February Favorites

Beth is Dead by Katie Bernet (Sarah Barley Books/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 6 January 2026).

The Restoration Garden by Sara Blaydes (Lake Union Publishing, 1 November 2025).

Found in a Bookshop (Lost for Words)  by Stephanie Butland.  (Headline Books, 27 April 2023).                                   

                                                             

   

This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page (Berkley, 3 February 2026).

Most Ardently Yours by Freya Sampson (Sourcebooks Landmark, 7 July 2026).

That Last Carolina Summer by Karen White (Park Row Books, 22 July 2025).

(Cross-posted to my Substack.)

April favorites

The Witches Catalogue of Wanderlust Essentials by Ciara Blume.  Dolce Villa Press, 6 May 2025.

Zani, a vampire-slaying, relic-hunting witch whose satchel is always packed for adventure, faces her most mortifying mishap yet: losing a dangerously enchanted artifact. Just her luck that the bloodstone amulet goes missing right before an eclipse that could awaken its curse.

Enter Will, a half-fae rogue with the rare gift of opening portals through space and time. He’s always admired Zani's adventurous spirit from afar. When she approaches him with the request to journey through history to help her recover the bloodstone, he can't resist the opportunity—or her company.

The Library of Lost Dollhouses by Elise Hooper.  HarperCollins, 1 April 2025.

Tildy Barrows, Head Curator of a beautiful archival library in San Francisco, is meticulously dedicated to the century’s worth of inventory housed in her beloved Beaux Art building. She loves the calm and order in the shelves of books and walls of art. But Tildy’s life takes an unexpected turn when she, first, learns the library is on the verge of bankruptcy and, second, discovers two exquisite never-before-seen dollhouses.

After finding clues hidden within these remarkable miniatures, Tildy sets out to decipher the secret history of the dollhouses, aiming to salvage her cherished library in the process. Her journey introduces her to a world of ambitious and gifted women in Belle Époque Paris, a group of scarred World War I veterans in the English countryside, and Walt Disney’s bustling Burbank studio in the 1950s. As Tildy unravels the mystery, she finds not only inspiring, hidden history, but also a future for herself—and an astonishing familial revelation.

The Champagne Letters by Kate MacIntosh.  Gallery Books, 10 December 2024.

France, 1805: Barbe-Nicole Clicquot has just lost her beloved husband but is determined to pursue their dream of creating the premier champagne house in France, now named for her new identity as a widow: Veuve Clicquot. With the Russians poised to invade, competitors fighting for her customers, and the Napoleonic court politics complicating matters she must set herself apart quickly and permanently if she, and her business, are to survive.

Chicago, Present day: broken from her divorce, Natalie Taylor runs away to Paris. In a book stall by the Seine, Natalie finds a collection of the Widow Clicquot’s published letters and uses them as inspiration to step out of her comfort zone and create a new, empowered life for herself. But when her Parisian escape takes a shocking and unexpected turn, she’s forced to make a choice. Should she accept her losses and return home, or fight for the future she’s only dreamed about? 

The Secrets of Flowers by Sally Page.  Blackstone Publishing, 25 February 2025.

A heartwarming novel about a grieving woman who rediscovers herself by uncovering the lost story of the girl who arranged flowers on the Titanic. 

One year after her husband's death, Emma has become a wallflower, hiding among the brighter blooms in the florist shop where she works.

But when a colleague invites her to a talk on the Titanic, she begins a quest to uncover who arranged the flowers on board.

As Emma discovers the lost story of the girl and the great ship, she realizes that flowers may unlock long-buried secrets in her own life.

The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. Taylor.  Penguin Young Readers, 25 February 2025.

Seven years ago, Maeve Abenthy lost everything: her world, her father, even her name. Desperate to escape the stain of her father’s crimes, she lives under a fake name, never staying in one place long enough to put down roots.

Then she receives a mysterious letter with four impossible words: Your father was innocent.
To uncover the truth, she poses as an apprentice for the Otherwhere Post, where she’ll be trained in the art of scriptomancy—the dangerous magic that allows couriers to enchant letters and deliver them to other worlds. But looking into her father’s past draws more attention than she’d planned...

