Amelia Westlake Was Never Here by Erin Gough

Amelia Westlake doesn't exist. She is made up; the creation of two teen girls who cannot stand each other. They are opposites who reluctantly team up to fight injustices at the private girls school that both attend. 

Will is a scholarship student on the verge of expulsion. She doesn't do her homework and talks back to teachers. She is also not overly concerned about her appearance. Will is ready to take down the school and all of its pretentiousness.

In contrast, Harriet is an excellent student and treats all faculty with respect. She is smartly attired. She has been training to win the big doubles tennis tournament for a long time. Even when the staff's questionable behavior is pointed out to her, she is always willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Harriet would never risk her future taking on the school administration.

Yet, circumstances bring Will and Harriet together. The swim coach is a pervert who is too friendly with some of the girls. He is an Olympic medalist who brings students and money to the school, so the administration will never reprimand him. Harriet agrees to help Will create a comic about the coach to be submitted to the school paper but only if it is anonymous. Thus, Amelia Westlake is born.

Needless to say, Amelia Westlake takes on a life of her own in a crusade that grows beyond the two girls. The question is can the girls make a difference at the school without getting in a lot of trouble.

It's a fun story about female empowerment and doing what is right no matter what the cost. Good messages for young people.

For more info, check out the Indianapolis Public Library catalog and the author's site.

Every Moment After by Joseph Moldover

For Matt and Cole, everything change the day a shooter entered their first grade classroom and killed their classmates. Matt was sick at home and feels guilty for not being there. Cole was rescued by the police chief, a moment that was captured in a photograph that became famous. And their friend, Andy...he didn't survive. Matt and Cole are now graduating from high school and must decide what to do with the rest of their lives.

The shooting is never far from their minds. How could it be living in the same small town where it happened. Matt and Cole tell their stories in alternating chapters. Cole is trying to work up the courage to tell Viola (who moved into town way after the shooting) how he feels about her. He thinks an end of summer grand gesture is the way to go. He is depending on Matt to get the money needed to pull it off which unfortunately may lead to doing questionable things (like selling Cole's dad's old pain medication).

Matt is forever questioning whether he should even by alive. He escaped the shooting because his diabetes kept him home that day. He still regrets it, and it has made him more impulsive than Cole. He feels left out of the dominant conversation of his life. He looks for answers in sex, in indifference to his glucose levels and in physically pushing himself to the brink of death.

I have read more than few books about school shootings, but they usually cover the tragedy itself. This one delves into the long, painful aftermath: the survivors, the permanently injured, the parents of the victims, the children of the heroes, the broken families and even the childhood home of the shooter. It excruciatingly relevant in the time we are living. A shooting happens somewhere and the world moves on. For those directly affected, the trauma never truly ends.

For more info, check out the Indianapolis Public Library catalog and the author's site.

Dig by A.S. King

Starting a A.S. King book is always interesting. I never know where the story is heading and what reality warping aspect will she include. In this instance, there is a girl who can transport herself to other places; although the destination is not always totally under her control. One moment she is her room and the next she is in Hong Kong.

The story is not really about that girl, per se. She is just one teen interwoven with the lives of the others (who at first seemed to not be connected). They all seem lost in their own way - like the boy who shovels snow and decides that he will hold onto the shelve wherever he goes even when there is no shoveling to do. And the girl who sells weed out of the drive through window. I could attempt to go on, but I couldn't do any of them justice or describe them as interestingly as the author. Suffice to say that this, like her other books, is mind bending but worth it if you like stories that cut to the heart of difficult matters (like neglectful families and racism).

While I realize that this story would not appeal to a lot of people, I hope that readers of quirky stories would at least give it a chance.

For more info, check out Indianapolis Public Library catalog and the author's site.

Hope and Other Punch Lines by Julie Buxbaum

Abbi survived the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. That day was Abbi's first birthday. She is Baby Hope captured in a famous photograph holding a red balloon and being carried by a fleeing woman. That photo has become a symbol of hope.

But Abbi is not really Baby Hope. She was that baby, but now she is 15 and does not feel connected to the photo. At this point in her life, she just wants to put it behind her.

Noah wants to know more about that day. He is interested in the other people in the photo who are running in the back ground. He feels it is fate that he and Abbi end up working at the same summer camp as counselors. Maybe he can get her to help him find the others and interview them. Her involvement will give his project credibility. Noah's best friend Jack thinks the whole idea is stupid.

Told in the alternating voices of Abbi and Noah, we learn how each is coping with the day that changed the world. Will Abbi get the illness that has already taken so many 9/11 survivors? Why is Noah so interested in the other people? Why does his mom never talk about his dad who died in the attack that day?

Those of us old enough to remember September 11 do not need reminders. But younger people should know what happened that day and understand why the aftermath will reverberate for generations. This story does a good job of bringing the horror and sadness of the day without recreating the actual events. Readers can experience the personal loss through these characters.

For more info, check out the Indianapolis Public Library catalog and the author's site.