The Story of Us by Deb Caletti, Simon Pulse, $16.99. Ages 12 and up.
No one does young love quite like local Deb Caletti. Just in time for summer, Caletti brings us a tale of love in all of it's messy confusion. Cricket takes a break from her longtime boyfriend to spend time with her soon-to-be-wed (maybe) mother, who has twice fled the altar. As the parties assemble, an old friend declares his undying love for Cricket and the wedding hosts have an unsettlingly attractive son. Relationship status? It's complicated.
The Lost Code, by Kevin Emerson, Katherine Tegen Books, $17.99. Ages 13 and up.
This dystopian novel is set in a post-climate-change-meltdown world, where the habitable zones of the earth can support only a fraction of the earth's former population. Nomads roam the barren landscape of what was the United States, and a select few get to live in enormous geodomes that simulate the climate, flora and fauna of life as it used to be. The ancient people of Atlantis have found a way to communicate through a handful of teens at an eerie summer camp in one such dome, offering what may be the only way to save the world.
Dragonswood, by Janet Lee Carey, Dial, $17.99. Ages 12 and up.
This sequel to the acclaimed Dragon's Keep came out in January, but if you or your teen hasn't picked it up, do it before summer is in full swing. Dragonswood returns to Wilde Island, where the fragile pact between dragons, fairies and humans is threatened. The daughter of a blacksmith is accused of being a witch and flees. She finds shelter with a prince in disguise, learns of her fairy ancestry and just may find the key to a lasting peace in the land.
Revived, by Cat Patrick, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, $17.99. Ages 12 and up.
Daisy has come back from the dead – five times – thanks to a top-secret drug called Revive. But access to the drug means being part of a top-secret government program with program agents as her stand-in parents, and a quick trip out of town every time she dies and is revived again. But love and a new best friend with a tragic secret change how Daisy views the drug and the government's use of it.
Brendan Buckley's Sixth-Grade Experiment, by Sundee Frazier, Delacorte Books for Young Readers, $16.99. Ages 9 and up.
This sequel to Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything in It brings back smart and likable Brendan, who is surrounded by a cast of real characters. In the first book, Brendan discovered his estranged white grandfather, and struggled to understand the white side of his biracial heritage. In the sequel, Brendan examines another two sides of himself: the strong Tae Kwon Do student and the brainy science nerd.
Something to Hold, by Katherine Schlick Noe, Clarion Books, $16.99. Ages 9 and up.
Based on her experiences living on the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon, this novel looks at the prejudice and injustice faced by Native American kids through the eyes of an 11-year-old white girl named Kitty. Kitty and her brother are among a handful of white students in a predominantly Indian elementary school. This is a moving tale of a young white girl's awakening to the racism around her, and of the respect and friendships she develops.
Invasion of the Dognappers, by Patrick Jennings, EgmontUSA, $15.99. Ages 8 and up.
You can always count on Patrick Jennings to come up with a whacky funny story, and Invasion of the Dognappers does not disappoint. Dogs are disappearing in Logan's hometown, and he suspects that they're being abducted by aliens.
Cinderella Smith: The More the Merrier, by Stephanie Barden, HarperCollins, $15,99. Ages 8 and up.
Cinderella is back, facing third grade with toes a-tapping. A character cut from the same cloth as Clementine and Ramona, Cinderella gets herself into and out of trouble as she navigates spelling bees and mean girls. Diane Goode's black-and-white illustrations are irresistable.
Ruth Schubert reads to her two daughters in Seattle.
