High school junior Tola Riley is misunderstood by most of her classmates, and she usually doesn’t have a problem with this. Her green hair, pierced nose, and love of fairy tales keep Tola on the edge of the social scene, where she is most comfortable. Tola feels like the one person who really “gets” her is her Art teacher, Mr. Mymer. That is why she spends most of her lunch periods in the Art room, working on fantasy-based paintings. But when Tola and her teacher are accused of having an improper relationship, their denials don’t keep Mr. Mymer from getting suspended. Pushed uncomfortably into the spotlight, will Tola find the courage to keep speaking the truth, and demand that she be heard? This is a thoughtful coming of age story, with Tola as an appealing protagonist, who, as Kirkus says, is “unconventional, insightful and full of angst.”

Tired of coming home from school and rummaging through the frig desperately looking for something to eat besides last night’s leftovers? How about whipping up something fresh and delish instead? Renowned chef Rozanne Gold has recruited an all-star team of teen chefs to get their seal of approval on over eighty recipes that will satisfy the fiercest adolescent appetites. From snacks, smoothies, and school lunches, to burgers, pizza, and desserts, it’s all here, and it’s all good. So, hunger problems solved: homework problems, well, you’re on your own there.

Eve has just discovered that her whole life is one big game of pretend. Even worse are the consequences for losing: death. The Victorian England world in which she has grown up is actually an amusement park, set in a futuristic London. Hurt to learn that the residents are there just for the amusement of the park’s visitors, Eve is suddenly forced to leave home. Then she meets Caleb, a tourist. Caleb has been fascinated by the manufactured community’s antiquated laws, but after he tests one of these laws, he must find a way to escape. Caleb and Eve begin working together, but when a Jack the Ripper-like stranger starts stalking people both inside and outside the park, will there be any place where Eve and Caleb can be totally free? Readers will find themselves happily ensnared in this imaginative sci-fi thriller.

Josh, Gordon and Cody are three high schoolers who are trying to figure out their lives. They long to escape their dead-end town, and go out in the world to claim their futures. But they can’t stop worrying about their families’ current reality, as all three of their fathers are presently stationed in Iraq. As the teens hope for their fathers’ safe return from the war, how will the outcomes affect the choices that Josh, Gordon and Cody make for their own paths in life? The frank text and gritty illustrations take an unflinching look at the cost of war. The Kirkus review calls this graphic novel, “disturbing and intense”, and says it “proves to be a thoughtful examination into these very contemporary characters’ psyches.”

In a futuristic settlement that long ago replaced the country of New Zealand, two teens on opposite sides of a conflict which has driven the colony to war now find themselves compelled to work together to save their own lives. Hari is a member of the brown-skinned working class, who are forced to live in a rat-infested area known as the Burrows. Pearl is the pale skinned daughter of an official who is part of The Company, which is the ruling class. Desperate to escape an arranged marriage, Pearl sets out alone, but meets up with Hari, who is on a desperate quest of his own, to rescue his father from a forced labor camp. The teens share a psychic connection, but will their differing views of the conflict mean that they will never find a peaceful co-existence? This exciting fantasy kicks off a projected trilogy.