"A many-layered story told with a light touch. (Fiction. 14-18)"
After her ne'er-do-well older brother, Peyton, is sent to prison, demure, obedient Sydney leaves her sheltered private school for a new start.
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"Even though Mclean's path is clear from the get-go, readers will enjoy every minute they spend with her. (Fiction. 12 & up)"
Readers can count on Dessen; she's a pro at creating characters caught at a nexus of change, who have broken relationships and who need to make decisions.
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"The spark between these two sad teens and the joyful examples of girl connectivity deepen this ostensibly lighthearted, summer-fun story, which offers up complex issues—the residual effects of divorce, acceptance of imperfect parents and lip-gloss feminism. (Fiction. 14 & up)"
Auden missed childhood thanks to her parents' divorce, which she navigated with the gravitas of a 30-year-old.
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"Not deep, but absorbing and enjoyable. (Fiction. YA)"
An easily digestible tale about a 17-year-old model who, despite her recent back-to-school clothing commercial, isn't really "[t]he girl who has everything."
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"The plot is too conventional, some secondary characters are stock, the storm that brings everyone together at the end is too handy, but the Wish team is lovable, the romance clicks, and readers will be entertained. (Fiction. 12-14)"
Macy declined Dad's early-morning invitation to jog, changed her mind, and ran out to catch him, only to see him die of a heart attack before her eyes.
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"Insightful writing, distinctive characters, and a contemporary scene where sex and music rule, compose a melody worth reading. (Fiction. YA)"
Not every high-school senior gets to plan her mother's fifth wedding the week after graduation, but then, not everybody has a mother who is a famous romance novelist either.
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"Her descent and recovery come in believable stages, and though Rogerson is definitely the villain here, the author gives readers reason to spare a dash (a very small dash) of sympathy for him, too. (Fiction. YA)"
A teenager opts for the bad-choice route out of her "perfect" older sister's shadow in this intense, exhausting tale from the author of Keeping the Moon (1999).
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"Rich in sharply observed relationships, deftly inserted wisdom, romances ending and beginning, and characters who are not afraid to pick themselves up and try again, Dessen's tale will leave readers thoughtful, amused, reassured—and sorry when it concludes. (Fiction. 12-15)"
Dessen (Someone Like You, 1998, etc.) continues her run of engagingly cast stories about women helping each other through life-altering experiences.
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