Twenty Boy Summer, Struts and Frets, Flash Burnout, Haven, My Invented Life, Donut Days, Indigo Blues, My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters, TMI, Shadowed Summer, 8th Grade Superzero, Lipstick Apology, Swoon at Your Own Risk, Jane in Bloom, Waiting to Score, and The Secrets of Truth and Beauty

Just visit my blog For One Mentally Minute, leave a comment, and you are entered.

The contest runs through midnight October 15th.

ISLAND STING by Bonnie J. Doerr

• Publication Season/Year: Spring 2010
• Publisher: Leap Books
• Release Date: January 6, 2010
• ISBN (hardcover): TBD
• ISBN (paperback): 978-1-61603-002-5

Island Sting is a contemporary eco-mystery set in the Florida Keys. Though it is fiction, details about the natural environment and endangered species are authentic. It’s a tale of intrepid teens who change the effects of disappointment and heartache by taking positive action.

Kenzie Ryan has been forced to move from New York City to Nana’s cottage on an island in the Florida Keys. Talk about culture shock! She’s been torn away from her circle of lifetime friends at St. Joseph’s Academy for girls, her swim and softball teams, and her rapid-fire city life.

On her first day in the Keys, Kenzie rescues a drowning animal with the help of Angelo, a young Cuban-American local, whose rock-star face and savvy attitude are as exotic to Kenzie as her new environment. She learns the animal is an tiny endangered  Key deer that was chased into the canal by a poacher’s hound. But there’s more trouble on the island than the senseless slaughter of an endangered species: trap thefts threaten fishermen’s livelihoods; boaters destroy sea grass habitats; discarded garbage on land and sea kills wildlife. And Kenzie thought this place would be dull…

Kenzie and Angelo make a pact to expose the vicious deer killer and clean up the environment. They recruit a team, organize Keys Teens Care, plan an environmental cleanup crusade, and wage a dangerous undercover operation to solve the Key-deer-killer mystery. Though they work with a team to tackle their mission, each silently deals with traumatic loss. Throughout the investigation, Angelo and Kenzie experience a confusing magnetic attraction while struggling with cultural differences. But bit by bit they learn how much they have in common, and as Angelo and Kenzie work to protect the fragile tropical environment and its wildlife, both begin the slow process of healing.

Book Trailer

They go for everything that moves.

They’re not as committed to the gay movement “real” gays.

They prefer to date the opposite sex so they can “pass” as straight.

They’re going through a transition on their way to becoming gay.

They’re confused and indecisive.

Here’s the cool part! Two weeks ago, I bought a stack of bi teen novels and read them all from cover to cover. They were universally excellent, deep, and heart-warming.

To read the rest … and for a list of recommended books, please view the original post at GLBT Challenge  2010.

“Of course, in SHINE, I was focused on the issue of post-9/11 discrimination against anyone who was perceived to be Arab, Muslim, or Middle Eastern, but that was an issue I was quite familiar with and had seen around. An issue I was not used to seeing, and that was utterly new to *me* was explored in ALL RIVERS FLOW TO THE SEA by Alison McGhee. It’s a lovely, heart-breakingly beautiful novel about the death of a sibling, a mother having to let go, and a family moving forward. It is definitely one of those “quieter” YAs, but one that has left a lasting, indelible imprint on me.”

–Neesha Meminger, SHINE, COCONUT MOON (McElderry Books/Simon & Schuster, March ’09)

“THE OUTSIDERS was the first book I read that reflected my neighborhood. I couldn’t relate to fresh-scrubbed, fictional suburbias. It was such a relief to open a book and find the kids I knew. The ones who had to couch-surf to get away from abusive parents; the ones who knew if you had to shut off a utility, electricity was the one to keep. And that’s the world I chose for my first novel- always hoping that perhaps my book would be relief for someone else. There’s power in knowing you’re not alone.”

