Cool for the Summer - A Teen Girl Finally Gets the Guy of Her Dreams... But Can't Stop Thinking About This Girl She Was Romantic With Over the Summer

Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler

Lara's had eyes for exactly one person throughout her three years of high school: Chase Harding. He's tall, strong, sweet, a football star, and frankly, stupid hot. Oh, and he's talking to her now. On purpose and everything. Maybe...flirting, even? No, wait, he's definitely flirting, which is pretty much the sum of everything Lara's wanted out of life.
Except she's haunted by a memory. A memory of a confusing, romantic, strangely perfect summer spent with a girl named Jasmine. A memory that becomes a confusing, disorienting present when Jasmine herself walks through the front doors of the school to see Lara and Chase chatting it up in front of the lockers.
Lara has everything she ever wanted: a tight-knit group of friends, a job that borders on cool, and Chase, the boy of her literal dreams. But if she's finally got the guy, why can't she stop thinking about the girl?

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More Happy Than Not - A New Edition Features a New Final Chapter

This is really cool.

The new edition of "More Happy Than Not" features a new final chapter, that "gives readers even more of Aaron Soto's unforgettable story."

I'm so intrigued.

And the idea of a new final chapter, of a book being changeable once it's been published, and lauded, is fascinating and inspiring.

Here's the info from the publisher:

Adam Silvera’s New York Times bestselling debut is back(!!!) in a new Deluxe Edition.

Features an introduction from #1 New York Times bestseller Angie Thomas, a new final chapter that gives readers even more of Aaron Soto's unforgettable story, and an afterword from Adam.

And the story:

In the months following his father's suicide, sixteen-year-old Aaron Soto can’t seem to find happiness again, despite the support of his girlfriend, Genevieve, and his overworked mom. Grief and the smile-shaped scar on his wrist won’t let him forget the pain. But when Aaron meets Thomas, a new kid in the neighborhood, something starts to shift inside him. Aaron can't deny his unexpected feelings for Thomas despite the tensions their friendship has created with Genevieve and his tight-knit crew. Since Aaron can't stay away from Thomas or turn off his newfound happiness, he considers taking drastic actions. The Leteo Institute’s revolutionary memory-altering procedure will straighten him out, even if it means forgetting who he truly is.

Why does happiness have to be so hard?

Want to learn more about Adam? Here's his website.

The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James - A Middle Grade Novel About A 12-Year-Old Girl With a New Heart, and a Second Chance To Live Her Dream Life (Which Maybe Doesn't Involve Kissing a Boy After All)

The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James by Ashley Herring Blake

When Sunny St. James receives a new heart, she decides to set off on a "New Life Plan":
1) do awesome amazing things she could never do before;
2) find a new best friend; and
3) kiss a boy for the first time.

Her "New Life Plan" seems to be racing forward, but when she meets her new best friend Quinn, Sunny questions whether she really wants to kiss a boy at all. With the reemergence of her mother, Sunny begins a journey to becoming the new Sunny St. James.

Add your review of "The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James" in comments!

The Truth Is - A 15-Year-Old Latina Dates A Trans Guy, Exploring Love, Identity, and Self-Worth

The Truth Is by NoNieqa Ramos

Fifteen-year-old Verdad doesn't think she has time for love. She's still struggling to process the recent death of her best friend, Blanca; dealing with the high expectations of her hardworking Puerto Rican mother and the absence of her remarried father; and keeping everyone at a distance. But when she meets Danny, a new guy at school--who happens to be trans--all bets are off. Verdad suddenly has to deal with her mother's disapproval of her relationship with Danny as well as her own prejudices and questions about her identity, and Danny himself, who is comfortable in his skin but keeping plenty of other secrets.

This novel was named one of the best YA Latinx books of 2019 by Remezcla and HipLatina. Add your review of "The Truth Is" in comments!

The Unbinding of Mary Reade - A YA novel "based on the true story of a girl who disguised herself as a boy to sail with the infamous pirates Anne Bonny and Calico Jack—and fell in love with Anne Bonny"

The Unbinding of Mary Reade by Miriam McNamara

There’s no place for a girl in Mary’s world. Not in the home of her mum, desperately drunk and poor. Not in the household of her wealthy granny, where no girl can be named an heir. And certainly not in the arms of Nat, her childhood love who never knew her for who she was. As a sailor aboard a Caribbean merchant ship, Mary’s livelihood—and her safety—depends on her ability to disguise her gender.

At least, that’s what she thinks is true. But then pirates attack the ship, and in the midst of the gang of cutthroats, Mary spots something she never could have imagined: a girl pirate.

