Cashing In, Susan Colebank (314 pages) – Reggie Shaw’s family has won the lottery. Sounds ideal, but Reggie’s life has been turned upside down. Suddenly she has new would-be friends, and the money thing is causing problems in her love life. Is becoming an overnight sensation a dream come true, or a bit of a nightmare?

First sentence: I remember that the day was hot – no surprise there, since almost every day in Arizona is hot – and I had to put on deodorant twice.

The Secret Year, Jennifer R Hubbard (192 pages) – Colt and Julia were in love, but secretly, so when Julia dies suddenly Colt is left to deal with the loss on his own. When he finds her journal he is consumed with questions about their relationship. [sad]

First sentence: Julia was killed on Labor Day on her way home from a party.

Very LeFreak, Rachel Cohn (303 pages) – Very is short for Veronica, a girl in her first year at Columbia University who has a rather large electronics habit which is causing her life to go off the rails. Her friends stage an intervention and Very is shipped off to a rehab centre. How will she cope without a virtual world?

First sentence: It wasn’t the fact that Starbucks did not – would not – serve Guinness with a raw egg followed by an espresso chaser that was ruining Very’s hangover.

Finding Freia Lockhart, Aimee Said (286 pages) – subtitled “How Not to be a Successful Teen”. Freia is under pressure to fit in with the popular group at school after her best friend starts hanging out with them, but is she really up to talking about popular girl type stuff, especially when she’s having to do the school musical? (Note: Glee-type references maybe?)

First sentence: The moment I set foot on stage I know this is a big mistake.

Some Girls Are, Courtney Summers (245 pages) – from the catalogue: “Regina, a high school senior in the popular–and feared–crowd, suddenly falls out of favor and becomes the object of the same sort of vicious bullying that she used to inflict on others, until she finds solace with one of her former victims.”

First sentence: You’re either someone or you’re not.

Panama, Shelby Hiatt (250 pages) – A fifteen year old girl moves to Panama at the time when the canal is being built. Looking for adventure, she meets Frederico. Perhaps he’ll do.

First sentence: Mrs Ewing’s Friday reminder: “Put your books away. Don’t leave anything on top of your desk.”

8th Grade Superzero, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich (324 pages) – This was one of the Amazon Best Books of the Month (January 2010). After embarrassing himself at the start of the school year, Reggie McKnight is trying to fly under the radar, but winds up involved in everything, from a school election to volunteering at a homeless shelter. This book has excellent reviews.

First sentence: Everyone knows what’s up, because it’s the first day of school and I set the tone.

Sistrsic92 (Meg), Cheryl Dellasega (226 pages) – “As she tries to attract a boyfriend and deal with her beautiful but troubled half-sister, artistically talented high school sophomore Meg records her thoughts and feelings in a blog–accessible only to her three closest friends.” (catalogue)

First sentence: After five years of creating dozens of cute little pink diaries (okay, one was purple), I’ve decided to go online and create a blog – and a safe one where my private thoughts won’t be spread all over the Internet.

Don’t Ask, Hilary Freeman (213 pages) – Lily’s boyfriend seems perfect, but he has a mysterious past that he won’t divulge, so Lily decides to find out about him. Seems like a good idea, but things get complicated.

First sentence: Jack was perfect.

Soul Enchilada, David MacInnis Gill (356 pages) – Amazon reports this novel has “weirdness to spare”. There’s Bug Smoot, who’s a high school graduate with a dodgy car. It turns out that her grandfather sold his soul to pay for it, literally. Her crush, who is a car-wash person but also an agent for the International Supernatural Immigration Service, might come to her rescue.

First sentence: Most folks don’t know the exact time that life’s going to be over.

The Returners, Gemma Malley (257 pages) – Will Hodge has nightmares, both sleeping and waking. He dreams of concentration camps, and notices he’s being followed by a group of people called The Returners, who say they know him from another time in history. Set in a dystopian future.

First sentence: There was this day, a few weeks ago.

Hearts at Stake, Alyxandra Harvey (248 pages) – the cover says “being a vampire princess really bites.” Solange Drake, vampire queen in waiting, is kidnapped and must be rescued by her brother Nicholas and her best friend Lucy, who is human. Lucy, it seems, has the hardest task, trying to rescue Solange and not be tempted by Nicholas.

First sentence: Normally, I wouldn’t be caught dead at a field party.