The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge

August 24, 2016 |

Faith Sunderly and her family are moving temporarily to the island of Vane, where her natural scientist father has been hired to help excavate a dig site. The Reverend Erasmus Sunderly made headlines years ago when several of his fossil finds appeared to verify Biblical stories, something much of the British public desperately needs in this time when Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species is making waves in the scientific community. But more recently, Faith’s father’s work has come under more scrutiny, and though he tries to hide it from his family, most scientists now consider him a fraud.

Faith is fourteen and hungry for two things: scientific knowledge and her father’s affection. The former cannot come with the latter, however, because Faith’s father is of the common mindset of the time that women and girls are incapable of deep thought and scientific study. So Faith collects her knowledge in private, secretly opening her father’s trunks and sneaking out at night to see what mysterious plant he is keeping in the cave by the sea.

But then the unthinkable happens – Faith’s father is found hanging limply over a tree limb, dead. The people of Vane begin to whisper that he killed himself, but Faith is sure it was murder, and she’s determined to prove it – to unmask the murderer herself and get justice for her beloved father. And she means to do it with the assistance of the plant in the cave, the Lie Tree, a tree that thrives in the dark and will give hazy truths to anyone who feeds it – and the world – lies.

Faith is smart, sometimes scarily so, and her scheme begins as planned. She wants the Tree to reveal the murderer of her father, but in order for that to happen, according to her father’s papers, she must convince the world of a lie. The more people who believe it, the bigger the truth that will be revealed to the liar. Faith is an astute observer of men, so she knows that the easiest lie is one that people want to believe. But Faith is blind about many things too. This book is not just about the lies we tell others, but the lies we tell ourselves.

It’s also about women and girls, then and now. Faith is not an astute observer of women, and watching her interactions with her mother are often painful as an adult reader. Faith herself has bought into the mindset of her father in subtle ways, though she does not realize it. And while the rest of the world has underestimated her, to their detriment, she has underestimated its women, to her cost.

It’s about relationships, too, not just those between parents and children, but between friends, in particular the burgeoning friendship between Faith and a local boy named Paul. It’s such an interesting friendship, one that begins antagonistically and slowly transforms into a partnership, with neither person particularly caring if the other likes them. One of the book’s greatest scenes is between Faith and Paul near the end of the book, where what they’ve shared together has finally bonded them in a lasting way and they reveal their own truths – pieces of themselves – to each other.

The Lie Tree, aside from exploring these often heavy themes I’ve described above, is also a cracking good mystery and revenge story with a fascinating fantasy twist. I was unsure about the identity of the murderer (and even the murder itself) up until the final reveal. It’s a satisfying ending that puts all the pieces together and gives greater meaning to all that came before. And by the end of the book, Faith is fundamentally different from who she was at the beginning, though she is still inimitably herself.

The Lie Tree won the Costa (formerly Whitbread) Book of the Year Award in the UK, one of the few book awards I know of that pits children’s books against adult books. With all the trash articles about young adult literature being published now, it’s not hard to surmise that few adult readers would place a children’s book above an adult book, no matter its quality. But The Lie Tree was chosen, and this fact further illuminates how truly remarkable it is, beating out books by Kate Atkinson and Anne Enright, among others.

I’ve been participating in my workplace’s Mock Printz considerations, and this one is at the top of my list right now. It’s a masterpiece of a book, one that shares something new with each page turned. It’s a book I wish I had written, a book I wish I had read when I was fourteen. Hand this to readers who want a feminist book, who love their genres well-blended, who want their leisure reading to make them think deeply while also telling a hell of a good story.

Fun & Full of Girl Love: Cherry by Lindsey Rosin

August 8, 2016 |

I’ve stepped back from reviewing this year, in part because it’s such a time-consuming aspect of blogging, and in part because I want to spend the time talking about books that really resonate and that might not otherwise see much attention in the book world. My book piles are growing at a monstrous rate at home, with piles upon piles of ARCs and finished copies and purchased books beside the basket of library books I’ve been working my way through. After what felt like six months of slow reading and a disinterest in reading all together, I’ve been flying through books at a speed I haven’t in a long, long time.

In part because I’ve been reading so many fantastic books.

I spent July reading backlist titles, plowing through a huge number of reads (for me — it’s all relative so the number itself isn’t important). And now with August here, I’ve started incorporating new and forthcoming titles back into my stacks.

And I’m so glad that Cherry by Lindsey Rosin was one that I picked up sooner, rather than later.

When was the last time you picked up a YA book that was not only wildly sex positive but also fun, engaging, funny, and featured an entire case of female characters who love, support, and encourage one another? Cherry could best be described as a contemporary American Pie but with female characters, with a twist of The To-Do List.

Told in third-person, Rosin offers up a story about four girls who’ve been best friends since first grade. There are fewer than 200 days between the time the story begins and their graduation, wherein they’ll be going to far-flung places around the world; while this sort of fear of separation lingers in their world, it’s not the thrust of their story nor their friendship. They’re tight, but they aren’t controlling of one another. They’ve accepted the reality, even if it’s one that they’re not necessarily looking forward to experiencing.

The book opens at Bigg Chill, the frozen yogurt shop that the four girls spend every weekend at in person. It’s their time to catch up and hang out, talk about important and not important things. Layla, a girl who likes to make lists and accomplish the things on that list, tells the rest of the crew that she has three things in mind to accomplish before graduation: she wants to get blonde highlights, she wants to raise one of her grades in an AP class to an A, and she wants to finally have sex with her long-time boyfriend Logan. Her friends consider this and offer up some perspective on the idea of including sex on her to-do list. Isn’t it odd to have that on a list of tasks to accomplish? Shouldn’t it be more than that?

