The End

The End 

by Mats Strandberg 

Language: English 

Arctis, 2020. 

384 pages 

ISBN: 1646900065 ; 9781646900060 

Summary: When will the world end? With Foxworth, a massive comet, hurtling toward Earth, humanity now knows the exact date. Seventeen-year-old Simon wants to spend his last weeks with the people he cares about most, especially his goal-oriented swimmer ex-girlfriend, Tilda, who dumped him shortly after the news broke. Since Lucinda was diagnosed with cancer she’s, retreated into herself preparing for the inevitable. Suddenly facing down a death that makes her the same as everyone else, she longs to connect again but doesn’t quite know where to start. Reaching out to her former best friend Tilda seems like a good first step. Then Tilda is found dead and accusations start circling that Simon is the killer. As the days tick down, Simon and Lucinda only want to know the truth, but the more they uncover the final days of the girl they both cared for deeply, the clearer the things that really matter become. Probing the question How would you spend your last days if you knew exactly when they’d run out? The End is a taut and riveting pre-apocalyptic thriller underpinned with sharp social commentary, that blends the urgency of Neal and Jarrod Shusterman’s Dry with the dark tension of Courtney Summer’s Sadie. 

Available: https://www.amazon.com/End-Mats-Strandberg/dp/1646900065/

No fixed address

No fixed address 

by Susin Nielsen-Fernlund 

Language: English 

London : Andersen Press, 2020. ©2018. 

276 pages ; 20 cm. 

ISBN: 9781783448326 ; 1783448326 

Summary: Felix Knutsson is nearly thirteen, lives with his mother and pet gerbil Horatio, and is brilliant at memorizing facts and trivia. But Felix and his mom Astrid have a secret: they are living in a van. Astrid promises it's only for a while until she finds a new job, and begs Felix not to breathe a word about it. So when Felix starts at a new school, he does his very best to hide the fact that most of his clothes are in storage, he only showers weekly at the community center, and that he doesn't have enough to eat. When his friends Dylan and Winnie ask to visit, Felix always has an excuse. But Felix has a plan to turn his and Astrid's lives around. All he needs is a little luck and a lot of brainpower. 

Available: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1524768375/

Proud of me

 

Proud of me 

by Sarah Hagger-Holt 

Language: English 

London : Usborne Publishing Ltd., 2021. 

1 volume ; 20 cm. 

ISBN: 9781474966245 ; 1474966241 

Summary: Becky and Josh are almost-twins, with two mums and the same anonymous donor dad. Josh can't wait until he's eighteen, the legal age when he can finally contact his donor, and he'll do anything to find out more - even if it involves lying. Becky can't stop thinking about her new friend, Carli. Could her feelings for Carli be a sign of something more? Becky and Josh both want their parents to be proud of them...but right now, they're struggling to even accept themselves. 

Available: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Proud-Me-Sarah-Hagger-Holt/dp/1474966241/

The people we choose

 

The people we choose 

by Katelyn Detweiler 

Language: English 

New York : Holiday House, [2021]. 

304 p. : cm. 

ISBN: 9780823446643 ; 0823446646 

Summary: When Calliope Silversmith meets her new neighbor Max, their chemistry is instantaneous, but the revelation of her biological father's identity throws her whole life into disarray. Calliope Silversmith has always had just two friends in her small Pennsylvania town, Ginger and Noah, and she's fine with that. She's never wanted anything more than her best friends, her moms, their house in the woods, and their family-run yoga studio--except maybe knowing who her sperm donor is. Her curiosity has been building for years, and she can finally find out this summer when she turns eighteen. But when Max and his family move into the sad old house across the woods from Calliope, she realizes it's nice to get to know someone new, so nice that she decides to break her no dating rule. The stability of her longtime trio wavers as she and Max start to spend more and more time together. When Calliope finally finds out who her sperm donor is, she learns a truth more shocking and unfathomable than she could have ever dreamed: her donor is Max's father. How is this even possible? As she and Max struggle to redefine their friendship, Calliope realizes that she can turn a horrific situation into something positive by recognizing and accepting that family is both the one we are born into and the one we choose to make. 

Available: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0823446646/

Saint Ivy: kind at all costs

 

Saint Ivy: kind at all costs 

by Laurie Morrison 

Language: English 

New York : Amulet Books, 2021. 

336 p. : cm. 

ISBN: 141974125X ; 9781419741258 

Summary: A thoughtful middle-grade novel about caring for others and for yourself––and what it truly means to be kind and vulnerable. Thirteen-year-old Ivy Campbell has always been a good kid: She supports her soccer-star brother, bakes with her nana, and puts her friends’ needs before her own. So of course, Ivy is 100 percent supportive when her mom decides to be a gestational surrogate, carrying and giving birth to her friends’ baby. But when Ivy finds out the surrogacy treatment worked and her mom is pregnant—and has been for weeks—she’s shocked that she’s jealous and worried about what others will think. And most of all, she’s ashamed that she isn’t reacting to this news in the right way. The Ivy way. Ivy is determined to prove to herself that she’s just as unselfish as she’s always believed, and she gets the chance to do that when she receives an anonymous email from someone who needs her help. But the more Ivy dives into helping this anonymous person, the further she gets from the people she loves—and from the person who she wants to be. 

Available: https://www.amazon.com/Saint-Ivy-Kind-All-Costs/dp/141974125X

First Day of My Life

 

First Day of My Life 

by Lisa Williamson 

Language: English 

Oxford : David Fickling Books, 2021. 

p. : cm. 

ISBN: 9781788451536 ; 1788451538 

Summary: A brand new YA novel from bestselling, award-winning author Lisa Williamson! A love letter to best friendship, first loves, and unexpected surprises, and a powerful reminder that every day is the first day of the rest of your life. Best friends Frankie and Jojo do everything together - so when Jojo goes missing on GCSE results day, Frankie knows something must be seriously wrong. Then news breaks that a baby has been stolen. When Frankie finally gets a return call from Jojo and hears a crying baby in the background, she can't help but jump to conclusions. She asks her ex-boyfriend Ram to help her track down Jojo but he's less than convinced by her theory. Jojo is the most reliable person he knows - there's got to be another explanation. Right? As the race to find Jojo begins, it becomes clear there are three sides to this story. Friendships are put to the ultimate test as Frankie and Ram are forced to work together to find out the truth - even if that truth destroys everything. 

Available: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1788451538/