Kidnapped

Written by: Willo Davis Roberts

First line: It's a mistake to earn the reputation of being a liar. 

Why you should read this book: Joey Bishop is known for telling tall tales, so when he tells people that he witnessed his classmate/enemy Willie Groves getting kidnapped after school, he gets mocked and lectured and patronized and chastised and reminded about the boy who cried wolf, but not believed. Joey is no fan of Willie, but his vivid imagination suggests such horrible outcomes that he continues to talk about the kidnapping until some adult, any adult, will listen. Unfortunately for Joey, it turns out that the wrong adult was listening all along. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Some of the plot points are, perhaps, a little bit convenient.

You Brought Me the Ocean

Written by: Alex Sanchez and Deron Bennett

First line: For as long as I can remember, I've dreamed of another world.

Why you should read this book: I guess we're at the point where it's cliché and meaningless to say this is "a different kind of superhero origin story," because all the superhero origin stories being written these days are a different kind, but this touching book about a boy named Jake Hyde coming to terms with who he is and where he came from and where he's going doesn't really read like a superhero story, despite being firmly entrenched in the DC Universe (Superman makes a brief cameo, faster than a speeding bullet, on page fifteen). Jake doesn't even learn he has powers until well into the story, by which time we know that his real dilemmas are about acknowledging his own sexuality and lying to his best friend, Maria Mendez about his plans for after high school. This coming-of-age story explores the trouble with, and the rewards of complete honesty, even when the truth is hard to swallow or might hurt someone else. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Fear of drowning.

Openly Straight

Written by: Bill Konigsberg

First line: If it were up to my dad, my entire life would be on video.

Why you should read this book: After three years of having his life defined by his sexual orientation (validated by his mother's involvement in PFLAG and his father's constant documentation), Rafe decides to start over somewhere he can just present as "normal" and chooses an Ivy League-style boarding school halfway across the country from home as the setting for his new, not-openly-queer lifestyle. On the one hand, his plan works perfectly, and Rafe is soon ensconced among the ranks of the school's popular jocks who wouldn't have given the time of day to an openly gay guy, but on the other hand, Rafe is still gay, and now he has to deal with the question of how to deal with the kinds of kids who used to be his friends (who the jocks dislike), when to tell people from his old life he's in the closet, and what to do with his burgeoning bromance with one of his straight teammates. The friendship between Rafe and Ben develops in an honest, loving, and believable sequence as one character works through their sexuality and the other through their handling of the truth.

Why you shouldn't read this book:  Your wife will never, ever know that you're gay.

Jean and Johnny

Written by: Beverly Cleary

First line: "I have the funniest feeling," remarked Jean Jarrett, who was drying the supper dishes while her older sister Sue washed them.

Why you should read this book: Even though her big sister begs her not to chase boys, Jean doesn't think she's doing any pursuing. After all, Johnny is the one who asked her to dance even though she wasn't even dressed up, and they would have gone on that date if his parents let him, and they did go get Cokes that one time. Jean will have to learn the hard way how to figure out if a boy really likes you or if he just likes the attention you give him for being handsome and suave.

Why you shouldn't read this book: So dated: the dancing and the sewing and the rules of engagement between boys and girls.