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Norah Piehl
694 Reviews
(4)
YA
Online relationship columnist (and soon-to-be NYU journalism student) Lu suffers severe writer's block when her boyfriend breaks up with her at the end of senior year. Lu hopes that by profiling another couple who jointly plan to part ways before college, she can be inspired--both personally and professionally. Lu's perfectionism and self-absorption grow tiresome, even if her life lessons will resonate with some readers.
Reviewer: Norah Piehl
(4)
YA
Kira enjoys helping her foster mom, Cady, train dogs for search-and-rescue operations. But this work becomes deeply personal when Cady's estranged father shows up, begging the two to help find a girl who's gone missing, in a case that may connect with Kira's own story. A tense mystery plot and strongly drawn setting help compensate for underdeveloped supporting characters.
Reviewer: Norah Piehl
(3)
YA
Ethan's love of movies keeps alive the memory of his late film-professor father. He stokes his cinephilia by working at his local art house cinema, but when budget woes threaten to close the theater, Ethan and his quirky colleagues hatch a plan to keep it afloat. An appealingly awkward romance, a rich and varied set of secondary characters, and plenty of film references make for a winning tale.
Reviewer: Norah Piehl
(3)
YA
Aspiring artist Ivy has always been happy living in best friend Harold's shadow. But when Harold is away for the summer, Ivy delves into the intriguingly anonymous world of VEIL, an online forum for sharing art. Ivy's shyness and altruism are tested when real life and virtual ones collide in the wake of homophobic hate speech. Debut novelist Enni crafts an unusual story with a memorable protagonist.
Reviewer: Norah Piehl
(3)
YA
Tiger is intensely close with her single mom, even if she bristles at times against her mom's overprotective tendencies. When her mother dies suddenly, Tiger is left absolutely bereft, struggling to find her way in the absence of her most foundational relationship. At times, the first-person narrative is almost claustrophobic in its intimacy, making for a painful but powerful evocation of grief and loss.
Reviewer: Norah Piehl
(4)
YA
After her vivacious artist mother disappears (leaving clues that suggest suicide), Minnie's grief manifests itself as monochromacy--she can only see in black and white. This is devastating for budding artist Minnie, who also can't rely on her two sisters, both of whom seem to have moved on. The resolution is perhaps too tidy, but overall this is a sensitive, vivid portrait of grief and mental illness.
Reviewer: Norah Piehl
(3)
YA
Five years after their small Ohio town was devastated by a steel mill explosion, a group of teens united by loss and grief find something new to bond over when they witness strange lights in the sky and decide to investigate. The mystery's paranormal elements combine with narrator Franny's introspection to create a rich and rewarding page-turner fans of Stranger Things will devour.
Reviewer: Norah Piehl
(3)
YA
Seventeen-year-old Lacey, who's never even been kissed, becomes an unlikely sex-education activist. Raised by a sexually open mom, Lacey is aghast that because of her school's abstinence-only sex-ed curriculum, her classmates don't have the same access to important information. Lacey's voice is fresh and funny, and the story offers a sex-positive message, including sensitive depictions of asexuality.
Reviewer: Norah Piehl
(3)
YA
Hirsch explores what happens to ordinary people at the end of the world. After a national crisis strikes on prom night, Lucy and her friends attempt to navigate horrifying new realities and dim future prospects while still engaging in ordinary teen rites of passage. Readers will enjoy seeing a range of responses to impending doom in Hirsch's compelling narrative, marred only by a somewhat hurried ending.
Reviewer: Norah Piehl
(3)
YA
After years of barely managing, Addie winds up in a juvenile psychiatric ward for help with her severe OCD. There she meets Fitz, a handsome boy whose diagnosis is schizophrenia and whose cryptic utterances intrigue Addie, an aspiring playwright. Addie's witty voice and her burgeoning friendship with Fitz help offset the novel's sober themes.
