Book cover courtesy of SyndeticsSplinter, Sasha Dawn

Sami’s mother disappeared ten years ago, and the police have always suspected that Sami’s father killed her. But they’ve never had any convincing evidence … until now. Sami’s sure her father’s innocent. Or is she? (Publisher summary)

First lines: My feet hit the pavement in even cadence, keeping time with a song that’s been repeating in my head: “Photograph” by Def Leppard. I haven’t heard the song in a long time, maybe even since before my mother left. Glam bands on the late eighties were definitely her thing, not Dad’s.

Book cover courtesy of SyndeticsEven the darkest stars, Heather Fawcett

Kamzin dreamed of becoming one of the Emperor’s royal explorers, the elite climbers tasked with mapping the wintry, mountainous Empire and spying on its enemies. Then River Shara, the greatest explorer ever known, arrives and demands to hire Kamzin — not her older sister Lusha, as everyone had expected — for his next expedition. River’s mission to retrieve a rare talisman for the emperor; it means climbing Raksha, the tallest and deadliest mountain in the Aryas. When Lusha sets off on her own mission to Raksha with a rival explorer, Kamzin must decide what’s most important to her: protecting her sister from the countless perils of the climb or beating her to the summit. (Publisher summary)

First lines: I stretched my hands over the dragon eggs, focusing all my concentration on their indigo shells, and murmured the incantation. The air rippled and shimmered. I can do this. The thought was born of desperation rather than confidence.

Book cover courtesy of SyndeticsMidnight at the electric, Jodi Lynn Anderson

Adri’s, Catherine’s, and Lenore’s lives are intertwined but not in the way that one would think. Adri lives in 2065 Kansas, Catherine lives in 1930s Kansas, and Lenore lives in England in 1919. As Adri is preparing to go to Mars, she stays with her cousin in Kansas, where the training takes place. Upon settling in, she comes across letters written from Lenore to Beth. Through journals and, later, letters, Catherine narrates her own story of being in Kansas during the Dust Bowl. (Publisher summary)

First lines: From above, Miami looked as if it were blinking itself awake; the rising sun reflected against the city’s windows. Adri-in fuzzy extra-large pajama pants, her messy black hair pulled back in a rubber band-had pulled over on the shoulder of the Miami bridge.

Book cover courtesy of SyndeticsHow to disappear, Sharon Huss Roat

Vicky Decker has perfected the art of hiding in plain sight, quietly navigating the halls of her high school undetected except by her best (and only) friend, Jenna. But when Jenna moves away, Vicky’s isolation becomes unbearable. So she decides to invent a social life by Photoshopping herself into other people’s pictures, posting them on Instagram under the screen name Vicurious. Instantly, she begins to get followers, so she adds herself to more photos from all over the world with all types of people. And as Vicurious’s online followers multiply, Vicky realizes she can make a whole life for herself without ever leaving her bedroom. But the more followers she finds online, the clearer it becomes that there are a lot of people out there who feel like her — #alone and #ignored in real life. To help them, and herself, Vicky must find the courage to face her fear of being “seen,” because only then can she stop living vicariously and truly bring the magic of Vicurious to life. (Publisher summary)

First lines: Standing by my locker, I can already feel the sweat circles forming on my T-shirt. Nobody can see that, I assure myself. Not through the enormous sweater I’m wearing, or beneath my nearly impenetrable wall-o-hair.

Book cover courtesy of SyndeticsThe hearts we sold, Emily Lloyd-Jones

After Dee Moreno, seventeen, makes a deal with a demon, trading her heart for the chance of a good education, she becomes part of a group of “heartless” teens engaged in fighting a paranormal war. (Publisher summary)

First lines: A demon was knitting outside the hospital. Dee Moreno froze. The smokers’ area was where she always took her lunch break; she didn’t smoke, but it made for a good place to eat- at least, when it wasn’t already occupied.

Book cover courtesy of SyndeticsWild bird, Wendelin Van Draanen

When her behaviour escalates out of control, fourteen-year-old Wren is taken away to a wilderness therapy camp where she is forced to develop new skills, including the courage to ask for help.

First lines: “Wren…”
My name is floating around me. Bouncing on the clouds in my mind.
“Wren…wake up, Wren.”

Book cover courtesy of SyndeticsThere’s someone inside your house, Stephanie Perkins

It’s been almost a year since Makani Young came to live with her grandmother in landlocked Nebraska, and she’s still adjusting to her new life. And still haunted by her past in Hawaii. Then, one by one, the students of her small town high school begin to die in a series of gruesome murders, each with increasing and grotesque flair. As the terror grows closer and the hunt intensifies for the killer, Makani will be forced to confront her own dark secrets. (Publisher summary)

First lines: The egg-shaped timer was on the welcome mat when she came home.
Haley Whitehall glanced over her shoulder, as if expecting someone behind her. Far in the distance, a red combine rolled through the sallow cornfields. Her father. Harvest time.