After a long discussion of this — including some wildly realistic discussions of what sex is and isn’t, what masturbation is and isn’t, and who has/has not done things — the girls decide that they’ll make a sex pact. Together, but not together-together, they’ll all have sex before graduation. There is a mix of emotions surrounding this, from fear to excitement and to the nervous feeling that one girl gets when she realizes that her friends think she’s the only non-virgin and the truth is, she’s never actually had sex.

And then we get to sex.

Cherry follows all four of the girls through the ups and downs of learning about their bodies, as well as learning about what it is they want from a sexual relationship. There is wonderful and frank discussion of masturbation — not just who is and isn’t masturbating, but how one could figure out what it is they like sexually — and there is open and honest discussion of contraception and protection.

But most importantly, and the part that made me realize this book wasn’t just a fun romp (though it is!), is that it showcases a variety of sexual interests and sexualities among the girls. We have straight sex as well as lesbian sex and it is on the page. From the moment that Emma meets Savannah, I hoped that something would spark, and I was pleased at the first kiss. Then the second. Then the fireworks. It was refreshing and truthful and powerful to see lesbian sexual interest right there on the page, presented in a way that was natural and fun and exciting, for both the girls and the readers who will pick this up.

What Rosin smartly does, in addition to highlighting sexual variety in this story, is not offer the easy ways in and out for the girls. There are ups and downs. What seems like the obvious partnerships aren’t necessarily the stories that see a happy ending. And the stories that we’ve come to see as unhappy ending tropes don’t end up that way.

Perhaps, though, the thing that made this book go from a fun, sexually empowering book, was how much it emphasizes and celebrates female friendship. Layla, Alex, Zoe, and Emma are tight, and even though there are realistic ups and downs in their relationships, they always come back to one another. There are boys (and a girl!) and there is sex, but there is not envy among them. They aren’t fighting for the same guys, and when they see a guy of interest being terrible, they tell their friends. They are not arguing over who gets what partner; they’re ensuring that the girls are finding the best, most respectful, most caring partners for them. Other girls who aren’t part of the core are rendered as important and fully-fleshed people worthy of respect as well. Though there is tension, the way that the girls describe other girls is done in a way that doesn’t demean or belittle them or call them any terribly sexist name in the book. In other words, it’s realistic that they don’t like every girl, but they don’t see the need to put that girl down using names or descriptions that belittle them.

Cherry is a fun read, and while it certainly tackles big, important topics, it’s refreshing in offering up a fun story about girls interested in and curious about sex. We regularly see this with males in YA fiction but rarely do we see it with girls. The cast of characters are all different, and they’re not all white, either — the book being set in Los Angeles feels authentic to the setting and to the demographics and to the sorts of relationships that would occur between teenagers there. The coming out scene with Emma is a small note in the story and it’s handled with care and love.

Though this will certainly see a fair amount of criticism — including this review by a male bookseller that I keep reading — it’s important to consider nuance. This is a book about girls who are curious about and who like sex. This is normal teenage girl behavior and thinking. The problem is that socially and culturally, we do not get to see or hear these stories. But we are allowed these same stories, often called “hilarious coming-of-age stories,” when they feature a male protagonist. Cherry absolutely tackles protection and pregnancy, and it absolutely talks about the fact not everyone is having sex. It also explores why and how people choose to engage in intercourse, and it discusses masturbation in a powerful, non-judgmental capacity. These are things we do not see in YA fiction.

I’ve spent a long time doing research on this and have written about it extensively on STACKED, as well as in the book The V-Word. The closest book to this one in recent memory is Julie Halpern’s The F-It List, which you may remember also caused some review controversy. While neither Halpern’s novel nor Rosin’s novel are perfect, both are doing something that needs to be considered thoughtfully and with extreme nuance. Rushing through books like this and announcing that they “don’t do” a thing or that they do a thing “too much” is denouncing the realities of female sexuality. No where does Rosin suggest all girls need to have sex and get it over. This is a story about four girls and their juggling of emotional, psychological, and physical desires in a world that constantly tells them to suppress those things while cheering on their male contemporaries for those very same things. Rosin tackles this, too, in the relationship between Layla and Logan.

Cherry is a necessary addition to the YA world, especially when it comes to fun fiction featuring a realistic female cast. Readers who love books by Amy Spalding will be delighted by this one, as will readers who are aching for a fun story ala movies like American Pie but with girls at the forefront.

It’s also a read for those eager for a solid story about friendship, girl gangs, and the power of female allies.

Cherry hits shelves August 16. Finished copy received from the publisher.

Reflections on DOMESTIC ARRANGEMENTS by Naomi Klein

July 27, 2016 |

“I mean, doing good is so dreary. At least doing bad is inventive.”

I hadn’t had the chance to read any of the Lizzie Skurnick reissues since she began the project a few years back. I’d purchased Domestic Arrangements last fall, though, in hopes of doing that and now, deep into a month of reading nothing but backlist, I had the chance to sink in.

And this book was a knock-out.

Norma Klein wrote fiction for young readers beginning in 1972 and she wrote through her death in 1989. Prior to reading the introduction written by Judy Blume in the Skurnick edition of the book, I didn’t realize she was a contemporary of Blume’s, nor, to be fair, did I know anything about her or her work. Klein, though, was a trailblazer in young reader fiction. She wrote about complicated families, as well as empowered and mature teenagers navigating the tricky, confusing, and difficult terrain of adolescence. Worth noting that at least in this book, those empowered and mature teenagers are privileged and white. This isn’t surprising nor problematic given the time this was published.

