In this sequel to Geography Club (2003) and Order of the Poison Oak (2005, both HarperCollins), told in flip-book format, Russel and Min answer a casting call for extras for an upcoming horror film. Russel's parents have just discovered that he is gay, and he is devastated by their reaction. Also, an old boyfriend who dumped him turns up at rehearsals and wants to get back together; while the attraction is still there, Russel loves his current boyfriend. On the flip side, Min is lonely and wants a new relationship, but she can't decide if she's willing to have one with Leah, who has chosen not to come out for fear of losing her friends. All of this is played out against the backdrop of movie rehearsals. What is intriguing about the book is how very differently these two characters interpret the same events, and how oblivious each one can be to what is happening to the other.

When Auden impulsively goes to stay with her father, stepmother, and new baby sister the summer before she starts college, all the trauma of her parents' divorce is revived, even as she is making new friends and having new experiences such as learning to ride a bike, dating, and maybe even falling in love.

All band, all the time. That's how trumpet goddess Ellie Snow has made it to senior year. No drama, no dating. Just keeping lock-step within the safe precision of the Winslow Marching Band. She's a fierce section leader now, and so over the heart-crushing social disaster of her freshman year. No boy is going to ruin Ellie's shining moment-her senior solo performance at the homecoming game. And then Connor Higgins shows up. Not even Ellie can resist the trumpet player who could be a model for Abercrombie & Fitch. It's a hook-up made in band-geek heaven! But Ellie's not ready to publicize their romance, not even to her best friends. After all, Connor's just a sophomore. What would everyone say? Breaking formation and revealing her true self would be like . . . marching on the field completely naked! Then Ellie discovers the flipside of secrets and how it feels to be shut out by the ones she loves.

When 16-year-old Evangeline discovers her mother's secret stash of romance novels, she finds herself inexplicably drawn to one title: The Crimson Kiss. Although she dismisses the other books as trash, Evangeline is swept away by this story and dreams of finding a kiss as passionate as the one described in the novel. Inspired by a second book of her mother's-this one a self-help tome-the teen decides to take action: she will make her fantasy a reality. When her guerrilla kissing missions leave her with a dubious reputation and land her on the wrong side of her best friend, she starts to reevaluate her search.

In first novelist Gehrman's inventive retelling of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, the setting is Sonoma, Calif., where Geena looks forward to a summer with her wild best friend, Amber, and prim cousin, Hero, who has just returned from boarding school. They do not automatically bond, as Geena had hoped, but when Hero and Amber become targets of a deceptive golden boy, they learn to depend on each other. There is plenty that is true to Shakespeare (including clever exchanges and a surfeit of romantic confusion), and the author has made some smart updates. The girls, for example, work together in a drive-through coffee shop; a subplot has Hero's good-girl reputation put in jeopardy when the supposed golden boy posts faked sexy pictures of her on MySpace. Readers may find the girls' revenge scheme a bit outrageous, but will root for them anyway, especially strong, skateboarding Geena, who, when her new boyfriend refuses to help, bravely tells him, "Then you're no friend of mine." Even those unfamiliar with the Elizabethan model will enjoy this savvy remake, with its traditional ending, where everyone gets exactly what they deserve.

This entertaining collection of true first kiss stories by popular YA authors arrives just in time for Valentine's Day. The risk of veering into groan-worthy,  when-I-was-your-age territory always exists when adults reminisce about their teen years, but these authors treat their own stories with the same freshness and respect with which they approach their YA novels. The stories include Deb Caletti's thrilling and empowering kiss, as right as warm sidewalks and plums bought at roadside stands ; Cecil Castelucci's secret and slightly shameful smooches with a bad boy; and Justine Larbalestier's disgusting yet hilarious drunken kiss on a floating dock. Some stories are poems, one is a play, and a few are in comic form; despite the reality-based entries and mix of forms, the collection is classified as fiction. Kissing quotes and facts are interspersed, making this a good collection for browsing.

Ever since Jess Jordan surprised readers by stuffing bags of minestrone soup down her bra to create the perfect filler in Girl, 15, Charming but Insane (Delacorte, 2004), the laughs haven't stopped. This third book about the teen does not disappoint. Jess's boyfriend, Fred, is great. Her best friend, Flora, is super supportive. She gets along with her librarian mom and she has made peace with the fact that her father is gay and living in Cornwall with his lover. In fact, she keeps planning out how to best introduce that newly unearthed fact once school starts. On the last day of break, Fred suggests that perhaps they can keep their relationship a secret so as not to ruin his reputation as a loner. An incensed Jess abruptly rushes home, knowing that Fred will call to apologize shortly. He never does. In addition to starting out the school year with this black cloud, Jess's favorite teacher has been replaced by a woman who takes an immediate dislike to her. As Jess muddles through the first few weeks of school without Fred, she finds herself in nonstop odd predicaments that will keep readers entertained.

Junie, Celia, and Danielle, three ethnically diverse high schoolers in Brooklyn, form a friendship while cooking dinners together and helping one another sort through their romantic entanglements.

In this honest, emotionally captivating short story collection, renowned author and National Book Award finalist Julie Anne Peters offers a stunning portrayal of young women as they navigate the hurdles of relationships and sexual identity. From the young lesbian taking her first steps toward coming out to the two strangers who lock eyes across a crowded train, from the transgender teen longing for a sense of self to the girl whose abusive father has turned her to stone, Peters is the master of creating characters whose own vulnerability resonates with readers and stays with them long after the last page is turned. Grl2grl shows the rawness of teenage emotion as young girls become women and begin to discover the intricacies of love, dating and sexuality.