–Saundra Mitchell, SHADOWED SUMMER (Delacorte, February 2009)

“Prior to reading THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB series by Ann M. Martin, I had never heard of diabetes. In the third book, The Truth About Stacey, the main character struggles as she tries to both control and conceal her condition. In first-person narrative, she describes her treatment and her symptoms. She was often thirsty. Uh-oh. So was I! I momentarily wondered if I too had diabetes. I went to my mother and asked her. She told me I did not have diabetes. I was relieved. I drank some fruit juice.

I read more about diabetes in this book and checked out some fact-based articles about it. I had learned something new and developed a sympathy for those walking in Stacey’s shoes.

I devoured all of Ann M. Martin’s novels, including the single titles that were not related to her famous series. One such novel, WITH YOU AND WITHOUT YOU, detailed the illness and loss of a parent. The title is wholly accurate, as the story shows life for the family before and after the father gets ill, and how their lives change throughout the struggle and after he succumbs to the disease. As the Mouse said in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, “Mine is a long and a sad tale!” Yes, it was sad, but it made me feel for people I knew who had lost family members while also making me appreciate my family’s health and our close ties.”

–Little Willow, bookseller, writer, web designer

“…For me one of those books was ANNE FRANK: DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL. I don’t think it was about suddenly realizing the Holocaust was a terrible thing — I already knew that. But Anne was a real kid, and I felt like I knew her and lost a friend. That made the Holocaust become something more than a historical fact for me. It became immediate and real and horrifying.”

–Kurtis Scaletta, MUDVILLE (Knopf, February 2009)

“A SHELTER IN OUR CAR (Children’s Book Press, 2004) by Monica Gunning, illustrated by Elaine Pedlar, is such a powerful book. It takes you inside the life of a child named Zettie and her mother who live in their car and try to make do. As it explored Zettie’s fear and sadness, it made me think about the many homeless children who long for a safe place to live. The story ends on a hopeful note, but sadly, for too many kids there is no happy ending. I chose that book as the Thanksgiving selection for a girls book club I lead. So often, we take having a home for granted. But this book makes you remember to give thanks for every blessing and reach out to help those in need.”

–Kelly Starling Lyons, ONE MILLION MEN AND ME, (Just Us Books, 2007)

“Two current favorite children books: A COOL MOONLIGHT by Angela Johnson. I love this book for the magic and tenderness of it. What could have been a sad story instead is one about acceptance and joy. FEATHERS by Jacqueline Woodson. Love this for the perceptions of children, for their humanness. Children are not pure innocents. They are complex beings capable of greater understanding and insight than we give them credit for.”

–Susan, Color Online reviews and discourse on books, culture, and literacy of/for women writers of color

For more on children’s lit and issues, check out Susan’s Unofficial List of Great YA by or About Women of Color, Little Willow’s articles on gender bias, and her full article, Books That Opened Your Eyes.

What book changed your perspective, or get you thinking about something in a new or different way? Did it confirm beliefs or ideas that you’d already had? What made it effective? Did you take any action (large or small) as a result of reading the book? Share in the comments below.

TELL ME A SECRET by Holly Cupala

• Publication Season/Year: Spring 2010
• Publisher: HarperTeen
• Release Date: June 22, 2010
• ISBN (hardcover): 978-0061766664
• ISBN (paperback): TBD

It’s tough, living in the shadow of a dead girl…

In the five years since her bad-girl sister Xanda’s death, Miranda Mathison has wondered about the secret her sister took to the grave, and what really happened the night she died. Now, just as Miranda is on the cusp of her dreams—a best friend to unlock her sister’s world, a ticket to art school, and a boyfriend to fly her away from it all—Miranda has a secret all her own.

Then two lines on a pregnancy test confirm her worst fears. Stripped of her former life, Miranda must make a choice with tremendous consequences and finally face her sister’s demons and her own.

In this powerful debut novel, stunning new talent Holly Cupala illuminates the dark struggle of a girl who must let go of her past to find a way into her own future.

