(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 High-school senior Maya, daughter of a Muslim Indian-American family in suburban Chicago, longs to find her own romantic partner and attend NYU film school, in defiance of her parents. Her family problems are also affected by increasing hate crimes against Muslims after 9/11. Maya's convincing first-person narrative touches on intercultural teen dating, school life, generational conflict, and current social issues.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) YA In 1984, the small town of Griffin Flat, Arkansas, is known only for its nuclear missile silos--making it the perfect location to shoot a movie about nuclear annihilation. Sixteen-year-old Laura Ratliff wins a radio contest for a walk-on role and gets thrust into the surreal experience of making a movie about something she has grown up fearing. Funny, fresh, and totally unique.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) YA Essence's marijuana-shop-worker mother is usually high, leaving Essa in charge of her little sister, Puck. Essa and Puck's lives are forever changed when a mysterious boy from Chicago, Oliver, arrives in Boulder, Colorado. Essa's interest in Zen Buddhism gives her strength once the story veers into wilderness-survival terrain. This story is at once a keep-you-guessing mystery and an affectionate portrait of liberal, outdoorsy Boulder culture.

Reviewer: Katie Darrin

(4) YA Every year, seventeen-year-old Nano mourns having her robot dog decommissioned for next year's model. As citizens of Dog Island, it's her family's duty to test them while also keeping the near-future world's six remaining Organic dogs. Then Nano discovers a puppy with miraculously Organic traits. Despite some rudimentary character sketches, this is an inventive, focused dystopia with thoughtful consideration of animal rights and the ethics of innovation.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(4) YA Thriller fans will devour this complex mystery narrated by seventeen-year-old Peter Blackman, a mathematical genius who suffers from panic disorder. The central crime is exciting but difficult to navigate, particularly as the narration jumps between past and present. Pete's mental illness is uniquely compelling: his unreliable brain holds both the questions and answers for everyone at stake. Those who hang on are in for quite a ride.

Reviewer: Rebecca Kirshenbaum

(3) YA Petty criminal Hutch receives an ultimatum: die in juvie or secretly train at FATE (introduced in I Become Shadow) to become the perfect bodyguard for a "future important person." Two years later, sixteen-year-old Hutch is surprisingly tasked with joining a manufactured boy band to guard its lead singer. This sequel, with its snarky yet kindhearted narrator, entertainingly mixes celeb lifestyle with adventure and intrigue.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(3) YA Outsider Marnie reads tea leaves ("a kind of fortune-telling") to feel more socially included. She doesn't take her readings seriously, but her peers find them compelling--especially once a popular girl goes missing. Following her own insights as clues, Marnie begins to understand Andrea's disappearance, uncovers related crimes, and starts believing in her mystical abilities. A compelling contemporary mystery-thriller with a subtle supernatural bent.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(4) YA While visiting local historical attraction Boulder House for their senior trip, five teens discover the frightening truth: the mansion is alive and in need of more souls to strengthen its evil power. To escape, they must not only battle supernatural dangers but also confess their deepest secrets. The teens' first-person narratives are interspersed with vignettes from the house's disturbing history, heightening the tension of this trope-filled horror tale.

Reviewer: Grace Enriquez

(4) YA After Janie's parents die, she's sent to live with the Rochester family in San Francisco. Excessive wealth can't mask the many disturbances in the family, and Janie exposes new secrets at every turn. Financial corruption, mental illness, crime, and a misunderstood ghost contribute to this Jane Eyre retelling that is rich in details borrowed from Brontë but is never as subtle or emotionally taut.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) YA In 1958, Svetlana joins the Bolshoi Ballet, a cover for her work as a KGB "remote intelligence" agent. This third volume continues to follow a matrilineal family of dancers through generations of intrigue-filled history (most recently granddaughter Lana in Hider, Seeker, Secret Keeper). Wrenching mother-daughter relationships, fear of the Stalinist regime, and all-consuming passion for dance are portrayed with equal nuance and depth.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(3) YA Biracial sixteen-year-old Isaac takes the rap when a car heist goes wrong. He'll be out of juvie in thirty days if he sticks to his story, and he's determined to help his younger sister get away from their alcoholic mom. With strong, emotional storytelling, McLaughlin realistically portrays juvenile delinquency and how hard it can be to break the cycle.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(2) YA Seventeen-year-old Griffin has lost Theo twice: first when the young men broke up, and again, as the book opens, when Theo drowns. Dual timelines carry readers through the characters' finely drawn romance (and its dissolution) and Griffin's heartbreaking journey through the grieving process; both narratives are informed by Griffin's struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Silvera's prose is raw but lyrical, a good fit for Griffin's intensity.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2017

(4) YA Illustrated by F. Bowman, III Hastie. African American high-school senior Coretta White hires a white ghostwriter to maintain her blog, Little White Lies, after it becomes a top-trending sensation, then faces public disgrace when she confesses. The ghostwriter's middle-age perspective (in alternating chapters) seems out of place, and the shifting form (texting, G-chat, email, traditional novel) is difficult to follow. Still, this look at internet celebrity has timely appeal.

Reviewer: Breanna J. MCDaniel

(3) YA The daughter of a famous American industrialist, seventeen-year-old Rosalind is a curiosity to London society. When her father demands her presence on the first underwater train trip from Germany to America, Rosalind's friend Cecily agrees to go with her--unfortunately, her death awaits. This steampunk offering explores women's pre–World War I roles as the murder mystery unfurls.

Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay

(3) YA Two years after her mom died, sixteen-year-old Riley sees her in a grocery store. With the help of her three best friends, who've each experienced similar loss, Riley chases her mom's fleeting spirit straight into a mystery surrounding a powerful Jesuit relic. What begins as a Da Vinci Code–like treasure hunt becomes an affecting spiritual journey about overcoming grief and moving on.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(2) YA Che's ten-year-old sister Rosa is a "ticking bomb." Then a tragedy strikes that centers on Rosa, and Che learns the depth of his family's culpability. Larbalestier's novel is moody and tense, with just the right amount of creep factor and a casually diverse cast of characters. Che's journey toward self-awareness is enlightening and devastating; the threat of violence from Rosa is truly terrifying.

Reviewer: Sian Gaetano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2016

(4) YA California sophomore Wren is forced into boarding school back east when her journalist single mother accepts an assignment abroad. At Hardwick Hall, her mom's mysterious alma mater, Wren struggles to fit in and is shunned by her suitemate, Honor. The book's big revelation about the father Wren has never known feels obvious, but subplots--including Wren's involvement with the school's music scene--add interest.

Reviewer: Meredith M. Sittman

(3) YA Seventeen-year-old Emma and her boyfriend's families drank an anti-polio vaccine that rendered them immortal; pursued by religious fanatics, the teens separate. In an alternating narrative in the present day, Emma has been searching for Charlie for nearly a century and girls with a striking resemblance to Emma are being murdered. Tuck Everlasting meets the thriller genre in this satisfying era-hopping novel.

Reviewer: Grace Enriquez

(4) YA After walking out of the SAT, troubled sixteen-year-old Merritt is sent to a residential equine-therapy program. Her gentle attention subdues Red, an untamable racehorse, and they rise through the ranks of competitive jumping. Chapters alternate between girl and horse; Red's voice feels more like an intense boyfriend's than an animal's, which is bizarre but matches the story's darkly dramatic twists and turns.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald