Category: teen

Author: Hannah Harrington
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Genre: Teen
ISBN: 978-0-373-21052-7
Pages: 288
Price: $9.99

Author’s website
Buy it at Amazon

Chelsea Knot has just said some things she wishes she hadn’t, with dire consequences. She can’t undo the past, so she tries to make the future different – by not saying anything at all. Taking a vow of silence, she determines that no one else will ever suffer from her lack of discretion.

After this horrifying episode, she is no longer one of the popular girls – a status she’s come to take for granted. And not only isn’t she one of them, she’s also become the brunt of their hostility. Remaining silent will take every ounce of energy she has. But she doesn’t anticipate that one girl won’t hold everything against her, and that she’ll find a whole new set of friends.

Chelsea is a self-absorbed teen who has never given a thought to how she treats people. But after this experience, she awakens to the idea that everyone deserves acceptance and respect, no matter how different. Speechless is an absorbing tale of Chelsea’s transformation from a selfish girl to someone who really cares about others. I highly recommend it.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

Author: Stephanie Perry Moore & Derrick Moore
Publisher: Saddleback Educational Publishing
Genre: Teen
ISBN: 978-1-61651-885-1
Pages: 310
Price: $14.95

Author’s website
Buy it at Amazon

Hallie Ray cheers loudly for the Lockwood Lions. She’s got spunk and spirit, but doesn’t have the tumbling skills she needs to maintain her status as part of the team. But Amir believes in her, and wants to see her succeed. In fact, he’d like to get to know this feisty cheerleader a lot better.

But Hallie has troubles at home, and as she tries to help her mother, she has to deal with her own emotional reactions to what she finds. Amir is also facing troubles at home, and they both attempt to comfort each other.

In this flip book, the reader is shown two sides to the same story. After reading Hallie’s thoughts, we then get a glimpse of Amir’s perspective, which helps clarify some of their interactions. Set in a predominantly African-American community outside of Atlanta, this story offers real-life drama for urban teens.

The Lockwood Lions series pulls no punches. These are kids the reader can relate to, and the situations are not sugar-coated. But overall, this series send a positive message of getting a good education, avoiding trouble, and striving to do the right thing.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

Author: Stephanie Perry Moore & Derrick Moore
Publisher: Saddleback Educational Publishing
Genre: Teen
ISBN: 978-1-61651-886-8
Pages: 309
Price: $14.95

Author’s website
Buy it at Amazon

Sweet Ella Blount always tries to please. When her sister and fellow cheer teammates need help in school and ask her to cheat, she’s torn. And what will she do about the football player she’s developed an interest in, once she discovers he’s squatting at the high school? Life has certainly gotten much more complicated!

Leo Steele’s mom has moved away with her new boyfriend, leaving him suddenly homeless. The local gang intends to do him serious harm, if they can catch him alone. But Leo is captivated by the angel who keeps leaving food at the school for him, showing that someone really cares.

In this flip book, the reader is shown two sides to the same story. Told from both Ella’s and Leo’s perspective, it shares how both are feeling and reacting to the events around them. But in this book, I felt there was little that happened outside Ella’s viewpoint to make Leo’s story not feel repetitive. Set in a predominantly African-American community outside of Atlanta, this story offers real-life drama for urban teens.

The Lockwood Lions series pulls no punches. These are kids the reader can relate to, and the situations are not sugar-coated. But overall, this series send a positive message of getting a good education, avoiding trouble, and striving to do the right thing.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

Author: Meg Kearney
Publisher: Persea Books
Genre: Young Adult
ISBN: 978-0-89255-385-3
Pages: 176
Price: $15.00

Author’s website
Buy it at Amazon

Lizzie has always known she was adopted. Now that she’s old enough, she decides it’s time to find out more about her birth mother, so her parents write to the adoption agency. But on the day she receives a reply, her adoptive father dies, sending Lizzie into emotional upheaval.

Through her journal entries and poems, we see how Lizzie is consumed with grief over the loss of her father. Acting out, she starts to party with the wrong people, and lets alcohol soothe her pain. But underneath, she’s still a nice girl who just wants to be happy and doesn’t know how to handle her feelings. Lost in her struggles, she is unable to move forward in her search for her birth mother.

The Girl in the Mirror is the sequel to The Secret of Me, and gives us an intimate and honest look at a teenager trying to survive the worst possible thing that could happen to her. I highly recommend this well-written and absorbing novel.

Reviewer: Alice Berger