Reviewer: Norah Piehl
(3)
YA
Harley is tired of her boyfriend Mike's drinking; her frustration boils over when she finds Mike hooking up with her younger sister at a party. She storms out instead of getting them home safely--and her sister winds up in a coma after Mike drives drunk. In narration that alternates between past and present, and with deft and sensitive characterizations, the novel largely steers clear of melodrama.
Reviewer: Norah Piehl
(3)
YA
McGinnis's frank and frightening novel helps redefine the narrative of opioid addiction. Mickey is a star softball player, but when injuries from a car crash threaten to derail her season, she needs help to power through the pain. Her need for opioids escalates until she's using heroin. Frank depictions of drug use and an all-too-plausible trajectory combine for an intense and vital read.
Reviewer: Norah Piehl
(3)
YA
Twins Ezra and Ellery are sent to their grandmother in small-town Vermont after their mom enters opioid rehab. There, true-crime aficionado Ellery researches two local mysteries--while finding herself on the receiving end of some pretty creepy threats. Ellery's narrative alternates with the viewpoint of Malcolm, a boy who has been implicated in one of the prior crimes. This is an enjoyably twisty whodunit that doesn't take itself too seriously.
Reviewer: Norah Piehl
(3)
YA
Ostrom effectively dramatizes the repercussions of trauma in this carefully drawn account of life after sexual assault. After surviving a rape, Maggie has no desire to return to college, especially since her reporting of the crime has resulted in ostracization by some campus social groups. Moving in with her aunt leaves Maggie isolated and ill-equipped to recover, until she recognizes a professional calling that might enable her to move forward.
Reviewer: Norah Piehl
(3)
YA
Eighteen-year-old Harlowe Compton's southern Appalachian community is defined by mining, poverty, and, too often, despair. His brother's murder (Harlowe suspects the powerful Prater family is to blame) sends Harlowe into the darkest secrets of his family and his community. This well-written debut offers a stark and powerful depiction of modern-day rural devastation, especially opioid addiction.
Reviewer: Norah Piehl
(3)
YA
Ever since her mom's one-time boyfriend molested her when she was a preteen, Skye has been caught in a cycle of self-destructive behavior. Now, at seventeen, she desperately wants a chance to start over at art school--but then her abuser reenters her family's life. Sibson's debut offers a thoughtfully written portrayal of trauma and its lasting consequences.
Reviewer: Norah Piehl
(3)
YA
During a three-day deposition, Nate delivers a sworn statement to the prosecution about how and why his best friend, Cam, stabbed him. The stylistically complex narrative (unfolding through letters and other evidence as well as Nate's first-person account) spurs readers' consideration of issues of faith, sexuality, and the evolving and sometimes volatile nature of friendships.
Reviewer: Norah Piehl
(3)
YA
Seventeen-year-old introvert Tom's misgivings about his school trip to Costa Rica seem justified when the plane they're on crashes, killing everyone but Tom and a handful of classmates. Interpersonal dynamics combined with a richly drawn, dangerous landscape make for a suspenseful and emotionally intense survival narrative.
Reviewer: Norah Piehl
(4)
YA
After a serious car accident, Olivia wakes up--but discovers that her consciousness survived the crash in the body of her best friend, Morgan. Suddenly submerged in Morgan's privileged life, Olivia discovers unnerving secrets about the girl she thought she knew. The novel's central mystery, although suspenseful, doesn't really pay off, though other elements of this body-swap thriller will satisfy romance and psychological-thriller fans alike.
Reviewer: Norah Piehl
(3)
YA
Scholarship student Greer is initially awestruck by the rarified environment at her new boarding school, but she soon encounters malice beneath the gilded surface: a secret society is targeting outsiders deemed unworthy of the school, and Greer might be next. Painstaking pacing might lose some readers initially, but the increasingly menacing atmosphere builds up, and the payoff is worth it.
Reviewer: Norah Piehl
694 reviews
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