Cordelia thought she had an easy idea for a senior project: research her ancestry and explore what she learned through poetry. She wasn’t expecting to learn her biological father is a stranger in Seattle. This YA novel-in-verse is a real page-turner, a compelling debut by an Anchorage author. -Ruth
This satisfying Southern Gothic YA is convoluted as a murder ballad. Young musician Shady Grove was named for a song, grew up in a haunted house, and her daddy could raise ghosts with his fiddle. When Shady’s brother is accused of murdering their stepfather, it’s up to her to find the truth of at least one murder and several family secrets, with a cursed fiddle and a romantically complicated bluegrass band. -Ruth
Inspired by recent incidents and by the Count of Monte Cristo, this sleek and powerful novel about a high-school fencing team tackles injustice, athleticism, identity, and revenge. -Ruth
Teens and adults will get swept away by this powerful novel set in Spain in 1957. Ana lives between worlds: the opulent hotel where she works as a maid, and the poverty and careful secret-keeping of her family’s existence as the children of political dissidents under a fascist regime. Daniel, the son of wealthy Texans, is an aspiring photojournalist in Madrid for the summer. Their friendship is dangerous, joyful, and revealing. -Ruth