Adult Nonfiction. Students of African-American history or the U.S. Civil Rights Movement probably recognize the question that author Moustafa Bayoumi chose as the title of this book--it's a quotation from W.E.B. DuBois' classic work The Souls of Black Folk. In this powerful and  thought-provoking book, Bayoumi profiles not African-Americans, but seven young Arab- and Muslim-Americans living in Brooklyn, showing how their lives have drastically changed in the seven years since the events of September 11, 2001.

Mystery. Pete Noland is spending his summer doing a whole lot of nothing...until his old flame Nicole calls and suggests getting their former crew together "for old times' sake." They'll all be going their separate ways soon, so Pete, Nicole, Eric, Pauly, and even weird Raymond meet at their old hideout to party before going to a local carnival. But faded resentments still linger, the evening sours...and come morning, Raymond has disappeared and a local starlet has been murdered. This intricate, eerie mystery will thrill fans who liked the suspense and multi-layered secrecy of the (sadly, cancelled) TV series Veronica Mars.

Fiction. Vastly overweight Meghan Ball is invisible despite her bulk because no one looks at her, giving her a distinct advantage in gathering information about her classmates. When Meghan notices her nemesis, two-faced yet popular Cara Roy, cozying up to painfully thin, caustic poet and new girl Aimee Zorn, she tries to warn Aimee...to no avail. But when Aimee gets burned by Cara, too, she and Meghan join forces to exact revenge. Fans of memorable characters and comic relief are sure to love the redoubtable secretary Ms. Champoux--the "pit bull in a perm and polyester blazer" who (so very badly) reads the morning announcements--and anyone who appreciates expressive writing and emotional insight will want to read Looks.

Fiction. Sisters Natalie and Claire have always been close, but as Claire prepares to leave home for college, Natalie feels abandoned. So Natalie keeps doing the things she normally does--lifeguarding and hanging out with her friends, who play a game that involves choosing between equally awful options ("Would you rather eat a rat with the fur still on or eat sewage straight from the pipe?"). Then Claire is hit by a car and ends up comatose in an ICU, with dim prospects for survival--and Natalie is forced into the realization that, so often, fate gives you no choice at all. This heartwrenching story poignantly portrays the grief, anger, and guilt of an "inexplicably and unexpectedly shattered" (Kirkus Reviews) family.

Adult Nonfiction. After moving to Los Angeles, journalist Cris Beam decided to volunteer at EAGLES, a sort of alternative high school for LGBT teens. There her students were "the boys who looked too girlie or the girls who looked too butch; they were the homeless kids living in temporary group homes or on the street," and many of them were transgender (born with bodies of one sex but feeling like the opposite sex inside). Beam writes sensitively and movingly about the daily lives of her students and about their triumphs and tragedies in this eye-opening story that "seamlessly blends memoir, reportage and advocacy" (Publishers Weekly).

Fiction. Laura Amores, a 17-old Cuban-American living in Miami, is blissfully in love with her girlfriend, Marlena. But after Laura is caught reading a love letter from Marlena during class, she's expelled from her Catholic high school and kicked out of her mom's house. She moves in with a friend, gets a job, and manages okay until Marlena, who's been sent back to Puerto Rico to live, renounces her feelings for Laura and marries a hometown boy. Heartbroken, Laura thinks that perhaps her life will be easier if she pretends to be straight, too...but can she be happy living a lie? This story's vibrantly described Miami setting, ample comic relief, and infusion of Cuban culture make it a standout.

Fiction. In a not-too-distant future (after the Greater Depression, the Reign of Fear, and the Jesus Revolution), the moment is right for the people of the United States to do something unprecedented: they elect Abe Stein, a gay Jewish man, as their president. Seventeen-year-old Duncan Weiss (also gay, also Jewish), his activist boyfriend Jimmy, and their friends are celebrating the election's outcome when the news breaks that the governor of Kansas has demanded a recount. This prompts millions of Americans--including Duncan and his pals--to travel to Kansas for the fray. Blending politics, romance, and delicious satire, Wide Awake is a must-read for fans of author David Levithan's Boy Meets Boy.

Fiction. Sixteen-year-old weightlifter, softball star, and heir apparent to the family's plumbing business Mike Szabo is often mistaken for a guy (her given name, which no one in her small-but-accepting Kansas hometown uses, is Mary-Elizabeth). There is far too much ugliness in Mike's life--her father committed suicide two years ago, her mother wallows in grief and ignores Mike, and her obnoxious slacker brother has nearly ruined the family business. Enter the new girl, Xanadu, with whom Mike is instantly smitten--but will the red-haired beauty return her feelings? Strong characterizations and powerful emotions make Far from Xanadu a riveting read.

Fiction. Sensitive, awkward 15-year-old Carlos feels like he's "the only person on the planet not getting laid." His three best friends are always bragging about their conquests, but Carlos--he of the caterpillar eyebrows, zitty complexion, and zero confidence--needs help if he's going to attract the attention of high-school hottie Roxy Rodriguez. After watching an episode of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Carlos asks Sal, the guy everyone thinks is gay, to help him improve his image...and Sal agrees, on one condition. Carlos has to help start a Gay-Straight Alliance at their school. This funny, no-holds-barred story is a quick, upbeat read.

Ever since she was eight years old, high school student Janie Hannagan has been uncontrollably drawn into other people's dreams, but it is not until she befriends an elderly nursing home patient and becomes involved with an enigmatic fellow-student that she discovers her true power.

Fourteen-year-old Kezi and Olus, Akkan god of the winds, fall in love and together try to change her fate--to be sacrificed to a Hyte god because of a rash promise her father made--through a series of quests that might make her immortal.

Ninth-grader Sherman Mack investigates the "Defilers," a secret group at his British Columbia high school that marks certain female students as pariahs, at first because he is trying to protect the girl he has a crush on, but later as a matter of principle.

A three-part poetry collection brings to life the emotional journey from girlhood to womanhood, showing girls that by sharing their stories they will never be alone.

Students in an upscale high school decide to take on the bullies and take back their school, with decidedly mixed consequences.