I read and enjoyed paranormal stories while I was growing up, and I still enjoy them.  But my favorite books were those about kids dealing not with supervillains, flying, or shape-shifting, but with the troubles my friends and I were more likely to face in our own lives.  I wanted characters who, like me, had no special powers or magic to rely on.

Fortunately, the tradition of contemporary realism in YA has continued with writers such as John Green, Sarah Dessen, and Laurie Halse Anderson (although her latest, Wintergirls, does contain a ghostly presence).  It’s no wonder.  There’s no shortage of material for writers in the world of contemporary realism: family troubles, friend troubles, bullying, unrequited crushes, mean teachers, illnesses, death, drugs and drinking, sex, pregnancy, peer pressure, talents and ambitions, first loves, breakups.  There’s humor as well as tragedy, mystery as well as raw honesty.

The crop of new 2009 YA books is rich with titles from the school of contemporary realism.  A few samples of books that are out now, or will be out this fall:

This Is What I Want to Tell You, Heather Duffy Stone: Sixteen-year-old twins Nadio and Noelle deal with changing friendships, family secrets, and first loves.

Waiting to Score, J.E. MacLeod: A high-school hockey star encounters problems both on and off the rink.

Twenty Boy Summer, Sarah Ockler: A story of friendship, grieving, and romance set in one unforgettable summer.

Breathing, Cheryl Renee Herbsman: A summer romance turns intense, and Savannah must balance her longing for her boyfriend with her own sense of self.

Willow, Julia Hoban: A girl uses cutting to cope with family tragedy, until she finds a new chance at hope.

Flash Burnout, L.K. Madigan: Sophomore and amateur photographer Blake has a girlfriend as well as a friend who’s a girl; his increasingly divided loyalties lead to trouble.

Hate List, Jennifer Brown: The story of the aftermath of a school shooting, told from the point of view of the shooter’s girlfriend.

STUPID CUPID by Rhonda Stapleton

• Publication Season/Year: Fall 2009
• Publisher: Simon Pulse
• Release Date: December, 22, 2009
• ISBN (paperback): 978-1-4169-7464-2

Felicity’s no ordinary matchmaker…she’s a cupid!

Felicity Walker believes in true love. That’s why she applies for a gig at the matchmaking company Cupid’s Hollow. But when Felicity gets the job, she learns that she isn’t just a matchmaker…she’s a cupid! (There’s more than one of them, you know.)

Armed with a hot pink, tricked-out PDA infused with the latest in cupid magic (love arrows shot through email), Felicity works to meet her quota of successful matches. But when she bends the rules of cupidity by matching her best friend Maya with three different boys at once, disaster strikes. Felicity needs to come up with a plan to set it all right, pronto, before she gets fired…and before Maya ends up with her heart split in three.

Stupid Cupid is book one of a trilogy.

SLIDING ON THE EDGE

• Publication Season/Year: Spring 2009
• Publisher: WestSide Books
• Release Date:  April 24, 2009
• ISBN (hardcover):  978-934813-06-5
• ISBN (paperback):  TBD

Shawna Stone is sixteen going on twenty-five. Already deeply scarred, she has learned to survive with a tough attitude and a thin blade. Her journey is destined to be short. SLIDING ON THE EDGE enters the world of a desperate teen and her disillusioned grandmother, each with secrets that stir mutual distrust. As these two unlikely companions struggle to co-exist we are reminded that the human spirit has the capacity to overcome even the deepest suffering.

