Unnatural | young adult fantasy
Thankfully, Ember is not alone. Her boyfriend Ren Hargrove is also a dud, and Ember thinks they have a good shot at surviving the culling if they stick together. But that's easier said than done when she meets Caden Rowley, an outsider who curiously turns up in the woods. Ember's not sure if she can trust him, but she also can't seem to get him out of her mind, especially after he causes her to feel the first sparks of magic she's ever known—something she's learning she can't live without.
Skin Deep| young adult fantasy
With only weeks to go before
graduation, Lucy Girard appears to have it all—a comfortable spot on the social
food chain, a summer of freedom in wait, and a stellar GPA that’s earned her
early acceptance to her college of choice. But things start to unravel when
Lucy wakes from a wild night of partying to find an entirely uncool and
oh-so-permanent tattoo on her shoulder—a crude sketch of a beast straight out
of a fantasy role playing game. Chocking it up to exceptionally poor judgment,
Lucy is blindsided when a real live version of the monster tears the door down
at best friend Monica’s birthday bash, and Lucy is cornered before somehow
summoning the skill to fend the monster off.
The Broken Season| young adult contemporary
Louise Dunn hasn't recognized the world around her since the morning after her brother Neil's senior prom, when she discovered his drowned body on the front lawn, with no explanation for how it got there. Buried beneath a grief she can't seem to surface from, she stumbles through the ensuing summer, seeking solace in anything that can't get inside her head. Then she discovers a hidden journal in Neil's room, along with a stack of unfamiliar comic books, and everything changes.
It was no secret that Neil was gay. He'd come out the year before his death. But as Louise delves deeper into his pastimes and relationships, she discovers that maybe she didn't know him as well as she thought, and what's worse—things might've been different if she had. Between a series of unsettling encounters with Neil's ex, and a sudden, unexpected connection with Matt, the fanboy clerk at the local comic shop, Louise finds she's increasingly unable to ignore the tragedy that's slowly suffocating her, and the walls she'll have to tear down before she can start to live again.
This Hideous Heart| young adult contemporary
Virginia
(Ginny) Walters is completely in love with her boyfriend, Malcolm.
Unfortunately for her, so is her best friend, Alden. But Ginny realizes it a
little too late—the pair have already fallen for each other, leaving Ginny a heartbroken
wreck just as school lets out for the summer.
She finds ways to cope; immersing herself in her part-time job, and indulging a surprise summer fling with Seth, the hot boy next door. She even makes an effort to resuscitate her friendship with Alden, but it’s not without its challenges. Malcolm had been her world before he abruptly ended things to get with her BFF. There’s a lot of damage to repair. But then the situation deteriorates further when Malcolm suddenly goes missing, and Alden’s behavior suggests she might’ve had something to do with it.
Despite her deepening relationship with Seth, Ginny becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to Malcolm, spying on Alden only to discover she doesn’t know the girl she grew up with nearly as well as she thought. And what’s worse, Alden now seems to have her sights set on Seth, inciting Ginny to do whatever it takes to prove her increasingly disturbing suspicions—even if that means stopping her former best friend for good.
She finds ways to cope; immersing herself in her part-time job, and indulging a surprise summer fling with Seth, the hot boy next door. She even makes an effort to resuscitate her friendship with Alden, but it’s not without its challenges. Malcolm had been her world before he abruptly ended things to get with her BFF. There’s a lot of damage to repair. But then the situation deteriorates further when Malcolm suddenly goes missing, and Alden’s behavior suggests she might’ve had something to do with it.
Despite her deepening relationship with Seth, Ginny becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to Malcolm, spying on Alden only to discover she doesn’t know the girl she grew up with nearly as well as she thought. And what’s worse, Alden now seems to have her sights set on Seth, inciting Ginny to do whatever it takes to prove her increasingly disturbing suspicions—even if that means stopping her former best friend for good.