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Anthony "Ant" Jones has never really felt safe in his inner-city East Cleveland neighborhood. Teeming with gangsters, drugs and crime, it's the kind of place where violence can break out at any time over any little thing. The 14-year-old is used to it, but when his best friend is killed in a drive-by, Ant knows he can't stay in the ghetto for one more minute. Fortunately, he's got a way out—he's been offered a scholarship to an exclusive boarding school in Maine. Unfortunately, Belton Academy's student body is made up mostly of kids who are wealthy and white, two things Ant most certainly is not. It's not the ideal situation for a black city boy, but Ant's determined to make the best of it.

When he arrives at Belton, Ant's happy to discover he's not the only minority in residence. There are a few others, most of whom are athletes, all of whom are there thanks to financial aid. Ant doesn't like the message Belton's meager attempt at diversification sends—not all black people are poor and good at basketball (his game, for instance, needs some serious help). Determined to change that image, Ant does his best to fit in. Only he doesn't. Not really. His temper flares every time someone looks askance at him, he bristles each time someone assumes something about him because of his skin color, and he gets especially riled up when his black friends accuse him of becoming too white. The more time Ant spends in his whitewashed new world, the more he begins to wonder who he really is. Is he some prep-school white boy wannabe or a tough-as-nails E.C. homeboy? Both? Neither? As Ant struggles to find his place in the world, he has to ask himself some tough questions—and face the hard truths revealed by his answers.

Black Boy, White School, a debut novel by Brian F. Walker, takes a hard look at issues like race, inner-city violence, poverty and white privilege . The author, whose life path curved in similar ways as that of his protagonist's, clearly knows his stuff—not just the gritty details of ghetto life, but also the difficulties minorities face when navigating their way through an often biased, all-white world. While Walker focuses on racism toward black students, he remains sensitive to the fact that prejudice goes both ways, making his story ring authentic and true. White readers may still be put off by Walker's frank discussions of uncomfortable subjects, but it's difficult to deny the need for YA books that address these issues in honest, affecting ways, especially through the eyes of black protagonists. That being said, I would have liked Black Boy, White School to have a little more plot, a lot better character development, and a less predictable ending. Walker's storytelling seemed to sag under the weight of the messages he was trying so hard to get across. Perhaps that kind of subtlety simply comes with experience, which bodes well for Walker, who will no doubt hone his skills with every new book he writes.

(Readalikes: Reminded me a bit of What Can't Wait by Ashley Hope Perez; Standing Against the Wind by Traci L. Jones; 8th Grade Superzero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich; and books by Walter Dean Myers)

Grade: C

If this were a movie, it would be rated: R for strong language, violence, sexual innuendo and scenes depicting underrage drinking and illegal drug use

To the FTC, with love: I received an ARC of Black Boy, White School from the generous folks at HarperTeen. Thank you!

Except for the fact that they all go to Clifton Springs High School, Sicilee Kewe, Maya Baraberra and Waneeda Huddlesfield have little in common. Until a gorgeous new boy arrives, that is. Now—probably for the first time in their lives—the three girls want the same thing: Cody Lightfoot. A transplant from California, Cody is not just good-looking, he's also charming, friendly, and smart. Before long, he's starring in the daydreams of nearly every girl at CSHS. Since he can clearly have anyone he wants, the only question is—who will he choose?

Sicilee knows she can turn Cody's head. She's got the looks, the fabulous wardrobe, the star power that comes with being one of the most popular kids in school. What she doesn't have is the effortless cool that makes Maya stand out. Not that Sicilee's worried. Much. Waneeda, on the other hand, knows the hottest guy to ever walk the corridors of Clifton Springs would never look her way. Until he does. She may be a dumpy, junk food-obsessed nobody, but she also has a tiny, flickering hope that maybe, just maybe, she can win the heart of one Cody Lightfoot.

When Cody joins the very unpopular Environmental Club, the girls discover where his true passion lies. And rush to exploit it. In a mad scramble to out-granola each other, the trio commit to veganism, bicycling to school every day, wearing recycled clothes—anything to get Cody to notice them. But as the days go by, the girls find themselves asking if living so unnaturally is really worth it, if he is really worth it. Because, seriously, isn't this whole love thing getting just a little bit crazy?

I always need a nice, light read to buoy me up after consuming a dark dystopian and The Crazy Things Girls Do For Love by Dyan Sheldon worked like a dream. It's a funny, lighthearted novel that, despite being utterly predictable (and a tad preachy), is also totally entertaining. A bubble-gummy read it may be, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

(Readalikes: I should be able to name dozens of titles, but I'm drawing a blank. Any suggestions?)

Grade: B

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG-13 for language (no F-bombs) and sexual innuendo

To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of The Crazy Things Girls Do For Love from the generous folks at Candlewick Press. Thank you!

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The world outside her Pod may be a disease-ridden, nightmare-awful "Death Shop," but inside, 17-year-old Aria is kept perfectly safe. Perfectly. Safe. She feels no pain, no fear, no discomfort. Not "in the real" anyway. If she wants a little excitement—or romance or adventure or even a good scare—she only has to enter the Realms, a series of virtual worlds that exist inside the Smarteye she wears at all times. Aria can experience anything she wants in these faux environments without risking a thing. The Realms' slogan says it all: "Better Than Real."

When an acquaintance suggests a stunt guaranteed to provide some real thrills, Aria agrees to go along with it for one reason—she needs information about her missing mother. What she gets, astonishingly enough, is banishment. Forced to survive in the very hostile world outside the Pod, Aria has no choice but to put her trust in an unlikely ally. Perry is an 18-year-old Outsider who hates "Moles" like Aria just as much as they loathe "Savages" like him. But, since she can't find her mother without his help and he can't get what he wants without her, they strike a deal. It's a tense, infuriating partnership that both want to dissolve as soon as possible.

As Aria and Perry fight their way through a treacherous land full of every kind of enemy, they come to some startling realizations about each other, like the fact that maybe they're not so different after all. When Aria makes some even bigger discoveries about her home, her family and herself, she 's forced to admit that Perry's right about one thing at least: nothing under the Never Sky is ever what it seems. Not her home, not herself, and especially not the Savage on whom she's come to depend so wholly. But what does that mean for Aria? Does she have a home? A family? A future? And when Perry walks away after fulfilling his end of their bargain, will she have anything left at all?

Under the Never Sky, a debut novel by Veronica Rossi, combines a whole bunch of dystopian elements to create a tale that's at once familiar and original. In this case, "the usual" doesn't bother me, predictable though it may be. Why? Because Rossi takes the time to create a fascinating world, build a believable romance, and develop a plotline that veers in enough directions to keep the story interesting. Taut plotting kept me on the edge of my seat, while Rossi's careful character-construction ensured that I cared—and cared a lot—about what was happening and to whom. This patchwork quilt of a story (a little dystopian, a little paranormal, a little romance) kept me so enthralled that I read it in one day. And wanted more, more, more. In case you can't tell, I loved it. A lot.

(Readalikes: Parts of it reminded me of Feed by M.T. Anderson; other parts reminded me of Delirium by Lauren Oliver and the Chaos Walking series [The Knife of Never Letting Go; The Ask and the Answer; and Monsters of Men] by Patrick Ness)

Grade: B+

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG-13 for language (no F-bombs), sexual innuendo/content and violence

To the FTC, with love: I received an ARC of Under the Never Sky from the generous folks at HarperTeen. Thank you!