Fiction. High school senior Ben Wolf had a routine physical and found out he's dying of a rare blood disease. Now he's decided to make the most of the year he has left to live--starting by swearing his doctor to secrecy and telling no one, not even his family, about his prognosis. Pursuing all the things he's put off for "someday," Ben sets out to learn everything he can, stand up to his narrow-minded civics teacher, switch from running cross-country to playing football alongside his brother, and win the attentions of bombshell volleyball player Dallas Suzuki. Chris Crutcher fans will enjoy revisiting Trout, Idaho, which is also the setting of his first novel, Running Loose.

Novel in Verse. In Crank, Kristina Snow met "the monster"--crystal methamphetamine--and turned from the perfect daughter into an addict and criminal. This sequel to Crank picks up a year after Kristina returned home to live with her mom, when Kristina is trying to maintain control of her addiction and take care of her baby, Hunter. But, whatever you want to call it--Crystal, Tina, Ice, or Crank--meth has a vise-grip hold on Kristina, who admits early on that "Not a day / passes when I don't / think about getting / high." Feeling suffocated by monotony, Kristina goes in search of the monster again.

Short Stories. These 15 interrelated stories revisit the same Harlem neighborhood and some of the same characters from 145th Street: Short Stories, and each of them is about love--between parents and children, between friends and neighbors, and between lovers. Whether you've read the previous collection or not, this one will draw you in, break your heart, make you laugh, and give you hope. Readers who long for stories that get the character, dialogue, and flavor of New York City's Harlem right will not be disappointed.

Fiction. Nina Goldman was born with a hemangioma (sometimes called a port-wine stain) over one eye. She gets teased mercilessly at school and longs to be beautiful, but she also knows she can use her birthmark as an excuse to get out of disagreeable things...like gym class, or, as her kooky father demonstrates when the family is hurtling down the highway towards a vacation spot, a speeding ticket. Afraid she'll never find love, Nina tries out various hairstyles to hide her eye, and hopes that what her beloved father tells her--"every crooked pot has a crooked cover"--is true. Set in Akron, Ohio, in the early 1970s, this novel will enthrall anyone who likes quirky characters or stories that feature strong father-daughter relationships.

Graphic Novel. In this powerful memoir, author Nadia Shivack gives readers a harrowing look inside her constant battle with anorexia and bulimia. Shivack, who kept a secret stash of candy as a kid and whose Holocaust-survivor mom barely ate at all, developed a full-blown eating disorder when she was a 14-year-old member of the swim team. The coach routinely badgered girls on the team to lose weight, and young Nadia was determined to control her body; soon, bulimia was controlling her life. With illustrations that Kirkus Reviews calls both "stark and beautiful" and a mixture of humor and painful honesty, this intensely personal story will open your eyes to the reality of many young women's lives.

Science Fiction. Now that Tally Youngblood has dismantled the Specials' regime, the world is in a cultural renaissance. In 15-year-old Aya Fuse's city, every person's wealth is determined by her "fame rank," so people try their best to be noticed. Aya, ranked in 451,369th place, may as well not exist; she's an extra. But then Aya meets the Sly Girls, who defy the cult of fame by doing outrageous tricks--anonymously! Should she divulge their juicy secret and secure her own celebrity? This 4th book in the series (following Specials) has a new heroine, but stay bubbly, loyal Tally fans: she and Shay do make an appearance in this action-packed, high-tech trip back to the Uglies universe.

Short Stories. What does it mean to be a family? There are almost as many answers to that question as there are people to answer it, and each of the 11 stories in this collection zooms in on a particular type of family--from those we're born with to those we choose. Some of the best authors writing for young adults today lend their voices to Necessary Noise (including Walter Dean Myers, Nikki Grimes, Rita Williams-Garcia, and Lois Lowry), and these quick-reading, authentic stories offer great introductions to their work. Readers who like character- and relationship-centered fiction will feel right at home.

Fiction. Luther T. Farrell is a decent, smart, good-hearted human being. Except for the smarts, his mom (nicknamed "The Sarge") is just the opposite--she's a slumlord and scam artist who's made a fortune exploiting people in financially depressed Flint, Michigan. Worse, she has involved Luther in her shady business dealings and doesn't care about his dreams of going to college, finding a girlfriend--and maybe even someday getting to bust out Chauncey, the condom he's carried in his wallet for so long that he gave it a name. Bucking the Sarge is a story about the kind of family it's best to escape, and is a great read for anyone who likes colorful characters and plenty of humor.

Fiction. Fourteen-year-old Marley Carroll's life in Heaven, Ohio, seems just about perfect. Marley (named after the Reggae legend) loves her family and enjoys the small-town life others might find boring. But one summer evening, Marley finds out that Momma and Pops are not her biological parents, and that her birth father is someone she's known for years. She feels betrayed, angry, and confused; what makes a family, anyway--blood, or love? Fans of author Angela Johnson's The First Part Last, take note: that book's main character, single dad Bobby Morris, also appears in this heartwarming and leisurely paced story.

Fiction. If a family can be defined as the people who take care of you, 17-year-old Zoe Buckman doesn't have one. Zoe's father is dead, her younger brother lives with her aunt and uncle, and Zoe is saddled with the responsibility of caring for her alcoholic mother. This on top of school and a part-time job slinging hash at a local diner is just too much, and when eccentric old Opal Keats puts a room-for-rent sign in the window of her house on Lorelei Street, Zoe gathers her courage and starts a life on her own. Her salary proves too meager to make ends meet, and she goes to desperate lengths to hold on to her sanctuary. This moving and realistic story will ring true for anyone who's ever struggled to survive--or met a stranger who turns out to be more like family.

Fiction. Here are some facts about 14-year-old Nicholas Nathaniel Thomas Tyler: he has four first names, one three-legged dog, an aquarium full of pet fish...and two moms. Until Nick started school, he didn't realize his family was unusual, but mistreatment from both kids and teachers makes him acutely aware that it is. Still, he loves rather than resents both rough-and-tumble Jo and his birth mom, Erin, and their life together (while not perfect) has actually been pretty normal. But now Jo and Erin are splitting up, Jo is moving out, and suddenly Nick is cut off from one of his parents. What will it take for Erin to see that Nick needs both his moms, whether they're a couple or not?

Fiction. Sixteen-year-old atheist Simone Turner-Bloom has always known she's adopted--and she's never really been interested in learning about her biological parents. She's too busy being a normal teenager--planning for college, working on the school newspaper, crushing on the paper's editor, and exploring things like drinking, sex, and love. But Rivka, the daughter of a Hassidic Rabbi and the woman who, at the age of 16, gave Simone up for adoption, has called and has a very good reason for wanting to meet and get to know Simone; Rivka is dying of cancer. This poignant and witty novel is full of memorable characters and offers a wholistic look at Judaism--as a religion, a culture, and a heritage.