In Her Skin by Kim Savage

Jo is homeless, living on the streets of Boston. She left home when her mother was killed by her latest boyfriend. Jo's and her mom were con-artists. Jo's mom taught her all about choosing your make, being someone else and playing people to separate them from their money. Life has never been that great. 

One day, Jo sees the opportunity to escape to a new life. She will become Vivienne Weir, a girl who went missing nine years ago. Since Vivienne's parents died, Jo will be taken in by the Lovecrafts, the neighbors who were watching Vivi when she disappeared. They live in a luxurious house. They have a daughter, Temple, who was Vivi's best friend. It is all more than Jo could ever have dreamed. 

Sometimes becoming Vivi is too easy for Jo. Everyone wants Vivi back so much that they overlook obvious contradictions (like does Jo really look like an older version of Vivi?). Only the police seem skeptical. But the intervention of the police social worker and the powerful influence of the Lovecrafts override any doubts. 

Jo can never really relax. She wants to be loved by Temple, but her new 'sister' has a darker side. The whole family doesn't seem to quite fit making for a lot of tension. It is also a long con to play. Jo can never be Jo again, but she's ultimately not Vivi either. And now that she's in, can she get out?

With a little suspension of disbelief, you can enjoy Jo's suspenseful excursion into a life she has never experienced. With nothing feeling quite right, there is no time to relax in the pages of the book. But it is worth it. 

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

Love, Heather by Laurie Petrou

I have felt for a long time that you can only push people so far. That eventually, bullied people will only take so much before they push back. Usually, I am referring to an oppressed group but certainly individuals can react in the same way. And so we have Stevie's life...

Going into her freshman year, things are good for Stevie. She and her best friend (forever) Lottie are unsure about entering high school but they have always done everything together. Yes, they are different: Lottie loves losing herself in a book while Stevie loves 80s and 90s movies (she regularly posts videos to her YouTube channel about them). Still, Stevie has spent so much time in Lottie's home that she feels like she has a second set of parents.

But things change. Lottie and Stevie start hanging out with the popular crowd and Lottie seems to be spending more time with them than Stevie. Add Stevie's mom dating some new guy and Lottie's parents going through epic changes (no spoilers here) and Stevie feels the very foundation of her life shift.

When her friendship with Lottie fractures and the horrific bullying starts, Stevie finds Dee. Dee is confident in ways Stevie could never be. Dee is also relentless in pointing out BS in the school. She pushes Stevie to bring justice to the victims by getting revenge on the perpetrators, the ones who think they are above it all. At first, the revenge is sweet, almost harmless pranks. When do the pranks get out of control? When do they cross a line into harassment?  When do the bullied become the bullies?

Stevie's story is painful and dark. She feels like her life is out of control. Whether it is a bad as she thinks, it doesn't matter because that's the way it feels to her. In the story, revenge is satisfying for a while. It is good to see the nasty people get taken down, but ultimately it is a tragic story. I like the unorthodox direction of the story, and I hope you do, too.

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

Catfishing On CatNet by Naomi Kritzer

A box drops out of the sky. Steph opens it to find exactly what she needs to alter the sex education robot teacher in her school (the one that will not answer 'controversial' questions). Where did the box come from? Who sent it? It is not the first incident like this recently. It's like someone is following Steph's conversations online.

Steph's only friends are on CatNet, a social media site dedicated to cat pictures. She never has a chance to make friends at school because her mother makes them move every few months. Why you may ask? Because Steph's father tried to kill both of them in a house fire when she was young. Her online friends do not know what Steph looks like or where she lives because her mother forbids her to give out any personal info that could give away their location.

That might sound a little paranoid except that Steph's father is a computer expert, so keeping a low profile is best. Her mom is, too; she makes money by doing jobs remotely for an old friend.

Now about that mystery box: it turns out that CatNet is run by an AI, a sentient computer program who decides they want to help people and Steph in particular. Imagine a being following all your online activity - scary? Maybe, but this being can also track your father and hamper his search for you.

