Gemini bites, by Patrick Ryan

Kyle and Judy Renneker are twins with an uneasy relationship. They have been bickering and competing with one another for years, and their 16th year brings new complications as Kyle comes out of the closet and Judy pretends to be a born again Christian to land a new boyfriend who leads his own bible study.

The twins already thorny relationship is further complicated by the arrival of Garret Johnson - a strange loner about whom there are all kinds of hushed rumors - including one that he is a vampire. Garret's family is moving again, and the Rennekers have offered to let Garret stay at their home to finish out the school year. The twins are both attracted and intruiged, and the competition goes into high gear.

This isn't going to satisfy anyone who loves the high drama supernatural stories. But the low key, realistic family drama here is a nice change of pace and the story is well told.

Played, by Dana Davidson

Ian wants to get into an exclusive group at school. The initiation? Hook up with a "dog" and then drop her, with extra points if he gets her to fall in love with him. Kylie Winship is overwhelmed with Ian's attention, and falls hard. But things get complicated when Ian starts to think twice about his values, and Kylie has to think twice too about a guy who acts one way with his friends and another when they are alone.

This is written by a high school teacher from Detroit, and I like the way that neither Ian nor Kylie is all bad, or all blameless either. Both learn some hard lessons about love.

After, by Amy Efaw

Whew, another tough read. But this one does what Nic Sheff's Tweak never did - gives insight into the human condition. The author explores how a wrong turn in life, in this case an unplanned pregnancy, can drive a teen into a nightmare of denial, isolation, criminal abandonment of the baby, juvenile detention, court proceedings, prison.

The book opens with Devon barely conscious right after giving birth to a baby alone in the bathroom of the apartment she shares with her single/always on the make mother. She is hemorrhaging, and the baby is in the trash can behind the apartment complex. The baby is found and saved, but the reader is left with a journey from horror at the act Devon has just committed to eventual understanding of the emotional nightmare that could drive her to that unspeakable act and through the legal consequences that will decide her future. This is a tough read, but at the end the reader may better understand the issues, develop empathy for a main character who is at first hard to like, and come to admire the people who help girls like Devon.

Tweak, by Nic Sheff

Nic Sheff's memoir of out-of-control addiction is sad and frustrating to read. He has no insights into addiction to share, just a litany of broken relationships, broken promises, broken lives. If he bothers to explain his bad choices at all, he rationalizes ineffectively. His parents' divorce? Come on, Nic, lots of people have divorced parents and are not meth/heroin/whatever they can get their hands on addicts as a result. Nic's life is a train wreck as he lies, steals, prostitutes himself for his next high.

Addiction is heartbreaking to those whose lives it touches. I wanted this to explore Nic's struggle with addiction, but instead he seems almost perversely proud of his failures. Sad.