Domestic Arrangements, in my initial thinking, would be “like Blume” in terms of exploring a teen girl’s sexuality. In many ways, it certainly was; however, what really struck me about this particular book was how absolutely frank main character Rusty is about her interest and participation in sex.

This slice-of-life fiction follows 14-year-old Tatiana (nicknamed Rusty because of her long red hair) in the immediate after of filming her first movie. Her mother had been in the business for a long time, and it was sort of by luck and chance Rusty scored a role in a film. She wasn’t an actress nor was she particularly interested in acting. But she landed this role and played the part of a teen girl who serves as an object of lust and fascination to an older man (who, by marriage, becomes a relative). Though her upbringing in New York City and as the daughter of a well-known actress made her turn on the screen not a huge deal in her world, it was the nude scene she did in the film that garnered her so much attention — both warranted and unwarranted.

On the surface, it’s a story about Rusty navigating those seas. Does she want to pursue a future in acting? Or does she want to let it go all together?

But deeper down, this is a larger metaphor, of course, for growing up and learning how to traverse the tricky space between being a child who complies with her parents and standing up for one’s own choices and decisions in order to become an adult.

Domestic Arrangements is not in any way a shy book. The opening chapter takes us into this immediately; Rusty has gotten in trouble because her father caught her and her boyfriend Joshua having sex in the bathtub. The entire scene is wonderful in how it lays out exactly who these characters are. We know that Rusty is not ashamed of being sexually active and indeed, she’s pretty open, especially with her parents, about how she enjoys having sex with her boyfriend and doesn’t plan on stopping. There is a great deal of page time given to Rusty discussing the options of birth control, too — and with the aid of her mother, Rusty begins using a diaphragm.

While it sounds incredibly mature in terms of how Rusty handles being sexually active, Klein gives us real depth and teenage-ness to Rusty because of how she then uses this privilege in irresponsible, yet realistic, ways. When her boyfriend makes her angry, Rusty cuts up the diaphragm; this action sends guilt through her not because of what it means for her relationship, but because she knows how much that cost her mother to acquire and how she’ll need to keep this action a secret. There is a smart push-and-tug in the exploration of growing up and the ways in which being an adolescent is about making stupid, irrational decisions.

Klein’s depiction of a family is excellent, raw, and really boundary pushing for 1982. Though it’s not clear early on, Rusty’s family situation isn’t a smooth, happy one. Her mother and her father aren’t in love the way they once were, and that manifests in not only cheating (her mother and her father both take on new partners in the story), but also in how they choose to parent both Rusty and her sister Cordelia (Deel — yes, both girls are named after Shakespeare characters). The way Rusty and Deel talk about their parents and think about the implications of their extramarital relationships is real and somewhat painful. But perhaps what’s most interesting and authentic about it is that, while both girls hate seeing their parents hurt each other, both also understand that their parents’ relationship is imperfect and might not last. I only wish that we’d gotten a richer exploration of the relationship between Rusty and Deel; at times, it felt like a great relationships and at other times, it felt like Rusty was a downright witch toward her sister. The book description notes that Deel is envious of her sister and her new-found fame, but I never quite got that feeling. I could have gone for even more of that, especially knowing this book is meant to be from Rusty’s point of view.

What really made this book a fun read for me was that it’s the sort of idealistic, dreamy fantasy realistic world that teens, especially younger teens like Rusty, believe of being a teenager. There’s the fame, the starring role in a mature film for adults, and the hot boyfriend who is always available for sex. As readers — and perhaps this is a product of how much YA has exploded in the last decade or so — it’s obvious that this isn’t 100% realistic but instead, more like a Hollywood depiction of adolescence. Teenagers believe in possibility and dream all of the big, heavy dreams; this allows readers to be part of those dreams and see how, despite the gloss, those dreams aren’t always what they’re cracked up to be. Beneath the surface of Rusty’s perfect life are cracks, are truths, and are the harsh realities of being caught between being a kid and being an adult.

The longer I’ve been away from Klein’s book, the more I’ve thought about how boundary pushing it was for 1982. But more, it’s boundary pushing by today’s YA standards. The language, the topics, and the unabashed discussion of sex and sexuality — both on the teen level and on the adults-having-affairs level — is so respectful toward readers. Klein doesn’t hold back, and she respects her readers enough to know that they’re thinking about and seeing and living through these realities. Putting them on paper shouldn’t shy away from the truths, even if they’re hard or ugly or even really damn great. Rusty talks about having great sex and it’s really outstanding to see a girl say such a thing, especially when so much of what we do have in YA about sexuality rarely allows female autonomy, let alone female pleasure and interest.

It’s obvious how much influence Klein and Blume had on one another, and it’s really damn unfortunate that Klein died at such a young age. I can only image the sort of powerful pieces we’d see from both of them, together and apart, about the changing landscape of YA fiction and more, the sort of love and reverence both have for and toward teenagers (especially teenage girls!). Domestic Arrangements is certainly dated in places, but the story itself has resonance and would absolutely be a book teenagers today would find interesting, challenging, and compelling. I’d especially pass this along to fans of Judy Blume, particularly those taken with Forever . . . which might be many, many, many teens, and especially teen girls on the younger end of teenhood.

Without doubt, this book would Cause A Stir on today’s shelves. And that is one reason why it’s so good.

