(2) YA After her mother was murdered by mining tycoon Roland Greyhill, Tina joined a dangerous gang. But now Tina agrees to work with Mr. Greyhill's son Michael to find her mother's true killer, which leads them from Sangui City, Kenya, back to the Congo, where Tina was born. Anderson's dark thriller will appeal to readers who prefer their mysteries political and their stakes high. Glos.

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

(3) YA Grace's mother Maggie is wild, unpredictable, and temperamental. All Grace wants to do this summer is work without her mother stealing her tips; practice for her piano audition in New York; and spend time with Eva, a new friend who turns into something more. And caring for Maggie has become a task too great for Grace to bear. Emotionally resonant without being melodramatic.

Reviewer: Sarah Hannah Gomez

(2) YA Victor Reyes shows a talent for art, which one of his teachers encourages, but when he fails to get accepted into art school near his girlfriend's intended college, Victor starts to slide into a gangbanging, drug-dealing lifestyle. Told in chunks spanning four years, this is a bildungsroman with a voice reminiscent of Walter Dean Myers, gritty with a sense of humor.

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

(2) 4-6 After the Civil War, eleven-year-old Jane, her stepmother, and her half-brother travel by boat from the East Coast to Washington Territory. In conversational prose, Jane chronicles the four-month trip and her first months in Seattle, where she cautiously but bravely makes her own way, finding mentors and allies. Jane's complex emotions and believable relationships give dimension to her character.

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

(4) YA In El Rosario, Mexico, Juan Pablo and his female best friend Rocio have both lost the grandparents who raised them, and now drug traffickers are after them. Before her death, Juan Pablo's grandmother told him to go to Pacific Grove, California, where "someone" awaits him. A compelling narrative is marred by some Spanish errors and occasional reliance on melodrama.

Reviewer: Sarah Hannah Gomez

(2) 4-6 Charlie, who's Jewish, is starting sixth grade friendless at a new school in 1970s Laurel Canyon, California. Armstrong, another sixth grader, has been rerouted there with other black students for "opportunity busing." Throughout the year, the boys bond over their outsider status. Frank keeps the somewhat conventional plot mainly stereotype-free. Complex, believable relationships with adults abound, and Armstrong and Charlie are endearing and layered protagonists.

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

(4) YA Her father is abroad finding himself, leaving seventeen-year-old Delilah to manage the family café on her own. She ditches school, partly because the business is going under and partly to watch Rosa, a dancer at a nearby tapas restaurant. Delilah's voice is bright and compelling, but the various teen hijinks are a bit too over the top to be believable.

Reviewer: Sarah Hannah Gomez

(2) 4-6 Virgil is bullied by classmate Chet, who calls him "retardo." Valencia feels like an outsider because she's deaf. Kaori is a self-proclaimed psychic. When Chet drops Virgil's backpack into an abandoned well, Virgil gets stuck trying to retrieve it; Kaori and Valencia investigate Virgil's whereabouts. Told in alternating perspectives of the three kid-heroes and one villain, the children's inner lives are distinctive.

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

(2) 4-6 In WWII California, Maria discovers empowerment on the softball field. Meanwhile, her Indian father and Mexican mother struggle to make ends meet as sharecroppers barred from buying the land they farm. Maria and friends from similar mixed marriages help their parents and themselves by speaking out and fighting discrimination. Krishnaswami creates a relatable heroine, and the clean, nuanced prose doesn't shy away from the political.

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

(2) YA The story alternates between the voices of two seventeen-year-olds--a contemporary biracial girl, Rowan Chase, and Will Tillman, son of an Osage mother and white father in 1921. While remodeling Rowan's home, workers discover a skeleton beneath the floorboards. Rowan plays amateur detective, researching Tulsa history to find clues to the skeleton's identity. An intricately plotted mystery that also addresses America's continuing racial problems.

Reviewer: Sarah Hannah Gomez | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2016

(3) YA Maeve has severe anxiety and isn't eager to live with her father, stepmother, and half-siblings in Vancouver while her (understanding) mother is in Haiti. But this change plus a potential new girlfriend help Maeve find some peace. A realistic portrayal of anxiety disorder and a refreshing, often funny story with a queer protagonist who is already out and accepted.

Reviewer: Sarah Hannah Gomez

(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 After being dumped by her girlfriend before the start of the school year, Meg decides to focus on playing Cupid for her best friend Linus and new-boy Danny. But this causes an unexpected fissure in their relationship. The characterizations can be rather flat in this novel told in alternating viewpoints, but the queer-friendships-and-romance angle is welcome and entertaining.

Reviewer: Sarah Hannah Gomez

(3) YA Illustrated by Zoë More O'Ferrall. This collection of mini-biographies of queer historical figures, from Roman emperor Elagabalus to contemporary American actor George Takei, is full of personality and written expressly for the digital generation. Introduced with background about queer history around the world, this volume will likely be welcomed by queer teens and anyone who delights in uncovering history not necessarily learned in school. Websites. Bib., glos.

Reviewer: Sarah Hannah Gomez

(3) YA When she is not cast in any theater productions at her boarding school, Jordan jumps on an a cappella audition opportunity--even though it's an all-male group. Will her cross-dressing ruse work? The authentic and detailed depiction of a capella practice will satisfy serious teen musicians, and the questioning, complicated friendships and hints of romance should appeal to many.

Reviewer: Sarah Hannah Gomez

(2) YA Sedgwick offers a timely look at teens across the border in his Doctor Faustus–inspired novel about former best friends forced to help each other when one is in debt to a Mexican gangster. Though the use of Spanish punctuation in English sentences might distract some readers, Saint Death presents a compelling interior story of resilience, poverty, loyalty, and the value of life.

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

(4) YA Ollie and Moritz leave their relatively secluded lives to find more "Blunderkinder," genetically engineered young people with strange disabilities and enhanced abilities. They need help from Moritz's scientist mother, but neither Ollie in America nor Moritz in Germany can track her down. A meandering, less-memorable sequel to Because You'll Never Meet Me.

Reviewer: Sarah Hannah Gomez

(2) YA With Abigail Pesta. At ten, after seeing her sister gunned down, Congolese refugee Uwiringiyimana's family began the long process of applying for asylum in the U.S. From there, Sandra recounts her American adolescence, trying to make sense of how she fits in as an African but not an African American. The politically and culturally complex picture of Africa that the author paints is welcome.

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

(4) YA This essay collection includes both teen erotica and feminist essays on sexual empowerment. While obviously a tough sell for some environments, the book's only real flaw is its unevenness in tone. As a whole, stories let teens see sex for whatever it may be for them (pleasurable or confusing, passionless or loving). Extensive back matter features resources (and reassurance) for parents, further reading, and websites.

Reviewer: Sarah Hannah Gomez

(4) YA Ahern delivers a Scarlet Letter–inspired dystopia about a conformity-obsessed government. Wealthy, perfect Celestine is unable to resist helping a Flawed (literally branded as having defect of character) dying man and is named Flawed herself--by her boyfriend's father, no less. Celestine is a remote narrator, but the compelling story will keep readers turning the pages.

Reviewer: Sarah Hannah Gomez