Steph is a really great character with good friends (including her new in person friend, Rachel) who support each other. There are lots of unanswered questions in her life that make for a suspenseful story.

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

Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe by Preston Norton

Cliff's older brother, Shane, is dead. Shane is the only thing Cliff care's about. He doesn't care about school or his stupid classmates. His dad is abusive, and his mom is his dad's enabler. Basically, Cliff's life sucks.

Sometimes when nothing feels right, Cliff goes to the Monolith, a tall abandoned never finished seven story office building in his small town. He and his brother used to go there, and hang out on a top floor balcony.  But now, Cliff goes by himself.

Cliff is a big, physically big. So big that his nickname is Neanderthal. He is called a lot of things by classmates who think they are so clever. He is not afraid to throw punches if necessary. He does just that against Aaron Zimmerman the popular quarterback. Cliff hates Aaron.

So imagine Cliff's astonishment (and skepticism) when Aaron tells him (after waking from a coma - NOT caused by Cliff)  that he saw God. Not only that, God gave Aaron a list and wants Cliff to help him make their high school a better place. It's a nice goal, but why would Cliff want to help Aaron do anything?

Maybe Cliff and Aaron can change their small part of the world. Maybe Cliff can discover more about his brother. And maybe not everyone at school hates Cliff like he thinks they do.

Interesting characters and an intriguing plot make this a worthwhile read.

For more info, check out the Indianapolis Public Library catalog.

All of This is True by Lygia Day Penaflor

Imagine if your favorite author wrote a book based on your life. How would that even happen? Maybe the author moves to your town and lets you hang out with her. That would be amazing...unless the book was less than positive and exposed things about you and your friends that you didn't want everyone to know.

So this story gets a little confusing because at some point there is a book within a book within this book. Three friends (Miri, Penny and Soleil) fall in love with a book by Fatima Ro. After meeting her at a book signing, Fatima invites them to a book talk she is giving at coffee house. Of course, they go and that's when the real connection starts. Fatima invites them to her house, and it becomes a regular hang out for the girls.

I have to mention Jonah who was right along with the girls the whole time. He just moved to their school and was a new member of the group. He said he had never read Fatima's book, so he bought one for her to sign.

So Fatima's book becomes a guide for living for the girls. They start a group at a school to talk about the book and live by it's themes and quotes. Fatima totally encourages all of it. Fatima has a way to reach these young people so they reveal more about themselves. This is particularly true with Jonah who had to leave a very unpleasant situation at his old school. It seems Fatima is also good at manipulating people.

The story is told through interviews, blog posts and excerpts from Fatima's new book (the one based on Miri, Penny, Soleil and Jonah). The girls' friendship is sacrificed for Fatima to get her story. The structure itself (although sometimes confusing) makes the story unfold in a fascinating way.

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

Dear Rachel Maddow by Adrienne Kisner

Brynne idolizes political commentator, Rachel Maddow. So when she is forced to write to a famous person for an assignment, she chooses Rachel. The thing is Brynne keeps e-mailing Rachel with all the details of her life.

So what is going in Brynne's life? First off, her parents are horrible (particularly her stepdad). Not just typical 'my parents suck' horrible. They really treat Brynne terribly. Second, her brother, the only person who she could depend on, died. Third, her grades plummeted after his death and she ends up in the remedial (and literal basement) classes. Which also means she got kicked off the newspaper staff. Oh, and her girlfriend broke up with her.

As her junior year continues, Brynne becomes annoyed with Adam who believes only honor students should represent the school on student council (no surprise, he is an honor student). Adam is also not above using questionable tactics to win. Brynne does not want to involve herself, but cannot stand the thought of Adam winning knowing he does not care about the other students (like herself and her fellow basement dwellers).

Brynne tells us her story through the e-mails to Rachel. She is young woman full of angst and self doubt. We hope she finds her way in spite of her own misgivings about her worth and abilities. It's a serious story with humor thrown in. I hope Rachel Maddow enjoyed it as much as I did.

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

The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed

As I write this, the news is filled with stories of prominent, powerful men being exposed as sexual harassers. For all the progress women have made, many men still treat women as objects, conquests and prizes. It feels as if we are currently having a shift in attitudes. Hopefully, this story can  help.

Last year, Lucy was raped at a party by some members of the football team, but no one would believe her. The law looked the other way. The boys are still free and continue to harass other girls. Lucy was persecuted so much that her family left town.

Grace has just moved to the same town and now lives in Lucy's old house. Her family move to Oregon from Kentucky when her mom was deemed too progressive to be the minister of their church. Grace finds Lucy's pleas for help scratched into the wood work in her bedroom and wonders what happened.

Grace finds Rosina and Erin at her new school sitting all be themselves at lunch and joins them. She asks them about Lucy. Erin doesn't want talk about it, and Rosina is tired of hearing about it. Besides, they both have their own issues.

Rosina spends all of her 'free' time working in her family's restaurant and babysitting the many young children of her family members. Her mom is constantly critical of her no matter what she does. And she is a lesbian in a school that is not so accepting of such things.

Erin is autistic. She is obsessed with undersea life and Star Trek: the Next Generation. They allow her to escape from the things in life that make her anxious. For all her mom has read about autism, she still does not seem to understand what Erin really needs sometimes.

Together, the girls decide (with some reluctance) to push back against the 'boys will be boys' attitude of the school and the town. The invite other girls to a meeting to talk about Lucy and their own experiences. The gathering leads to the Nowhere Girls, a group that includes members of every clique. The group decides action is needed to stop girls from being harassed. Taking a stand is a risk and often scary, but they know they are doing the right thing.

I hope this book empowers young women and men and helps educate them in the way we all should behave. That showing respect is something we all deserve. That no one is entitled to make others uncomfortable. And that physical interaction and sexual intimacy is about consent from both people involved.

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

Still Life with Tornado by A.S. King

Once again, A.S. King gives us a realistic story with twist of fantasy thrown in. Or does it even happen? Maybe it doesn't even matter because it works.

Sarah likes art, but one day she just can't do it anymore. She can't draw the pear her teacher tells the class to draw. She can't draw her own hands for another assignment. She can no longer do any of her art projects. Sarah also decides she can't go to school anymore, so she stops going. Her parents (who have always supported her artistic talent) are not happy, but no matter what they do Sarah will not go.

What does Sarah do instead? She wanders around the city, follows a homeless artist and eventually runs into a younger version of herself. And then an older version of herself. The younger Sarah wants to talk about the family trip to Mexico and Sarah's brother who went away. But current Sarah doesn't want to talk about her brother and how he never calls. At home, it's like her brother doesn't exist.

Older Sarah tries to reassure current Sarah, but it's not the past or future that is the problem. Sarah doesn't want to deal with all the stuff in her life happening now. Over the course of this unconventional story, we learn the truth about her missing brother, her angry father and the reason she walked out of school.

The story is off beat enough that I had second thoughts for the first few chapters. It is odd even for A.S. King (whose books I generally love). But I am glad I continued because it is a remarkable story.

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

Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin

I have started a few books assuming the gender of a character only to find out in a few pages that I was wrong causing me to rethink how I picture them. With this book, that's part of the point. Riley is gender fluid. Some days, Riley feels like a girl and other days Riley feels like a boy.

Starting a new school, Riley wants to go unnoticed. One problem is that Riley sometimes wants to dress like a girl and sometimes like a boy. Riley would never be able to do that - at school or home. So Riley dresses neutral, fighting anxious feelings and possible panic attacks.

Only Riley's therapist knows about being gender fluid. Riley's parents don't even know. It would be a particular sticky issue for Riley's conservative congressman father who is running for reelection. As election day gets closer, it is increasingly difficult for Riley to find a way to get out of attending campaign events - they only bring on the worst panic attacks.

Riley's attempt to be invisible at school does not last long either. Riley does meet a cool guy named Solo on the first day. But is he interested in Riley as a guy friend or a girlfriend? Riley is also taken with Bec, a girl who may or may not be flirting with Riley. But the new potential friendships are overshadowed by the taunts of star football player, Jim Vickers, and his snotty girlfriend. Everything Riley feared is happening again.

Following the therapist's advice, Riley starts an anonymous blog about being gender fluid that quickly finds a following. It is the blog that drives Riley and the story forward.

Many things in life are not as straight forward as people would like them to be including gender. This story reminds us that people need to be accepted for who they are and given the chance to find out who that is. Riley is a character you will not easily forget.

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

Character, Driven by David Lubar

Cliff's life changes when he sees Jillian for the first time. Yes, she is that beautiful. She is new to school, and everyone notices her when she walks into class. Cliff knows he does not have chance with her but that doesn't keep his mind from thinking up things to say to her.

Cliff is telling us the story of his senior year. Jillian is only one part of it. His dad lost his job and is pathological about saving money. Cliff works two jobs to contribute to the money his mom brings home from working at a bakery. Cliff's dad is constantly harping about what Cliff cannot do because it is a waste of money (like go to a concert of one of  his favorite bands). His dad also tells Cliff he is wasting his time with art. Cliff is not sure what he wants to do with his life, but he would like art to be an option.

Cliff has two best friends, Butch and Robert. Butch has changed her name many times since he's known her. She is "a little twisted, but in a good way" (her skull collection is a good example). Robert moved from Jamaica. Both are very smart and 'fight' with each other constantly.

Then there's Jimby whose mother drank a lot while she was pregnant. As described by Cliff, it messed up Jimby's brain a bit, but he would take a beating for Jimby. Cliff tries to help Jimby whenever he can.

Cliff knows he is writing us a story and makes occasional references to remind us. In reality of course, it is David Lubar who has (once again) given the reader a story filled with humor and poignancy. There are some basic truths to be found alongside the funny musings of Cliff.

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

Unslut: A Diary and a Memoir by Emily Lindin

Emily Lindin was 11 years old when her reputation as a slut began. She was slut shamed all the way through eighth grade by her classmates and older students. Girls (including her friends) shunned and bullied her. Boys expected her to 'put out.' She was called names by everyone. Her reputation was an open invitation for boys to touch her wherever and whenever they wanted.

This book contains a reprint of Emily's actual junior high diary - the words appearing just as she wrote them. She details her life navigating through crushes and romances while being constantly reminded of her reputation. She blames herself in some cases for things that were in no way her fault. She cuts herself and even contemplates suicide.

In the margins, Emily responds to and clarifies her diary entries. We know that Emily has changed and learned and grown since her diary was written. And that is ultimately part of her message: that girls can get past this and grow into successful adults.

Emily chose to share her diary (first online) and founded the Unslut Project to reach girls having similar experiences and to make adults more aware of these situations. It is a compelling read that will hopefully make a difference.

For more info, check out the Indianapolis Public Library catalog.

The Looney Experiment by Luke Reynolds

Atticus is short with curly hair, not really thin and wears glasses. He's not athletic enough for his father or the baseball coach (yes, he is suffering through a season of baseball even though he has no talent for the game). He is being bullied by the coach's son, Danny (who cleverly calls him Fatticus). Atticus is starting to think he is the reason his father left.

Atticus copes by playing out fantasies in his head (like the one where poet Robert Frost helps him with a class presentation and tells Danny off, too). He also dreams of his classmate Audrey, the most beautiful girl he has ever seen.

What really seems to be his saving grace is the new substitute English teacher, Mr. Looney. And he lives up to his name right away. On the his first day of class, Mr. Looney doesn't say a word to any of the students. He just stares at them. Atticus feels like Mr. Looney can really see him - maybe he's the first person who has ever seen the real Atticus.

Atticus gets bullied more by Danny. His (once non-existent) friendship with Audrey gets stronger. And Mr. Looney's 'antics' get the attention of the school board. Through it all, we pull for Atticus. We want him to see what we know to be true (and what his mom and Mr. Looney see): that Atticus is a good guy.

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

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley

I have great respect and admiration for those who participated in the Civil Rights Movement. I am awed by their courage to stand up and say "No more" to laws and people and attitudes so ingrained in society and everyday life. I cannot imagine what it was like for those who marched and boycotted; those who sat at lunch counters and at the front of buses; those who protested peacefully and practiced non-violence; those who fought in the courts and in the streets to obtain the basic rights and dignity that we all deserve.

This story follows the first African American students to attend an all white high school in a small Virginia town. Ten students are finally allowed to go years after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of it. The governor and parents fought it. The school closed down for months to prevent it from happening - better for no one to go to school than to let 'them' go.

Sarah Dunbar and her sister are among the ten. Through Sarah's voice, we experience her life. We hear the racist chants by students and adults. We feel the spit on her clothes. We see teachers acting indifferent to the bullying if not expressing their own distaste of her presence in their classroom. We feel the ugliness of racism.  Sarah is a senior and one of the top students at the all black school. Her parents moved to Virginia to be part of the movement, but it is Sarah and Ruth who must face daily onslaught and threats.

Had we just had Sarah's voice, the story might have become overwhelming and desensitizing but we also hear from Linda Harrison whose father runs a newspaper and is one of the most vocal opponents to integration. She spouts the same hateful things her father has been saying her whole life about black people. She tries to defend segregation as Southern tradition. She believes it is unnatural for races to mix and be together in the same places. She knows God never meant for that to happen. Linda also blames the ten for messing up her senior year - if they had not riled things up, she could go to prom.

It is only when Sarah and Linda are put together for a school project that Linda begins to see Sarah differently and Sarah gets the opportunity to tell a white person how she truly feels.

This story takes the reader right into the minds of these brave students. We see all they see and hear all they hear. We know the excruciating reality they face every day. It is unpleasant and shameful. The story did go in a direction I was not initially expecting. If the author was trying to draw parallels with today's issues, I don't believe it was necessary. Nonetheless, this is a compelling read.

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

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

This an early book by one of my favorite authors. It was written before I discovered her. Like her other books, this one blends a realistic setting with just a slight bit of fantasy. I don't mean elves or magic, but an element of the unreal going on in the life of Vera Dietz.

Vera's best friend Charlie died - as she says, she lost him twice: first as a friend and then for real. We learn all the details as the story progresses (with flashbacks thrown in to help). We also hear from Vera's single dad (whose wife left both of them when Vera was twelve), Charlie (speaking from beyond the grave) and the town's landmark pagoda (yes, it is quirky).

Vera just wants to be ignored. She lives in fear that someone will find out her secret - her mom used to be a stripper. The fact that her mother moved away years ago doesn't matter. The people Charlie calls detentionheads would make her life hell if they knew.

So Vera goes to school and works nights delivering pizzas. Other than Charlie, who lives next door, she has no friends and no extra activities. Her dad has insisted that she have a job since she has been legally able to do so. He wants her to learn responsibility, so she won't become an alcoholic or turn out like her mother. Ya, he makes Vera's life a lot of fun. Thankfully, he doesn't know that Vera is not always follow his wishes.

Vera gets mixed messages from her father. Be responsible, but ignores the fact that Charlie's father abuses his mother. Everyone has their own issues, but are not necessarily dealing with them in the healthiest way.

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

Girls Like Us by Gail Giles

Quincey and Biddy have just graduated high school and are heading out on their own...sort of. Both are special ed students who are not able to live on their own, so they are picked to live together (an idea Quincey is not too happy about).

Arrangements have been made for them to live in an apartment over a garage on the property of a wealthy elderly lady named Miss Lizzy. Biddy will clean house for Miss Lizzy, and Quincey will work at a bakery. Both will be earning their own money for the first time in their lives.

Up to this point, their lives have been horrific. Biddy lived with her grandmother who called her retarded and generally treated her with contempt. Quincey was a foster kid, taken from her parents after she was hit in the head (causing her to be a special ed student). To say that both girls were poor would be an understatement.

This chance for a new beginning does not come easy for either young woman. Quincey is suspicious of people and readily snaps at everyone even when they are trying to be helpful. Biddy is scared of boys and worried that people will find out her secret. They both fear that Miss Lizzy will kick them out when she realizes they are nothing special to anyone.

This is often a sad and dark story told from each girl's point of view. Even though they have their secrets and limitations (for example, Biddy cannot read or write), they have talents and worth and now have the chance to prove it.

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

Something Real by Heather Demetrios

Toxic parents. If you've read enough teen books (particularly realistic fiction), then you know the type. They do not support their children emotionally and are often only concerned about themselves. Welcome to Choe's living hell.

Chloe grew up on a reality show as Bonnie, one of 13 children on Baker's Dozen (Baker being the family's last name). Chloe is the only biological child born from her mother. Her older brother and sister are twins from a surrogate. The other children were adopted with the help of the production company, MetaReel, to achieve the magic number.

Chloe is now 17 and trying to live a normal teen life. After the show was cancelled and her parents divorced, Chloe's family moved across country so they could start fresh. She changed her name and hair color in hopes that no one will recognize her. For the past few years, she has had real friends that have no idea she is Bonnie, the girl who tried to commit suicide on national television. Yes, it was that bad for her.

Chloe and her brother Benton are surprised to come home one afternoon and find the MetaReel crew on their lawn. Chloe was promised that she would never have to do the show again . Her parents say they need the money to support the children and send her and all her siblings to college. Chloe doesn't care what the reason is; her life is about to change for the worst.

From the moment the cameras return, Chloe is in agony. The only reprieve she gets is her new boyfriend.but even that is not easy because she doesn't want him and her friends to get pulled into the show and the tabloid headlines. Dodging paparazzi, having every moment captured on camera, being edited to appear differently than you are and having your mother talk about you to the nation is too much for Chloe, but no adult will listen to her.

Most of the adults in Chloe's life are horrible. Chloe is blamed for the show's original demise and her parent's divorce. She is threatened by the show's producer. She is called names and treated like a psychopath. No one can see that being on television caused many of her issues, not the other way around. Her mother is particularly twisted in her obsession with the show (and her new book). She is totally blind how the show has negatively affected her own daughter. It is sometimes excruciating to endure (and I'm just talking about me, the reader).

This is the third book I have read recently that involves reality television. I suspect it is not the last. I have always been concerned about the children of reality TV. Adults can make their own decisions and choose to be on shows, but children need adult consent. Those adults need to think about the long term effects on children.

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

Reality Boy by A.S. King

A.S. King once again gives us a teen with a troubled life who finds a way to escape even if only momentarily. When things get tough for Gerald, he zones out and goes to Gersday, an extra day just for him. All Gersdays are good days. He envisions eating ice cream and spending time with his sister, Lisi (who in reality has moved to Scotland just to escape the family). Why Gersday...

Gerald was only five when his family agreed to be on a reality show. It was one of those where they bring in a nanny (in this case an actress) to help the family deal with the children's behavior. For reasons I will not discuss, Gerald becomes known as the Crapper - not just in school, but nationwide. It is a name he is still called as a teenager. He was the focus of the show because he was the troubled one (or was he?).

The family already had serious issues (like Gerald's oldest sister Tasha being able to do no wrong in their mother's eyes). She would do something, blame Gerald and he would be punished. The reality show made it all worse. It manipulated the reality seen by the public, placed blame on the wrong people and didn't really solve anything.

Gerald cannot wait to escape - really escape like his sister Lisi.  For now, he works at a concession stand at the local arena. He works register #7 and often finds himself looking at the girl on register #1, but his anger management counselor tells him to stay away from girls because they will just cause him to get angry.

A.S. King creates such incredible characters and complex lives for them. You want so much for them to sort out their issues and find contentment. They are often trapped by their age with parents who are making their lives hell.  This author keeps getting better and better.

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

Gated by Amy Christine Parker

Lyla knows the world will end and that many people will die. She knows because Pioneer has told her and all the other members of the Community. Her parents are so convinced that Pioneer's visions from the Brethren are true that they helped build a walled, isolated community so they could prepare for the inevitable end to modern civilization.

Pioneer came to Lyla's family after her sister went missing right after 9/11. He saw it as the beginning of the end. He gathered other families and built an underground bunker to house them all when the time came. The bunker's entrance is hidden in the Community so suspicions will not be raised among the outsiders. When the end comes, some outsiders may want in, too.

Everyone's life is carefully controlled by Pioneer. It is for their own protection; it is the price they pay for being chosen. Lyla's intended (chosen for her to marry someday) is her best friend Will. They, like the rest of the young people, are not allowed to have contact with the outside - no phones, no television, no magazines. They must work like all the adults to keep the Community running and prepared.

Lyla is not always sure of her abilities. Will she able to help protect their way of life if the outsiders come? It is that lingering doubt that confuses her even more when she meets Cody, an outsider. Her attraction is instant and much stronger than anything she has ever felt toward Will.

No matter how much Pioneer tries to control everything, he cannot stop Lyla from feeling emotions that teens feel. Lyla has desires, and sometimes she just wants and needs to be a regular teen. It is a struggle that reveals much about Pioneer and his followers. Even though life in the Community is all Lyla really knows, she starts to wonder if it is safer outside the walls than it is in.

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

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

I thought about reading this long before now. A movie adaptation is scheduled to be released in 2012, so I had been thinking about it again when someone donated a copy to the library. I read it over a weekend, staying up later than usual just to finish it.

Charlie tells the story of his freshman year in letters. At times, he has a worldly view of the things and people around him, but is also very naive when it comes to relationships. Fortunately, Charlie makes friends with two seniors who help him navigate the world of high school. He has experiences beyond anything he could have imagined.

The problem is there is something going on with Charlie - something in his family or past that may explain why he acts the way he does.

I did not lead a life anything like Charlie's, but the book did remind me of the times when I was in high school and the older kids were moving on with their lives at the end of the year. It was always a bitter sweet time even when it was my time to leave.

Click here for more info about this book from the Indianapolis Public Library.

Bitter End by Jennifer Brown

Rarely have I been so frustrated with the main character of a book. There were times I just wanted to take Alex aside and ask her what she was doing. I know she is in over her head and is truly a victim, butI just wanted her to realize it. But I am getting ahead of myself...

Alex lost her mom when she was young and her dad will not talk about her. She's knows her mom was heading to Colorado when she died, so that is where Alex has always wanted to go. She and her best friends, Bethany and Zack, have been planning the trip since they were young. Nothing will keep them from making the trip until Cole comes along.

Cole is the charming and handsome new student that Alex starts to tutor at school. He seems interested in Alex right away and before long they are dating. Cole is kind and gentle to Alex and their time together is wonderful, so she cannot understand why her friends do not like him. Overtime, Cole reveals he is verbally abusive and violent. Alex cannot reconcile the boyfriend she loves and the one who hurts her. "...I didn't understand how he could be punching my face one minute and telling me he loved me the next." Make no mistake, some of the scenes are brutal and hard to read.

What I really like about this book and author's other book the Hate List is how she takes us into the mind of someone in a difficult situation and shows the internal conflicts. There were times I was mad at Alex for denying the truth, but I was hoping desperately for her to open her eyes and find a way out.

Click here for more info about this book from the Indianapolis Public Library catalog.