The Telling, by Alexandra Sirowy, is a murder mystery and a coming of age story, which deals with social issues confronting today’s teens sensitively.  Lana McBrook divides her life into “before” and “after.”  Before includes her stepbrother, Ben; after does not.  Ben was murdered under suspicious circumstances; then others involved with Lana and Ben are also murdered.  This story is tightly written, with believable characters having realistic interactions.  There are interesting plot twists, and very good storytelling.  However, Lana does tend to go on a bit with some of her descriptions. The author is in no hurry to delve into the murders, prefering to establish the main characters and their relationships first.  The main thrust, besides the murders, is in exploring interactions among the main characters.  Lana was never part of the “in-group,“ keeping to herself along with her best friend.  After Ben’s murder, she is welcomed into this group and devotes a lot of time in learning how to resolve the sudden change.  There are elements to attract audiences of different types of literature.  There is a murder mystery, a ghost story, high school tensions, the meaning of the changing aspects of friendship, and, above all, courage in the face of adversity.  A murder mystery with surprising twists, an element of otherworldlyness, high school social angst, and personal growth for the main characters, The Telling will draw the reader into its web from the very first sentence.  Highly recommended.

The wrath and tyranny of the Sleeping Prince is crashing down upon Errin’s world.  All of Tregellan is going into a defensive lock down mode but Errin’s greater concern is to take care of her ailing mother, whom she believes has “Scarlet Varulv,” a mysterious disease that takes over her mind and body during the full moon in such a way that she attacks Errin and leaves her limp and lifeless the rest of the month.  With her father dead from an accident partially cause by Errin’s bad judgment and her brother abandoning the family without explanation,  Errin sole survival tactic is to sell the apothacary remedies she was being trained to do before her world crumbled.  Befriended by a hooded, white-haired male who always seems to show up at the perfect time, Errin not only continues her quest to release her mother from the afflicting disease while getting wrapped right into the center of battle with the Sleeping Prince.  Reminiscent of myth and full of lore, chases, heartbreak and tension, this is sure to please any reader who likes a twisted good vs. evil story.

Note: This is book 2 of a series though it was previewed as a stand alone.  It has a different point of view/narrator than the 1st book, The Sin-Eater’s Daughter.  There are times in the last 80 pages where the background of the 1st book would help.  Ultimately a library would probably pick up all three as most readers like the full story.

Seventeen-year-old Ryan Poitier Sharp is a daredevil whose passion is skydiving at her father’s diving school, living life on the edge with confidence and wild abandon on and high above the Mojave Desert. Daughter of a vibrant Caribbean mother, a veteran father with PTSD, she is also blessed with a Caribbean grandmother who has shamanistic Obeah (voodoo) magic in her loving bones. Ryan fully inhabits her ‘rum and clouds’ skin, glorious curls and careless beauty in reckless ways without apology, making love to her sweetheart, Dom, and caring deeply for her gay friend, Joe. However, when suddenly thwarted by her father in her wish to make a dangerous group dive, she takes LSD at a party and everything about her changes, mysteriously and for the worse. How she and her loved ones deal with Ryan’s frightening change, trying to discover the roots of her new darkness, makes up the body of the book, which is definitely for older young adults, since it has explicit sex scenes, descriptions of self-harm, suicidal struggles and family tragedies brought on by hallucinations. Tracy Clark has explored an unusual theme in Mirage, taking a metaphysical journey through what is either devastating mental illness or a ghostly possession understood only by Ryan’s heroic shaman Grandmother, who teaches her to reclaim her being, soul and sanity by bravely singing ‘the song of her life.’

The Boreal Five – five friends how grew up on the same street, each quirky in their own teenage way but bonded through life’s events.   Suddenly they are cut to four as a classmate, also from Boreal street, guns down one of them during a presentation in English class.  Each of them has bullied the at one point or another over the years.  Though stopped and now locked up, they wonder if it could have been them.  Rem — our narrator– is even more tied into the mess as his scientist mother is now doing experiments on the gunman via probes inserted into his brain.  Rem is asked to come converse with the gunman so they can watch his brain react.  So begins Tattoo Atlas.

This story is very multi-layered.  School shootings make way for ethics in scientific research, which take a side seat at times to examples of outed and closeted gay students as well as the death of an enlisted brother, not to mention the betrayal in a mother/son relationship.   A psycho thriller at heart, Tim Floreen’s characterizations are what make this book so interesting even as it is soooo far fetched.  But where it falls miserably short is in the point of the title of the book.  Rem keeps a sketchbook that he calls his Tatoo Atlas but it never really ties dramatically into the story.  This reader kept waiting for an ingenious weaving of the plot to the atlas but it never came to a fruition that would make it worthy of the naming of the book.  And the tooth — the tooth swap at the end was too much!   Any editor should have axed that one line.

