Uses for Boys by Erica Lorraine Scheidt

As a little girl, Anna loved her life with her mom. But as she started to grow up, the cycle of men in and out of their new home (after new home) was confusing and frustrating. Her mom spent less and less time with her, and more time away with her new husband when things were good and away at work when things weren't so good. When boys at school started to pay attention to Anna, she found ways to feel good about herself - and ways that she allowed them to make her feel good, too. It seems like overnight she grew a reputation, but she never quite seems to lose just who she is at heart.

She has one girlfriend in her life that she cares deeply about, but Toy is always off with a different man who is treating her to all of the wonderful things in life, and Anna can't understand why she isn't good enough. And then Sam changes everything. 

This book is recommended to high school girls, who will meet a seriously strong female character who might be a little lost but who is never untrue.

Period.8 by Chris Crutcher

Period .8 refers to Mr. Lodgson's class, where honesty is the best policy and everything is confidential, where you can talk about anything or nothing, and where you can skip without getting in trouble, but nobody ever does. Period .8 is the "safe place." Mr. Logs has respect for his students, and they have respect for each other. Everybody trusts that what they see is the truth.

Everything starts to go to hell when Paulie admits to his girlfriend Hannah that he cheated on her. He loves her and wants to explain himself, that it really isn't what she thinks, but she won't give him a chance at redemption. She's pissed, and he should definitely have known better. But as the story begins to unravel, more and more questions are raised without any clear answers. There's one guy, Arnie Stack, who seems to want to reassure everyone that everything is fine, and Paulie is convinced that Arnie knows more than he's letting on. And when Arnie sets his sights on the now single Hannah, Paulie sets out to prove it.

This is a mystery of a different sort, combining the traditional with the psychological, and mixing our emotions up all along the way. There's really intrigue here, and more than anyone's fair share of danger. It seems that nobody and nothing is off limits. 

Recommended to high school readers. There are lots more titles available from classic YA author Chris Crutcher.

Exposed by Kimberly Marcus

Liz defines much of her life by two things: she's a photographer and she's Kate's forever-best friend. Sure, she's got her sights on college and she enjoys her boyfriend Brian, but viewing life through a camera lens and sharing everything with Kate are really the things that shape how she sees the world and who she is.

Following a lame fight during their monthly sleepover ritual, Liz doesn't understand why Kate is still avoiding her . . . until Kate tells Liz about the rape. Liz's brother denies it, saying that "it was only sex." Liz is torn between wanting what's best for Kate and for her brother, and eventually even for herself.

While there isn't much new to find in this novel in terms of content and characters, first-time author, Kimberly Marcus, wins the reader over with her poetic, endearing, and captivating storytelling.

Reviewed by kate the librarian.

a + e 4ever by I. Merey

This graphic novel overflows emotion, anxiety, passion, and curiosity from pages that contain a Japanese/manga personality (if not format). Many of the characters are drawn with feminine features, despite the gender, with slim bodies, girlish facial features, and longer hair . . . unfortunately for Ash.

Asher is a boy who has always been sensitive and quiet, and sort of looks like a girl. Eulalie is a tough girl with a thick skin and a rough attitude. They become fast friends, the sort of friends who have mutual experiences with bullying and being outcasts. Unfortunately for Eu, it only takes a few months of their friendship for her to admit that she likes Ash. And Ash response that he has a crush on the cutest boy in their high school. But it turns out that Ash doesn't only like boys; he just doesn't want a relationship with Eu.

From first sexual experiences (bad) to first kisses (good) and late nights (bad) to early afternoons (good), this stunning literary experience takes readers through some of the darkest times of teenage angst, confusion, anger, and love. And leaves us breathless. (The characters are as stunning as the pictures portray them to be.) Definitely for older teen readers, though.

Reviewed by kate the librarian.

Tilt by Ellen Hopkins

As is typical of author Ellen Hopkins, there are quite a few emotional punches packed into the poetic words of her latest novel in verse. For anyone who read her adult novel Triangles, you will recognize these teen characters; for the rest of you, prepare yourselves to meet some interconnected individuals with a lot on their plates. Though you do get a sense of their home lives from reading Tilt, those of you who read Triangles know that these kids belong to parents who - in the best cases - are very distracted from their children's lives.

Mikayla is completely in love with boyfriend Dylan, and he would do anything for her - except stick around to see her through her pregnancy. Shane is finally coming to terms with his homosexuality and has a wonderful new boyfriend, but his family is falling apart at the seams largely because of the inevitable death of his four-year-old sister. Harley has gotten well over her head in order to gain acceptance and to feel good about herself, and nobody but her best friend seems to notice - until pictures of her start to get spread around, anyway. We get to know these and other characters through their relationships with each other, and there really is no easy way out of many of the situations they create for themselves.

Ellen Hopkins is always a very powerful writer, choosing her words delicately and forcing the reader to feel the emotions of her characters. In addition to Tilt and others, I have loved Crank, Burned, and Identical. If you haven't yet, definitely give this author a try!

Reviewed by kate the librarian.

Sex : a book for teens : an uncensored guide to your body, sex, and safety by Nikol Hasler

Interested in sex?  (Yeah, you are.)  This book has pretty much everything you might have ever wanted to know, and a whole bunch of stuff you probably didn't want to know -- but probably need to know.

From the super-basic (and sometimes boring) information about the parts of the body and the reproductive system, through often uncomfortable topics of masturbation, sexual identification, birth control and protection from sexually transmitted infections, and right into the nitty-gritty of dating and relationships, this book offers a non-intimidating look at all aspects of sex and sexuality.  Stressing the importance of protection and communication, the information provided is geared towards helping teens make educated decisions.  This is not a book that "encourages" teens to have sex, rather it points out that teens should feel strongly that they can make decisions based on what is truly comfortable and right for them -- and that what is comfortable and right could change depending on time, situation, or individual.  There is an important balance of humor and seriousness in the way this material is presented that makes it extraordinarily approachable to teens (and, in my humble opinion, it's great for adults, too).

Recommended to all teens thinking about sex (yes, all of you) -- those who are doing it, not doing it, comfortable talking to adults about it, making jokes with their friends about it, or have no idea what the heck sex really involves.  Obviously, this book is about sex, so the effectiveness of the material depends on maturity level and willingness to really learn about the topic.  Since the idea of sex -- what's acceptable, what's appropriate, and how it's thought about and talked about -- keeps changing with the times and new generations, this book is a great guide for parents, too, in talking to their teens.

Reviewed by kate the librarian.