Reality check, by Peter Abrahams

Cody, a small town quarterback has big dreams for a football scholarship. When his smart, hot girlfriend is sent away to boarding school by her father and he suffers a torn ACL, Cody’s life begins to spiral out of control. He drops out of high school and gets a job at the local lumber yard. But when his ex-girlfriend Clea disappears in Vermont, Cody travels from Colorado to join the search for her. Out of place in the wealthy privileged private school there, Cody doesn't know who he can trust and nothing is as it first seems.
This is full of fast action and mystery - hard to put down.

Daughter of smoke & bone, by Laini Taylor

"Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. It did not end well."

The 1st words in this romantic fantasy warn the reader.

Blue haired Karou , 17 year old art student in Prague, has mastered the art of disguising her magical upbringing from her friends and others. Avoid talking about herself, and when forced, tell the truth with a faint sardonic smile. No one believes that her hair just grows that color; or that the monsters she draws in her sketchbooks are real; or that she travels the world via magic to collect teeth for the chimaera Brimstone who raised her from a baby.
But Karou has questions, because hideously ugly Brimstone has always refused to explain how he came to raise her, or where the door behind his desk leads, or why he needs the unending supply of teeth it is her job to acquire for him. And why although he is obviously a powerful magician, he refuses Karou any wishes but the smallest, most inconsequential ones. Then the angel Akiva attacks Karou from out of nowhere, nearly killing her before the attack stops as suddenly and mysteriously as it began. Akiva knows more about Karou than she does herself, but both have shocking things to learn in store for them.

This is a mystery, a fantasy, but most of all a love story. Well written and hard to put down once begun. The first of a planned trilogy, and among Amazon's top 10 books for 2011.

Magic and misery, by Peter Marino

TJ has never had a boyfriend and falls hard for the new boy in school, Pan, who is funny, classy, beautiful - and gay, as TJ learns when he outs himself in the course of a class discussion one day. The two become close friends. But when TJ starts dating Caspar, things get complicated. Pan is jealous of her time with Caspar, and Caspar is confused about TJ and Pan's friendship.

While I liked the story, there are things I really didn't like. The concept of a "new" emotion - fago - just seems to me to be something a little silly. Do we really need a new emotion? Then there is the matter of sex. For a book about relationships, it is treated way too casually. Readers would be better off reading Sarah Dessen and Alex Sanchez.

13 reasons why, by Jay Asher

On tape, Hannah explains that there are 13 reasons why she decided to commit suicide. Clay is one of them. If he listens to the tapes, he'll find out why. So over the course of one long, terrible night, Clay listens to all 13 taped stories.

This is a heartbreaking book to read as it follows Hannah's descent into despair. If you ever doubted that your simple small acts of kindness can make a difference, this book is an emotional arguement that they matter. A powerful story well told.

Staying fat for Sarah Byrnes, by Chris Crutcher

Eric Calhoun (Mobe) survived his early teen years as a fat boy with the help of another social outcast, Sarah Byrnes, whose face and hands are terribly scarred from burns suffered as a small child. Sarah is the bravest, toughest person he's ever known. Now in high school, joining the swim team has changed Mobe's body, but not his fierce loyalty to Sarah. But now Sarah sits unresponsive in a mental ward, and Mobe, at a loss as to how to help her, enlists the help of an old school enemy, his best friend, and even his swim coach. And he discovers that Sarah is still that brave, tough friend, caught in the crosshairs of her abusive dad. Love, loyalty, and courage come in the least expected people as Sarah and Mobe figure out how to keep her safe.

Wow - this author isn't afraid to face tough topics - abuse, abortion, religion, disfigurement, bullying - and he does it without losing perspective and a sense of humor.