Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

Taylor Edwards has spent most of her life running away when things get hard. But now her father has pancreatic cancer and only a few months to live. Also, he has insisted that the family spend one last summer at their lake house all together. This time Taylor can’t run away. She also can’t avoid the friends in Lake Phoenix--the ones she betrayed by running away five years ago.

Forced to face her past mistakes, Taylor dreads a long and miserable summer. But when she faces her mistakes, Taylor learns that sometimes you get a second chance. Taylor is a typical teen character with the expected teen problems. Readers will relate to her struggles, but also grow in empathy as they read about the struggles of losing a family member. What appears at first glance to be a light, summer romance, Second Chance Summer also deals with deeper difficult issues in a thoughtful way.

Recommended ages--12 and up

The Year We Fell From Space by Amy Sarig King

Liberty Johansen loves looking for new patterns in the night sky. Until the year that everything goes wrong and she can’t see her sky pictures anymore. Her dad moves out and doesn’t seem to want to see her. Kids at school are being unkind. But mostly, Liberty feels like her sky is falling and nothing will seem right again.

Through artful and age appropriate storytelling, King presents an interesting perspective on depression. She explores dealing with a parent with depression as well as a teen experiencing depression herself. Liberty’s experience is realistic and sincere, without being overwhelming. The Year We Fell From Space is a good book for children who might experience depression and need to know they aren’t crazy and they are not alone. The main character is twelve and I would put that as a good audience for this book. However, I would also suggest reading together as a family to discuss some of the heavy points.

Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Ever since her dad injured his hip and her older brothers left home, D.J. Schwenk’s life has been keeping her family’s dairy farm going. She dropped out of basketball, failed classes, and has almost no social life. Then Jimmy Ott sends a new challenge her way--help Brian Nelson train to be Hawley’s starting quarterback in the fall. Even though Brian is a stuck up rich kid as well as Red Bend’s biggest rival (and therefore the enemy), D.J. is intrigued by the job.

Surprisingly, as Brian learns from D.J., she learns some things from him. D.J. begins to understand that people might be different than they appear. She also learns that talking and facing your feelings may not be as difficult as staying silent. With a small town Wisconsin backdrop, Dairy Queen is a wonderful coming of age story that covers a wide range of subjects. Sports, gender roles, family struggles, and friendship all roll together in an interesting story with complex and lovable characters. The entire trilogy is a unique win for girl-power novels.

Recommended ages--12 and up