Her secretive, infuriating mentor knows she’s lying about her identity, and time is running out to convince him to trust her. Worse, she begins to receive threatening letters, warning her to drop her investigation—or else. 

Teen Tuesday

Stay Dead by April Henry (Christy Ottaviano Books, 28 May 2024).

Sixteen-year-old Milan Mayhew has just been kicked out of another private school. 

The headmistress is understanding:  Milan’s had a tough year.  Her father Jack, a U.S. senator, was killed in a car accident. Milan, in the car with him, survived, but blames herself for distracting him by being a brat.  Her mother ran for his seat and won, then sent Milan off to boarding school.

This one is the third in six months.  Despite being understanding of the teen’s emotional state, she takes Milan to the small local airport where she’ll be picked up by her mom’s plane, on the way back to her home in Portland.

But somewhere over the Cascade Mountains, the plane blows up.  When Milan wakes up, she’s trapped in her seat, but manages to free herself.  Everyone else appears to have been killed, but she finds her mom, Heather, a short distance from the wreckage. 

Knowing she’s going to die, Heather explains to Milan that her father’s death wasn’t an accident, and neither was the plane crash.  Jack was killed because of evidence he found against a fracking company, and when Heather won his seat, they targeted her, too.

Milan’s assignment is to go home, find the flash drive containing the evidence, and deliver it to Jack’s mentor. 

Of course, it’s a big task for a teenage girl, but Milan is determined that the people who killed her parents will pay. 

An avid hiker, Milan is proficient in wilderness survival skills, all of which she is forced to use as she struggles against nature (and a human who has realized that Milan survived the crash) to reach civilization and find the evidence.

Stay Dead, like all of April Henry’s novels, is well-researched.  Henry is also a proficient storyteller, and like most of her novels, is difficult to put down once begun.

April Henry is the New York Times-bestselling author of 29 mysteries and thrillers for teens and adults. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her family. Her 2023 novel Girl Forgotten won the Edgar Award for Young Adult Novel.

Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for providing me with the egalley to review.

Teen Tuesday

 Playing With Fire by April Henry (Henry Holt & Co. hardcover, 19 January 2021).

Natalia is not the kind of girl who takes risks. Six years ago, she barely survived the house fire
that killed her baby brother. Now she is cautious and always plays it safe. For months, her co-worker Wyatt has begged her to come hiking with him, and Natalia finally agrees.

But when a wildfire breaks out, blocking the trail back, a perfect sunny day quickly morphs into a nightmare. With no cell service, few supplies, and no clear way out of the burning forest, a group of strangers will have to become allies if they’re going to survive. Hiking in the dark, they must deal with injuries, wild animals and even a criminal on the lam—before the fire catches them.

You Have a Match by Emma Lord (St. Martin's Press hardcover, 12 January 2021).

When Abby signs up for a DNA service, it’s mainly to give her friend and secret love interest, Leo, a nudge. After all, she knows who she is already: Avid photographer. Injury-prone tree climber. Best friend to Leo and Connie…although ever since the B.E.I. (Big Embarrassing Incident) with Leo, things have been awkward on that front.

But she didn’t know she’s a younger sister. 


When the DNA service reveals Abby has a secret sister, shimmery-haired Instagram star Savannah Tully, it’s hard to believe they’re from the same planet, never mind the same parents — especially considering Savannah, queen of green smoothies, is only a year and a half older than Abby herself.

The logical course of action? Meet up at summer camp (obviously) and figure out why Abby’s parents gave Savvy up for adoption. But there are complications: Savvy is a rigid rule-follower and total narc. Leo is the camp’s co-chef, putting Abby's growing feelings for him on blast. And her parents have a secret that threatens to unravel everything.

My Favorite June reads

Unsurprisingly, I've been reading a lot, lately.

In my effort to combat the depressing state of the world these days, I've been reading fewer thrillers and dark mysteries, choosing instead cozies and what I like to call "happy literature".

