Saving Red by Sonya Sones

Saving Red by Sonya Sones, 440 pages

Molly is a fifteen year old trying to cope with the recent "loss" of her brother (who is suffering from PTSD) and some heavy drama in her life involving the guilt she feels.  While dealing with her own pain, Molly befriends a local mentally ill runaway affectionately nicknamed "Red".  Along with her therapy dog, Pixel, and a boy, Cristo, she meets out on her adventures, Molly tries to help Red and to get her to contact home before the Christmas holidays. Written entirely in verse, Sonya Sones writes an extremely heartfelt story that surprisingly has a happy ending.

Identical by Ellen Hopkins

Identical by Ellen Hopkins, 565 pages

In Identical, Ellen Hopkins writes about a very taboo subject: incest. Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical twins who were in a horrific car accident when they are younger that turned their lives upside down. Kaeleigh and Raeanne are exact opposites in personality.  When their mom decides to run for Congress, their Dad becomes their main caregiver. Shocking and disturbing at times, this book is written in verse which keeps the story moving and enthralls the reader.  I knew nothing about this book when I started and towards the end, a surprise twist is thrown out there that makes this one of the best books for young adults.

I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder

I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder, 226 pages

Ava is a grief stricken teen whose boyfriend has just died a tragic death. Actually, she feels responsible for his death after daring him to cliff dive.  In this sad novel in verse, Ava attends the funeral of her love, Jackson.  Ava thought she would spend the rest of her life with Jackson.  The grief stricken Ava is even more surprised when she starts to feel Jackson's presence in every room of her home.  How will Ava move on if Jackson won't let her go?  With the help of her good friends and therapy, Ava hopes to overcome this unbearable pain and learn to live again.

A Place Like This by Steven Herrick

A Place Like This by Steven Herrick, 136 pages

A Place Like This is a companion to Love, Ghosts, & Facial Hair.  In Australia, Jack and Annabel decide to leave school for a cross country adventure.  When they run of out gas and money, they stumble onto George and his apple farm.  Fate falls to all of them as George needs someone to pick the apples off his tree.  George's daughter, Emma, is pregnant, son Craig and daughter Beck are too young.  Jack and Annabel develop a special bond with George and his children, especially Emma.  Emma envies Jack and Annabel as they embark on a journey of their lifetime.

Love, Ghosts, & Facial Hair by Steven Herrick

Love, Ghosts, & Facial Hair by Steven Herrick, 115 pages

Sixteen year old Jack could be your typical teenager except his mom died seven years ago.  Jack has a special relationship with his Mom's ghost. Things change when Jack falls in love with Annabel.  Jack has to learn to let go of his Mom's ghost and the past.

I love the title of this book!  Love, Ghosts, & Facial hair is a sweet story of a young man trying to find himself in Australia.

Fallout by Ellen Hopkins

Fallout by Ellen Hopkins, 665 pages

Fallout is the third and final book of the Crank series. Unlike the first two books, written from Kristina's perspective, this book is entirely written in the perspective of her children.  In the first book, Crank, Kristina gives birth to her son, Hunter.  In the second book, we find out she is expecting a second child, which is revealed was a daughter.  The story continues with another daughter and two more sons.  Only the two youngest live with Kristina. Hunter seems to have the most stable life being raised by Kristina's parents. His other siblings were not so fortunate. Drug addiction is not only the problem of the addict, but it also adversely affects everyone in the family.  It is never one person's problem.  Kristina's children have to fight their own addictions, all the result of Kristina's lifelong addiction to meth.

Glass by Ellen Hopkins

Glass by Ellen Hopkins, 681 pages

In her follow up novel to Crank, Ellen Hopkins continues with her story of Kristina and her battle with meth addiction in Glass.  After the birth of her son, Kristina stays clean for a little while, but she can't fight her cravings.  After landing a job at 7-Eleven, she scores some money for her new found addiction, glass.   Glass is a more powerful, purer form of meth.  Kristina's addiction proves so strong she is kicked out of her house and loses custody of her son. Finding a new love with Trey, Kristina falls into a deeper path to destruction that eventually lands her in jail. This novel was very powerful and shows how drug addiction can destroy a young life.

Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Crank by Ellen Hopkins, 537 pages

I had heard many things about this book.  Crank brought me back about 30 years when Go Ask Alice was the controversial book read by teenagers.  I read that book many times.  Crank is a book written in verse.  The pages are short which make it a quick read.  Crank is loosely based on Ellen Hopkins' daughter's own story.  In this book, teen Kristina Georgia Snow is introduced to crank, aka the  "monster," while visiting her Dad one summer. Crank is crystal meth. While doing crank, Kristina becomes her uninhibited altar ego, Bree.  Kristina is introduced to many things while staying with her Dad, including a boy named Adam. Needless to say, once she returns home to her Mom and step dad, Kristina is transformed from a good girl/student to "Bree."  Kristina experiences some very traumatic experiences which eventually leads to her giving birth to her son. This book may not be for everyone, but it does spark the discussion of drug usage among teenagers.