YOU DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING, JILLY P by Alex Gino

Jilly can't wait until her little sister is born. She is already planning how she will teach her little sis how to make the perfect PB&J sandwich.

The day finally arrives. Her sister is born and she approves of the name her parents choose, Emma. Before Emma even leaves the hospital, it is discovered that she has a significant hearing loss. Special doctors and audiologists quickly become part of Emma's young life. Once Jilly's parents find a support group, some the confusing information begins to make sense. Jilly gets busy researching and vows to learn how to sign (ASL) so she and Emma can communicate.

Jilly also finds a source of information and support in the chatroom of the online game she plays. It  turns out that "Profound" as she knows him is a member of the support group. His real name is Derek, and he is as just as dreamy in real life as he Jilly thinks he is when he's gaming online.

Jilly's colorful extended family welcomes baby Emma, but another uncomfortable situation develops at a holiday meal when her uncle and even her grandmother make hurtful, racist remarks toward Jilly's aunt and cousins. There is much to learn about people's feelings and how hurtful words are often disguised as innocent comments. Jilly is beginning to understand the need to speak up and take a stand when others need her help.

One thing Jilly learns is that not everyone makes hurtful comments on purpose. Aunt Alicia explains,
"It's like the difference between stepping on someone's foot by mistake and kicking them. Only one is mean, but they both hurt. Sometimes you don't have to be trying to hurt someone. You just have to say the wrong thing."

Author Alex Gino covers quite a bit of controversial territory in YOU DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING, JILLY P. Hopefully, readers will be inspired by Jilly's commitment to speak up and make a difference in the world around them.

DEAR EVAN HANSEN: THE NOVEL by Val Emmich with Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul

I'll be perfectly honest and say that I knew nothing about the hit show of the same name, but after reading the novel, I'd now love to see the Broadway version.

Evan is in therapy and medicates himself to get through the day. He is happiest when he is blending in and not the center of attention. However, there are times when he wishes someone would "see" him. His mother is always working or attending classes. His father has remarried, moved to Colorado, and is about to have another child. Evan dreams of Zoe Murphy but knows she'll never give him the time of day.

According to Evan's therapist, writing letter to himself will help him deal with his depression. During the summer he wrote one of the letters every day, but it didn't seem to help. Lately he's been ignoring the therapy assignment. On the day Evan decides to type up a letter while in the computer lab, Connor Murphy picks up the letter from the printer and keeps it. Evan doesn't think too much about it until he realizes he won't have a letter to show his therapist.

What follows is a complicated web of lies stemming from Evan's letter. After Connor commits suicide, Evan finds comfort in leading people to believe that he was Connor's only friend. Thinking this will somehow help comfort Connor's parents and sister Zoe, is the main motivation for the lie, but Evan finds strange comfort himself when the Murphy family begins including him in their lives.

DEAR EVAN HANSEN illustrates the lengths a lonely person will go to be seen by others. Connor's emotional issues and Evan's depression are all too common. This novel may help bring the problem to light.

KNOCKOUT by K. A. Holt

Levi is back! When he appeared (and almost died) in HOUSE ARREST by K. A. Holt, he was only a sickly little kid. Now he is in middle school and his health has improved. His older brother Timothy is studying for the MCAT test and hoping to head off to medical school. His mother is busy working, and he has been able to connect with his dad who he sees every other weekend. Things are definitely looking up.

Levi loves to make people laugh and he loves hanging out with his best friend Tam. Unfortunately, Tam has discovered a new friend, Kate, and Levi worries that people are laughing at him more than with him at times. One weekend his dad suggests that Levi find a sport. He even offers to pay for fees and equipment for any sport Levi wants to try.

Sports have never been on Levi's radar. He's always been on the small side. His lungs have always been his worst enemy. He still makes regular trips to a Cincinnati hospital to have his airway checked. There are times when he describes breathing like trying to breathe through his mother's coffee stirrer. Exactly what sport would be possible?

Turns out that boxing has a special appeal for Levi. Being small has its advantages when it comes to speed and agility. His dad is all excited, except for the cost, but Levi thinks he's figured a way around that problem. The real issue is his mom. There's no way she is going to approve of a contact sport like boxing, and Timothy is so wrapped up in his studying that he might as well not even exist.

