Arden Grey 

By Ray Stoeve 

Amulet Books, 2022. 278 pages. Young Adult Fiction 

Sixteen-year-old Arden Grey is struggling. Her mother has left their family, her father and her younger brother won't talk about it, and a classmate, Tanner, keeps harassing her about her sexuality--which isn't even public. (She knows she likes girls romantically, but she thinks she might be asexual.) At least she's got her Love of film photography and her best and only friend, Jamie, to help her cope. Then Jamie, who is trans, starts dating Caroline, and suddenly he isn't so reliable. Arden's insecurity about their friendship grows. She starts to wonder if she's jealous or if Jamie's relationship with Caroline is somehow unhealthy--and it makes her reconsider how much of her relationship with her absent mom wasn't okay, too. Filled with big emotions, first loves, and characters navigating toxic relationships, Ray Stoeve's honest and nuanced novel is about finding your place in the world and seeking out the love and community that you deserve. 

I like the way this book handles relevant teen issues such as navigating new friend groups, what to do when your best friend dates their first girlfriend, or dealing with an emotionally and physically absent parent. It is a pretty emotion-filled book, which makes sense as it is about a teenager in high school. I think where this book really excels is in the relationships between characters and I like seeing how these shift and change throughout the book. Overall this feels authentic and relatable. 

The Field Guide to the North American Teenager

By Ben Philippe

Balzer + Bray, 2019. 372 pages. Young Adult Fiction

A hilarious YA contemporary realistic novel about a witty Black French Canadian teen who moves to Austin, Texas, and experiences the joys, clichés, and awkward humiliations of the American high school experience--including falling in love.

Loveless 

By Alice Oseman

HarperCollins Children's Books, 2020. 432 pages. Fiction

Georgia has parents who are still in love, two sets of grandparents that are still together, and a brother who married his girlfriend, but at eighteen she has never even kissed someone (not even her lesbian best friend, Felipa) or particularly even wanted to. At the prom afterparty she is surrounded by couples making out, and she really does not know what is wrong--but in college she comes to understand herself as asexual/aromantic, and to capture the part of her identity that has always eluded her.

Ramona Blue 

By Julie Murphy

Balzer + Bray, 2017. 408 pages. Young Adult Fiction

Struggling with the loss of her home and her dysfunctional family after Hurricane Katrina, gay teen Ramona finds solace in a new swimming hobby while developing confusing feelings for a boy who challenges her perceptions.

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