Two Degrees by Alan Gratz

This action-packed story features young teens facing climate disasters in California, Canada, and Florida. Akira is trapped in a California wildfire while horseback riding in California. George and Owen are stalked by a polar bear while traveling by snow mobile near their hometown in Canada. And Natalie is thrown into raging water during a hurricane that is destroying her hometown of Miami. I was surprised at how much I liked this book--each story is compelling and, as always, Alan Gratz brings the stories together in the end. Highly recommended for 6th and 7th graders looking for action-packed books. 
 

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

This is the story of two young women who, unbeknownst to them, share the same father. When papi is killed in a tragic plane crash on his way to the Dominican Republic, the two young women's paths are destined to cross in the midst of their grief. Camino lives in the Dominican Republic and dreams of coming to the United States for college. The other is a former chess champion who lives in New York City. Elizabeth Acevedo has now written three books in verse for young adult readers, all of them wonderful and original and brimming with hope. I recommend that teens and adults read Acevedo's books and enjoy the poetry and the relationships you will form with the characters. 

The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert

Marva and Duke are both 18 years old and eligible to vote for the first time. Marva has been waiting her whole life for this chance, and is determined to also help others vote as well. At the election site she meets Duke, also Black and 18 years old. Duke is told he is not registered in that precinct, so Marva offers to drive Duke to another polling location. Casting a vote turns out to be an all-day ordeal, and the two teenagers get to know a lot about each other during that day. Duke is still reeling from the death of his older brother, who was a strong advocate for racial justice. Marva is dealing with a long-term boyfriend who has decided not to vote and her Instagram-famous cat who is missing. The entire story takes place in one long day (much like The Sun is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon). Great characters and an intriguing premise and also a serious look at voter suppression. I predict that my middle school readers will love it. Recommended for grades 7-up.

Allies by Alan Gratz

Allies is an action-packed, multi-faceted look at a day in history that many young people know little about. Readers see D-Day from multiple perspectives, including Samira, an Algerian girl whose mother is part of the French resistance; Dee, an American soldier on a Higgins boat; James, a paratrooper; and Henry, an African American medic trying to save lives on the beach. The book realistically includes blood and death and the terror of the war, and there is not a happy ending for all of the characters. Alan Gratz has many fans, and Allies will not disappoint. Highly recommended for middle schoolers who want to read about war and who like books full of action and heroism.

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

Daniel is a poet who believes in fate, but is feeling trapped by his parents' expectations for his life. Natasha is rational, a science geek, who also loves music. She is not the kind of girl who would fall in love and let it change her life. But Daniel and Natasha are fated to meet and spend an incredible day together. Unfortunately, it is the day Natasha's family, who are undocumented immigrants, are scheduled to be deported to Jamaica. And it is the day that Daniel's Korean parents have scheduled his interview for Yale University. They meet and connect and the entire book takes place in that one day. Fans of romance will love this book--it's compulsively readable and the characters really come alive. And there are first-person snippets from other characters (real and inanimate) that make the book even more charming. Fans of realistic YA fiction (especially The Fault in Our Stars and Eleanor and Park) will love this book. Recommended for 8th grade-up.

No Safety in Numbers by Dayna Lorentz

This book takes place in a huge shopping mall where an act of bioterrorism has taken place. Hundreds of people are quarantined in the shopping center and given no information about why they are there, what is happening to the victims, or how long they will be held captive. There are four characters narrating this book—all teenagers who were there at the mall for various reasons. At first the quarantine seems like a lark, but after days and days of roaming the mall, bathrooms are filthy, food is getting scarce, and communication with the outside world is cut off. How would everyday people react in such a situation? While this book has a great premise, it failed to live up to my initial expectations. I didn't relate closely to any of the teen characters and I didn't believe some of their reactions to this frightening situation. It wasn't a bad book at all—it just didn't grab me like I was hoping it would.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Steifvater

I will confess that I really didn't want to read this book and that it took me a long time to get into it. But after finishing it I have to admit it was extremely well-written and original, with a compelling (if slowly-paced) plot. The heart of this story is the island of Thisby, a rugged place where life is hard and children grow up and leave as soon as they can. What makes Thisby unique are the bloodthirsty water horses that rise up out of the water each year and are tamed and ridden by the men of the island. The fierce water horses (or  capaill uisce—pronounced cappel ishka—as they are called) eat human flesh and drown their riders. The islanders race the horses each November in a dangerous and deadly race that brings the island brief fame and an economic burst. That's the background, and the island and the horses are central to the story. But the book is really about two teenagers who enter the races as strangers but slowly come together in spite of their rivalry. The book alternates between the viewpoints of Sean Kenndrick (an orphaned young man who has won the Scorpio Races four times and loves his water horse Corr more than life itself) and Kate "Puck" Connelly (also orphaned and racing to earn money to save her family's home and to keep her oldest brother from leaving for the mainland). Steifvater makes Thisby, with it's foggy, cold beach and crusty inhabitants seem like a real place. She also brings Puck and Sean to life slowly and deliberately until by the last chapters you know your heart will break because there is no way they both can achieve what they wish for. This is definitely a notable book—the starred reviews show that. For a reader with the persistence and patience to stay with it and live in Thisby for a while it will be a rewarding read.

How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr

Imagine you are a teenage girl with problems of your own (including the heartbreak that your father passed away last year) and your grieving mother decides to adopt a baby. Then imagine that the pregnant teenager carrying this baby moves in with your family while waiting for the baby to be born. This is what happens to Jill and she's not very nice to anyone—her mom, her boyfriend, Dylan, or Mandy, the unwanted pregnant teenager. The book alternates between Mandy and Jill's perspectives and readers see that both have good reasons for why they are the way they are. The question is, will they be able to overcome their own problems and make their new life together work? This is actually a kind of quiet book that delves into the minds of these two girls. Sara Zarr is a good writer and this is definitely worth reading.

Bruiser by Neal Shusterman

Neal Shusterman is one of my very favorite authors for teenagers and, while very different from his other books, Bruiser was a real treat. I didn't know what to expect because all of the reviews I read tried so hard not to give away what the book is really about. I couldn't even tell if it was realistic or a fantasy until I read it (and I'm still not so sure how I could classify it now that I've read it!) Four characters narrate this book: Brewster aka "Bruiser," a high school boy with no friends and a reputation for being dangerous and violent, Bronte, the nice, normal girl who falls in love with Brewster, Tennyson, Bronte's twin brother who at first is adamantly against his sister dating "Bruiser," and Cody, Brewster's 8-year-old brother. Brewster and Cody live with a sometimes-cruel uncle who forces them to keep to themselves and to form no relationships. Once Bronte and Brewster find each other, though, Brewster begins forging relationships with people with disastrous consequences for himself. SPOILER ALERT—don't read more if you don't want to know why. The truth is that Brewster has a gift (or a curse, depending on how you look at it). He takes away the pain of those he cares about—both physical and emotional. His body is a wreck and getting worse with every injury those around him sustain. The deeper he gets involved with Bronte's family the harder the toll is on his body and spirit. It's a good story with complex characters, and, as always with Neal Shusterman's books, there's a whole other deeper layer to talk about and think about. Recommended for 8th-12th grades.