If you were the only one left one morning in your town, you might freak out a little. When ominous messages appear for you to find, you’d likely freak out more. Ally Condie’s The Only Girl in Town attempts to be more than it should though. Hooking the reader with a scary mystery setting, Condie uses alternating “Once” and “Now” chapters to bring the real story behind July Fielding’s loneliness. July found herself in a bullying triangle and she didn’t become the upstander that she should have been. There’s also a love interest that doesn’t work out. But the mystery is more confusing than thrilling. The repetitive message of “Get Th3m Back” could be seen July’s need for retribution and the reader must prod along to find out why. But it was also read as longing for companionship as July wondereds if she can wish people back into her life like she wished for her cat to appear and it did. July’s own mental state becomes the focus as a reader realizes the metaphor at play and then follows her as she literally runs to a possible suicide. So why set readers up in the initial form of a mystery? Is she getting the readers back because, shocker, she doesn’t jump? Saying this is a spolier, I know, but when would a publisher let the character’s suicide actually succeed in YA? Other reviewers have commented that if you haven’t experienced depression or severe loneliness, you won’t get this book. If the fault is all mine, I can own it. But I just can’t give it a high recommendation.

In Ali Hazelwood’s spicy romance Check & Mate, Mallory Greenleaf appears to be a confident, charismatic, and clever high school graduate stuck in her hometown working as a mechanic to support her mother and two sisters. But this characterization will be challenged by the very game that put her into her current situation: chess. Mallory was a child chess prodigy and her father a Grand Master. But at 14, events unfolded that made Mallory choose to quit playing. At her best friend’s request, Mallory joined a charity team tournament. Upon winning the tournament, which sent a minor earthquake through the chess world, Mallory’s own world opens to amazing opportunities through chess. Is she willing to endure the pain of the past and the conflicting story of the person she thought she had become? Readers need to know that Mallory is mature in her sexuality. Comments made by her younger middle-school-aged siblings might even shock some people. But Hazelwood’s exploration of the chess world and the game itself is fascinating. Even a person who has never played the game will love the tension Hazelwood produces. Add in a tantalizing romance that builds and builds over the whole book and this is a winner, much like Mallory.

A rom-com with Asian flair, Jennifer Yen’s Love, Decoded mixes the pressures of high school classes, friendships, and angst into a predictable yet modern melodrama. Gigi Wong is a super smart girl with nothing holding her back — she comes from a family with money, she has respect from her peers and teachers, and she has a school that offers the high-level classes to take her anywhere. But like most teens, Gigi doesn’t know where to go after high school. An app creation assignment in class that includes the option of being entered into a contest brings out Gigi’s natural drive to be the best, but this will create conflict in multiple friendships as the story plays out. Gigi is a nice girl that readers will want to succeed and they may get frustrated as they know the tripwire is coming…she will fall down. How she handles both the elements she is in control of as well as those she lost control of will be the make-or-break point for readers. They’ll either see her as authentic or not. This is recommended for all high school and public libraries.

Craving that authentic, richly Hispanic fresh cooking one finds in many small-town, family-owned Mexican restaurants, then this fiesta of a cookbook is for you. While this beautifully crafted collection is meant to be breakfast forward –from salsas to drinks, to salads, soups, and sides– any of the recipes can be served for any meal in the day. Most of the recipes are made from traditional yet simple ingredients found in most major supermarket chains, though a trip to a specialty store will be required here and there. Pair a cactus and tomatillo cooler with the chicken mole folds. Perhaps a marinated panela cheese with watermelon, peach, and cucumber salad to bring a bit of health to the banana run french toast. Each recipe comes with a half-page or larger vividly colored photograph of the finished dish. Fifteen “Something Sweet”s finish this collection. The intro method on “How to roast a poblano chili” sets adventurists up for the several recipes that require the chili’s presence. This is a lovely addition to any cookbook collection — one that will make my Hispanic students proud to see and all other children hungry to try.

Shea Ernshaw’s A Wilderness of Stars brings multiple genres of adventure, romance, and sci-fi together as it starts off strong but finishes disjointed and rushed. Vega is from a line of “Astronomers”. When the stars are in alignment, she begins a journey to find the “Architect” and save the world. She meets a girl named Cricket who saves her from danger and brings her to the “Architect”. After the “Architect”‘s sudden death, the apprentice Noah replaces him and brings Vega to her final goal. This follows a traditional plotline that incorporates more serious topics of disease, poverty, and harsh environments that the author executes beautifully. However, the story falls flat with the climax and ending. The timing was inconsistent and the added science-fiction element created a disjointed flow—like a car jerking as it runs out of gas. And additional purchase for most libraries.

