Fiction. Have you ever hidden something about yourself because of what people might think? Sixteen-year-old Jamilah does it every day. She goes by "Jamie," wears blue-tinted contacts, and bleaches her hair so no one at her Australian high school will guess her Lebanese heritage, or that she is Muslim. Why? Mostly because the popular students are hateful to anyone they see as different, and they make crazy assumptions--as if all Muslims "fly planes into buildings as a hobby." But living a double life is stressful, and "Jamie" isn't sure how much longer she can keep it up. Read this funny, realistic novel if you like stories about people who straddle different worlds.

Nonfiction. 1968 was a watershed year in history, with unrest, turmoil, and "political divisions and cultural clashes" across the globe. It was the year when Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated; students and workers were protesting around the world; and U.S. astronauts became the first to journey to the far side of the moon. Author Michael T. Kaufman was a staffer at The New York Times in 1968, and he pinpoints events of particular importance and shares the personal perspective he gained from writing about them as they happened. Anyone with an interest in history, political science, social justice movements, or journalism should read this excellent book.

Historical Fiction. Ida Mae Jones has wanted to be a pilot ever since her daddy taught her how to fly his Curtis JN-4 crop-duster. She's passed her written exam and is saving money for a trip to Chicago to get her pilot's license (it's 1941, and she's been denied a license once, just because she's a woman). When the U.S. enters World War II and institutes the Women Airforce Service Pilots program, Ida Mae is determined to enlist, but as an African-American, she's not allowed. Instead of giving up her dream, light-skinned Ida Mae makes the excruciatingly difficult choice to pass as a white woman--it's the only chance she has to serve her country, and to fly.

Science Fiction. Astronomers thought that passing through the tail of Comet Bhaktul would merely provide Earth's residents a stunning lightshow, but the toxic particles from Bhaktul's wake are now killing everyone over the age of 16. As most scientists race to find a cure, a renegade group sets a desperate plan in motion, sending more than 200 teenagers into space aboard the ship Galahad. Those on board must find a habitable planet if the human race is to survive--but less than a week into their journey, the ship's sensors reveal a potentially deadly stowaway. With mystery, suspense, and personal drama, this 1st book in the Galahad series is positively breathtaking.

Fiction. Even though everyone else seems to have given up on finding Ellie Wrigley's older sister, Nina, who disappeared two years ago, Ellie is always searching for a clue to where she might be. Then Ellie stumbles across a drawing of Nina's in a secondhand shop...and there's a phone number worked into the design. When Sean, the handsome and impulsive guy whom Ellie has just met, suggests that the two of them go on a road trip to find Nina, Ellie agrees. Adventure, mystery, false leads, and even a bit of romance follow, and readers will be as desperate as Ellie to reach the end of Nina's trail.

Novel in Verse. In this conclusion to the trilogy that started with Make Lemonade, smart, hardworking LaVaughn is still determined to make it to college and out of the projects. While continuing to babysit her friend Jolly's two children, LaVaughn also attended summer science classes for two years running and, as a result, lands a spot in the WIMS, or Women in Medical Science, after-school program. A bright future looks more certain for LaVaughn than ever, but when a shocking secret that touches the lives of people close to her is revealed, she has to struggle to decide--and do--what's right.

Fiction. Sofi Mendoza knows that her strict parents would never allow her to go to Tijuana with her friends for a weekend of partying, so she tells them she'll be studying at a friend's house but heads for the Mexican border looking for fun and romance. She and her friends have a wild time, but Sofi finds herself eager to get back to Orange County. Then she gets stopped at the border, is informed that her green card is fake, and is prohibited from re-entering the U.S. Now what will she do? Although born in Mexico, she can't even speak Spanish--and who knows whether her parents, who are not legal U.S. citizens, can find a way to bring her home?

Memoir. When 15-year-old Janice Erlbaum's mother takes her latest crazy, abusive husband back for the umpteenth time, Janice makes good on the ultimatum she gave her mom and leaves home--with nowhere else to go. Girlbomb is the gut-wrenching story of her "halfway homeless" high school years living in first a homeless shelter, then a draconian group home, and finally with a boyfriend (with whom she becomes addicted to cocaine). Life on the streets of 1980s New York City was not pretty, and Erlbaum does not flinch in telling her gritty and often violent story, but reader, there is hope: she made it out of her self-destructive cycle alive and is now a successful poet, author, and teacher.

Fiction. "Friends to the end," 15-year-old José and 14-year-old Ray have survived the foster care system and juvenile hall together, and now they are squatters in an abandoned NYC railway station, making their living through petty crime and occasional semi-legitimate work. Six-foot-three, 260-pound Ray may look intimidating, but it's streetwise charmer José who's in charge. That's why, when Ray falls for a sweet and beautiful girl named Trini, he introduces her to José...and the friends' loyalty to each other is sorely tested for the first time. Fans of Adam Rapp's 33 Snowfish and The Buffalo Tree or K.L. Going's Fat Kid Rules the World will not want to miss this story of friendship and life on the streets.

Fiction. Kicked out by his no-good mom at 16, Dylan has developed some theories from living on the streets in Canada. No one gives something without strings attached. Every fourth person he panhandles will give him money. Shrugging just may be the most effective means of communication. He even has his own theory of relativity: "all relatives suck." Dylan's life is a daily struggle to stay warm and fed, but something keeps him looking for a way out of his grim existence. Realistic characters and situations combined with beautiful writing make this novel about a "throwaway kid" a real page-turner.

Fiction. Jordy, kicked out of his wealthy family's home for telling them he's gay, is a squatter in an abandoned building in New York City. Life is rough for him, but rougher still for others--like Chloe, a homeless waif he rescues from a rapist one night. Jordy and Chloe decide to leave the city together in search of safety, sanity, and even some of the beauty the world is supposed to possess. This is the story of their trip across America--hitching, biking, on buses, and in pickups--from Niagara Falls to Big Sur. For a similar but grittier story about homeless L.A. teens who create their own kind of family, read Almost Home by Jessica Blank.

Fiction. Chan has been living on the streets of New York City for two years now, and it's sometimes hard for her to remember who she is and how she got there. It seems ages since her father married the proverbial wicked stepmother and Chan, whose real name is Gretchen, ran away from home. Now she survives the same way all the other streetkids do, by stealing, begging, and taking shelter in whatever smelly rathole she can find. Then a little girl named Elizabeth, only 11, shows up at Chan's latest squat, and Chan feels the need to protect her--but a rough life only gets rougher when you have someone to care about. Tomorrow, Maybe is an honest, heartbreaking story that you won't soon forget.