KNOCKOUT by K. A. Holt is the sequel to her novel in verse called HOUSE ARREST. Fans of the first book will easily fall back into the rhythm of Holt's "shaped poetry" and fall back in love with Levi and his crew. Check out both of these great books!

OPTIMISTS DIE FIRST by Susin Nielsen

Petula's life is filled with crushing guilt. Although no one else does, she blames herself for the death of her baby sister. Since the tragedy, Petula has vowed to be ever watchful. She holds everything together for her mother and father by doing her chores, fixing dinner, and cleaning up after the houseful of cats her mother has rescued. She trolls the internet for stories of tragic deaths and keeps the printouts in a scrapbook.

It isn't until Petula meets Jacob in a small art therapy group at school that she begins to see life with a more positive outlook. Jacob has experienced tragedy of his own, but his passion for film and his ability to convince Petula to face some of her fears opens the possibility of a relationship Petula never dreamed she would have.

OPTIMISTS DIE FIRST is another book by author Susin Nielsen. I'm so glad to have recently discovered her heartfelt yet humorous tales. Her characters are sure to grab readers from the start and make them seem like long lost friends. With just the right combination of tension and lighthearted humor, Nielsen is able to surprise and entertain.

WE ARE ALL MADE OF MOLECULES by Susin Nielsen

Boy-genius Stewart and high school popular girl Ashley are thrown together when Stewart's father and Ashley's mother decide to fall in love and move in together. Stewart's mother died a few years back, and Ashley's father suddenly decided he was gay and moved into the little house in the backyard. Now Stewart and Ashley have to decide if they are going to join forces as siblings or continue to ignore each other as much as possible.

The world conspires to keep throwing the two together. When Stewart transfers from his old school to the one closer to his new home, Ashley is shocked to discover that brainy Stewart gets to skip a grade and lands in her ninth grade classes. How can life get any worse?

Stewart finds a few friends, but he is also faced with bullying especially from a kid named Jared. At the same time Ashley's popularity soars when she begins dating the same person victimizing her annoying, soon-to-be stepbrother. While Ashley is in love, Stewart is living in fear.

Author Susin Nielsen takes readers into the inner workings of a family trying to remake themselves. There are positives and negatives galore. Characters with quirky habits and passionate ideas provide an entertaining and inspiring story.

FROM YOU TO ME by K.A. Holt

I picked this one up a Scholastic book sale. A fan of K. A. Holt after reading HOUSE ARREST, I needed to read this one.

FROM YOU TO ME focuses on Amelia Peabody and her struggle to recover after the death of her older sister Clara. It's been three years since the boating accident at the lake. During those years Amelia has watched her father spend months shut away in his bedroom before finally quitting his job and throwing himself into becoming a locally famous BBQ expert. Her mother is finally back to work part-time and trying to convince Amelia it is time to move on.

As the new school year begins, Amelia is determined to turn things around. When tradition dictates each eighth grader is given letters they wrote to themselves back in sixth grade, Amelia is mistakenly given Clara's letter. The letter contains a bucket list of sorts. Amelia reads Clara's list of goals for her eighth grade year - goals she never got to complete. Amelia immediately decides she will complete the list for her dead sister.

With the help of family and friends, Amelia discovers that everyone has their own ways of dealing with loss. No one way is better or worse, and that leaves Amelia determined to find what works best for her so she can honor her sister and find a path that will help her carry on.

GREETINGS FROM WITNESS PROTECTION by Jake Burt

Nicki has been in five different foster homes in the five years since Grammy died. Now she lives at the Center hoping for a placement that might finally work.

Raised by Grammy, Nicki mostly remembers living on the edge and surviving on Grammy's latest con and shoplifting and picking pockets at the mall. Snatching random items is the only thing that keeps Nicki calm and grounded in an otherwise chaotic world.

That chaos takes a different direction the day U.S. Marshals come to the Center looking for a young girl. The next thing Nicki knows she is being whisked away to a training facility where she meets her new "family." Nicki will now be called Charlotte. She now has a mom and a dad and a younger brother named Jackson. She will be a solid B- student and keep a low profile. Nicki is now part of government witness protection.

Author Jake Burt makes his fiction debut with this crazy adventure. Everyone knows the concept of witness protection, but Burt helps readers become insiders in this government program. Tightly controlled by strict rules and regulations, Nicki and her new family must conform for their own protection, but they will find that's easier said than done.