Teen Tuesday - Exciting Fall Releases!

Diplomatic Immunity by Brodi Ashton (Balzer + Bray hardcover, 6 September 2016).

Piper Baird has always dreamed of becoming a journalist. So when she scores a scholarship to exclusive Chiswick Academy in Washington, DC, she knows it’s her big opportunity. Chiswick offers the most competitive prize for teen journalists—the Bennington scholarship—which would ensure her acceptance to one of the best schools in the country.

Piper isn’t at Chiswick for two days before she witnesses the extreme privilege of the young and wealthy elite who attend her school—and realizes that access to these untouchable students just might give her the edge she’ll need to blow the lid off life at the school in a scathing and unforgettable exposé worthy of the Bennington.

Dial Em for Murder by Marni Bates (Merit Press hardcover, 18 November 2016).

Sixteen-year-old Emmy Danvers was just trying to write a halfway decent romance novel when a senile old man mumbled a cryptic warning, tackled her to the ground in the middle of

Starbucks, and...died right on top of her.

Unfortunately for Emmy, the incident wasn't quite as random as she thought, and it turns out that the old man might have taken a bullet for her. Not only that, he slipped something into her pocket: a digital tablet containing secrets that she has no idea how to unlock, but that others are ready to kill for. Thrust into a world where nothing is as it seems, Emmy must try to track down her absentee father, deal with a flirtatious bad boy who may or may not be on her side, and, oh yeah, stay one step ahead of the killers lurking in the shadows of an exclusive prep school. The old man's parting advice to "trust nobody" doesn't sound so crazy after all....

The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis (Katherine Tegen hardcover, 20 September 2016). 

Alex Craft knows how to kill someone. And she doesn’t feel bad about it. When her older sister, Anna, was murdered three years ago and the killer walked free, Alex uncaged the language she knows best—the language of violence. While her crime goes unpunished, Alex knows she can’t be trusted among other people, even in her small hometown. She relegates herself to the shadows, a girl who goes unseen in plain sight, unremarkable in the high school hallways.

But Jack Fisher sees her. He’s the star athlete gunning for valedictorian, still feeling the guilt over the role he played the night Anna’s body was discovered. And he doesn’t want to only see Alex Craft; he wants to know her.

So does Peekay, the preacher’s kid with a defiant streak. When Peekay and Alex start working together at the animal shelter, a friendship forms and Alex’s protective tendencies extend to more than just the dogs and cats they care for.



I'm Not Your Manic Pixie Dream Girl by Gretchen McNeil (Balzer + Bray hardcover, 18 October 2016). 

Beatrice Maria Estrella Giovannini has life all figured out. She’s starting senior year at the top of her class, she’s a shoo-in for a scholarship to MIT, and she’s got a new boyfriend she’s crazy about. The only problem: All through high school Bea and her best friends, Spencer and Gabe, have been the targets of horrific bullying.

So Bea uses her math skills to come up with the Formula, a 100% mathematically guaranteed path to social happiness in high school. Now Gabe is on his way to becoming student body president, and Spencer is finally getting his art noticed. But when her boyfriend dumps her for Toile, the quirky new girl at school, Bea realizes it’s time to use the Formula for herself. She’ll be reinvented as the eccentric and lovable Trixie—a quintessential manic pixie dream girl—in order to win her boyfriend back and beat new-girl Toile at her own game.

Unfortunately, being a manic pixie dream girl isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and “Trixie” is causing unexpected consequences for her friends. As the Formula begins to break down, can Bea find a way to reclaim her true identity and fix everything she’s messed up? Or will the casualties of her manic pixie experiment go far deeper than she could possibly imagine?




Be Good, Be Real, Be Crazy by Chelsey Philpott (Harper Teen hardcover, 11 October 2016).

Three teenagers. One road trip. Countless detours. From the author of Even in Paradise comes a story about love, friendship, and finding yourself that is perfect for fans of Paper Towns and Mosquitoland.

When Mia first waltzed into Homer’s small corner of Florida, she changed Homer’s entire world. It wasn’t long before he was hopelessly in love. But now Mia is moving away—and Homer and his younger brother, Einstein, are helping her drive hundreds of miles to her new home.

This might be Homer’s last chance to tell Mia how he really feels. And with so many detours in front of them, anything could happen.

 

Trouble Makes a Comeback (sequel to Trouble is a Friend of Mine)  by Stephanie Tromly (Kathy Dawson Books hardcover, 22 November 2016). 

Now that the infuriating and irresistible Philip Digby has left town for a lead on his sister who disappeared years ago, Zoe Webster is looking forward to a quiet spring semester. She’s dating a cute quarterback, hanging out with new friends, and enjoying being “a normal.” Which is of course when Digby comes back. He needs Zoe’s help, and not just to find his sister.

Zoe can either choose to stay on her current path toward popularity, perfect SAT scores, and Princeton, or she can take a major detour with Digby, and maybe find out what that kiss he stole from her really meant. Digby and his over-the-top schemes always lead somewhere unexpected and Zoe’s beginning to learn she might just like jumping into the unknown. When it comes to Digby, for Zoe at least, the choice might already be made.

YA Thursday - Recent Reads

NEED by Joelle Charbonneau (HMH BFYR hardcover, 3 November 2015).*

There's a new social networking site exclusive to the students at Nottawa High School in Wisconsin. The site, called NEED, will grant a person's need when they sign up.  For some, a need is as simple as the latest cell phone or tickets to a concert.  But for Kaylee Dunham, the need is a new kidney for her younger brother.

After making her request, Kaylee has second thoughts and tries to investigate the site, but she keeps
coming up against brick walls.  And then some of her fellow students are inujured or killed, and she's sure it's somehow connected to NEED.

Joelle Charbonneau has created a terrifyingly believable mystery/thriller/social commentary that is absolutely unputdownable.

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A School for Brides: A Story of Maidens, Mystery and Matrimony by Patrice Kindl (Viking BFYR hardcover, 14 July 2015).**


This companion to Keeping the Castle takes place in the same location:  Lesser Hoo, Yorkshire. Some of the same characters are present in minor roles, but the focus of the story is the students of Winthrop Hopkins Female Academy, a school  for young ladies aspiring to marry.  

Unfortunately, there is a lack of single young men in Lesser Hoo, but both students and instructors are hopeful.  Not that the students need much instructing.  This is a quick, humorous read that will be loved by Jane-ites and other fans of light Regency romance.

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Ten by Gretchen McNeil (Balzer + Bray hardcover, 18 September 2012).***

Ten Seattle high school students have been invited to a private party on Henry Island. They've just arrived at the island when a huge storm hits.  After watching a creepy DVD, they decide to call it a night. In the morning, one of the girls is hanging from the rafters, and there's a red hash mark on the wall.

The power has gone out, so they are unable to call for help. Unsure whom to trust, they begin to turn on each other.  The number of hash marks increases...

This is a well-crafted homage to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, a classic you should read if you enjoyed Ten.






FTC Full Disclosures:
*Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for providing me with an e-galley.
** Library book.
***Purchased.