ONE WISH

• Publication Season/Year: Spring 2009
• Publisher: Westside Books
• Release Date: April 23, 2009
• ISBN (hardcover): 978-1-934813-05-8
• ISBN (paperback): TBD

Overweight Wrenn Scott desperately wants to be popular and snag a hot boyfriend. Living with her single mom and younger sister, Karly, she lands a lead role in the high school musical, her voice for once overshadowing her weight. Pushing to get thinner by opening night, Wrenn’s waistline shrinks as she learns all the wrong ways to lose weight from a new “it-girl” friend in the show. Meanwhile, her mom is falling for Phil, “a balding Channel 8 News-nerd”; her sister is wrapped up in her own share of middle school drama, and Wrenn’s best friend has fallen for a guy she met online-but hasn’t even seen yet! Topping it off, geeky stage manager Steven has a crush on her. But Wrenn doesn’t want to be seen with him-she’s holding out for a trophy boyfriend whom everyone will envy. By opening night, the old Wrenn has almost disappeared. After a crisis reveals her weight-loss tricks, Wrenn realizes there are much more important things than being thin, popular, or even dating a hunk.

Praise!

Moving and heartfelt, ONE WISH is an engaging story of one girl’s bittersweet journey from ‘nobody’ to ‘noticed.’ Leigh Brescia perfectly captures what it’s like to long for something that’s just out of reach—and the sometimes surprising reality that comes from actually attaining it.

-Alyson Noel-

New York Times Bestselling author of Evermore and Saving Zoe

Leigh Brescia’s One Wish is a poignant story of a girl’s struggle to find herself in the midst of family turmoil and new temptations. Wrenn captures the reader’s heart with her quirky habits and shy dreams. Throughout the book, readers will wish Wrenn success as she tries to make her dreams come true, but Brescia proves that even when wishes don’t come true, life can be better than we ever thought.

-Mary Beth Miller-

Author of Aimee and On the Head of a Pin

“I loved One Wish and defy anyone to read it without a box of tissues handy . . .”

-Amanda Ashby-

author of Zombie Queen of Newbury High and You Had Me at Halo

“Brescia tackles important issues in her first novel, and Wrenn’s thoughts and the characters’ dialogue feel honest. . . . Wrenn’s shallowness makes her less sympathetic . . . but no less believable. Wrenn does finally show some growth and depth in the final chapters when she . . . begins to reflect on the choices she’s made.”

-Publisher’s Weekly-

“This is perhaps a less-stark view of eating disorders . . . but it is still realistic enough, and there is no happily-ever-after ending. The characters are well developed and three-dimensional, even the adults. This engrossing novel lets readers see this issue up close without being completely pessimistic.”

-School Library Journal-

SHINE, COCONUT MOON

• Publication Season/Year: Spring 2009
• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books/Simon & Schuster
• Release Date: March 1, 2009
• ISBN (hardcover): 978-1416954958
• ISBN (paperback): 1416954953

Samar–a.k.a. Sam–is an Indian-American teenager whose mom has kept her away from her old-fashioned family.  It’s never bothered Sam, who is busy with school, friends, and a demanding boyfriend.  But things change after 9/11.  A guy in a turban shows up at Sam’s house–and turns out to be her uncle.  He wants to reconcile the family and teach Sam about her Sikh heritage.  Sam is eager, but when boys attack her uncle, chanting “Go back home, Osama!,” Sam realizes she could be in danger–and also discovers how dangerous ignorance is.

Kirkus Reviews: “This straightforward and ultimately reassuring novel reads like an older Sikh version of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret and will fill a niche in any school or public library looking to beef up their YA multicultural fiction offerings.”

Publisher’s Weekly: “Debut novelist Meminger raises complex questions of identity, but avoids moralizing or spelling out answers for readers, who will likely be hooked as Samar takes a second look at her relationships with her boyfriend, friends and family, while seeking a better understanding of herself.”

School Library Journal: “Along the way, [the protagonist's] path to self-discovery is riddled with pain, racism, healing, love, and reconciliation. Meminger’s debut book is a beautiful and sensitive portrait of a young woman’s journey from self-absorbed naïveté to selfless, unified awareness.”

The Author: Neesha Meminger
Location: Riverdale, NY

Neesha Meminger was born in India, grew up in Canada, and currently lives in New York City with her family. All of her writing explores the inner landscape of her characters, and how it merges or conflicts with the outer. She writes stories of women and girls defining themselves and shaping their own destinies within the confines of their day to day realities.

