Indigo Donut, Patrice Lawrence

Seventeen-year-old Indigo has had a tough start in life, having grown up in the care system after her dad killed her mum. Bailey, also seventeen, lives with his parents in Hackney and spends all his time playing guitar or tending to his luscious ginger afro. When Indigo and Bailey meet at sixth form, serious sparks fly. But when Bailey becomes the target of a homeless man who seems to know more about Indigo than is normal, Bailey is forced to make a choice he should never have to make. A life-affirming story about falling in love and everyone’s need to belong. (Publisher summary)

First lines: It was coming back again, like a film on a slow stream, except someone had hit the mute button. The silence made it worse- it meant everything else was turned up to full. There was the smell: old tea mugs and burnt toast and smeared takeaway boxes.

The stars beneath our feet, David Barclay Moore

Unable to celebrate the holidays in the wake of his older brother’s death in a gang-related shooting, Lolly Rachpaul struggles to avoid being forced into a gang himself while constructing a fantastically creative LEGO city at the Harlem community center. (Publisher summary)

First lines: What I couldn’t get out of my skull was the thought of their rough, grimy hands all over my clean sneaks. What I couldn’t get out of my heart was the joy-grabbing stone I felt there. Partly because of these two thugs trailing me now, but more because I knew Jermaine wouldn’t be here to protect my neck this time.

Nothing, Annie Barrows

Nothing ever happens to Charlotte and Frankie. Their lives are nothing like the lives of the girls they read about in their YA novels. They don’t have flowing red hair and hot romantic encounters never happen — let alone meeting a true soul mate. They just go to high school and live at home with their parents, who are pretty normal, all things considered. But when Charlotte decides to write down everything that happens during their sophomore year to prove that nothing happens and there is no plot or character development in real life, she’s surprised to find that being fifteen isn’t as boring as she thought. It’s weird, heartbreaking, silly, and complicated. And maybe, just perfect. (Publisher summary)

First lines: “Nothing,” said Charlotte.
“A blank book, you mean?” said Frankie. She stuffed her phone between the couch cushions and rolled over on her back.
“Hater. We’re not that lame.”

Landscape with invisible hand, M.T. Anderson

When the vuvv first landed, it came as a surprise to aspiring artist Adam and the rest of planet Earth — but not necessarily an unwelcome one. Can it really be called an invasion when the vuvv generously offered free advanced technology and cures for every illness imaginable? As it turns out, yes. With his parents’ jobs replaced by alien tech and no money for food, clean water, or the vuvv’s miraculous medicine, Adam and his girlfriend, Chloe, have to get creative to survive. And since the vuvv crave anything they deem “classic” Earth culture (doo-wop music, still-life paintings of fruit, true love), recording 1950s-style dates for the vuvv to watch in a pay-per-minute format seems like a brilliant idea. But it’s hard for Adam and Chloe to sell true love when they hate each other more with every passing episode. Soon enough, Adam must decide how far he’s willing to go — and what he’s willing to sacrifice — to give the vuvv what they want. (Publisher summary)

First lines: Under the stars, a small town prepares for night. It is almost eleven o’clock. Down in the boxy houses, people are settling in for bed. Car headlights crawl through the tiny streets. The bright streetlamps on the town’s main drag illuminate empty parking. The businesses are closed for the day. The hills are dark.

Flying through clouds, Michelle Morgan

It’s not easy being a teenage boy growing up in the tough neighbourhood of Glebe in the 1930s. It’s even harder when your dream is to become an aviator, your parents are dead against it, and your girlfriend’s father is the school principal. But Joe has even bigger challenges he must face and obstacles to overcome in order to achieve his dream. He has a plan and won’t let anyone stand in his way. (Publisher summary)

First lines: The house is quiet – too quiet. I close the front door carefully, trying not to make any noise. It’s not so much that I’m late, as I shouldn’t have gone in the first place. I zigzag down the dark hall dodging the floorboards that creak. At the foot of the stairs, I toss up whether to go straight to bed or get something to eat. My hunger pains decide for me.

Midnight sun, Trish Cook

Katie can’t leave her house during the day as she has a rare disease that makes sunlight deadly. But everything changes when one evening she meets Charlie and before the night is out, Kate is smitten. But she hasn’t told Charlie her secret…(Publisher summary)

First lines: I have this recurring dream: I’m a little girl, sitting with my Mom, and she’s singing to me. We’re at the beach on an old blanket I still have tucked away in my closet. I hear the waves crashing as my mom’s voice rises and falls. I feel the warmth of the sun on my skin and the comfort of her arms around me.

Remember yesterday, Pintip Dunn

Sixteen-year-old Jessa Stone is the most valuable citizen in Eden City. Her psychic abilities could lead to significant scientific discoveries–if only she’d let TechRA study her. But after they kidnapped and experimented on her as a child, cooperating with the scientists is the last thing Jessa would do. But when she discovers the past isn’t what she assumed, Jessa must join forces with budding scientist Tanner Callahan to rectify a fatal mistake made ten years ago. She’ll do anything to change the past and save her sister–even if it means aligning with the enemy she swore to defeat. (Publisher summary)

First lines: My sister Callie didn’t kill herself so I could risk my future pulling stupid stunts. Yet here I am, hanging upside down over a cage of mice, while my best friend, Ryder Russell, anchors me with a rope and pulley as he squats in the air duct.

Vassa in the night, Sarah Porter

When Vassa’s stepsister sends her out to buy lightbulbs in the middle of the night, she knows it could easily become a suicide mission. Babs Yagg, the owner of the local convenience store, has a policy of beheading shoplifters–and sometimes innocent shoppers as well. But Vassa has a bit of luck hidden in her pocket, a gift from her dead mother. Erg is a tough-talking wooden doll with sticky fingers, a bottomless stomach, and ferocious cunning. With Erg’s help, Vassa just might be able to break the witch’s curse and free her Brooklyn neighborhood. But Babs won’t be playing fair…(Publisher summary)

First lines: When Night looked down, it saw its own eyes staring back at it. Two black eyes, both full of stars. At first Night ignored them. Probably the strange gaze was its own reflection in a puddle, or maybe in a mirror left shattered in the street. Then it noticed something that made it curious: those eyes were full of stars, but the constellations inside them were unfamiliar.