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Since I wanted to do this post as sort of a reflection, as well as a review, I thought it would be fun to round up some of the book’s covers through the years. It came out in 1982, so it got the nice 80s touch to it.

Let’s start with today’s reissue edition from Lizzie Skurnick:

This cover is so moody and captures the essence of Rusty perfectly. There’s the long red hair, as well as a real movie star-esque vibe to the whole thing. This teenage girl looks like an any girl, but with something a little bit more dreamy about her.

This cover, for one of the original editions, features Rusty in a still from the film that made her famous. It’s interesting to me how her hair in this one is curly and big, which is opposite of the cover girl’s red hair in the Skurnick reissue. Clearly a reflection of the style and trends. I really love the two hands on this one, with no clear indication of who they belong to. They could as easily be Rusty and Joshua’s hands as they could be Rusty’s parents. It is an interesting message, though, that it would be Rusty’s role in the film tearing apart either — or both! — of those relationships.

“She learned about sex too soon — Now she has to learn about love.” What a tag line. I’m not sure she learns about sex too soon, but the fact she has to figure out what love is IS a central thread through Rusty’s story. But this cover! Talk about taking the cover to a level that makes it clear this book tackles sex.

However…

Where is Rusty’s red hair? The girl in the cover, from what it looks like, has curly brown hair. Rusty got her nickname, after all, from her trademark hair. It seems like the girl here misses that mark. But man, the 80s fashion here is pretty outstanding.

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Have you read Domestic Arrangements? What did you think? More, if I were to read another Norma Klein book, what should it be? I’m eager to look at what else she’s written because this book was a real surprise for me.

YA Takes on Young Journalism

July 11, 2016 |

Have you been as taken with the story of the 9-year-old girl who broke the story of a local murder as I have? Hilde Lysiak got a lot of slack for the whole thing, in part because of her age and in part because the old school thinking about journalism and reporting meant that The Establishment was not really on top of it. Lysiak has scored a book deal, and I am so excited to see this young girl grow into a hell of a successful person.

Growing up, my dream was journalism. I wanted to work on my high school’s paper, and I wanted to edit it. I took on roles as an Opinions editor, then as a Features editor, and my senior year, I applied for — but did not become — the editor-in-chief. Instead, I was second in command of the paper, and used that “loss” to strengthen my writing, my reporting, my storytelling, and applied to a college where I knew I could get great experience on a paper for a future career.

Of course, life happened, journalism changed, and while I did eventually succeed as becoming an editor-in-chief of my college’s paper, my career in the field shifted a bit. I love what I do and absolutely credit my journalism background for where I am.

It’s interesting to me that despite the changes in the field at large, journalism remains an interest for so many teens and tweens. Moreover, it’s a fantastic narrative device in the sense that it allows teenagers to become investigators with a purpose; they aren’t super sleuths or interested in mysteries on their own, but rather, they’re seeking answers to an assignment. For me, that almost makes it more interesting than a straight-forward mystery, as the main character is exploring so much more than a single story.

I thought, in honor of Lysiak, as well as teens who are driven to make a name for themselves in newspapers, magazines, and other word-based media outlets, it’d be fun to round up some of the YA featuring journalists. This won’t be comprehensive, so feel free to add other titles to the comments. I’m sticking to YA, though it would be easy to do an even larger round-up of middle grade titles featuring young journalists. I’ve also opened it up to titles that might be a bit down the backlist, in part because it would be interesting to see how they hold up in today’s journalism era.

All descriptions are from Goodreads or WorldCat. And for fun*, I didn’t put these in any order (*I didn’t even think about it until after I put the images together).

Ink is Thicker Than Water by Amy Spalding

For Kellie Brooks, family has always been a tough word to define. Combine her hippie mom and tattooist stepdad, her adopted overachieving sister, her younger half brother, and her tough-love dad, and average Kellie’s the one stuck in the middle, overlooked and impermanent. When Kellie’s sister finally meets her birth mother and her best friend starts hanging with a cooler crowd, the feeling only grows stronger.

But then she reconnects with Oliver, the sweet and sensitive college guy she had a near hookup with last year. Oliver is intense and attractive, and she’s sure he’s totally out of her league. But as she discovers that maybe intensity isn’t always a good thing, it’s yet another relationship she feels is spiraling out of her control.

It’ll take a new role on the school newspaper and a new job at her mom’s tattoo shop for Kellie to realize that defining herself both outside and within her family is what can finally allow her to feel permanent, just like a tattoo.

The New Guy (& Other Senior Year Distractions) by Amy Spalding (she writes teens with such great interests!)

A ridiculously cute, formerly-famous new guy dropping into your life? It’s practically every girl’s dream.

But not Jules McCallister-Morgan’s.

I realize that on paper I look like your standard type-A, neurotic, overachiever. And maybe I am. But I didn’t get to be the editor of my school’s long-revered newspaper by just showing up*. I have one main goal for my senior year-early acceptance into my first choice Ivy League college-and I will not be deterred by best friends, moms who think I could stand to “live a little,” or boys.

At least, that was the plan before I knew about Alex Powell**.

And before Alex Powell betrayed me***.

I know what you’re thinking: Calm down, Jules. But you don’t understand. This stuff matters. This is my life. And I’m not going down without a fight.

—-

* Okay, I sort of did. But it’s a sore subject.

** I mean, I guess everyone knows about Alex Powell? Two years ago, you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing about viral video boy band sensation Chaos 4 All. Two years ago, Alex Powell was famous.

***Some people think I’m overreacting. But this. Means. War.

Fake ID by Lamar Giles

Nick Pearson is hiding in plain sight…

My name isn’t really Nick Pearson.

