The Princess of Las Pulgas by C. Lee McKenzie

Carlie, her mom, and her brother haven't had the best year. Carlie's dad just passed away from cancer, and not too long after, the family has to sell their home and move from Channing, a pretty well-to-do town, to Las Pulgas, which is not so well-off. Carlie goes back and forth between hating her dad and missing him like crazy. She can't wait for life to get back to "normal" and for the family to move back to Channing.

Nothing works out the way she wants though. In school, she's called 'Princess' and refuses to make friends. Her brother shuts down and then vandalizes the school. Even though she doesn't want to, Carlie starts getting pulled into the lives of her classmates--especially since they are putting on the play Othello together for a fundraiser for school and Carlie is playing the lead.

She learns that at some point, things can never go back the way they were. And maybe you wouldn't want them to.

Carlie is a believable character going through an awful experience. There are a couple of times where you just want to shake her, but they fit into what's happening in the story. Stereotypes are both broken down and used in this story. Heartwrenching at times.

The Everafter by Amy Huntley

Madison is dead. That's the only thing she knows for sure. What she doesn't know is how she got that way. And she'd like to know.

In the near distance she sees a light. As she gets closer, she sees an image of a bracelet she lost when she was younger. When she touches the image, she gets taken back to the memory of what happened when she lost it. Even more strange, she can enter her body at that time and try to alter that specific event. Each time she does that, she can't remember the details of the original memory, just the altered one. Pretty soon, she's trying every object she can find to see moments from her life which all ultimately lead to the scene where she lost her life.

Some memories shouldn't be altered though. And others can't change.

I liked this book for the overall concept and story. Madison loses a lot of objects during her lifetime, even though she's only 17, so there are many memories for her to follow. The switching from the past to the present jars a little, but it gets better as the story goes on. While the ending was a little surprising, Madison's feelings are not.

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

Alex wakes up in a strange boy's bed, a bad taste in her mouth, and without any of her clothes. She can't remember how she got that way. She makes her way back to her room across Themis' campus, determined to forget everything.

But her roommate T.S. has a different idea. She believes Alex was raped and wants her to go to the Mockingbirds to turn Carter in. The Mockingbirds is a student-run justice force to police bad behavior.

While Alex decides to talk with the Mockingbirds, she has doubts about what really happened in Carter's bed. And when he tells all his friends about her and their "great" time together, she starts avoiding him at all costs. This event has completely changed her life, and thanks to the Mockingbirds, it's about to change Carter's as well.

Then Carter and his friends get pushy about her silence. And have no problem smearing her to anyone who will listen. Especially at the Mockingbirds' trial.

While I agree with the reviewers that it seems implausible the adults at Themis have absolutely no idea what's going on, I can fully believe they'd turn a blind eye to misbehavior and misconduct.

The real story here is Alex's coping with being date raped, her acceptance of what happened to her, and the beginning of the healing process. Alex spends much of the book in agony that she asked for what happened, she can only remember bits and pieces, and she worries about Carter not being found guilty. I found the character and story to ring true with what I know, and thought it was just amazing. Well worth reading.

Hunger by Jackie Kessler

Lisabeth Lewis is seventeen and anorexic. When a friend confronts her about it, she decides it's time to end everything and tries to commit suicide. But she's interrupted by a young man with a package and a command, "...go thee out unto the world." The package is a Scale. Lisabeth has just become Famine, one of the Four Horsemen (women?) of the Apocalypse.

Of course, she believes it has all been a dream. However, she can't ignore the Scales that appear out of nowhere (that no one else can see) or the black horse in her backyard eating her mother's flowers. Or the riot she starts in Sydney, thousands of miles from home.

Once Lisabeth learns what real hunger is like from villagers eating dirt cookies, how can she continue to live like she has been? And how can she use this power to help instead of hurt?