Also, unsurprisingly, one these books appeared on my list of "feel-good" novels posted a few weeks ago.

Summaries are my own.

A Match Made in Mehendi by Nandini Bajpai (Little Brown BFYR, 10 September 2019).

Simran Sangha comes from a long line of Indian matchmakers.  Even though her mother really wants Simi to continue the family business, the 15-year-old believes that the tradition is outdated.

When she accidentally connects her cousin with a young lawyer, her family is delighted.  Simi is still skeptical, until it occurs to her that matchmaking might elevate her social status at school.

Pretty Funny for a Girl by Rebecca Elliott (Peachtree Publishing, 1 October 2020).

Another YA novel, I reviewed this for School Library Journal (though the review hasn't been published yet).

Teen  Haylah Swinton thinks she has come to terms with her curvy body.  Negotiating her way through the bumpy world of high school isn't easy, but she's storing up material for when she becomes a famous stand-up comic.

Beach Read by Emily Henry (Berkley, 19 May 2020).

Two novelists, both struggling to start their next work, find themselves in beach houses next door to each other.  Augustus Everett writes dark literary fiction; January Andrews writes bestselling rom-coms.

In an effort to overcome the writer's block, they decide to write their next books in the other person's genre, taking each other on field trips designed to exemplify their research techniques.

Miss Cecily's Recipes for Exceptional Ladies by Vicky Zimmerman (Sourcebooks Landmark, 9 June 2020).

Not at all what I expected, which was what has come to be known as "Southern fiction", the story actually takes place in London.

Kate Parker finds herself living with her mother again after her boyfriend, Nick, suddenly decides he's not sure about their relationship.  

In an effort to lift her spirits, Kate begins volunteering at Lauderdale House for Exceptional Ladies, a residence for elderly women.  She makes friends with 97-year-old Cecily Finn (with a sharp mind, and an even sharper tongue) whose prescription for Kate's depression is a 1950s-era cookbook called Food for Thought.  

Mystery Monday

Because we were travelling in August, I read a lot of books.  Most of the ones I liked best were entries in some of my favorite mystery series.  
(Summaries and images are from publisher's websites).

Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding (Royal Spyness Mystery #12) by Rhys Bowen.  (Berkley hardcover, 7 August 2018).

If only Darcy and I had eloped! What I thought would be a simple wedding has been transformed into a grand affair, thanks to the attendance of the queen, who has offered up the princesses as bridesmaids. Silly me! I thought that withdrawing from the royal line of succession would simplify my life. But before Darcy and I tie the knot in front of queen and country, we have to find a place to live as man and wife...

House hunting turns out to be a pretty grim affair. Just as we start to lose hope, my globetrotting godfather offers us his fully staffed country estate. Mistress of Eynsleigh I shall be! With Darcy off in parts unknown, I head to Eynsleigh alone, only to have my hopes dashed. The grounds are in disarray and the small staff is suspiciously incompetent. Not to mention the gas tap leak in my bedroom, which I can only imagine was an attempt on my life. Something rotten is afoot--and bringing the place up to snuff may put me six feet under before I even get a chance to walk down the aisle...

***

If only Darcy and I had eloped! What I thought would be a simple wedding has been transformed into a grand affair, thanks to the attendance of the queen, who has offered up the princesses as bridesmaids. Silly me! I thought that withdrawing from the royal line of succession would simplify my life. But before Darcy and I tie the knot in front of queen and country, we have to find a place to live as man and wife…

House hunting turns out to be a pretty grim affair. Just as we start to lose hope, my globetrotting godfather offers us his fully staffed country estate. Mistress of Eynsleigh I shall be! With Darcy off in parts unknown, I head to Eynsleigh alone, only to have my hopes dashed. The grounds are in disarray and the small staff is suspiciously incompetent. Not to mention the gas tap leak in my bedroom, which I can only imagine was an attempt on my life. Something rotten is afoot–and bringing the place up to snuff may put me six feet under before I even get a chance to walk down the aisle…

Buried in Books (Bibliophile Mystery #12) by Kate Carlisle. (Berkley hardcover, 26 June 2018).