I shouldn’t tell you where I’m from or why my family moved to Stepton, Virginia.

I shouldn’t tell you who I really am, or my hair, eye, and skin color.

And I definitely shouldn’t tell you about my friend Eli Cruz and the major conspiracy he was about to uncover when he died—right after I moved to town. About how I had to choose between solving his murder with his hot sister, Reya, and “staying low-key” like the Program has taught me. About how moving to Stepon changed my life forever.

But I’m going to.

So Not Happening by Jenny B. Jones (series)

Bella Kirkwood had it all: A-list friends at her prestigious private school, Broadway in her backyard, and Daddy’s MasterCard in her wallet. Then her father, a plastic surgeon to the stars, decided to trade her mother in for a newer model.

When Bella’s mom falls in love with a man she met on the Internet–a factory worker with two bratty sons–Bella has to pack up and move in with her new family in Truman, Oklahoma. On a farm no less!

Forced to trade her uber-trendy NYC lifestyle for down-home charm, Bella feels like a pair of Rock & Republic jeans in a sea of Wranglers.

At least some of the people in her new high school are pretty cool. Especially the hunky football player who invites her to lunch. And maybe even the annoying–but kinda hot–editor of the school newspaper.

But before long, Bella smells something rotten in the town of Truman, and it’s not just the cow pasture. With her savvy reporter’s instincts, she is determined to find the story behind all the secrets.

How can a girl go on when her charmed life is gone and God appears to be giving her the total smackdown?

Lois Lane: Fallout by Gwenda Bond (series)

Lois Lane is starting a new life in Metropolis. An Army brat, Lois has lived all over—and seen all kinds of things. (Some of them defy explanation, like the near-disaster she witnessed in Kansas in the middle of one night.) But now her family is putting down roots in the big city, and Lois is determined to fit in. Stay quiet. Fly straight. As soon as she steps into her new high school, though, she can see it won’t be that easy. A group known as the Warheads is making life miserable for another girl at school. They’re messing with her mind, somehow, via the high-tech immersive videogame they all play. Not cool. Armed with her wit and her new snazzy job as a reporter, Lois has her sights set on solving this mystery. But sometimes it’s all a bit much. Thank goodness for her maybe-more-than-a friend, a guy she knows only by his screenname, SmallvilleGuy.

Sophomore Undercover by Ben Esch

For fifteen-year-old, adopted Vietnamese orphan Dixie Nguyen, high school is one long string of hard-to-swallow humiliations. He shares a locker with a nudist linebacker, his teachers are incompetent, and he’s stuck doing fluff pieces for the school newspaper. But Dixie’s luck takes a turn when he stumbles across one of the jocks using drugs in the locker room; not only does he finally have something newsworthy to write, but the chance to strike a blow against his tormentors at the school as well.

However, when his editor insists he drop the story and cover homecoming events instead, Dixie sets off on his own unconventional-and often misguided-investigation. He soon discovers that the scandal extends beyond the football team to something far bigger and more sinister than he ever thought possible. Once he follows the guidelines of his hero, Mel Nichols (journalism professor at Fresno State University and author of the textbook Elementary Journalism) this high school reporter just might save the world. That is, of course, if Dixie can stay out of juvenile hall, the hospital, and new age therapy long enough to piece it all together.

Hell Week by Rosemary Clement-Moore (series)

MAGGIE QUINN IS determined to make her mark as a journalist. The only problem? The Ranger Report does not take freshmen on staff.

Rules are rules. But when has that ever stopped Maggie?

After facing hellfire, infiltrating sorority rush should be easy. It’s no Woodward and Bernstein, but going undercover as the Phantom Pledge will allow her to write her exposé. Then she can make a stealth exit before initiation. But when she finds a group of girls who are after way more than “sisterhood,” all her instincts say there’s something rotten on Greek Row. And when Hell Week rolls around, there may be no turning back.

If there is such a thing as a sorority from hell, you can bet that Maggie Quinn will be the one to stumble into it.

These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly

Jo Montfort is beautiful and rich, and soon—like all the girls in her class—she’ll graduate from finishing school and be married off to a wealthy bachelor. Which is the last thing she wants. Jo secretly dreams of becoming a writer—a newspaper reporter like the trailblazing Nellie Bly.

Wild aspirations aside, Jo’s life seems perfect until tragedy strikes: her father is found dead. Charles Montfort accidentally shot himself while cleaning his revolver. One of New York City’s wealthiest men, he owned a newspaper and was partner in a massive shipping firm, and Jo knows he was far too smart to clean a loaded gun.

The more Jo uncovers about her father’s death, the more her suspicions grow. There are too many secrets. And they all seem to be buried in plain sight. Then she meets Eddie—a young, brash, infuriatingly handsome reporter at her father’s newspaper—and it becomes all too clear how much she stands to lose if she keeps searching for the truth. Only now it might be too late to stop.

The past never stays buried forever. Life is dirtier than Jo Montfort could ever have imagined, and the truth is the dirtiest part of all.

The Rivalry by John Feinstein (series)

The Black Knights of Army and the Midshipmen of Navy have met on the football field since 1890, and it’s a rivalry like no other, filled with tradition.

Teen sports reporters Stevie and Susan Carol have been busy at West Point and Annapolis, getting to know the players and coaches—and the Secret Service agents. Since the president will be attending the game, security will be tighter than tight. Weeks and months have been spent on training and planning and reporting to get them all to this moment. But when game day arrives, the refs aren’t the only ones crying foul. . .