An interesting concept--I've never read anything like this anyway. Lisabeth is a hard character to really like at first, but she has many redeemable qualities as the story goes on. There are amusing parts (especially when Death is singing) and the ending is especially moving.

Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham

This novel-in-verse follows Jane recovering from a shark attack that leaves her without most of her right arm. Jane is an artist and a successful one--but without her right hand she's not sure she'll ever be able to draw again.

Jane's life isn't the only one that changes, but Jane has a hard time seeing that. Her friends don't know how to act and the only one who understands is a 10-year old, Justin, who lost his leg. But Justin is still living his life and adapting while Jane struggles to accept what's happened.

Jane strives to teach her left hand to do all that her right no longer can.

A great novel-in-verse. There are plenty of flashbacks and doubts. Eventually Jane realizes the good in things--which works with this story. Well-written and told.

The Hate List by Jennifer Brown

Valerie is confused, hurt, angry, and scared. Five months ago, her boyfriend Nick opened fire in the Commons at school and killed 6 people before Valerie stopped him. Then he killed himself. The investigation into the shooting revealed the Hate List--a list she and Nick put together of all the people they hated. Almost everyone who got shot was on that list.

Now Valerie is back at school, with no friends and lots of enemies. Her old friends abandoned her, the survivors want her gone, and the teachers and principal watch her for signs of aggression. Even her parents think she had something to do with the shooting. How can she prove them wrong?

This is a powerful story about surviving a school shooting and moving on--not only for Valerie, but the community as well. Valerie's reactions and emotions are realistic as well as many of the other characters. I found the book to be riveting and couldn't put it down. But it was hard to read as well.

The Guardian by Julius Lester

Down in the south, segregation is a part of life. It's 1946, and even though African Americans have been free of slavery, not everyone things they should be. They certainly aren't treated the same.

Ansel has been friends with Willie his whole life. They both work in Ansel's dad's store, but Willie only works there because of Esther Davis. Otherwise, Bert-Ansel's dad-would have never hired Willie. He wants nothing to do with "their kind."

Then a girl is murdered and the boy who did it goes free after accusing Willie's dad. And in that instant, everything Ansel thought he understood disappears and life for him will never be the same.

This is a powerful story but confusing. The prologue talks about the trees used for hanging people and the last chapter talks about the survivors being guardians to pain, shame, and murder. The book is about lynching, so no easy topics discussed here. A short, painful, and necessary book.

In a heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth

Amelia needs a heart. She doesn't know if she'll get one before hers gives out. She's lived most of her young life avoiding activity, stress, and school.

Eagan has always wanted to be an Olympic skater. She and her mom don't get along, but they both agree on her skating. Then tragedy strikes and Eagan dies in the middle of a competition.

Now Amelia gets a new heart, but she can't explain why she has a new craving for purple, skating, and sarcasm.

Told from both girls' points-of-view, as Amelia struggles to adjust to having a healthy heart and Eagan accepts her death. A great story about transplant survivors and their families. The story is heartfelt and emotional. Sad and poignant.

After by Amy Efaw

This story is graphic and heart-wrenching.

Devon stays home from school one day, laying on the couch and barely aware of what's going on around her. Her mother comes home from her graveyard shift, bubbly and talking constantly. The police are all over their neighborhood--someone found a baby in the dumpster behind their building. When the police show up at their door, Devon's mother lets them in so they can ask Devon if she's seen anything. Instead, they arrest her.

Devon doesn't really remember giving birth, or throwing the baby into the garbage. As she sits in juvenile detention, waiting for her hearing, she begins to recall the events that she's tried to block out. Did she intend to throw away the baby? Does she really know what happened THAT NIGHT?

Reading this book took some time. As much as you don't want to like Devon for what she did, it's impossible to hate her. The narrator takes you through all that goes through Devon's mind during the labor and birth, but only as Devon finally recalls and accepts what's happened. The author's note at the end explains why she chose to write a novel in the way that she did. And it worked. A fantastic first book, but not for the faint of heart.