In this sequel to Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend (Flux, 2007), Belle is dealing with new issues in her life. As she finishes her final year of high school, she must come to terms with her dashed hopes of a future with Dylan. She must also deal with the many changes that seem to be taking place in the people around her, including her mother, who is seriously involved in a new romance. The main focus, though, is Belle's relationship with her new boyfriend, Tom, who at first seems reluctant to have sex with her, and a crisis situation with her friend Em and Em's boyfriend. Throughout the story, Belle copes in her own quirky way by playing folk music on her guitar and making lists, and the book concludes with one final list, "Things I Am Right Now."

Norah forms a book club and falls in love with James, one of the club's members. Required reading has never been so hot. Once upon a time there was a Brooklyn hipster named Norah. Unlucky in love, and short on extracurriculars for her college apps, Norah decided to start a book group. She knew the perfect locale -- a local indie bookstore with a crush-worthy cutie manning the soy latte counter. When the first meeting arrives, Norah gets a page-turning surprise. The attendees may be bookish, but there are also a few hotties! Most noteworthy: sweet, literary James. He's like a modern Jane Austen hero.... Only, how to snag him? Ever the romantic heroine, Norah devises a secret plan. And if it works, Norah may just find her "Happily Ever After" love story.

Fourteen-year-old Casey dreads leaving her friends and boyfriend to spend a boring summer on a Caribbean island with her naturalist father, stepmother, and brothers, but she has some life-changing experiences that include learning to sail, helping with turtle conservation, surviving storms, and romance.

Well, not exactly his ex. True, Rosaline, an apprentice healer and Juliet's cousin, was the briefly object of Romeo's desire, but Rosaline, having seen up close what can happen to the fair sex when a woman gives all for love, has decided to stay chaste. Then she thinks handsome Mercutio has saved her, and almost changes her mind. But Mercutio isn't who she thinks he is--literally. Another Montague, Benvolio, has really rescued her. By then, Romeo is off to Juliet.

In this sequel to So Super Starry (Dial, 2004), Octavia Clairbrook-Cleeve has transferred from Darlinham House, "where everyone was the son or daughter of somebody famous," to a local school, Jethro Park, where she's being very low-key to try and fit in. She's adjusting well until her family becomes the target of the paparazzi due to her TV-star mother's romance with married marketing exec Bud Carnaby. Or rather, the soon-to-be-ex-Mrs. Carnaby's very public fuss about the romance. To present a "united front," Bud and his son, a neo-goth with the melancholy of the ages, have moved in with the Clairbrook-Cleeves. Meanwhile, Octavia is still trying to live the life of a normal teenager: friends, boys, exams, and homework. It all seems manageable until India Withers, her nemesis from Darlinham House, begins attending Jethro Park as "research" for her part in an upcoming movie.

Through the course of a summer internship at the fashion magazine Skirt, Kira experiences weird roommates, a not-so-perfect romance, an accusation of theft, and continual confrontation with a fellow intern who happens to be the owner's daughter.

In London in the 1680s, Meg--now sixteen years old--tries to decide whether to marry either of the two men who court her, taking into account both love and her writing ambitions. In Restoration London, sixteen-year-old Meg Moore is something of an anomaly. Unlike other girls her age, Meg pores over books. She spends long hours conversing with the famous authors and poets who visit her father's bookstore, and even writes her own stories, laboring over every word until her hand is black with ink. Without warning, however, Meg comes to learn exactly how powerful words can be. The day her best friend's brother Edward sets sail for Italy, Meg scoffs at his attempts at romance by answering him with a thoughtless jest. Soon news travels to London that Edward's ship has been captured and he has been sold as a slave in North Africa - and Meg cannot shake the thought that her cruel words are the cause. Now Meg must use her fiery language to bring Edward home, imploring her fellow Londoners to give all that they can to buy Edward's freedom. But once Meg learns to direct the power behind her words, will she be able to undo the damage she has caused, and write freely the stories that she longs to put to paper?

Aladdin's lamp is back in this fanciful tale of Aminah, an orphaned teen left to be a beggar in the streets of Al-Kal'as. When she pluckily approaches the sultan's daughter for work, the haughty princess flings her husband Aladdin's old oil lamp at the girl. The royal was not aware of the lamp's magic powers, and now Aminah has stumbled onto the road to riches. Get ready for high adventure along with constant suspense as Aminah waits for the princess to realize her error. Meanwhile, Aminah forges a relationship with Jinni, the lamp's witty and provocative genie, as the two cooperate to use the lamp in the most enlightened ways.

Best friends Lydia, Emily and Cassie attend Ashbury, an Australian private school. Their "year of secret assignments" begins when their English teacher pairs them with pen pals from neighboring Brookfield High, a rougher school where students "have more tattoos and prison time." Although the girls are a bit wary about writing to strangers, their correspondence with boys their age spawns some interesting, often hilarious exchanges of confidences that lead to a series of clandestine meetings and daring escapades. Lydia and Emily form solid bonds with their pen pals, Seb and Charlie, but more vulnerable Cassie has trouble relating to her partner, a mysterious, cynical boy named Matthew, who (according to Seb and Charlie) does not exist.