What’s It About: After the suicide of his best friend, a high school freshman is taken in by a group of seniors and explores the usual teenage stuff- drugs, rock n’roll, love, dating, Rocky Horror Picture Show, panic attacks, good books, etc.

Why: It’s been on my radar for a while, but recently, when I’ve been speaking to high school kids about books, they all seem to love it. Figured it would help me remember what life was like almost a decade ago (jesus.)

Thoughts: I surprisingly found myself deeply invested in the characters and plot. It’s a really great example of how YA Lit can tackle complicated issues and open adolescent minds to novel styles of storytelling. The writing is honest and deceivingly simple. I think I’d feel confident that my future students would have a lot to pull from it.

Also, weird surprise ending is weird and surprising. Let’s leave it at that.