It is not much use being a princess when you are an orphan, and your family’s castle is falling down around you. That is what sixteen-year-old Sophie FitzOsborne is discovering the hard way. The year is 1936, and the place is the remote island kingdom of Montmaray, where, when she is not trying to corral her boisterous younger sister, Sophie devotes more time to her diary than she does to her studies. Sophie’s older cousin, Veronica, is the scholar in the family, and is compiling a history of the Montmaravian people. It is the family’s future that suddenly becomes more interesting, however, as the changing political climate coincides with a boatful of Nazi “historians” landing on the kingdom’s shores. Will Sophie and her family’s defense of their kingdom take their life stories in an exciting new direction? This mix of history, adventure and romance makes for an enchanting page-turner.

Fifteen-year-old Blake’s interests include: spending time with his girlfriend, Shannon, training as a photographer, and hanging out with his photography partner, Marissa. Blake is managing to balance the different parts of his life, until the day he takes a picture of a street person whom he thinks is a stranger. However, she is actually Marissa’s drug addict mother, and when Marissa sees the picture, she realizes that this may be the chance to reconnect with her long-absent mom. As Blake tries to help Marissa, Shannon tries to be an understanding girlfriend. But she starts to suspect that Blake and Marissa’s bond is moving beyond friendship. Will Blake be able to sort out his feelings for both girls? There are no easy choices, but several appealing characters, in this affecting coming of age story.

This mesmerizing retelling of a classic fairy tale features a young woman struggling to let go of a painful childhood, so that she can embrace adulthood. Cassie has grown up hearing her mother’s absence explained by her grandmother, who has always told Cassie that her mother made a deal with the polar bear king, who took her to the ends of the earth. Cassie has long since stopped listening to this story, and as she nears her eighteenth birthday, all Cassie is focused on is her scientific studies at an Artic research station. Then, on her birthday, Cassie has an encounter that changes everything. Cassie meets a polar bear that not only speaks to her, but also tells her that her mother is being held prisoner. The bear says he can help Cassie bring her mother back, as long as Cassie agrees to become his bride. Can Cassie save her mother, without losing herself?

This National Book Award nominee highlights three stories where romance and the supernatural are locked in a sometimes passionate, sometimes icy embrace. The tale Goblin Fruit reveals just how far goblins are willing to go to tempt today’s savvy young women. In Spicy Little Curses, a demon and the ambassador to Hell’s battle for the soul of a beautiful British girl is interrupted when, in the name of love, she decides to test her curse. The focus of the final story, Hatchling, is Esme, whose fourteenth birthday is marked by the fact that her left eye suddenly changes from brown to blue. This is just the beginning of changes in Esme’s life, as a handsome, fanged man suddenly pursues her. If he catches her, will that be the end for Esme, or just the beginning? Halloween may be just past, but these stories cast an irresistible spell.

Holly Hogan thinks that if she could just make it back to Ireland, and find her mom, then everything would be okay again. Holly’s British foster parents are nice to her, but after what Holly’s gone through, she knows better than to trust that the situation will last. Holly feels like school is just another place where she doesn’t fit in, and when it all becomes too much, she takes off. As Holly makes her way through England, to what she hopes is a happy future with her mother, Holly has a chance to really think about her past. As she gets closer to a reunion with her mom, Holly wonders if things will finally be different this time. This bittersweet story beautifully illustrates a lonely teen’s struggle to belong.