Ship Breaker, by Paolo Bacigalupi

Set in a not too distant future where the depletion of fossil fuels and climate change have made the Gulf Coast an impoverished, storm wracked region. On the lawless beaches, dirt-poor workers struggle with cut-throat competition for the hellish jobs that mean survival. Here, teenage Nailer works as a light crew member, crawling the ductwork of old rusty oil tankers to salvage copper wire, aluminum staples, anything to make his quota and keep his job. His job is dangerous, but not as dangerous as the level 6 hurricanes which blow from the Gulf regularly nor his vicious father, who with rat-like cunning is willing to sacrifice anything to stay alive. Then one day a hurricane beaches a clipper ship and one occupant is still alive - a wealthy shipping family heiress. Nailer joins forces with her and together they struggle to stay alive long enough to return her to her people.

The story moves along quickly as Nailer and Nita move through an eire swamp of a submerged New Orleans and out onto the gulf waters where a new breed of clipper ship houses the international shipping magnates that are the new wealthy elite of this society.

This is fresh, fast-paced, and leaves the reader with something to think about concerning the choices being made today in regard to fossil fuels, allocation of resources, and distribution of wealth.

Twisted, by Laurie Halse Anderson

Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Speak, has written another hard hitting story, this time about just how quickly a person's life can be ruined by today's technology - facebook, texting, cell phones with cameras.

As the story opens Tyler is on probation for a high school prank gone wrong and serving community service hours instead of jail time. His senior year starts with him still getting used to his new bad boy reputation and he finds that reputation comes with a plus side when popular, attractive Brittany starts wanting to spend time with him. But at a drunken party Brittany loses control, and tho Tyler does the right thing and gets her home, someone has taken compromising pictures of her. Tyler's reputation works against him as the gossip mounts that he has taken advantage of Brittany, and the cops, Brittany, his parents, school administrators, basically everybody, are all skeptical of his innocence. With frightening swiftness Tyler's life is going down the tubes, and people's perceptions of reality are far more important than the honest truth.