The sight of a girl standing unafraid upon the deck, gun and sword in hand, changes everything. In a split-second decision, Mary turns her gun on her own captain, earning herself the chance to join the account and become a pirate alongside Calico Jack and Anne Bonny.

For the first time, Mary has a shot at freedom. But imagining living as her true self is easier, it seems, than actually doing it. And when Mary finds herself falling for the captain’s mistress, she risks everything—her childhood love, her place among the crew, and even her life.

Add your review of "The Unbinding of Mary Reade" in comments!

Darius the Great is Not Okay - a questioning American teen is a fish out of water in his mother's home country of Iran, and then he meets the boy next door

Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He’s a Fractional Persian—half, his mom’s side—and his first-ever trip to Iran is about to change his life.

Darius has never really fit in at home, and he’s sure things are going to be the same in Iran. His clinical depression doesn’t exactly help matters, and trying to explain his medication to his grandparents only makes things harder. Then Darius meets Sohrab, the boy next door, and everything changes. Soon, they’re spending their days together, playing soccer, eating faludeh, and talking for hours on a secret rooftop overlooking the city’s skyline. Sohrab calls him Darioush—the original Persian version of his name—and Darius has never felt more like himself than he does now that he’s Darioush to Sohrab.

Add your review of "Darius the Great is Not Okay" in comments!

Star-Crossed - a middle school play of "Romeo and Juliet" has Maddie playing Romeo opposite her crush, Gemma!

Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee

Twelve-year-old Mattie is thrilled when she learns the eighth grade play will be Romeo and Juliet. In particular, she can’t wait to share the stage with Gemma Braithwaite, who has been cast as Juliet. Gemma is brilliant, pretty—and British!—and Mattie starts to see her as more than just a friend. But Mattie has also had an on/off crush on her classmate Elijah since, well, forever. Is it possible to have a crush on both boys AND girls?

If that wasn’t enough to deal with, things offstage are beginning to resemble their own Shakespearean drama: the cast is fighting, and the boy playing Romeo may not be up to the challenge of the role. And due to a last-minute emergency, Mattie is asked to step up and take over the leading role—opposite Gemma’s Juliet—just as Mattie’s secret crush starts to become not-so-secret in her group of friends.

Add your review of "Star-Crossed" in comments!

18 Days - A Romantic Comedy Where a Teen Boy (Who Already Has a Girlfriend) Falls in Love With Another Boy

18 Days by Cory Blystone

Chad meets Joel. It's practically love at first sight. The only problem? Chad is dating Nikki, his girlfriend of two-and-a-half years.

Awkward...

What's a boy to do when he's in love with another boy but doesn't want to break his girlfriend's heart?

Follow Chad Walker's life after it is turned upside down on the first day of school his senior year at Ravenwood High. Over the next eighteen days, everything changes for this small town boy as he discovers himself, realizing that honesty is not always the easiest choice...

Add your review of "18 Days" in comments!

Flesh and Bone - a lonely teen guy struggles to find love in his life

Flesh and Bone by William Alton

When Bill's father leaves and he and his mother move far away to live with her parents, his whole world implodes. His grandparents are cold and distant, his mom is distant both physically and emotionally as she deals with her own struggles, and his dad is just gone. Bill explores his sexuality with multiple partners as he searches for love and compassion and turns to drugs and alcohol to dull the pain of loneliness.

Add your review of "Flesh and Bone" in comments!

Look Both Ways - A Teen Girl At Acting Camp Crushes on Her Female Roommate and Finds Herself Questioning Everything

Look Both Ways by Alison Cherry

A summer away from the city is the beginning of everything for Brooklyn Shepard. Her theater apprenticeship at Allerdale is a chance to prove that she can carve out a niche all her own, surrounded by people who don’t know anything about her and her family of superstar performers.

Brooklyn immediately hits it off with her roommate, Zoe, and soon their friendship turns into something more. Brooklyn wants to see herself as someone who’s open to everything and everyone, but as her feelings for Zoe intensify, so do her doubts. She’s happier than she’s ever been—but is it because of her new relationship? Or is it because she’s finally discovering who she wants to be?

Add your review of "Look Both Ways" in comments!

Honestly Ben - The Teen Guy Rafe Fell In Love With In "Openly Straight" Gets His Story... And Maybe His Romance, Too.

Honestly Ben by Bill Konigsberg

Ben Carver is back to normal. He’s working steadily in his classes at the Natick School. He just got elected captain of the baseball team. He’s even won a full scholarship to college, if he can keep up his grades. All that foolishness with Rafe Goldberg the past semester is in the past.