In as much as this could be a recommended read for high school students, the flaws weigh heavily on this reviewer.

This refreshing, engrossing book by Carol Lynch Williams, winner of the PEN award, features cheerful, well-adjusted, well-loved and newly-turned 15 year old Evie Messenger, whose life has just changed forever as the legacy of the Messenger Family Gift is revealed to her…she can see the dead. Each woman in her family learns of their specific Gift at age 15, but Evie’s is special, rare and hard to take at first, since she sees Tommie, the dead daughter of her mother’s new husband. Tommie is mysteriously haunting her, and as Evie comes to terms with her Gift and the significance of Tommie’s persistence, the story of a gifted and loving family unfolds along with an irresistible new love.

In an era when many characters in the Young Adult Fiction genre are tormented, unhappy and depressed, this book sings with life and joy. Evie is surrounded by and helping interesting people who are living unusual lives. Each step in Evie’s discovery and exploration of her newfound Gift is crafted to reflect Evie’s own sense of trust in those around her and finally, in herself. Ultimately, this is an affirmation of the possible magic we all might share while still revealing special skills way beyond the ordinary ken of most. It’s an easy-to-read, satisfying book.

Messenger is Highly Recommended.

Edgy.  Surprising.  Will she go that far?  These are gut reactions to Remix, a young adult novel by Non Pratt.  Best friends Ruby and Kaz, age 16, take off with Ruby’s older brother and his partner to a music festival for 3 days.  Ruby is the experienced one, the push it to the brink to make it exciting one.  Kaz is the responsible one, even programming in the local Chinese take-out phone number for her mother to have on speed dial while she is away.  Both enter the weekend without a boy to worry about, yet both of their former boyfriends also show up at the festival — #dramawillinsue.  Told in alternating voices of each girl, Pratt’s characterization of each is refreshing but leaves this reader questioning the reality of the girls’ choices.  The lines are definitely blurred between teen and adult as this could be read as an adult storyline.  Sex, drugs and rock n roll, they say.  First published in Great Britian, this U.S. print could gain an audience as it was an enjoyable read and one worth considering as an additional purchase.

Ben wants nothing more than to have a beard.  All of the coolest, “boss” people he knows have beards, including his dad.  After creative experimentation with different ways to have something like a beard, including an incident with the permanent marker, Ben’s dad throws Ben for a loop when he cuts off his beard.  This is not what Ben wants.  A quick trip to the costume store helps solve the problem for both son and dad.  The alliteration of “B”s throughout the text keep the story bouncing along.  Another “boss” attribute is the line “Both of Bobby’s dads rocked boisterous beards.”   It’s so refreshing to have this as seamless as any other line in a children’s picture book today.  For this and many other reasons, Beard Boy is recommended for all libraries.

What happens when 10 different pigs bring their favorite foods to add to a sandwich?  Using slant rhyme, Derek Anderson builds suspense as each pig throws in their item to become a towering meal.  When the 11th pigs shows up, every pig is stopped in its tracks as there should only be 10 pigs total.  What’s a wolf doing there?  A silly ending is only the downfall of this super cute read, well maybe that and the choppy cadence.  Still, the illustrations are amazing and will carry the story in young kids’ minds.  Illustrator Derek Anderson, of Hot Rod Hamster fame, has produced his second “pig” book incorporating his own writing with his fabulous illustrations.    Most kids will enjoy Ten Hungry Pigs.

The title and cover of Manners Are Not For Monkeys will draw young readers into this book instantly.  I mean, who doesn’t like to see monkeys behaving badly?  But the problem is that after a move to a cage near the children’s playground, the monkeys do the exact opposite.  They start mimicking the children and use their manners.  Their mother can’t stand this and orders then to chew with open mouths, screech loudly, drop food on the ground and swing around crazily.  The little twist at the end of the story is a perfect finish for this fun review of good manners.  Full-color illustration throughout, though this reader thinks they could be “cuter” — maybe cuter wouldn’t match the message.  Regardless, it will be entertaining and is a worthy purchase if you have additional funds.

Well woven biographical sketches and social history lessons will open many eyes of students who pick up LGBTQ+ Athletes Claim the Field.  Author Kirstin Cronn-Mills was able to capture both the agony and pride these athletes have felt in such a variety of sports.  The unfortunate reality is that their athleticism is shadowed by their sexual orientation, whether they come out while still participating or in retirement, is surprisingly sad.  Cronns-Mills portrays each athlete as the human being they are, with the same rights as the next person, yet those rights have to be fought for in court and in the court of people’s hearts.  Gatekeepers are being challenged and toppled, from Major League teams to K-12 education policies.  LGBTQ+ Athletes Claim the Field should make lists of recommended books for libraries for its well-rounded, primary source filled coverage of the issue.