Diplomatic Immunity by Brodi Ashton (September 6)

Aspiring reporter Piper Baird decides to write a scathing exposé on the overprivileged students at an elite Washington, DC, school, only for her life to change when she begins to fall for the story’s main subject, in this new realistic contemporary romance from Brodi Ashton, the author of the Everneath trilogy.

Raucous parties, privileged attitudes, underage drinking, and diplomatic immunity…it’s all part of student life on Embassy Row.

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 country’s most competitive prize for teen journalists—the Bennington scholarship—and winning will ensure her acceptance to one of the best schools in the country.

Piper isn’t at Chiswick for two days before she witnesses the intense competition in the journalism program—and the extreme privilege of the young and wealthy elite who attend her school. And Piper knows 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.

The key to the whole story lies with Rafael Amador, the son of the Spanish ambassador—and the boy at the center of the most explosive secrets and scandals on Embassy Row. Rafael is big trouble—and when he drops into her bedroom window one night, asking for help, it’s Piper’s chance to get the full scoop. But as they spend time together, Piper discovers that despite his dark streak, Rafael is smart, kind, funny, and gorgeous—and she might have real feelings for him. How can she break the story of a lifetime if it could destroy the boy she just might love?

Throwing Stones by Kristi Collier

When Andy Soaring’s older brother, Pete, died in World War I, Andy’s life changed forever. Now, five years later, Andy is fourteen and beginning to feel the weight of his brother’s legacy, especially when he holds Pete’s basketball in his hands. Andy dreams of leading his high-school team to the Indiana state tournament, as his brother did before him. If only Andy could be a basketball star, maybe he could ease his parents’ sadness, and, more important, feel like he truly belongs to his family. But when Andy lets pride get in the way–over a girl, no less–all bets are off.

Sophomore Year is Greek to Me by Meredith Zeitlin

High school sophomore Zona Lowell has lived in New York City her whole life, and plans to follow in the footsteps of her renowned-journalist father. But when he announces they’re moving to Athens for six months so he can work on an important new story, she’s devastated— he must have an ulterior motive. See, when Zona’s mother married an American, her huge Greek family cut off contact. But Zona never knew her mom, and now she’s supposed to uproot her entire life and meet possibly hostile relatives on their turf? Thanks… but no thanks.

Paper Daughter by Jeanette Ingold

Maggie Chen was born with ink in her blood. Her journalist father has fired her imagination with the thrill of the newsroom, and when her father is killed, she is determined to keep his dreams alive by interning at the local newspaper.

While assisting on her first story, Maggie learns that her father is suspected of illegal activity, and she knows she must clear his name. Drawn to Seattle’s Chinatown, she discovers things that are far from what she expected: secrets, lies, and a connection to the Chinese Exclusion Era. Using all of her newspaper instincts and resources, Maggie is forced to confront her ethnicity—and a family she never knew.

The Kayla Chronicles by Sherri Winston

Kayla Dean, junior feminist and future journalist, is about the break the story of a lifetime. She is auditioning for the Lady Lions dance team to prove they discriminate against the not-so-well endowed. But when she makes the team, her best friend and fellow feminist, Rosalie, is not happy.

Now a Lady Lion, Kayla is transformed from bushy-haired fashion victim to glammed-up dance diva. But does looking good and having fun mean turning her back on the cause? Can you be a strong woman and still wear really cute shoes? Soon Kayla is forced to challenge her views, coming to terms with who she is and what girl power really means.

Famous Last Words by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

In Famous Last Words by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski, sixteen-year-old Samantha D’Angelo has death on the brain. Her summer internship at the local newspaper has her writing obituaries instead of soaking up the sun at the beach. Between Shelby, Sam’s boy-crazy best friend; her boss Harry, a true-blue newspaper man; and AJ, her fellow “intern scum” (aka the cute drummer for a band called Love Gas), Sam has her hands full. But once she figures out what—or who—is the best part of her summer, will she mess it all up?

As Sam learns her way around both the news room and the real world, she starts to make some momentous realizations about politics, ethics, her family, romance, and most important—herself.

Since You Asked by Maurene Goo

No, no one asked, but Holly Kim will tell you what she thinks anyway.

Fifteen-year-old Holly Kim is the copyeditor for her high school’s newspaper. When she accidentally submits an article that rips everyone to shreds, she gets her own column and rants her way through the school year. Can she survive homecoming, mean-girl cliques, jocks, secret admirers, Valentine’s Day, and other high school embarrassments, all while struggling to balance her family’s traditional Korean values?

Social Suicide by Gemma Halliday (series)

Twittercide: the killing of one human being by another while the victim is in the act of tweeting.

Call me crazy, but I figured writing for the Herbert Hoover High Homepage would be a pretty sweet gig. Pad the resume for college applications, get a first look at the gossip column, spend some time ogling the paper’s brooding bad-boy editor, Chase Erikson. But on my first big story, things went . . . a little south. What should have been a normal interview with Sydney Sanders turned into me discovering the homecoming queen–hopeful dead in her pool. Electrocuted while Tweeting. Now, in addition to developing a reputation as HHH’s resident body finder, I’m stuck trying to prove that Sydney’s death wasn’t suicide.

I’m starting to long for the days when my biggest worry was whether the cafeteria was serving pizza sticks or Tuesday Tacos. . . .

Hitting the Road: YA Roadtrips in 2016

May 2, 2016 |

Since I’ve started doing those huge round-up/previews of YA titles each quarter at Book Riot, I can’t help but notice themes and topics that show up again and again. 2016 is undoubtedly the year of romance in YA. They aren’t all the same, of course, but romance at the core of YA seems to be bigger this year than in recent memory recalls.