Kristine Ehlebracht for Kristi Bonds

Hiding her love for Nora was hard enough in her conservative, small town. After graduating high school, Stevie and Nora had big dreams of moving to a more accepting world. But Stevie’s accident has left her with amnesia — she can’t remember anything from the last two years and she barely feels connected with her own family anymore.

Confusion, frustration, and loneliness are part of the struggles both Nora and Stevie face as they learn about each other again, all while wondering if their love will be rekindled. Alyson Derrick gave enough backstory so one could feel how deep their passion for each other. This reader was cheering them on as Stevie and Nora fell back in love. The only flaw– how easily her parents accepted her sexuality given the community they lived in — is concerning in that not all students reading this would be so lucky. But a theme of the book has to be hope in true love and where one sees a flaw another can argue that it is evidence of the theme. What could have been a tragic love loss story is instead one where each page had a purpose in explaining the intimate details of their connection. A highly recommended love story for high school students.

Adina Walker is intelligent, driven, pretty, and sociable but because she is Black and middle-class, life at her exclusive, private high school has not been easy. When Adina loses her acceptance to Yale, she has the opportunity to regain it by winning “The Finish;” however, this elite competition is not all that it seems to be. In fact, something is clearly sinister about the game. 

Joelle Wellington’s Their Vicious Games is an entertaining read. The story is fast-paced, and populated with developed characters that are recognizable, not always likable, yet very interesting.  Events are unpredictable and the plot is twisty while descriptions are brutal and gory.   It is an anxiety-inducing, horrifying thrill-ride and the reader will not want to disembark until it is done.  This novel effortlessly allows readers of all ages to engulf themselves in this YA high-action, thriller and is highly recommended!

Venom & Vow, by Anna-Marie and Elliott McLemore, twists and turns through intrigue and self-discovery with excitement on every page. Valencia has trained her entire life in combat, trickery, and deception to aid her country and her Princess in the war against Adare and their prince, Patrick McKenna. When peace talks bring the two sides together, Valencia is finally able to investigate the mysterious boy who put a curse on the land and trapped the king and queen in El Encanto. Switching between the two characters’ perspectives creates a rich and vivid world without revealing the next twist in the plot. The character’s disabilities are woven well into their stories and believable in the book’s world. Topics surrounding gender identity are introduced slowly and naturally and avoid the common tropes that one would expect. Despite action occurring on nearly every page, the descriptions of movement, especially in combat scenes, can become difficult to follow. This fictional world of mystery, magic, and intrigue weaves Spanish and Scottish language and culture to make an unfamiliar world feel more familiar. For readers who like to guess the answer right away and those who wait for it to be fully revealed, the surprises and twists in this story will keep you guessing the whole way. Highly Recommended. 

I Will Find You Again is an emotional story about two teens who fell in love but one didn’t find hope in their future, which led to suicide. Chase is an overachiever and Lia is free-spirited. Lia feels there is no other choice than to die. The story revolves around Chase and her process of grieving.

The author does a great job creating a back story to keep the reader hooked and wanting to see what is about to happen. Lyu shows the emotions of the characters well throughout the book going into the stages of grief: denial, anger, depression, and then acceptance. The story is a bit strange in that the main character loses their memories due to taking pills. Then there was a character who is actually the main character’s subconscious because of the pills. It was a bit confusing at times, but the author eventually came around to connect all the pieces together.

This was a great read for people who are trying to make sense of suicide and Lyu doesn’t shy away from the grieving process. The theme of loving who you are, not some fake perfect version of yourself, is genuinely felt. It may also help someone who is grieving a loss know there is hope eventually. However, a large expanse of the book is heavy, dark, and depressing. This made it feel slow to progress, though it finished quickly and left this reader confused. The main character was too fine. Therefore this is recommended as an additional purchase for school libraries.

Spanning the last two years of high school for Stony Shelor, this fictional tale puts a sad light on a small town named Early in Appalachian U.S.A. Stony is a boy who is not only figuring out his own life but those of many in his town — from the town drunk to the bully, from the illegal moonshine makers to the racist acts by the Klu Klux Klan. Stony is coming into adulthood realizing that his father’s job as mayor of such a town is not easy. But Stony is a boy at heart who loves a good chase and when the new kid comes to town with swagger, Stony is drawn to his style. The two set off to be private detectives for the town, which gets them into touchy situations. He’ll be shot at multiple times but risking his life seems to be his purpose for living, even at his young age. More often than not he works with the local sheriff’s office, though it may not have been legal 100% of the time. There are many examples of racism that Stony has to deal with and while this is the obvious social message of Hopkins writing, it feels more like a Huckleberry Finn than a To Kill a Mockingbird story. It’s more about the action Stony gets himself into. This librarian will put it on the shelf and try to sell it to a few key students but it may not have an audience with today’s youth.