Ophelia is paparazzi fodder: she is the daughter of the King of Denmark’s adviser and the girlfriend of the King’s son, Hamlet. Her life is the epitome of today’s celebrity culture. When Hamlet’s dad dies unexpectedly and his mother marries his uncle Claudius, Hamlet begins to fall apart. The novel follows Shakespeare’s plot in great detail, which is not a good thing. It might have been better if this modern retelling was loosely based on the play and let go a little more. Shakespeare fans will be put off and those who have never read the original will miss some of the references and events. Girls who enjoy Lauren Conrad might enjoy this one.

Khalid, a fifteen year old from England, is on a trip to Karachi to visit family when he is mistaken for a terrorist and sent to Kandahar and then Guantanamo Bay. An innocent victim of the war on terror, he is held, interrogated and tortured for two years. This fictionalized story representing real situations illustrates the captives’ feelings of helplessness and boredom, the brutality and indifference of the jailors, and the consequences both intended and unintended of the war on terror. This story is riveting and will grab the attention of most teens. There is a timeline and discussion questions at the end that should prompt a lot of dialogue.

Instead of serving time in juvie, four girls elect to enter a new correctional program. Each of the girls has some sort of history that makes them reluctant to trust. Working together helps the girls to slowly begin to open up to each other. However one of the girls tries to sabotage both the girls’ success and the entire program.

This could have been a compelling story about four girls bonding and coming to terms with their issues, however, the characters are not well-developed. Lauren, the girl who betrays the others, is unpleasant, vindictive and not a sympathetic character at all. Could have been much better than it was.

Levi moves to the Midwest at the beginning of seventh grade and just hopes to fit in with the guys. When pretty girl Macallan is assigned to show him around, they immediately discover their love of British comedy and become fast friends. The book, looking back and told in alternating voices with a few present day comments thrown in, follows the pair through 11th grade and attempts to answer the question: Can boys and girls just be friends? While the pair seem to navigate more than a few ups and downs, jealousy sets in when they date others. Sweet, gentle – definitely a summer read.

Holly, the girl from the poor side of town, is still grieving after her rich boyfriend Rob dies in a car accident. To make things worse, Rob’s friends blame her for the accident, her mother is working a second job to make ends meet and now in addition to watching her nine year old sister, her grandfather who is suffering from dementia moves in and she must care for him as well. Grandpa Aldo’s Alzheimer’s seems to be getting worse; he has started talking to a “ghost” named Roberto. Grandpa’s ghost is actually Rob, who for some reason can not move on after death. The story is told in three voices: Holly, Rob and Rob’s best friend Jason who is falling for Holly.

The best part of the book is Holly’s relationship with her younger sister and her grandfather. She is kind and caring with both; her insistence in communicating directly with her grandfather and including him in everyday decisions is particularly endearing.  Her grief for her boyfriend is realistic but not explored in any depth, which is disappointing. Many of the characters are dealing with some kind of grief: the loss of a friend, a son, a marriage, the memories of a lifetime. Again, none are explored in any depth and most are tied up a little too neatly. Many teen girls will find the heartbreak and burgeoning romance appealing. Another plus – the story is set in Seattle with references to lots of local landmarks.

Hours after her mother weds for the third time, Clare is sent to a remote New England island to stay with the father she hasn’t seen since she was three. Clare is understandably reluctant to spend time with the man she believes abandoned her. She gradually learns that her father believes he did what was best for her; by removing himself from her life, he spared her from dealing with the fact that he is gay. I found it odd that Clare barely twitched when she found out about her father and that she so easily forgave him and was not angry that her mother was so eager to keep them apart. While Clare seems to immediately accept her father’s orientation, she does nothing to stand up for him in this or in his determination to save the local sea turtle population. The book is sweet, but the end wraps up a little too neatly.

Two broken teens, one who has just been diagnosed with diabetes and sees it as a life sentence and the other who has just returned from Afghanistan with one arm, discover each other in this summer read. Kate has just been dumped weeks before graduation and refuses to take her diabetes seriously, even though her behavior lands her in the hospital more than once. Aidan wanted a career in the military, but the IED that killed his sergeant also effectively ended the career he has always wanted. Told in alternating voices, this story shows how Kate and Aidan deal with the fallout from what has happened to them and their growing relationship.  It is hard to have as much sympathy for Kate and her choices as it for Aidan, and everything is tied up a little too neatly by the end. The fact that the two have sex so quickly seemed unnecessary. Definitely summer reading.

Nora is a brainiac who is tired of being a geek and wants to be popular. When her parents move so her genius little brother can go to a better kindergarten, she sees her chance to reinvent herself and be one of the cool kids. No more AP classes, Chess Club, or gymnastics – it is time for cheerleading and dating jocks. It all works out until she meets new kid Adam, who is a nice, brainiac, chess geek. Nora makes all kinds of promises and swaps to finagle her way into Adam’s life, with disastrous results. Reading this book was one of the biggest chores of my summer. Even though the book is set locally and I was prepared to enjoy it, it was so predictable, so saccharinely sweet, I did not enjoy it at all. There was a promise of more meaningful subplots that were never explored. But the worst part was that, after all of her deception and the trouble she caused for so many other students,  everything worked out perfectly in the end.  I am sure there will be some teenage girls out there who will enjoy this book; I  certainly did not.