Seraphina by Rachel Hartman is a complex tale of political intrigue, struggle with identity, and of tests of love and loyalty. It is set in a world, the kingdom of Goredd, which is populated by both dragons and humans who are divided by suspicion, bigotry and a history of armed conflict. Seraphina Dombegh is the musically gifted daughter of an esteemed lawyer, tutored by a saarantras, a dragon in human form. When barely into adolescence, she begins to experience changes in her body and mind that reveal a terrible secret--her mother, whom she never knew, was a dragon and Seraphina is a half-breed. For her this means leading a life of deception and self-loathing, for there are people in Goredd who would gladly destroy such "misshapen, miscengenated abominations." Although her father commands her to stay silent and hidden, Seraphina loves music and accepts a position with the royal court as assistant to the music director. She becomes increasingly involved with the affairs at court following the assassination of popular Prince Rufus and the impending visit of the dragon Ardmagar to renew the tenuous peace between dragons and humans. She uses her special insights into dragon history and behavior to help compelling, attractive Prince Lucian, Captain of the Guard, solve the mystery of Prince Rufus's death and to help protect the Ardmagar. This is an entertaining tale of adventure seasoned with Seraphina's personal challenges of self-acceptance.

The Book of Jonas by Stephen Dau tells the story of a 15-year-old from an unnamed country in the Middle East who comes to America after his village and family are destroyed in a U.S. military attack. Jonas struggles to deal with his past--he has buried his memory of events deeply, but is obviously haunted by what has happened. Through his therapist, he meets the mother of a soldier who was declared missing in the same operation. Rose, too, is seeking answers. What happened to her son? Does Jonas hold the key? While the ending is somewhat predictable, the descriptions of what war does to individuals on all sides--non-combatant victims, soldiers and parents, are compelling.

Kill Switch by Chris Lynch is story with many themes: it is a quest to find a safe place for Daniel Cameron's grandpa, Da, who is losing his mind to Alzheimer's and becoming increasingly unpredictable; a loyalty test for Daniel as he struggles to understand why Da's former employers from the Department of Agriculture are tracking them; and a labor of love to keep Da focused on the present. It is easy to get caught up in Daniel's dilemmas, but increasingly troubling to see the consequences of the choices that Daniel feels he is forced to make. Newly graduated from high school, Daniel takes on the full time job of caring for his grandfather, determined to enjoy their remaining time together before he must leave for college. Listening to Da's rants, Daniel starts to suspect that Da's past was not simply one of a paper-pushing government bureaucrat. It also seems obvious that former co-workers are concerned about Da's failure to maintain secrecy about his past and want him silenced. Even Daniel's parents and sister have lost patience with Da. After Da has been put under observation to avoid prosecution for car theft, Daniel decides to take matters into his own hands. It is tragic to see the ravages that dementia wreaks on a proud individual, his family and society. Both Daniel and his grandfather are complex, challenging characters and the path they have chosen leads them into danger, violence and betrayal. Kill Switch is riveting and thought-provoking.

The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi

Bacigalupi, author of Shipbreaker, continues his exploration of a dystopian future in which major American cities have been flooded and turned into jungles. Gangs of armed children roam the ruins and surrounding countryside looking for enemies and vulnerable civilians to impress as slaves. Two children have managed to survive the violence, although Mahlia has lost a hand and Mouse is soon captured by a rebel band, with whom he must actively participate in killing and torture or be executed himself. Despite her desire to escape the violence, Mahlia chooses to return to the Drowned Cities to find and rescue her friend. She has one thing in her favor, she doesn't travel alone. Tool, a combination of man, dog, tiger and jackal, has escaped from his masters who first created and then used him as a killing machine. Tool owes Mahlia a debt--she stole medicines to heal his wounds and save his life. Still, he can't really figure out why he doesn't either abandon her or eat her. Tool and Mahlia face constant danger in their quest to find and save Mouse. Meanwhile, Mouse's captors are turning him into Ghost--an armed and ruthless soldier like themselves.The story unfolds with visceral violence and unending suspense.

Jumpstart the World by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Elle is a 15-year-old girl in serious trouble. She has been evicted from her home; her mother has a new boyfriend and Elle is in the way. The apartment her mother finds for her is far enough away to isolate Elle. She has to start a new life, without her mother, whom she fights with anyway, friends or a familiar school. Her only support is a one-eyed cat that is scared to death of her, a friendly neighbor named Frank, whom Elle is immediately attracted to, and some kids at the new school, who all seem to be "different," which Elle finds unnerving and embarrassing. Cutting off her hair the day before school seemed like a satisfying act of rebellion against her mother and her mother's brand of beauty, but the new look is "gay" and Elle quickly becomes a target at school. Members of the GLBTQ community reach out to her, but Elle isn't sure how she feels about her own sexuality, much less anyone else's. In Jumpstart the World Elle is forced to confront her prejudices as they are personalized through her friends and her much loved neighbor Frank. Hyde creates a believable world in which vulnerable teens risk losing family and friends in order to be true to themselves. Recommended.

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

This novel recreates the suffering of a family deported from Lithuania to Siberia during World War II. The Vilkas family has been arrested because the father is an educator and Lithuanian nationalist. Stalin targeted members of the intelligentsia because he wanted to destroy possible sources of protest in post-war Soviet society. The novel reads much like a book on the Holocaust. Indeed, millions of Eastern Europeans were subjected to slave labor, starvation and for some, summary execution. Only recently have their stories and the breadth of Stalin's purges come to light. Whether the persecution of national and ethnic groups rose to the level of the mass extermination of Jews is a subject of debate--as is the current view that Lithuanians and others were victims of the Soviets as opposed to collaborators with the Germans. Nonetheless, the struggles of Lina, her brother Jonas, their mother and other Lithuanians is a compelling one. The reader is reminded of the human capacity for courage and endurance as well as cruelty. Recommended.

Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson

While the reader learns in the very beginning that humans survive the attempt at mass destruction of their species, as orchestrated by a secretive and technologically dominant artificial intelligence, the retelling of the crisis is fraught with suspense. The author creates characters and then puts them in life-threatening situations as they are confronted by a variety of robots (think Star Wars on steroids) who are deadly, unrelenting in pursuit of humans, and increasingly adaptable to terrain and counter-strategies. They can repair and redesign themselves, control communication centers and satellites, and surgically modify human prisoners to make them more useful and less free. The author, a specialist with a PhD in robotics, has described a world in which modern automobiles take over city streets by running over pedestrians and destroying their human occupants in horrific crashes, formerly passive "house" robots become killers, and military hardware with automated systems becomes, well, you can imagine. The book reads like a video game, with viewpoints shifting from former military and police to creative civilians--hackers, building demolition experts, and a young girl with heightened awareness of AI communications. The story isn't deep, but it's fun (and a little gory). Recommended.