What Goes Up by Katie Kennedy

Eddie has a chance to escape his life. He is one of several candidates chosen to be tested for one of two positions in NASA's secretive Interworlds Agency. The testing is anything but normal, but then so is the job.

Eddie feels pressure to separate himself from his criminal father. Eddie's  beloved grandmother raised him and taught him to all that she knew about science and the world. He still mourns her recent passing.Rosa is one of the other candidates. Her parents are highly successful scientists. She feels the pressure to do well.

During the testing, Eddie provides interesting, unconventional responses. His troubled past bothers the higher ups who do not quite trust him. Eddie struggles to not end up proving them right.

Then a life changing event happens. Visitors from beyond our planet arrive. From another world, another dimension? It is a historical event and Eddie and Rosa are right there when it happens. With their instructor Reg as a guide, the teens may be the only ones who can deal with the visiting beings to our planet.

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

Learning to Swear in America by Katie Kennedy

A giant asteroid is heading for earth. Southern California is the target, but the whole world will be impacted. The smartest minds are assembled in a NASA facility in Pasadena to solve the problem. With less than a month left, a young Russian physicist arrives to join the team. Yuri's mathematical skills are unquestioned, but since he is only seventeen he is often not taken seriously by his fellow scientists. That is most unfortunate when Yuri knows he has the best solution to stop the asteroid.

One day Yuri decides to eat lunch outside and finds a pretty young woman named Dovie. Having spent most of his life focused on physics, Yuri is socially awkward and does not know how to interact with other people his age. In addition, Yuri has never been to the U.S. and does not understand the customs (or often the subtleties of the English language). Fortunately, the artsy Dovie takes a liking to Yuri and invites him to her house. Dovie's hippie parents and wheelchair bound brother Lennon are welcoming but live a very different existence than Yuri's.

With the world in peril, Yuri gets to spend time as a regular teenager while simultaneously trying to convince his colleagues that his unique knowledge holds the key to saving the planet. It's possible his overzealous behavior will keep him from returning to Russia.

This is a nice blend of science and teenage uncertainty about their own future.

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