Except...There’s Hannah, the gorgeous girl from the neighboring school, who attracts him and distracts him. There’s his mother, whose quiet unhappiness Ben is noticing for the first time. School is harder, the pressure higher, the scholarship almost slipping away. And there’s Rafe, funny, kind, dating someone else . . . and maybe the real normal that Ben needs.

Add your review of "Honestly Ben." the companion novel to "Openly Straight" in comments!

Openly, Honestly - A Free Short Story That Bridges Two Gay YA Novels (And Follows The Romance Between Rafe and Ben)

Openly, Honestly by Bill Konigsberg

Rafe Goldberg was planning to spend winter break at home in Colorado openly mourning what he almost had with Ben. He wasn’t expecting his best friend, Claire Olivia, to kidnap him. And he definitely wasn’t expecting what she has planned to cheer him up...

Ben Carver was honestly planning to spend winter break at home in New Hampshire not thinking about Rafe. But he wasn’t expecting to run into his ex-girlfriend, who’s still interested in him. And he wasn’t expecting to find himself still attracted to her...

Add your review of the free short story "Openly, Honestly" in comments!

Weird Girl and What's His Name

Weird Girl and What's His Name by Meagan Brothers

In the podunk town of Hawthorne, North Carolina, seventeen-year-old geeks Lula and Rory share everything sci-fi and fantasy fandom, Friday night binge-watching of old "X-Files" episodes, and that feeling that they don t quite fit in. Lula knows she and Rory have no secrets from each other; after all, he came out to her years ago, and she's shared with him her sacred texts: the acting books her mother left behind after she walked out of Lula's life. But then Lula discovers that Rory, her Rory, who maybe she's secretly had feelings for has not only tried out for the Hawthorne football team without telling her, but has also been having an affair with his middle-aged divorcee boss. With their friendship disrupted, Lula begins to question her identity and her own sexual orientation, and she runs away in the middle of the night on a journey to find her mother, who she hopes will have all the answers.

This novel won the IndieFab Young Adult Fiction Book of the Year 2015 and made the Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Books 2015 list. Add your review of "Weird Girl and What's His Name" in comments!

Every Inferno - a teen mystery with a gay and a questioning character

Every Inferno by Johanna Parkhurst

Depressed. Defiant. Possible alcoholic. These are just a few of the terms used to describe fifteen-year-old Jacob Jasper Jones. Lately, though, JJ has a new one to add to the list: detective. He’s been having strange dreams about the fire that killed his parents ten years ago, and he thinks he finally has the clue to catching the arsonist who destroyed his family.

A murder investigation isn’t the only thing the dreams trigger for JJ, though. They also lead to secret meetings with his estranged sister, an unlikely connection with a doctor who lost his daughter in the fire, and a confusing friendship with McKinley, a classmate of JJ’s who seems determined to help him solve the mystery.

All JJ wants is to shake the problems that have followed him since that fire, and he’s convinced he must catch the arsonist to do it. But as JJ struggles to find the culprit, he sees there’s more than one mystery in his life he needs to solve.

Add your review of "Every Inferno" in comments!

Perfect – Ellen Hopkins’ Bestselling YA novel in poems about four high school seniors whose goals of perfection are as different as the paths they take to get there

Perfect by Ellen Hopkins

Everyone has something, someone, somewhere else that they’d rather be. For four high-school seniors, their goals of perfection are just as different as the paths they take to get there.

Cara’s parents’ unrealistic expectations have already sent her twin brother Conner spiraling toward suicide. For her, perfect means rejecting their ideals to take a chance on a new kind of love... with another girl.

Kendra covets the perfect face and body—no matter what surgeries and drugs she needs to get there.

To score his perfect home run—on the field and off—Sean will sacrifice more than he can ever win back.

And Andre realizes that to follow his heart and achieve his perfect performance, he’ll be living a life his ancestors would never understand.

Everyone wants to be perfect, but when perfection loses its meaning, how far will you go? What would you give up to be perfect?

Another powerful novel in verse from Best-Selling Author Ellen Hopkins. Check out her website's "What Makes You Perfect" Wall of reader comments - it's really amazing.

Add your review of "Perfect" in comments!

More Happy Than Not – A Teen Who Finds Happiness Being Queer Turns To Newfangled Science To Wipe His Memories And Straighten Himself Out

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

The Leteo Institute's revolutionary memory-relief procedure seems too good to be true to Aaron Soto -- miracle cure-alls don't tend to pop up in the Bronx projects. But Aaron can't forget how he's grown up poor or how his friends aren't always there for him. Like after his father committed suicide in their one bedroom apartment. Aaron has the support of his patient girlfriend, if not necessarily his distant brother and overworked mother, but it's not enough.