Not everyone has been as lucky in love as Brooklyn. Her old library college roommates Heather and Sara lost touch twelve years ago when Sara stole Heather's boyfriend. Brooklyn was caught in the middle and hasn't seen her former besties since their falling-out. When they both arrive in town for the annual librarians' convention and then show up at her surprise bridal shower, Brooklyn is sure drama will ensue. But she's touched when the women seem willing to sort out their differences and gift her rare copies of The Three Musketeers and The Blue Fairy Book.   

Brooklyn's prewedding calm is shattered when one of her formerly feuding friends is found murdered and Brooklyn determines that one of the rare books is a forgery. She can't help but wonder if the victim played a part in this fraud, or if she was targeted because she discovered the scam. With a killer and con artist on the loose, Brooklyn and Derek--with the unsolicited help of their meddling mothers--must catch the culprit before their big day turns into a big mess.

***

The Prisoner in the Castle (Maggie Hope #8) by Susan Elia MacNeal. (Bantam hardcover, 7 August 2018).

World War II is raging, and former spy Maggie Hope knows too much.

She knows what the British government is willing to do to keep its secrets.

She knows the real location of the planned invasion of France.

She knows who’s lying. She knows who the double-crossers are. She knows exactly who is sending agents to their deaths.

These are the reasons Maggie is isolated on a remote Scottish island, in a prison known as Killoch Castle, out of contact with friends and family.

Then one of her fellow inmates drops dead in the middle of his after-dinner drink—and he’s only the first. As victims fall one by one, Maggie will have to call upon all her wits and skills to escape—not just certain death . . . but certain murder.

This book was so gripping that I read it in one day.  (It really helps to read the previous books in the series first.)

***

Spies, Lies and Allies by Lisa Brown Roberts. (Entangled Publishing ebook, 1 May 2018).

Summers are supposed to be fun, right? Not mine. I’ve got a job at my dad’s company, which is sponsoring a college scholarship competition. I just found out that, in addition to my job assisting the competing interns, I’m supposed to vote for the winner. Totally not what I signed up for.

My boss is running the competition like it’s an episode of Survivor. Then there’s Carlos, who is, well, very distracting––in a good way. But I can’t even think about him like that because fraternizing on the job means instant disqualification for the intern involved.

As if that’s not enough, an anonymous informant with insider intel is trying to sabotage my dad’s company on social media...and I’m afraid it's working.

I thought the  summary of this book was a little confusing, but once I got into the story, I really enjoyed this  believable tale of a teen trying to figure out life.

YA Thursday - Exciting February Releases

Down and Across by Arvin Ahmadi.  (Viking Books for Young Readers hardcover, 6 February 2018).

Scott Ferdowsi has a track record of quitting. Writing the Great American Novel? Three chapters. His summer internship? One week. His best friends know exactly what they want to do with the rest of their lives, but Scott can hardly commit to a breakfast cereal, let alone a passion.

With college applications looming, Scott's parents pressure him to get serious and settle on a career path like engineering or medicine. Desperate for help, he sneaks off to Washington, DC, to seek guidance from a famous professor who specializes in grit, the psychology of success.

He never expects an adventure to unfold out of what was supposed to be a one-day visit. But that's what Scott gets when he meets Fiora Buchanan, a ballsy college student whose life ambition is to write crossword puzzles. When the bicycle she lends him gets Scott into a high-speed chase, he knows he's in for the ride of his life. Soon, Scott finds himself sneaking into bars, attempting to pick up girls at the National Zoo, and even giving the crossword thing a try--all while opening his eyes to fundamental truths about who he is and who he wants to be.

A Girl Like That by Taraz Bhathena. (Farrar, Strauss & Giroux BFYR hardcover, 27 February 2018).

Sixteen-year-old Zarin Wadia is many things: a bright and vivacious student, an orphan, a risk taker. She’s also the kind of girl that parents warn their kids to stay away from: a troublemaker whose many romances are the subject of endless gossip at school.  

