Historical Fiction. As a five-year-old orphan, Ivy Jackson joined a gang of thieves in order to survive on the dingy streets of mid-19th-century London...and developed an addiction to laudanum (tincture of opium). Now 15, perpetually-foggy-brained yet breathtakingly beautiful Ivy is living with relatives when she comes to the attention of Oscar Frosdick, an aspiring painter. Frosdick wants Ivy to model for him--and Ivy's relatives want to exploit her. But what does Ivy want? Fans of memorable characters, dark and bawdy humor, and plot twists galore will adore reading this vividly written Dickensian novel to find out.

Science Fiction. In this frighteningly plausible story--as in the author's previous novel Life as We Knew It--a meteor knocks the moon closer to the earth, setting into motion a series of environmental catastrophes that cut off power and communications. In The Dead and the Gone, however, readers experience this same disaster from the perspective of 17-year-old New Yorker Alex Morales. After the meteor hits and his parents go missing, Alex relies heavily on his strong Catholic faith as he struggles to survive and to keep his two younger sisters safe. Gritty and powerful, this apocalyptic tale will enthrall readers of both SF and survival stories.

Fiction. Harper's home has been wrecked; her father is divorcing her stepmother, Jane, the only mother she's ever known and whom she loves. Jane and Tess, Harper's stepsister and best friend, have moved away, and Harper tries to escape the ruins of her family by volunteering for a teen program to rebuild tornado-ravaged houses in tiny Bailey, Tennessee. As she works with her team, making friends and even finding romance, Harper slowly figures out how to rebuild not just a house, but her life. This heartbreaking yet rewarding read is leavened with hope and humor.

Fiction. When she wore her brand-new green down jacket in the sixth grade, Rosemary Goode got the nickname "Fat Artichoke" from a queen-bee classmate. Now, at 15, smart, sassy Rosie has no friends, still gets called "Artichoke," and spends all of her free time working at her mother's small-town Tennessee hair salon. She dreams of magically losing weight and catching the attention of nice-guy football star Kyle Cox...but it's going to be tough to ditch her current boyfriends "Mr. Hershey and Mr. Reese's." Readers who enjoy well-drawn characters, Southern charm, humor, and emotional honesty will savor Artichoke's Heart.

Fiction. Football-crazy Miles has little in common with his father, who's a serious jazz musician living in New Orleans. But after his mom remarries, Miles decides to leave Chicago and move in with his dad. He's been in New Orleans for about two months when Hurricane Katrina strikes...and though they try to leave the city, Miles and his dad and uncle end up stuck in the Superdome. As the situation descends into a nightmarish horror, the three of them struggle to cope together. This "riveting and readable" (Kirkus Reviews) novel takes a hard look at the conditions inside the dome and was lauded as "one of the most important" books of 2008 by VOYA magazine.

Short Stories. What is beauty--a blessing? A curse? Beauty can be many different things, as these 13 stories by such authors as Lauren Myracle, Chris Lynch, Tim Wynne-Jones, and Jacqueline Woodson show. Some of the tales here lean toward the fantastic (such as Myracle's story of a homecoming queen who sprouts a shockingly long and stubborn chin whisker on the night of the big game), others are more realistic (like the one about a particularly hairy guy nicknamed Ape who risks humiliation in order to talk to the girl of his dreams), and the collection as a whole is "wild, funny, and thought-provoking" (Booklist).

Fiction. Best friends Nat, Lise, and Sofia are about to begin their last year at the private high school they attend in South Australia. This is the year that Nat--the go-between, the peacemaker--gets a job and meets a drop-dead gorgeous vegetarian chef named Josh. It's the year that Lise--quiet, shy, and solitary Lise--decides to take control of her life by taking control of her weight. And it's the year that Sofia--the ultimate guy magnet--gets her nose pierced and falls seriously in love for the first time. Leaving Jetty Road is fiction, but its characters are believable, and the story's warning signs that one of the friends is developing an eating disorder are realistic.

Memoir. Lori Gottlieb grew up in Beverly Hills, CA, during the 1970s; her struggle with anorexia began when she was only 11 years old. She was a smart kid who, because she had much greater interest in reading or playing chess than she did in shopping or swooning over teen idols, didn't feel "ladylike." Then Lori discovered dieting and became obsessed with getting thinner, even though she had never been overweight. When she dropped to 60 pounds, she was finally hospitalized for anorexia. Stick Figure tells the story of one girl's struggle with a deadly disease--yet despite the serious nature of the subject matter, the author manages to make her enlightening book both entertaining and funny.

Nonfiction. Is there a young woman anywhere who hasn't been either baffled by or critical of her body? Even author Nancy Redd, the 2004 winner of the Miss America swimsuit competition, has body worries and doubts. In Body Drama, she showcases oodles of un-airbrushed, unabashed photos of real women of all shapes, colors, and sizes--demonstrating that "normal" allows for a lot of variation. Redd also discusses the female body honestly and accurately and gives solid advice on everything from sexual health to stinky pits and much more. If you're tired of comparing yourself to supermodels and want a reality check, this "funny, practical, totally reassuring guide" is a great place to get one.

Fiction. Fourteen-year-old Donnie feels invisible...even though it's his older sister, Karen, who is literally vanishing. Karen and Donnie's parents fight a lot, and when they aren't yelling at each other, they're trying to get Karen, who suffers from anorexia, to eat. As Karen's condition worsens, Donnie decides that being invisible might be a good thing (his sister's problems are more important than his, aren't they?) and he tries to disappear completely. In addition to giving readers a loved one's view of anorexia, this emotionally wrenching story deals with serious family and friendship issues.