Another interesting observation so far this year, though, has been the road trip. Road trips are perennially popular in YA, though they go through lulls and resurgences. This year, we’re in a pretty big upswing.

Road trips offer the chance for teens to be free, to have an adventure, and to literally follow an arc from start to finish. It’s a journey of discovery and growth. But, it is worth noting that teens who pursue road trips tend to be white more than anything else. It’s rare to find teens of color on the road; this is, of course, not surprising given that the challenges of being a person of color on a road trip when you’re 17 or 18 are much more life-threatening than if you’re a white teen on a road. I’ve started a list somewhere in my drafts of books that offer this in YA and I’ll have to revisit it here in the near future.

In the mean time, why don’t we take a look at the 2016 YA books where road trips play a part in the story? If you can think of others hitting shelves this year, drop the title in the comments. I have included epic quests in this list, so those are welcome additions, too. Get ready to hit the road.

All descriptions are from Goodreads.

Catacomb by Madeleine Roux (technically this came out at the end of 2015, but go with it here)

Sometimes the past is better off buried.

Senior year is finally over. After all they’ve been through, Dan, Abby, and Jordan are excited to take one last road trip together, and they’re just not going to think about what will happen when the summer ends. But on their way to visit Jordan’s uncle in New Orleans, the three friends notice that they are apparently being followed.. And Dan starts receiving phone messages from someone he didn’t expect to hear from again—someone who died last Halloween.

As the strange occurrences escalate, Dan is forced to accept that everything that has happened to him in the past year may not be a coincidence, but fate—a fate that ties Dan to a group called the Bone Artists, who have a sinister connection with a notorious killer from the past. Now, Dan’s only hope is that he will make it out of his senior trip alive.

Drag Teen by Jeffery Self

Jeffery Self takes us on a road trip with an insecure high school senior who has one goal: to be the first in his family to leave Clearwater, Florida, and go to college. The problem is, he has zero means of paying for school — until his friends convince him to compete in a drag teen competition for a college scholarship.

The Haters by Jesse Andrews

For Wes and his best friend, Corey, jazz camp turns out to be lame. It’s pretty much all dudes talking in Jazz Voice. But then they jam with Ash, a charismatic girl with an unusual sound, and the three just click. It’s three and a half hours of pure musical magic, and Ash makes a decision: They need to hit the road. Because the road, not summer camp, is where bands get good. Before Wes and Corey know it, they’re in Ash’s SUV heading south, and The Haters Summer of Hate Tour has begun.

How Not to Disappear by Clare Furniss (Hit shelves at the tail end of 2015)

Hattie’s summer isn’t going as planned. Her two best friends have abandoned her: Reuben has run off to Europe to “find himself” and Kat’s in Edinburgh with her new girlfriend. Meanwhile Hattie is stuck babysitting her twin siblings and dealing with endless drama around her mum’s wedding.

Oh, and she’s also just discovered that she’s pregnant with Reuben’s baby…

Then Gloria, Hattie’s great-aunt who no one previously knew even existed comes crashing into her life. Gloria’s fiercely independent, rather too fond of a gin sling and is in the early stages of dementia.

Together the two of them set out on a road trip of self-discovery – Gloria to finally confront the secrets of her past before they are wiped from her memory forever and Hattie to face the hard choices that will determine her future.

In Real Life by Jessica Love

Hannah Cho and Nick Cooper have been best friends since 8th grade. They talk for hours on the phone, regularly shower each other with presents, and know everything there is to know about one another.

There’s just one problem: Hannah and Nick have never actually met.

Hannah has spent her entire life doing what she’s supposed to, but when her senior year spring break plans get ruined by a rule-breaker, she decides to break a rule or two herself. She impulsively decides to road trip to Las Vegas, her older sister and BFF in tow, to surprise Nick and finally declare her more-than-friend feelings for him.

Hannah’s surprise romantic gesture backfires when she gets to Vegas and finds out that Nick has been keeping some major secrets. Hannah knows the real Nick can’t be that different from the online Nick she knows and loves, but now she only has night in Sin City to figure out what her feelings for Nick really are, all while discovering how life can change when you break the rules every now and then.

Jess, Chunk, and the Road Trip to Infinity by Kristin Elizabeth Clark (November 8)

The last time Jess saw her father, she was a boy. Now she’s a high school graduate, soon to be on her way to art school. But first she has some unfinished business with her dad. So she’s driving halfway across the country to his wedding. He happens to be marrying her mom’s ex-best friend. It’s not like Jess wasn’t invited; she was. She just never told anyone she was coming. Surprise!

Luckily, Jess isn’t making this trip alone. Her best friend, Christophe-nicknamed Chunk-is joining her.

Along the way, Jess and Chunk learn a few things about themselves-and each other-which call their feelings about their relationship into question.

Land of 10,000 Madonnas by Kate Hattemer (less a road trip and more a backpacking trip)

Five teens backpack through Europe to fulfill the mysterious dying wish of their friend.

Jesse lives with his history professor dad in a house covered with postcards of images of the Madonna from all over the world. They’re gotten used to this life: two motherless dudes living among thousands of Madonnas. But Jesse has a heart condition that will ultimately cut his life tragically short. Before he dies, he arranges a mysterious trip to Europe for his three cousins, his best friend, and his girlfriend to take after he passes away. It’s a trip that will forever change the lives of these young teens and one that will help them come to terms with Jesse’s death.