You don't want to get involved with a girl like that, they say. So how is it that eighteen-year-old Porus Dumasia has only ever had eyes for her? And how did Zarin and Porus end up dead in a car together, crashed on the side of a highway in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia? 

When the religious police arrive on the scene, everything everyone thought they knew about Zarin is questioned. And as her story is pieced together, told through multiple perspectives, it becomes clear that she was far more than just a girl like that.



People Like Us by Dana Mele.  (G.P. Putnam's Sons BFYR hardcover, 27 February 2018).

Kay Donovan may have skeletons in her closet, but the past is past, and she's reinvented herself entirely. Now she's a star soccer player whose group of gorgeous friends run their private school with effortless popularity and acerbic wit. 

But when a girl's body is found in the lake, Kay's carefully constructed life begins to topple. The dead girl has left Kay a computer-coded scavenger hunt, which, as it unravels, begins to implicate suspect after suspect, until Kay herself is in the crosshairs of a murder investigation. 

But if Kay's finally backed into a corner, she'll do what it takes to survive. Because at Bates Academy, the truth is something you make...not something that happened.


#Prettyboy Must Die by Kimberly Reid.  (Tor Teen hardcover, 13 February 2018).  

When Peter Smith’s classmate snaps a picture of him during a late night run at the track, Peter thinks he might be in trouble. When she posts that photo―along with the caption, “See the Pretty Boy Run,”―Peter knows he’s in trouble. But when hostiles drop through the ceiling of his 6th period Chem Class, Peter’s pretty sure his trouble just became a national emergency.

Because he’s not really Peter Smith. He’s Jake Morrow, former foster-kid turned CIA operative. After a massive screw-up on his first mission, he's on a pity assignment, a dozen hit lists and now, social media, apparently. As #Prettyboy, of all freaking things.

His cover’s blown, his school’s under siege, and if he screws up now, #Prettyboy will become #Deadboy faster than you can say, 'fifteen minutes of fame.' Trapped in a high school with rabid killers and rabid fans, he’ll need all his training and then some to save his job, his school and, oh yeah, his life.

Where I Live by Brenda Rufener.  (HarperTeen hardcover, 27 February 2018).

Linden Rose has a big secret--she is homeless and living in the halls of her small-town high school. Her position as school blog editor, her best friends, Ham and Seung, and the promise of a future far away are what keep Linden under the radar and moving forward.

But when cool-girl Bea comes to school with a bloody lip, the damage hits too close to home. Linden begins looking at Bea's life, and soon her investigation prompts people to pay more attention. And attention is the last thing she needs.

Linden knows the only way to put a stop to the violence is to tell Bea's story and come to terms with her own painful past. Even if that means breaking her rules for survival and jeopardizing the secrets she's worked so hard to keep.

YA Thursday - Exciting Summer Releases!

You Don't Know Me, But I Know You by Rebecca Barrow (HarperTeen hardcover, 29 August 2017).

There’s a box in the back of Audrey’s closet that she rarely thinks about.

Inside is a letter, seventeen years old, from a mother she’s never met, handed to her by the woman she’s called Mom her whole life. Being adopted, though, is just one piece in the puzzle of Audrey’s life—the picture painstakingly put together by Audrey herself, full of all the people and pursuits that make her who she is.

But when Audrey realizes that she’s pregnant, she feels something—a tightly sealed box in the closet corners of her heart—crack open, spilling her dormant fears and unanswered questions all over the life she loves.

Almost two decades ago, a girl in Audrey’s situation made a choice, one that started Audrey’s entire story. Now Audrey is paralyzed by her own what-ifs and terrified by the distance she feels growing between her and her best friend Rose. Down every possible path is a different unfamiliar version of her life, and as she weighs the options in her mind, she starts to wonder—what does it even mean to be Audrey Spencer?

What to Say Next by Julie Buxbaum (Delacort Press hardcover, 11 July 2017).

When an unlikely friendship is sparked between relatively popular Kit Lowell and socially isolated David Drucker, everyone is surprised, most of all Kit and David. 

Kit appreciates David’s blunt honesty—in fact, she finds it bizarrely refreshing. 
David welcomes Kit’s attention and her inquisitive nature. 

