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.

Everybody Sees the Ants

This novel by A.S. King focuses on the tormented life of Lucky Linderman. Since he was seven, having just lost his grandmother to cancer, Lucky has been the victim of relentless bullying. His parents seem incapable of dealing with their own demons, much less helping him confront Nader McMillan. Lucky escapes from his world through dreams. He is on a mission to rescue his grandfather, who was MIA in Vietnam. Just before she died, Lucky's grandmother told him it was up to Lucky to find his grandfather and bring him home. The dreams are vivid; it seems as if he is actually in the jungle. At times Lucky wakes with evidence from his grandfather or Vietnamese soil in his hands.

On top of everything else, a school survey he developed to track suicidal tendencies of his classmates has landed him in hot water with the administration, counselor, and his parents. He obviously needs therapy, but no one wants to explore what--or who-- really is bothering him.

Lucky is an appealing character and while his suffering at the hands of Nader is difficult to hear, he struggles to be resilient and it is easy to root for him.

Stay with Me by Paul Griffin

In Stay with Me, author Griffin uses alternating voices to tell the story of doomed love between Mack Morse and Cece Vaccuccia. Mack is a 15-year-old high school dropout with a record; he also suffers from learning disabilities and anger management issues. What he can do is train dogs, and he has made a practice of rescuing and rehabilitating pit bulls. Cece is a girl with ambition; she wants to transfer to a gifted and talented school (by acing the G and T exam) and leave her past, including an alcoholic mother, behind. Mack and Cece are drawn to each other and their relationship deepens, but suspense builds, because you know it can't last. There are too many instances when Mack almost loses control and becomes violent. He is as devoted to his recently adopted pit bull as he is to girlfriend, but can he keep the dog safe? There is also the question of what will happen to Anthony, Cece's brother. He has enlisted in the army and will be sent to Afghanistan. Cece is convinced that he will not come back.

Griffin has idealized some of the characters, such as Vic, the owner of the Italian restaurant that employs Mack, Cece and Cece's mom. Yet the main characters are complex and seem real. As more of the characters' back stories are revealed, the reader better understands them and their challenges. Their fates are marked with tragedy and hope. Recommended for older teens (language and sexual situations). ``

The Radleys by Matt Haig

The Radleys is a clever, satiric novel written on the premise that there are many vampires in the world who want to live "normal" lives; they can give up hunting and killing and become like their neighbors--slightly boring and predictable, but content. Peter and Helen have become "abstainers" because they want to provide the best for their children. They delay telling the teens, Clara and Rowan, about their heritage, even though it would help explain their sensitivity to the sun, sleep and skin problems, mood swings and, with Rowan, increasingly dark and disturbing dreams and thoughts.

Try as they might, the Radleys seem a little "off" to their neighbors. Their children are unhappy; Rowan is constantly being bullied at school and Clara has only one friend besides her brother. Then the unthinkable happens--there is a kill. As Helen struggles to contain the damage and protect her children, Peter calls on his brother Will, an active vampire, to help with a cover-up. As a family and as individuals, the Radleys must eventually confront their past and face who and what they are.

This is a refreshing take on vampire lore and the co-existence of vampires and humans. The Radleys contains humor, suspense, and complex, satisfying characters. Recommended.

Those That Wake by Jesse Karp

Karp's novel is set in a dystopian New York City of the not-too-distand future. The city has lost its mojo; people walk around mechanically, tuning out those around them and staying focused on their cellphones. The city's infrastructure is crumbling and everything has become grey and lifeless. Something dark and elusive is spreading, leaving behind a surge in suicides, traffic accidents, apathy and random violence. For Laura Westlake, this has meant that her once doting parents have forgotten she ever existed. They call Homeland Security to have her removed from their home. For Mal, it is the sudden call for help from his long-absent brother. Trying to track him, he finds Tommy's girlfriend, who leads him to a building no one else can see. Searching for his brother, he is attacked by whomever or whatever guards the structure. Eventually the two teens are thrown together with two other victims of this malignant and mysterious force. Together, the four of them must try to solve the question of who or what is taking over people's minds and destroying their past., while keeping alive their own will to resist. Mal and Laura struggle to rebuild their lives in a world where no one remembers who they are.

Starting slowly, the story speeds up as the forces of unrestrained corporate power close in on the characters. Mal and Laura are resourceful and determined. Those That Wake is an adventuresome, cautionary tale, well worth reading.