The Last True Love Story by Brendan Kiely (September 13)

The point of living is learning how to love.

That’s what Gpa says. To Hendrix and Corrina, both seventeen but otherwise alike only in their loneliness, that sounds like another line from a pop song that tries to promise kids that life doesn’t actually suck. Okay, so: love. Sure.

The thing about Corrina—her adoptive parents are suffocating, trying to mold her into someone acceptable, predictable, like them. She’s a musician, itching for any chance to escape, become the person she really wants to be. Whoever that is.

And Hendrix, he’s cool. Kind of a poet. But also kind of lost. His dad is dead and his mom is married to her job. Gpa is his only real family, but he’s fading fast from Alzheimer’s. Looking for any way to help the man who raised him, Hendrix has made Gpa an impossible promise—that he’ll get him back east to the hill where he first kissed his wife, before his illness wipes away all memory of her.

One hot July night, Hendrix and Corrina decide to risk everything. They steal a car, spring Gpa from his assisted living facility, stuff Old Humper the dog into the back seat, and take off on a cross-country odyssey from LA to NY. With their parents, Gpa’s doctors, and the police all hot on their heels, Hendrix and Corrina set off to discover for themselves if what Gpa says is true—that the only stories that last are love stories.

Life Before by Michele Bacon (June 7)

Seventeen years is a long time to keep secrets, so Xander Fife is very good at it: everyone believes he has a normal family. If he can just get through this summer, he’ll start his real life in college with a clean slate–no risk, no drama, no fear.

Xander’s summer plans include pick-up soccer, regular hijinks with friends, an epic road trip, and—quite possibly— the company of his ideal girlfriend, the amazing Gretchen Taylor.

Instead of kicking off what had promised to be an amazing summer, however, graduation day brings terror. His family’s secrets are thrust out into the open, forcing Xander to confront his greatest fear. Or run from it.

Armed with a fake ID, cash, and a knife, Xander skips town and assumes a new identity. In danger hundreds of miles from home, one thing is clear: Xander’s real life is already in progress and just getting through it isn’t enough.

The Lost & Found by Katrina Leno (July 5)

LOST:
Frannie and Louis met in an online support group when they were both younger. They have never met face-to-face. They don’t even know each other’s real names. All they know is that they both have a mysterious tendency to lose things. Well, not lose them, exactly. Things just seem to…disappear.

FOUND:
They each receive news in the mail that sets them off on a road trip to Austin, Texas, looking for answers—and each other. Along the way, each one begins to find, as if by magic, important things the other has lost. And by the time they finally meet in person, they realize that the things you lose might be things you weren’t meant to have at all, and that you never know what you might find if you just take a chance.

A Million Times Goodnight by Kristina McBride (July 5)

One night. Two paths. Infinite danger.

On the night of the big spring break party, seventeen-year-old Hadley “borrows” her boyfriend Ben’s car without telling him. As payback, he posts a naked picture of her online for the entire senior class to see.

Now Hadley has a choice: go back to the party and force Ben to delete the picture or raise the stakes and take his beloved car on a road trip as far away from their hometown of Oak Grove, Ohio, as she can get.

Chapters alternate to reveal each possible future as Hadley, her ex-boyfriend, Josh, and her best friends embark on a night of reckless adventure where old feelings are rekindled, friendships are tested, and secrets are uncovered that are so much worse than a scandalous photo.

The Swan Riders by Erin Bow (September 20)

Greta Stuart had always known her future: die young. She was her country’s crown princess, and also its hostage, destined to be the first casualty in an inevitable war. But when the war came it broke all the rules, and Greta forged a different path.

She is no longer princess. No longer hostage. No longer human. Greta Stuart has become an AI.

If she can survive the transition, Greta will earn a place alongside Talis, the AI who rules the world. Talis is a big believer in peace through superior firepower. But some problems are too personal to obliterate from orbit, and for those there are the Swan Riders: a small band of humans who serve the AIs as part army, part cult.

Now two of the Swan Riders are escorting Talis and Greta across post-apocalyptic Saskatchewan. But Greta’s fate has stirred her nation into open rebellion, and the dry grassland may hide insurgents who want to rescue her – or see her killed. Including Elian, the boy she saved—the boy who wants to change the world, with a knife if necessary. Even the infinitely loyal Swan Riders may not be everything they seem.

Greta’s fate—and the fate of her world—are balanced on the edge of a knife in this smart, sly, electrifying adventure.

The Way Back To You by Michelle Andreani and Mindi Scott (May 3)

Six months ago, Ashlyn Montiel died in a bike accident.

Her best friend Cloudy is keeping it together, at least on the outside. Cloudy’s insides are a different story: tangled, confused, heartbroken.

Kyle is falling apart, and everyone can tell. Ashlyn was his girlfriend, and when she died, a part of him went with her. Maybe the only part he cares about anymore.

As the two people who loved Ashlyn best, Cloudy and Kyle should be able to lean on each other. But after a terrible mistake last year, they’re barely speaking. So when Cloudy discovers that Ashlyn’s organs were donated after her death and the Montiel family has been in touch with three of the recipients, she does something a little bit crazy and a lot of out character: she steals the letters and convinces Kyle to go on a winter break road trip with her, from Oregon to California to Arizona to Nevada. Maybe if they see the recipients—the people whose lives were saved by Ashlyn’s death—the world will open up again. Or maybe it will be a huge mistake.

With hundreds of miles in front of them, a stowaway kitten, and a list of people who are alive because of Ashlyn, Cloudy and Kyle just may find their way to back to her…and to each other.