When she asks for his help figuring out the how and why of her dad’s tragic car accident, David is all in. 

But neither of them can predict what they’ll find. Can their friendship survive the truth?


Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moïra Fowley-Doyle (Kathy Dawson Books hardcover, 8 August 2017).

One stormy Irish summer night, Olive and her best friend, Rose, begin to lose things. It starts with simple items like hairclips and jewelry, but soon it’s clear that Rose has lost something much bigger, something she won’t talk about, and Olive thinks her best friend is slipping away.

Then diary pages written by a girl named Laurel begin to appear all over town. And Olive meets three mysterious strangers: Ivy, Hazel, and her twin brother, Rowan, secretly squatting in an abandoned housing estate. The trio are wild and alluring, but they seem lost too—and like Rose, they’re holding tight to painful secrets.

When they discover the spellbook, it just might be their chance to find what they each need to set everything back to rights. Unless it’s leading them toward things that were never meant to be found…


The Lake Effect by Erin McCahan (Dial Books hardcover, 11 July 2017).

It’s the summer after senior year, and Briggs Henry is out the door. He’s leaving behind his ex-girlfriend and his parents’ money troubles for Lake Michigan and its miles of sandy beaches, working a summer job as a personal assistant, and living in a gorgeous Victorian on the shore. 

It’s the kind of house Briggs plans to buy his parents one day when he’s a multi-millionaire. But then he gets there. And his eighty-four-year-old boss tells him to put on a suit for her funeral.

So begins a summer of social gaffes, stomach cramps, fraught beach volleyball games, moonlit epiphanies, and a drawer full of funeral programs. Add to this Abigail, the mystifying girl next door on whom Briggs’s charms just won’t work, and “the lake effect” is taking on a whole new meaning.


Lucky in Love by Kasie West (Point hardcover, 25 July 2017). 

Maddie's not impulsive. She's all about hard work and planning ahead. But one night, on a whim, she buys a lottery ticket. And then, to her astonishment --

She wins!

In a flash, Maddie's life is unrecognizable. No more stressing about college scholarships. Suddenly, she's talking about renting a yacht. And being in the spotlight at school is fun... until rumors start flying, and random people ask her for loans. Now, Maddie isn't sure who she can trust.

Except for Seth Nguyen, her funny, charming coworker at the local zoo. Seth doesn't seem aware of Maddie's big news. And, for some reason, she doesn't want to tell him. But what will happen if he learns her secret?

One stormy Irish summer night, Olive and her best friend, Rose, begin to lose things. It starts with simple items like hairclips and jewelry, but soon it’s clear that Rose has lost something much bigger, something she won’t talk about, and Olive thinks her best friend is slipping away.

Then seductive diary pages written by a girl named Laurel begin to appear all over town. And Olive meets three mysterious strangers: Ivy, Hazel, and her twin brother, Rowan, secretly squatting in an abandoned housing estate. The trio are wild and alluring, but they seem lost too—and like Rose, they’re holding tight to painful secrets.

When they discover the spellbook, it changes everything. Damp, tattered and ancient, it’s full of hand-inked charms to conjure back things that have been lost. And it just might be their chance to find what they each need to set everything back to rights.

Unless it’s leading them toward things that were never meant to be found…

One stormy Irish summer night, Olive and her best friend, Rose, begin to lose things. It starts with simple items like hairclips and jewelry, but soon it’s clear that Rose has lost something much bigger, something she won’t talk about, and Olive thinks her best friend is slipping away.

Then seductive diary pages written by a girl named Laurel begin to appear all over town. And Olive meets three mysterious strangers: Ivy, Hazel, and her twin brother, Rowan, secretly squatting in an abandoned housing estate. The trio are wild and alluring, but they seem lost too—and like Rose, they’re holding tight to painful secrets.

When they discover the spellbook, it changes everything. Damp, tattered and ancient, it’s full of hand-inked charms to conjure back things that have been lost. And it just might be their chance to find what they each need to set everything back to rights.

Unless it’s leading them toward things that were never meant to be found…

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.