The Last Cuentista

Written by: Donna Barba Higuera

First line: Lita tosses another pinon log on the fire. 

Why you should read this book: Petra and her family are among the lucky few granted a place on the great starships leaving Earth just before Haley's comet smashes into it and destroys everyone and everything, including her beloved storyteller grandmother, and now she will spend hundreds of years in cryo-sleep, having important computer files uploaded to her brain so she can be a scientist when humanity finds its new home. But even as the ship launches and Petra falls into an uneasy stasis, dissidents have taken over the ship, and when Petra finally awakes, it is into a strange, nightmare reality controlled by "The Collective," a group that has evolved into a species she can barely recognize as human and eliminated hunger and war by eliminating art, culture, love, feelings, family, and the stories that Petra loves. Alone among the others on the ship, Petra retains her memories of Earth, and armed with her grandmother's stories, she must find a way to save what remains of humanity from The Collective's single-minded focus to destroy it. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: It took me way longer than usual to read because this book is frankly terrifying for a children's story; I don't scare easy in print (I think the last time was Joe Hill's Heart Shaped Box) but something about this girl forced to pretend to be brainwashed while mourning the loss of her family and the rest of humanity and made to live among the fascist Collective just hit way too close to home. 

I'm Glad My Mom Is Dead

Written by: Jennette McCurdy

First line: It's strange how we always give big news to loved ones in a coma, as if a coma is just a thing that happens from a lack of something to be excited about in your life. 

Why you should read this book: Her entire life, Jennette McCurdy has known that the only important thing in the world is appeasing her mother and doing whatever it takes to keep her happy. When this means becoming an actress and doing everything possible to make it in Hollywood, she becomes and actress and doesn't everything possible to make it in Hollywood; when this means developing an eating disorder, she develops an eating disorder. Although she becomes rich and famous, not until her mother's death does McCurdy start to understand how incredibly mentally ill and abusive her mother was and how much work she has to do to reclaim her life from her tortured upbringing. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: If your mom is a controlling hoarder but she's still alive and you haven't gotten rich or famous and you can't figure out how to escape her abuse, or even if you have, this book might be kind of triggering.

Frizzy

Written by: Claribel A Ortega and Rose Bousamra

First line: 

Why you should read this book: Ever since she was little, Marlene has been subject to the painful and weekly humiliation of having her textured hair straightened at the salon, but no matter what she does, she can't seem to keep her hair "presentable" according to her family's expectations. It doesn't help that some of her Latino family are white and she is constantly being compared to those with naturally straight hair, or that nobody even talks about how racism is impacting her self-image. Can Marlene find the secret to keeping her curly hair curly without being attacked for how she looks?

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're the perfect cousin everyone else in your family is being told to be more like. 

Speak Up!

Written by: Rebecca Burgess

First line: A new day, a new planet to explore.

Why you should read this book: Mia has autism, and she's struggling with bullies and sensory issues at school, and only her best friend, Charlie (who goes to a different school) knows her secret: that she is the singer and songwriter for the internet sensation, Elle-Q. Mia's mom is desperate for her to learn how to "fit in" by making prolonged eye contact, while Charlie is pushing Mia to take Elle-Q to the next level (a live performance for all their virtual fans), both of which feel impossible to Mia. Hardly anyone seems to realize all the thoughts Mia has inside her; saying them out loud is hard, but if she can't figure out how to express herself, nobody will ever know.

Why you shouldn't read this book: I personally found it very difficult to read the mom's recommendations, which sound exactly like something you'd read in a pop psychology book for parents of autistic children, written by neurotypical people who torture autistic children for a living. 

The War I Finally Won

Written by: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

First line: You can know things all you like, but that doesn't mean you believe them. 

