The Gospel of Winter by Brendan Kiely

It's one thing to read about the rash of sexual abuse cases in the Catholic church and quite another to see the looming tragedy through the life of one of its victims, sixteen-year-old Aiden Donovan. Trying to deal with his father's sudden abandonment of the family and his own loneliness, Aiden looks to his local priest for support.  Gradually he realizes that Father Greg's affections are not healthy, and he is not the only special boy in the priest's life.   Aiden's struggle to deal with his sense of betrayal, shame, and anger form the core of the book.  Related though Aiden, this is a thoughtful,  relevant, and eventually hopeful story.

These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly

Jo Montfort lives a life of privilege in New York City during the Gilded Age.  For a young woman of her background, this means finishing her education at an elite, private academy and marrying a young man with an equivalent pedigree.  However, Jo is not like her friends; she loves to write and in her dreams she becomes the next Nellie Bly--a famous journalist.  When her father commits suicide, Jo is forced to face her future.  Does she marry her family's choice and assume her rightful place in society or does she start investigating her father's suspicious death  at the risk of ruining her reputation and, possibly, losing her life.  This mystery combines a complex and gripping plot with  glimpses of life amongst both the very rich and very poor in 1890's New York.  Author Donnelly seasons the story with romance, as Jo is drawn to a reporter, whom her family would never accept.  Great stuff.