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(3)
YA
Serendipity "Pity" Jones's hardscrabble life on a farm is rough, but being sold off into marriage is worse, so Pity runs away and finds employment as a gun-slinging entertainer in a debauched metropolis. But the line between valued employee and disposable orphan proves to be thin. The post–Second Civil War dystopia is vividly imagined and the characters well developed in this girl-powered Western, Ely's debut novel.
316 pp.
| Viking
| March, 2016
|
TradeISBN 978-0-451-47753-8$18.99
(3)
YA
Amani, an expert markswoman who plans to shoot her way out of her dead-end hometown, escapes from Dustwalk with a handsome young criminal. Their journey across the desert leads Amani to the Rebel Prince's Djinni army, placing her at the heart of a global battle between good and evil. Middle Eastern lore meets steampunk Western in this exciting fantasy debut.
170 pp.
| Walker
| March, 2011
|
TradeISBN 978-0-8027-2186-0$15.99
(3)
YA
Andy, custodian's son and freshman pariah, begins a friendship with fellow outcast Blake. Rumors swirl about Blake having a gun in his locker, and he gradually gives Andy reason to believe he's planning violent retribution at their school. Van Cleave's verse novel is an engagingly interesting character study about the conflict between acceptance and integrity as Andy must decide what to do.
279 pp.
| Dutton
| September, 2007
|
TradeISBN 978-0-525-47801-0$16.99
(4)
YA
A senior at the demanding, remote boarding school at which his father is headmaster, David investigates his mother's two-years-unsolved murder, believing his father to be the culprit. The true villain's motives are a bit convoluted for credibility, but the meticulous layering of detail adds up to a satisfying bait-and-switch plot that doesn't play to expectations.
(4)
YA
Illustrated with Atkin's photographs, this compilation of teenagers' gun-related stories showcases mostly competitive shooters or hunters (overwhelmingly white, rural, female, and pro-gun) and victims of gun accidents and violence (overwhelmingly urban, minority, and anti-gun), with a few activists thrown in. Individual stories are compelling, but the highly polarized spectrum of experiences plays on stereotypes and dismisses complexity. Reading list.