Then Thomas shows up. He has a sweet movie-watching setup on his roof, and he doesn't mind Aaron's obsession with a popular fantasy series. There are nicknames, inside jokes. Most importantly, Thomas doesn't mind talking about Aaron's past. But Aaron's newfound happiness isn't welcome on his block. Since he's can't stay away from Thomas or suddenly stop being gay, Aaron must turn to Leteo to straighten himself out, even if it means forgetting who he is.

Add your review of "More Happy Than Not" in comments!

Grasshopper Jungle - A Bi Teen Accidentally Unleashes The End Of The World

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

Austin is in love with his girlfriend, Shann, and his best friend Robby, which is totally confusing -- but his bigger issue is the end of the world, which he and Robbie sort of unleashed... In the form of six-foot tall praying mantise soldiers... who only want to have sex and eat.

Which, when Austin thinks of it, isn't all that different from what human teens want...

Anyway, it's the end of the world, and Austin's decided to record it all for history.

This dark comedy was the Fiction winner of the 2014 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, as well as a 2015 Printz Honor recipient. 

Add your review of "Grasshopper Jungle" in comments!

The Revelations Of Jude Connor - A Teen's Sexuality and Faith Collide

The Revelations of Jude Connor by Robin Reardon

Jude Connor’s rural Idaho hometown is a place of strong values and high expectations. For those who fit into the local church’s narrow confines, there’s support and fellowship. For those who don’t, there’s ostracism in this life and certain damnation in the next.

Jude wants desperately to be saved. Yet it’s not easy. There are restrictions on behavior and whispers about other congregants. And there’s Jude’s growing need to decide for himself how to live, when to question, and who to love. In the face of his temptations, Jude must confront the truth behind the church’s façade and his willingness to follow his own path — even if it leads him far from everything he’s known…

Add your review of "The Revelations of Jude Connor" in comments!

Prelude To An Empire - A Questioning Twenty-Something Agonizes Over His Life (With Characters of Color)

Prelude To An Empire by Terry J. Benton

“At 23, how the hell did I get to this point?” Russell Wright asks himself as he sits in his car with a handful of pills, ready to commit suicide. Russell’s life has been a roller coaster ride for as long as he can remember and today he wants to get off – forever.

While growing up in rural Georgia, Russell shares an unusual friendship with his mother, Charlene Wright. Charlene and Russell bond over their private struggle with Russell’s abusive father – a situation that climaxes the night that Russell’s father tries to murder their entire family.

As if things weren’t bad enough with his family issues, Russell has to endure relentless bullying surrounding suspicions about his sexuality – something he has yet to determine for himself. As a result of bullying and conflict with his spirituality, Russell’s personal growth is hindered and he struggles to find himself and his place in the world.

The one bright spot in Russell’s life is his best friend, Mercedes. She is beautiful, a diva, and sometimes a bit too ghetto – but most importantly, she provides comedic relief, strength, and support for Russell… and she’s also a lesbian. Russell and Mercedes’ relationship strengthens over her struggle for acceptance of her lifestyle and they vow to be best friends forever – until they leave for college and their friendship takes a dramatic turn for the worst.

As Russell’s story progresses, he fights to understand himself and the motives of the people in his life, as he experiences the lows and highs of friendships and relationships. In the end, this powerful and dramatic journey comes full circle to resolve the issue of whether he will indeed end his life.

This book is published by the author.  Add your review of "Prelude To An Empire" in comments!

And remember, if you or someone you know is feeling desperate or you just need someone to talk to, there's always someone you can talk to at the Trevor Project's lifeline at 1-866-488-7386.

The YOU KNOW WHO Girls: Freshman Year - A Lesbian Teen Series Begins!

"The YOU KNOW WHO Girls: Freshman Year" by Annameekee Hesik

"Abbey Brooks, Gila High freshman-to-be, never thought a hellish day of shopping at the mall with her best friend, Kate, could change her life.  But when she orders french fries from the flirtatious Hot Dog on a Stick Chick, she gets more than deep-fried potatoes.

Abbey tries to ignore the weird, happy feeling in her gut, but that proves to be as impossible as avoiding the very insistent (and - rumor has it - very lesbian) players on Gila High's girls' basketball team.  They want freakishly long-legged Abbey to try out, and Abbey doesn't hate the idea.  But Kate made Abbey pinky swear to avoid basketball and to keep away from the you-know-who girls on the team.

Sometimes promises can't be kept.  And sometimes girls in uniform are impossible to resist."

Add your review of "The YOU KNOW WHO Girls: Freshman Year" in comments!

And look for my upcoming interview with Annameekee later this week...