Alma are in love, but they couldn't be more different: he's from a wealthy Georgia family, while she and her family are undocumented Mexican immigrants. Their relationship is threatened when their town begins deporting its illegal residents. Though the story's obvious political viewpoint is presented at the expense of character development, it succeeds in humanizing a controversial issue.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith