THE HIVE by Barry Lyga and Morgan Baden is a YA sci-fi novel set in the near future. In this world, social media has evolved into a way of administering justice. People that are online can upvote or downvote another’s activity. The more downvotes someone has on BLINQ, a data...

THE YOUNG ACTOR’S HANDBOOK by Jeremy Kruse is essentially a 101 course on acting. With a bare bones approach, Kruse addresses the most important skills performers must learn, such as how to break down a scene, how to build the inner life of a character, and how to balance the...

THE SEASON by Sarah MacLean is a YA historical fiction novel that centers around seventeen-year-old Alex, who is coming of age in Regency London. Alex has been dreading this time because she hates dress fittings, forced conversations, and the idea of marriage. Her mother, however, an indomitable force to be...

WHAT IS POETRY: THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO READING AND WRITING POEMS by Michael Rosen is a nonfiction, how-to book intended for a middle grade audience. In 190 pages, Rosen explores what poetry is and what it does in order to give a baseline understanding of it as an art form....

NO PLACE LIKE HERE by Christina June is a YA contemporary novel set in the Pennsylvania wilderness. Ashlyn, an admittedly bookish girl, is shipped off to work at a summer camp after she finds out her dad is going to prison for committing a white-collar crime and her mom is...

TIN HEART by Shivaun Plozza is a YA contemporary novel that follows Marlowe Jensen after she receives a heart transplant. She’s happy, but there is a little voice in the back of her head reminding her someone else had to die for her to live. If she could connect with...

NEXUS is the second and final book in the Androma Saga and it picks up right where Zenith left off. Andi wakes to find that her three crewmembers and best friends, along with most of the Mirabel Galaxy, were shot with a mind-control virus and now bow to Queen Nor....

COGHEART by Peter Bunzl is a thrilling adventure that blends a historical setting with futuristic elements. The author hints his characters are in Victorian England towards the end of the nineteenth century, but never gives a specific year. Lily, the protagonist, is the daughter of John Hartman, a master inventor...

THE GIRL WITH THE BROKEN HEART is Lurlene McDaniel’s latest YA contemporary novel. The story follows Kenzie as she throws herself into her summer job, putting all her attention on recuperating rescued horses. She’s hoping this will be enough of a distraction from her heart condition, her problematic relationship with...

THE GEOGRAPHY OF LOST THINGS by Jessica Brody is a YA contemporary novel that begins with Ali needing to sell her late father’s car for cash. She finds a buyer five hours away, but the car isn’t an automatic and she doesn’t know how to drive stick. The only person...

YOU’D BE MINE by Erin Hahn is a YA contemporary romance set in the confines of country music, road life, and hidden demons. The story has a dual point of view between Annie, a budding starlet on the cusp of her potential, and Clay, a bona fide megastar at risk...

STOLEN TIME by Danielle Rollins is the first book of a YA time travel trilogy. It begins when Ash, a pilot from 2077, accidentally lands in 1913. When he tries to get back in the air unnoticed, Dorothy, a young bride running away from getting married and searching for something...

A SKY FOR US ALONE by Kristin Russell is a YA coming-of-age novel filled with mystery and heartache. It’s set in a poor section of Appalachia that’s run by the mines and the man who owns them. When Nate, Harlowe’s older brother, starts searching for a way to get out,...

AN ASSASSIN’S GUIDE TO LOVE & TREASON by Virginia Boecker is such a breath of fresh air. It’s a YA historical fiction novel that promises espionage, mistaken identity, and betrayal, all unfolding in Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. The story starts when Katherine’s father is killed for his religious beliefs, forcing Katherine...

POETRY 101 by Susan Dalzell is a comprehensive introduction to poetry written in the English language. The book takes us all the way back to the Anglo-Saxons and BEOWULF and brings us through every movement that has transpired since, including the social media poetry that is being produced today. Dalzell...