La Primavera

La Primavera
by Mary Jane Beaufrand

Flora's never been her mother's favorite. In fact, truth be told, her mother hates her. When she was born, her mother would have drowned her in a river if not for her Nonna (grandmother).

Because her mother hates her, she's worked hard to stay out of the way. So while everyone dotes on her beautiful older sister, Domenica, Flora spends her time in the dirt and muck, gardening and taking care of the house. She even trains to be a soldier and learns how to wield daggers, swords, and staffs.

That training comes in handy when her father joins forces with a dangerous man. Together, those two hatch a plot to kill the leading family in town and take control of the city.

But, as we all know, things don't always go as planned and it's up to Flora to save her family. Of course, she has to save herself first.

Set during the Italian Renaissance and inspired by Botticelli's La Primavera, this is the tale of growing up and staying alive when everyone wants you dead.

Anything but Typical

Anything But Typical
by Nora Raleigh Baskin

Jason is not your average, everyday, twelve-year-old boy.

Jason has autism.

He has been given labels like ASD, NLD, and PDD-NOS. He has IEPs.

He has been ostracized and ignored by the students around him.

He has confounded and confused his parents because of his problems.

But what else is he to do? Who else can he be?

He can only be who he is when he's around people. He can only get upset by loud noises. He can only feel stress when asked a question that he does not know how to answer in a way that will please people. He can't tell people that he loves them (because you feel feelings, you don't tell them). He can't stop the hand movements, the hair pulling, the sounds.

He is lost in the world of the "neurotypicals" and is just trying to get by. The only person who understands him is his younger brother (who also adores him) even if he can't appear to return the feelings.

And that's how it is for him until he meets PhoenixBird online in a forum for aspiring writers.

Jason has so many stories to tell and PhoenixBird seems to honestly like them. She also seems to honestly like him... but, of course, she hasn't really met him yet, so she doesn't know about his autism.

Can Jason take the risk to meet her in person? Will she be able to accept him for who and what he is?

For those people who are working with children with autism, this is an amazing read. You get right into Jason's head and you learn to empathize with his plight to fit in. If you know someone with autism and want to understand him/her better, you must try this book.

Defying the Diva

Defying the Diva
By D. Anne Love

Haley Patterson has always been normal. She had a normal family, normal friends, and a normal life.

But her life is completely flipped upside-down when the school diva decides to exact a lot of revenge for a little story Haley wrote in the school newspaper.

Over the course of just a few days, she goes from respected freshman with a good reputation to school pariah. Students gossip about her. Her "friends" won't go near her for fear of becoming gossip victims themselves. Anonymous notes show up on her desk and in her locker. Email appears telling her to kill herself.

There seems to be no end to the torture. It gets so bad Haley even has a moment when she considers suicide as a way to end the pain.

She makes it to the end of the semester and is sent by her parents to stay with her aunt, who then gets her a job at the town’s country club.

There, Haley has to re-learn how to make friends, how to trust others, and how to find herself.

She then finds out that the diva has struck again, only this time, someone got hurt and landed in the hospital. Can Haley stand up to the diva and stand up for what is right? Or will she let history repeat itself?

Wings

Wings

by E. D. Baker

Tamisin has always been a little odd. From the glittery freckles on her face to her compulsion to dance under the full moon with fairies, she's always known she didn't quite fit in.

But it isn't until she sprouts wings that she finds out that her parents adopted her when she was a baby.

As it turns out, she's half fairy, and that half has suddenly made things much more dangerous for her.

The child of the most important of all fairies makes a great ransom for goblins who want control.

Can she and the halfling, Jak, find the answers she needs to survive before it's too late? Or will the fairy kingdom be crushed by revenge?

My So-Called Family

My So-Called Family

by Courtney Sheinmel

Leah Hoffman-Ross has never had a "normal" family. She's the child of a self-assured author and a sperm donor.

That's right... One day, her mother decided to become a mom, went right out to Lyon's Reproductive Services, looked through a few books, and found "dad".

And while Leah's never missed having a father (especially since her step-dad has been around so long) it's hard to explain her parentage to friends.

Seriously! What do you say to people when they ask where your dad is?

Now that she's 13 and the family has moved to New York, she has the chance to meet new people and no longer have the nickname of "Science Experiment".

Of course, finding out that she has four siblings from the same donor opens up a whole new world for Leah, and she's determined to meet them all... Somehow.

But will her parents ever understand? And what about her new best friend?

Can she be herself and still be ok with others?

My Best Friend, the Atlantic Ocean, and Other Great Bodies Standing Between Me and My Life with Giulio

My Best Friend, the Atlantic Ocean, and Other Great Bodies Standing Between Me and My Life with Giulio

by Jane Harrington

OMG!

Your BFF comes home with the hottest Italian exchange student ever and she didn't save him for U!

Average teen relationship = 34 days

If U can hold out long enuf, he'll be urs!

But wut to do in the meantime?

How 'bout become the manager of the football team, the VP of the GNL, and maybe even learn something in class!

NO WAY!

WAY!