* The Good Ones by Polly Stewart

The Good Ones unravels the mystery of the disappearance of a young, glamorous mother, at least glamorous for the small town she lived in. One of her friend returns after two decades and searches for the truth, thereby reliving their glory years in high school, which means tedious shenanigans and drama, with a few sex crimes thrown in. I had a hard time believing that adults could behave that badly, and the teenage years, while more plausible, were just mind-numbing.

** Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano

Dear Edward is the tear-jerking story of a young boy who is the only survivor of a plane crash. Raised and protected by his aunt and uncle, he becomes besieged by requests from the families of the other passengers to embody what their loved ones can no longer be or do. The portrait of Edward as a survivor is well-captured, but the demands of the other families are bizarre and the mechanics of the plane crash are described in great detail and don’t add much to the overall story.

*** Acne by Laura Chinn

Acne starts as a low-key memoir about bad skin–but quickly blossoms into a complex, tragic family story with surprisingly laissez-faire parents, even for the times, copious amounts of sex and drugs, and a bit of Scientology thrown in here and there. And while the story could be told from a pit of despair, the author tells it with a sharp wit, helped immensely by the fact that her parents are obviously loving and caring individuals, even though they could not or would not provide a standard, protected childhood.

** Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

Having loved Foster, by the same author, I was hoping that  Small Things Like These would deliver the same kind of sparingly-told wonder, and I was disappointed. This time, the story is about a small business man who happens upon a mistreated young woman during a coal delivery. His love for his children is told in the same luminous way as in Foster, but I would have wanted to see more of a path out of the singular incident.

*** Children of the State by Jeff Hobbs

The author of Children of the State: Stories of Survival and Hope in the Juvenile Justice System followed three juvenile justice programs over the course of a year (most interestingly punctuated by the pandemic) and presents portraits of incarcerated teens as well as mentors and teachers. It’s all very sad, as most of the teens seem to have had such a rough start in life as to make it almost unavoidable that they will end up in a juvenile institution on the one end, and also have a hard time exiting into a better life, even for the ones depicted in the book, who have above-average skills and determination.

The educators portrayed are dedicated and full of optimism, even as they recall their many past students who have died in various violent deaths and struggle against silly bureaucratic rules. It’s also quite clear that some judicious investments in schools and programs for young people before they find themselves in the judicial system would avoid lots of heartache.

* The Neighbor’s Secret by L. Alison Heller

The neighbor’s secret stars an upper middle class neighborhood and a coven of mothers who meet monthly in a book club that’s more about gossip (and drinking!) than the would-be-uplifting books they select. There are a couple of violent deaths in the not-so-distant past, which the story will milk over a year of book club meetings, plus a disturbed teenager or two.

The author captures the concerns of affluent neighborhoods perfectly, but the plot for the most part defies logic (why did the strange neighbor with the dead husband not move away, as her daughter did?) and the shallow goings-on of entitled matrons carry little interest for me.

** The Orchard by David Hopen

The Orchard managed to keep me rooting for its hero, an Orthodox teenager plucked from a Brooklyn yeshiva and moved to a rich Florida suburb, but I felt that the plot had issues. How did his parents manage to buy a (modest) house in a wealthy subdivision? How come there is a modest house in a wealthy subdivision to begin with? Why do the popular kids embrace him into their group? Why does the school principal overlook so much of their misbehaviors? So two stars for keeping me interested in the travails of teenagers obsessing about (highly unlikely) college admissions, finagling the mechanics of partying without parents finding out too much, and, tediously, struggling with philosophical truths.

*** Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau

Mary Jane is the delightful story of a teenager growing up in a rigid and sheltered family in the 70s who gets an unexpected summer job as a mother’s helper in a bohemian household and discovers a brand new world: liberal parents, a chaotic household, and secret guests trying to shake off various addictions. I loved how the heroine blossoms into a competent house manager and uses all her talents to bring order and harmony to her temporary home, while struggling to keep her new life a secret from her parents. There are a few unbelievable plot points: read fast and enjoy.

* The Kindest Lie by Nancy Johnson

There’s an interesting premise in The Kindest Lie: a high school senior giving birth in secret, giving up her baby, so she can go to the elite university where she’s been awarded a scholarship that will take her out of the struggling blue-collar town where she lives–and regretting it years later. And there are wonderful moments, such as the joy in her Black family and community created by Obama’s election. But the rest read to me like a subpar women’s magazine story full of clichéd drama, stilted dialog, and unneeded social commentary replacing action. Too bad.

** What Comes After by JoAnne Tompkins

What Comes After stars a pregnant teenager who appears in a small town in Washington State  State, apparently unrecognized by all even though she has lived close by for a while (first unbelievable fact) and is welcome by a grieving father who asks very few questions (second unbelievable fact) and his neighbor (third unbelievable fact). Amazingly, the story is beguiling and the main character is fantastic with her tough-girl attitude and tragic back story.  Still, too many unbelievable circumstances make it hard to truly believe the narrative.