(3) YA Dominique (Dom) has always wanted to be a modern dancer, but her mother's struggling laundry business doesn't provide a lot of options after high school. Ben studies violin at the prestigious Brighton Academy and is obsessed with perfection. Their worlds collide against the backdrop of NYC in a sweeping, classic-feeling romance that deals with privilege and the lies we instinctually tell ourselves and others.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(4) YA Two years after her father's death, Grace moves in with her estranged uncle, whom she had previously spent summers with. Returning to New Harbor means Grace also must come to terms with a hazy memory of rape that occurred there. Friendship and first love mingle awkwardly with sexual assault and Grace's devastating realization regarding her abuser. Still, Grace's journey is ultimately hopeful. Includes resources for survivors.

Reviewer: Rebecca Kirshenbaum

(4) YA After a tragic day on a lake--when Lark must choose between saving either Alec, the guy she likes, or Annabelle, an almost-five-year-old she knows--Lark's life splits in two. In one version, Alec is in a coma; in a parallel reality, Annabelle is the one hospitalized. The Sliding Doors premise, though occasionally difficult to follow, offers a unique perspective on grief and loss.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(3) YA When overweight but body-confident Jess Jones receives an invite to a party from her crush Matt, the British year-eleven student begins a strict diet and exercise regimen hoping to win him over. Debut novelist Mainwaring's heartwarming, hilarious story about wanting to fit in but ultimately choosing to stand out is bolstered by Jess's snarky yet accurate observations about women's place in society.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(4) YA Although Sasha's been dying of cancer for months, Raquel ("Rocki") is still stunned when her best friend is finally gone. But irrepressible Sasha reaches out from beyond the grave via a series of letters through which Rocki meets Sasha's biological brother. Young impressively balances an exploration of grief with the adventure of a scavenger hunt, but the novel's ending feels a little too neat.

Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay

(4) YA Misfit mathematician Eva can't stand human contact, since touching another person reveals his or her secret emotional struggles--a "gift" Eva finds intense and disturbing. Then Eva meets Zenn, a boy whom Eva can touch without consequence. A crush turns into love, even after the teens learn they have a shared tragic past. Standard coming-of-age romance with a kinda-supernatural twist and a saccharine ending.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(4) YA FBI agents, under the guise of clinical therapists, invite five outcast teens to a therapy group. In actuality, the teens are recruited to help solve a murder involving a former agent and a serum that bestows psychic powers. Drugged with the same serum, the teens use their new powers to investigate the crime. Despite over-the-top plotting, this thriller is a fast-paced, entertaining read.

Reviewer: Grace Enriquez

(4) YA As finalists on a musical reality show competition, Lucy and her bandmates spend a summer in L.A. preparing for the show's finale. The girls become celebrities, perfect their album, and find romance, but they also uncover the dark side of fame. The jarring murder of one of the girls seems incompatible with the rest of the rock-and-roll wish-fulfillment story.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(4) YA British teen Charlotte and New Yorker Anthony, both recovering from breakups, meet by chance at JFK Airport on Christmas Eve. Loosely following a self-help book's ten-step advice about getting over an ex, they embark on an impulsive NYC adventure, falling for each other along the way. The plot is predictable and bland, though devoted romance fans may enjoy the love-after-heartbreak premise.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(3) 4-6 Seventh grader Hudson desperately wants to make the basketball team, but can he control his asthma during tryouts? Meanwhile, Hudson also worries that his uncle Vic is a criminal; he's confused about his feelings for Willow Flores; and he starts looking into the father he knows nothing about. Ridge juggles these matters with humor and just enough suspense in this realistic middle-school novel.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(4) YA Keeley accidentally swaps phones with Talon, who leaves for football camp before they realize the mistake. The teens--who've never met in person--fall for each other via text; Keeley doesn't know that Talon is actually her popular twin brother's rival. The potential to meaningfully explore how people's behavior differs when texting versus face-to-face is sadly unmet, but the romantic banter is entertaining.

Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay

(4) YA Sixteen-year-old Kai is devastated by her older sister's unexpected suicide. When Kai turns to drugs to numb the pain, her parents send her to a summer grief camp; there she finds solace in talking to teens who have experienced similar losses. While some readers may find comfort in Kai's story, this journey through grief is generic and resolves too easily to have wide appeal.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(3) 4-6 In 1980, eleven-year-old Finch struggles to cope with her father's recent death, her mother's depression, bullying from her brother's friend, and her feelings of being different. A friendship with new neighbor Pinky and her Hindu family brings Finch comfort and a better understanding of herself through exposure to another culture. A first-person narrative lends an intimate perspective to a plot-driven, multi-themed historical story.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(4) 4-6 In his quest for popularity, seventh grader Boris, with his "sidekick" and only friend Adrian, campaigns tirelessly for student council president with one hare-brained scheme after another. Adrian's narration keeps the reader at arm's length and renders the pair more pathetic than sympathetic, but moments of wry humor will appeal to middle-school readers looking for lighthearted laughs.

Reviewer: Rebecca Kirshenbaum

(3) YA Instead of spending the summer at one of his family's vacation homes, teenage prankster Charlie is stuck helping his mom refurbish a B & B in Rolling Hills--until a "zompire" outbreak turns almost everyone in town into humanoid monsters. Horror-movie fans will appreciate the allusions to classic films in this humorous take on the genre; an open ending paves the way for a sequel.

Reviewer: Barratt Miller

(4) 4-6 When his great-uncle dies, a peculiar curse is passed on to Charlie: he must sleep in water every night or he'll shrivel to death. With his twin, Lacey, Charlie battles this disturbing legacy. The twins' frantic pursuit of a cure introduces kooky, creepy, and downright scary supporting characters, but the storytelling stalls with slapstick and forced thrills.

Reviewer: Bethany Templeton Klem

(3) 4-6 After special surgeries allow him to learn to talk, Ortega the gorilla is raised to function as a human. When his social, emotional, and intellectual skills are similar to that of an eleven-year-old, he is sent to public school. People's reactions to him raise moral questions about animal rights. A fast pace and excellent characterizations make for intriguing science fiction.

Reviewer: Lauren Aimonette LIang

(3) YA Ivy is approached by her neighbor (and former friend) Virginia with a story of celestial visitation. Soon Ivy begins to unravel a disturbing web of secrets involving Virginia's family and a religious cult with dangerous plans. Hughes combines character complexity and poetic prose with plenty of dramatic tension to create a cinematic sequence of events in this intriguing page-turner.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(3) YA Illustrated by Julie Morstad. "The truth may be simple / But its impact is complicated." Sometimes funny, sometimes sad, but always moving, the forty-eight quatrain poems in this collection explore the insecurities, misunderstandings, and joys of first love. Lawson uses sophisticated wordplay and syncopated rhythms as he alternates between male and female perspectives. Morstad's simple pen-and-ink sketches keep the focus on the characters and their shifting emotions.

Reviewer: Aishah Abdul-Musawwir

(3) 4-6 Jack Lime, an orphaned, narcoleptic ninth grader, also happens to be Iona High's new "crime fighter, detective, private eye, sleuth, peeper for hire." After this likable Sam-Spade-in-training recounts two of his cases (a missing bicycle and a kidnapped hamster), he dishes the dirt on a case that fooled him--and got him hooked him on the "P.I. gig."

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger