Best of
Young-Adult-Contemporary

2017

The Slope Rules


Melanie Hooyenga - 2017
    But their romance can only last as long as vacation.Or so she thinks.A twist of fate--well, her Dad opening another brewery in a new town--lands her in Blake's school, but the charismatic boy she fell for wants nothing to do with her, and worse, the Snow Bunnies, the popular clique, claim her as their newest recruit.Cally must learn to be true to herself--all while landing a spot on the ski team and figuring out who she is without her old friends. And when she finds out what Blake is hiding, she learns the rules on the slopes apply to more than just skiing.*****Gold Winner (YA Fiction General) 2017 -- Moonbeam Children's Book AwardsSilver Winner (High School Romance) 2017 -- Children's Literary ClassicsBronze Winner (YA Romance) 2017 -- Readers' Favorite"There aren't enough books like The Slope Rules out there in the world of romance. Final Verdict: First love at it's finest. This is a can't miss for anyone who wants more sweet than spicy and needs their hearts thawed on cold winter nights. No one will regret spending time on this book." --YA Books Central"A fun, romantic story with a likeable protagonist and a familiar, yet enjoyable dramatic storyline that will appeal to teen readers." --IndieReader"Author Melanie Hooyenga tells it like it is in this remarkably honest coming of age story. Written in the vernacular of today's teens, this highly relatable book is sure to resonate with young audiences. The Slope Rules offers drama, action and age-appropriate romance all wrapped up in an inspiring, page-turning read." --Children's Literary Classics"Both sporting fans and readers who love emotionally charged novels will adore The Slope Rules,... a great romance for young adult readers... that explores love, coming of age, and personal growth." --Reader's Favorite"The prose is tight and enjoyable from the first paragraph until the very end. The author's descriptions are vivid and beautiful. Cally has a strong, self confident voice and is a fully developed character." --The BookLife Prize

The Victoria in My Head


Janelle Milanes - 2017
    In the other, currently serving as her reality, Victoria is a shy teenager with overprotective Cuban parents, who sleepwalks through her life at the prestigious Evanston Academy. Unable to overcome the whole paralyzing-stage-fright thing, Victoria settles for living inside her fantasies, where nothing can go wrong and everything is set to her expertly crafted music playlists.But after a chance encounter with an unattainably gorgeous boy named Strand, whose band seeks a lead singer, Victoria is tempted to turn her fevered daydreams into reality. To do that, she must confront her insecurities and break away from the treadmill that is her life. Suddenly, Victoria is faced with the choice of staying on the path she’s always known and straying off-course to find love, adventure, and danger.From debut author Janelle Milanes comes a hilarious and heartfelt tale of the spectacular things that can happen when you go after what you really want.

Love like Cherry Blossoms


SNCE - 2017
    She knows his secret too. He is the coolest guy in school. She is the curve wrecker of class. They make a deal in exchange to keep each other’s secret. They should be strangers after that promise. But he offers to help her confess to her crush at the same time. Is that true? Is he just teasing her? Or…?

Operation Prom Date


Cindi Madsen - 2017
    With only one semester left of senior year, it’s now or never if she wants to land him in time for prom. Since she’s flirtationally challenged, she enlists Cooper Callihan, the guy who turned popular seemingly overnight but who used to be a good friend. Cooper lives and breathes rowing, but his partner just broke his wrist. When he remembers Kate’s good with a set of oars, he strikes a deal: help him train, and he’ll make sure her crush notices her. Only he didn’t know how addicting spending time with her would be. Or how the more successful the Operation is, the more jealousy he experiences. The mission has been set. The troops have their marching orders. But what if the target is the wrong guy all along?Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book contains stargazing, accidental swimming, and poker swindling. This kissing practice will melt your ereader…and give you a new couple to ship.

Wishbones


Virginia Macgregor - 2017
    But when her Mum refuses to co-operate Feather realises that the problem run deeper than just her mum’s unhealthy appetite.Over time, Feather’s mission to help her Mum becomes an investigation. With the help of friends old and new, and the hindrance of runaway pet goat Houdini, Feather’s starting to uncover when her mum’s life began to spiral out of control and why. But can Feather fix it in time for her mum to watch her swim to victory? And can she save her family for good?

Biggest Flirts/Perfect Couple/Most Likely to Succeed


Jennifer Echols - 2017
    Three irresistible stories from Jennifer Echols—now available together in one paperback edition!In Biggest Flirts, Tia just wants to have fun. She’s worked hard to earn her reputation as the life of the party, and she’s ready for a carefree senior year of hanging out with friends and hooking up with cute boys. But when she and an old fling are voted Biggest Flirts together, Tia starts to reconsider what—and whom—she wants…Meanwhile, in Perfect Couple, Harper is artsy and introverted. Brody is athletic and extroverted. Two people couldn’t be more different. But when they are elected the Perfect Couple that Never Was, they find they have more in common—and more feelings for each other—than they could have anticipated.And finally, Most Likely to Succeed follows two major opposites—put-together, ambitious Kaye and slacker, bad-boy Sawyer—as fate (and their friends!) conspire to bring them together. Perhaps their fellow classmates see the shimmering attraction that Kaye and Sawyer are unwilling to acknowledge themselves…

A Messy, Beautiful Life


Sara Jade Alan - 2017
    And not always the ha, ha kind. Like that one time where a hot guy tried to kiss me and I fell. Down. Hard. And then found out I had cancer. I’m trying to be strong for my friends and my mom. And I’m trying so hard to be “just friends” with that hot guy, even though he seems to want so much more. But I won’t do that to him. He’s been through this before with his family, and I’m not going to let him watch me die. So, I tell myself: Smile Ellie. Be funny Ellie. Don’t cry Ellie, because once I start, I might not stop.

Caged


Elisa Dane - 2017
    Hanging with the AE, Atwood High’s elite group of popular kids requires absolute perfection on every level: a goal Sadie knows she’ll never attain. Haunted by dreams of the night her mother was murdered, she hides her PTSD as best she can and stays quiet when her snobby friends terrorize everyone who isn’t a part of their exclusive group of friends—specifically, her geeky neighbor, Ian Daniels. Standing up against Britt Kennedy, Atwood High’s “Queen Bee” means social suicide on an epic level. Unwilling to give up the one “good” thing in her life despite her inner hatred for Britt, Sadie silently follows her bossy friend’s orders. That is, until she crosses paths with Hayden Pope. Hayden is a “Waverly.” A kid with the misfortune of living in the small farming town of Waverly that borders the very affluent Lexington Parrish. The AE doesn’t mix with “Waverlies.” Ever. Unless the mixing involves a one-night stand. Sadie crashes into Hayden at a bonfire and the attraction that sparks between the two is nothing short of electric. Unwilling to live a life ruled by the AE, Sadie takes a stand against her frenemies. But she soon finds out she waited too long, and the unthinkable happens, leaving everything she knows a shadow of what it once was.

The Ocean in My Ears


Meagan Macvie - 2017
    Never heard of it? That's because in Slowdotna the most riveting activities for a teenager are salmon fishing and grabbing a Big Gulp at the local 7-Eleven. More than anything, Meri wants to hop in her VW Bug and head somewhere exciting, like New York or L.A. or any city where going to the theater doesn't only mean the movies. Everything is so scripted here--don't have too much fun, date this guy because he's older and popular, stay put because that's what everyone else does.But when her senior year should be all boys, SAT prep, and prom drama, Meri feels more and more distance between herself and the people she loves. Her grandma dies, her brother gets hurt, and even her best friend checks out to spend more time with some guy. As she struggles with family, grief, friends, and hormones, Meri must decide if she really is ready for the world beyond her backyard.Meagan Macvie's debut novel, The Ocean in My Ears, raises questions of love, purpose, and the power to choose your own future even when your future's the thing that scares you the most.

Juniper Lemon's Happiness Index


Julie Israel - 2017
    Desperate to learn You’s identity and deliver the message, Juniper starts to investigate.Until she loses something. A card from her Happiness Index: a ritual started by sunny Camie for logging positives each day. It’s what’s been holding Juniper together since her death – but a lost card only widens the hole she left behind. And this particular card contains Juniper’s own dark secret: a memory she can't let anyone else find out.The search for You and her card take Juniper to even less expected places, and as she connects with those whose secrets she upturns in the effort, she may just find the means to make peace with her own.This is a smart, funny, poignant book guaranteed to make you laugh and cry – and maybe even take notes.

Chasing Eveline


Leslie Hauser - 2017
    And her binder is the only one decorated with album artwork by 80s band Chasing Eveline. Despite being broken-up since 1989, this rock band out of Ireland means everything to Ivy. They’re a reminder of her mom, who abandoned Ivy and her dad two years ago. Now the music of her mom’s favorite band is the only connection she has left. Even though Ivy wavers between anger and a yearning to reconnect, she’s one-hundred percent certain she’s not ready to lose her mom forever. But the only surefire way to locate her would be at a Chasing Eveline concert. So with help from her lone friend Matt—an equally abandoned soul and indie music enthusiast—Ivy hatches a plan to reunite the band.The road to Ireland won’t be easy, though. And not just because there is no road. Along the way they’ll have to win over their Lady Gaga-loving peers, tangle with some frisky meerkats, and oh yeah, somehow find and persuade the four members to play a reunion gig. It’s a near-impossible task, but Ivy has to try. If she can’t let go of the past, she’ll never be able to find joy in the present.

Never Apart


Romily Bernard - 2017
    Every time.You don’t know why you’re stuck in this nightmare.But you do know that these are the rules you now live by:Wake Up.Run.Die.Repeat.Now, the only way to escape this loop is to attempt something crazy. Something dangerous. Something completely unexpected. This time…you’re not going to run.Combining heart-pounding romance and a thrilling mystery Never Apart is a stunning story you won’t soon forget.

Pieces of You


Eileen Merriman - 2017
    Lonely but trying to fit in, she goes to a party, but that's when things really fall apart. I couldn't tell anyone what had happened. Especially since I was the new girl in town. Who would want to believe me? Things look up when she meets gregarious sixteen-year-old Cory Marshall. 'You're funny, Becs,' Cory said. 'You have no idea,' I said, and clearly he didn't, but I was smiling anyway. And after that, he was all I could think about. Cory helps Rebecca believe in herself and piece her life back together; but that's before he shatters it all over again . . .

I Dare You To Love Me


Becca Fox - 2017
    He rules the school. She just wants to make it to graduation. With prom only six weeks away, and his reputation at stake - will Brian be able to get “Scary Pants” out on a date? Brian Royland is the golden boy of Palm Beach High. He’s smart, handsome, athletic, and charming. He could get any girl in school - but he procrastinated and is now dateless for the most important dance of the year. When he hears about the new girl, Iris Newman aka “Scary Pants”, Brian is intrigued. But when Brian’s friends doubt he’ll succeed in scoring her as his prom date, bets start flying, and she turns into a prize to be won. Iris has set several goals for herself; make sure her older sister has a smooth pregnancy, help her recently single mother support and manage their family, and find a way to stop her band’s bass guitarist from asking her out every week. She doesn’t have the time or the energy to deal with the arrogant and pesky Brian Royland, who is suddenly determined to get her out on a date. It only takes six weeks for them to realize they have both experienced great loss. Surrounded by mayhem and high school drama - could they be the key to each other’s healing?

Vigilante


Kady Cross - 2017
    It's senior year, and Hadley and her best friend, Magda, should be starting the year together. Instead, Magda is dead and Hadley is alone. Raped at a party the year before and humiliated, Magda was driven to take her own life and Hadley is forced to see her friend's attackers in the classroom every day. Devastated, enraged and needing an outlet for her grief, Hadley decides to get a little justice of her own. Donning a pink ski mask and fueled by anger, Hadley goes after each of the guys one by one, planning to strip them of their dignity and social status the way they did to Magda. As the legend of the pink-masked Vigilante begins to take on a life of its own, Hadley's revenge takes a turn for the dangerous. Could her need for vengeance lead her down a path she can't turn back from?