Kimberly Giarratano

Ryan Graudin’s second novel, Wolf by Wolf, is an alternative history mash-up that mixes X-Men, The Hunger Games and Philip Roth’s The Plot Against America. It’s 1956, and Germany and Japan have won World War II. To celebrate their victory, the Axis powers sponsor an annual cross-continent motorcycle race in which the winner meets Adolf Hitler and the losers are lucky to come out alive.

Yael is a 17-year-old Holocaust survivor, having been sent to the death camps as a child with her mother. A victim of extreme Nazi experimentation, she can transform her appearance to impersonate any female. She’s also a spy for the Resistance. Her mission is to enter the race as Adele Wolfe, last year’s winner, and assassinate Hitler at the Victor’s Ball. Yael has studied Adele’s files and her mannerisms and has training in combat and languages, she’s unprepared for the emotional turmoil stirred up by Adele’s twin brother, Felix, and fellow competitor, Luka. The Resistance is counting on Yael’s success, but with motorcycle sabotages, harsh climates and kidnappings, Yael’s ability to complete her mission hangs precariously on trusting her uncertain heart.

Despite its substantial length, Wolf by Wolf is a heart-pounding, quick read with romantic tension and suspense. Graudin doesn’t bog down the audience with much world-building, which can be a detriment for who can’t visualize Europe and the 1950s. Regardless, this genre-bending adventure and its powerful yet scarred heroine will be popular for those eager to see how Yael’s future plays out.

Kimberly Giarratano is the author of Grunge Gods and Graveyards, a young adult paranormal mystery.

In an Orwellian society where the government promotes unity through conformity, 15-year-old Kivali Kerwin is at risk for being sent to Blight, a prison-like ghetto. Kivali is genderfluid, and she’s refused to transition to one gender. Unfortunately her government doesn’t allow that, and Kivali is sent to an agricultural camp to train for her adulthood as a young woman. At first, Kivali really enjoys camp. She’s given the endearing nickname "Lizard" and begins a budding romance with a female camper—although same-sex pairings are strictly forbidden. But camp has its downsides, too: Every movement is monitored; social time is mandatory; and the campers are given drugs to make them compliant. Plus, two kids have already disappeared. Then the camp director, Ms. Mischetti, takes a special interest in Kivali, and Kivali suspects Ms. Mischetti’s intentions are not what they seem. Step out of line and Kivali goes to Blight; conform and she loses herself entirely.

Pat Schmatz, award-winning author of Bluefish, has created a nuanced world with newly coined language, such as mealio (mess hall) and privo (bathroom), in which readers will have to rely heavily on context. Lizard Radio is a timely and empowering story about identity that will resonate not just with genderqueer teens but with all readers who don’t see themselves fitting into binary categories. This novel will enrich the ongoing conversation on gender identity, conformity and human sexuality.

Kimberly Giarratano is the author of Grunge Gods and Graveyards, a young adult paranormal mystery.

Fifteen-year-old Miranda Allerdon and her older sister, Lander, are spending another summer at their parents' idyllic cottage on the Connecticut River. Miranda lazes about with the neighborhood kids while Lander focuses intensely on her medical studies, essentially ignoring her younger sister. After the Allerdons and their neighbors witness a frightening boating accident, Lander inexplicably begins dating one of the men involved in the accident—a man Miranda thinks is dangerous. Unfortunately, the sisters have never been close, and Lander refuses to consider Miranda’s warnings. Then Lander is arrested for murder, and the Allerdons scramble to help their eldest daughter. Only Miranda manages to think clearly as she circumvents the police in an effort to clear her sister’s name.

The legendary Caroline B. Cooney has penned another suspenseful pageturner with No Such Person, which alternates between two present-tense narratives: Miranda at home and Lander in a grimy jail cell as she tries make sense of the events. Although Lander is considered to be the ultra-driven sister, she is unable to help herself as police interrogate her. Meanwhile, Miranda, often criticized for her lack of ambition, attempts to prove what the police, and even her parents, cannot.

What’s extraordinary is how Cooney has written the Allerdons as a typical American family who are thrust into a tragic situation. This isn’t a far-fetched plot but a story of an authentic family being tested at their most vulnerable moment.

Kimberly Giarratano is the author of Grunge Gods and Graveyards, a young adult paranormal mystery.

The Martial Empire is an ancient, Rome-like civilization where the military rules with unwavering violence. Two heroic characters occupy the heart of this tale: Laia, a member of the oppressed Scholar class, and Elias, an elite soldier on the brim of desertion.

Laia’s parents died fighting for the Resistance, a now-fractured rebel group. After her grandparents are murdered and her brother is arrested, Laia seeks help from the Resistance, but their help comes with a price. If they are to save her brother from execution, Laia must pose as a slave to spy on the Commandant, the military academy’s ruthless leader—but doing so puts Laia at risk for rape, disfigurement and death.

Elias is the Commandant’s son and one of the academy’s best soldiers. Hours after graduation, Elias plans to escape the military—but he and his best friend are unwillingly entered into a competition to choose the Empire’s next ruler. When Elias meets Laia, he’s immediately attracted to the slave girl and puts his own life at risk to protect her. Elias dreams of freedom, and Laia wants to save the only family she has left, but together they will change the fate of an empire.

Like Suzanne Collins with the Hunger Games series, debut author Sabaa Tahir doesn’t write around the violence, which may be too extreme for some readers. The Commandant’s cruelty has no limits, and children are often the targets. Laia and Elias’ risky close calls will give readers heart palpitations. Be warned: An Ember in the Ashes ends on a cliffhanger, but with all the buzz surrounding this page-turning novel, including publication in more than 20 countries and snapped-up movie rights, a sequel is most likely in the works.

Kimberly Giarratano is the author of Grunge Gods and Graveyards, a young adult paranormal mystery.

It’s 1932, and Sydney’s slum, nicknamed Razorhurst for the gangsters who wield knives instead of guns, is run by two major crime lords: Mr. Davidson and Gloriana Nelson. Despite the mobs’ truce, no one is truly safe from the violence that disrupts the neighborhood, especially Kelpie, a homeless orphan who depends on the help of ghosts for her daily survival. After a spiteful spirit sends Kelpie into a notorious boarding house, she runs into Dymphna Campbell, Gloriana Nelson’s most valuable girl, who is standing over the dead body of Dymphna’s boyfriend. Dymphna’s been keeping secrets: Not only can she ghosts, too, but she and her boyfriend were conspiring to kill both crime bosses and rule over Razorhurst. Now Dymphna, with Kelpie in tow, is on the run. Unfortunately, she doesn’t know who is out to get her and whom she can trust.

Razorhurst is a dark read filled with violence and poverty. Every character, from a cook to a nuisance ghost, is given the full treatment in brief chapters that are interspersed throughout the central narrative. Unfortunately, this is at the expense of the plot, and the pacing suffers for it. Even the ghosts, while an intriguing hook, only serve to bring Kelpie and Dymphna together. Their back stories, although interesting, are not integral to the plot. Readers may overlook these weaknesses to enjoy Justine Larbalestier’s powerful, descriptive prose.

Kimberly Giarratano is the author of Grunge Gods and Graveyards, a young adult paranormal mystery.