Neesha has an undergraduate degree in Media Arts from Ryerson University in Toronto, and an MFA in Creative Writing from the New School for Social Research in New York City.  Her favorite things ever are: Spring and Autumn in the north; a steaming mug of sweet, organic soy latte first thing in the morning; and listening to the orchestra of birds in the morning after dropping her daughter off at school.

THE SECRET YEAR by Jennifer R. Hubbard

• Publication Season/Year: Spring 2010
• Publisher: Viking Children’s Books
• Release Date: Jan. 7, 2010
• ISBN: 978-0670011537

Seventeen-year-old Colt has been sneaking out at night to meet Julia, a girl from an upper-class neighborhood unlike his own. They’ve never told anyone else about their relationship: not their family or friends, and especially not Julia’s boyfriend.When Julia dies suddenly, Colt tries to cope with her death while pretending that he never even knew her. He discovers a journal she left behind. But he is not prepared for the truths he discovers about their intense relationship, nor to pay the price for the secrets he’s kept.

MY INVENTED LIFE by Lauren Bjorkman

• Publication Season, Fall 2009
• Publisher: Henry Holt Books for Young Readers
• Release Date: September 29, 2009
• ISBN 13: 978-0-8050-8950-9

Roz and Eva are sisters, friends, and rivals. Roz fantasizes about snagging the lead in the school play and landing sexy skate god Bryan as her boyfriend. Sadly, a few obstacles stand between her and her dream. For one, Eva is the more talented actress. And Bryan happens to be Eva’s boyfriend. But does Eva have a secret life with her cheerleading partner? Inquiring minds need to know.

Roz, who prides herself on random acts of insanity, hatches a scheme to get Eva to open up. The plan backfires, and Eva is furious. Roz finds herself neck deep in her invented life. When Roz meets a mercurial boy with a big problem, she begins to understand the complex feelings beneath the labels. And she gets a second chance to earn Eva’s trust.

Fan trailer by Fausto Umanzor:

REVIEWS and BLURBS:

Roz’s voice is witty and genuine as she moves through the ups and downs of coming out (and eventually coming clean). Evocative of Boy Meets Boy and Dramarama, this makes for fun, thought-provoking reading. Publisher’s Weekly

This novel is particularly good at evoking teenage confusion about sexual preference and identity, and Bjorkman’s depiction of the drama-club crowd is absolutely spot-on, especially the characters’ trading of Shakespearean insults online and the practical jokes they play on one another. Narrator Roz is funny, well intentioned, and likable despite her cluelessness, and she is surrounded by a realistic cast of adult and teen characters representing a wide variety of viewpoints and sexual preferences. School Library Journal

Interspersing Shakespearian references and themes, Roz’s narrative is humorous and heartfelt as it intimately explores issues from sibling relationships to sexual identity. Booklist

I knew I was going to like this book the second the main character asked a Ouija Board if her sister was a lesbian. My Invented Life does a great job capturing the confusing alternate reality of teenage sexuality, and does it in a refreshingly authentic and honest teen voice. Brent Hartinger, author of Geography Club

Shakespeare would be proud to be included in this smart, funny, cheeky book. Ellen Wittlinger, author of Hard Love

Lauren Bjorkman’s My Invented Life is a hilarious, thoughtful, and engaging novel about the power of perception. My Invented Life … is ultimately an uplifting story that offers insight and hope with a nice dash of humor. Highly recommended. Heather Aimee O’Neill, AfterEllen.com

My Invented Life is a fantastic look at sisterhood, drama geeks, and the far-from-simple subject of sexual identity. Funny with depth = my idea of pure reading delight. Shelf Elf

My Invented Life is a smart, honest novel that is not only refreshing in it’s depiction of teens coming to terms with their true selves, but it’s also really fun! The Book Butterfly