Why you should read this book: Beginning very shortly after the end of The War That Saved My Life, this book begins with Ada about to have her clubfoot surgically corrected, after which she must heal, not just physically from the surgery, but emotionally, from a lifetime of abuse at her mother's hands. She, her brother, and their guardian Susan are offered a "little" house on the Thornton estate, which is soon filled when Lady Thornton decides to move in with them (there's a war on, after all) and Lord Thornton brings Ruth, a German-Jewish refugee to stay as well. Despite being very different people from very different circumstances and being suspicious of each other, this strange blended family come to share each other's pain and joy and to learn what it means to love.

Why you shouldn't read this book: It made me cry even more than the first one. 

Right Back at You

Written by: Carolyn Mackler

First line: Dear Albert Einstein, I am only writing this letter because Barb told me I had to. 

Why you should read this book: An epistolary novel about a friendship between two twelve-year-olds who discover they have a great deal in common, despite being separated by three hundred miles and thirty-six years. Mason doesn't want to talk about his feelings at all, and is surprised to find the letter he hid in his closet answered by a girl in the past who demands to know why she found his letter in her closet. Once they decide the unlikely situation must be caused by a wormhole, they can start to share their secret thoughts with each other, discovering surprising connections and ways they can help each other across a seemingly insurmountable distance. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You think Lord of the Flies in an inevitability. 

The War That Saved My Life

Written by: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

First line: "Ada! Get back from that window!" Mam's voice, shouting. 

Why you should read this book: Born with a clubfoot to an abusive mother, Ada has only once in her life left her room, and was beaten for it, but she's been secretly teaching herself to walk, although it is painful and bloody. Thus, she is able to sneak out and join the other children being evacuated to the country from London at the beginning of World War II, to be cared for by a depressed woman mourning the death of her "best friend" (or, as we say today, "they were 'roommates'"). In the country, she learns a great deal about the world, and herself, and love; discovers crutches, and ponies, and the fact that she is capable of much more than her mother led her to believe; and finds possibility in life that she never could have imagined from her window at home. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's pretty sad, although the ending is hopeful. 

The Star Side of Bird Hill

Written by: Naomi Jackson

First line: The people on the hill liked to say that God's smile was the sun shining down on them. 

Why you should read this book: Their mother suffering from a lethargic malaise they cannot understand, sixteen-year-old Dionne and her ten-year-old sister Phaedra are shipped off to spend their summer with their Grandmother, Hyacinth, in Barbados. The quiet neighborhood of Bird Hill, where everyone knows everyone and has since they were born, is a far cry from the from the familiar boundaries of their lives in Brooklyn, and while Phaedra finds herself interested in Hyacinth's knowledge and her own heritage, Dionne bristles thinking of the excitement she's missing in New York and how this island pales in comparison. Heartbreaking and uplifting, this is a story about family and the splendor of love, and the power and meaning of those things. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: So sad. I cried like three times. 

Bad Dreams in the Night

Written by: Adam Ellis 

First line: My favorite movie as a kid is something nobody seems to have heard of. 

Why you should read this book: A collection of short horror stories presented in comic format, this book runs the gamut from creepy to horrifying, touching on various subgenres, putting new twists on old stories and probably showcasing the author's own fear. There's sci-fi horror, gothic horror, true crime horror, and just weird horror. Nothing too graphic, they're mostly chilling and atmospheric, sometimes touching or even comedic, but also spooky.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Some of it is a bit gruesome. 

Efren Divided

Written by: Ernesto Cisneros

First line: Once again, Efren Nava woke up to a chubby pajamaed foot in his face. 

Why you should read this book: Efren and his little twin siblings live a cramped but happy existence with their hard-working immigrant parents in their little apartment full of good food and good cheer, and Efren is excited for milestones like being able to walk to school by himself and help his best friend run for school president. Then, his life is turned upside down when his mother is the victim of an ICE raid and is deported to Mexico. Now Efren's father is working all the time to raise the money to bring their mother home while Efren finds himself struggling to take care of his family with the same grace and care that his mother once provided. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: It doesn't exactly have a happy ending.