Reading this book was like reading a fever dream. A pterodactyl starts attending a high school, and has an effect on the student body akin to a drug.

WOW. This book is heavy. Like, in a lot of ways. Emotionally, most of all. After most of her face is destroyed in an electrical fire, Maisie has a face transplant. She gets a new nose, cheeks, and chin from an anonymous donor. Now, at sixteen, she has to learn what it means to her and those around her that she has a new face, countless scars, and seemingly a new personality. She's not the "old Maisie" anymore, and she probably never will be again. There were several instances when I put this book down because I was cringing, or I needed a break from the intensity, but I never actually wanted to stop reading. Maisie feels things incredibly deeply, and even when what she's feeling seems cliched or just plain WRONG, it's hard to argue that I wouldn't be feeling the same exact thing in her shoes. What she goes through in this book is something that I could never imagine, but Alyssa Sheinmel (whom I met at NEIBA '15 and is an incredibly warm, funny, lovely person) does a perfect job of pulling you into Maisie's head so that you can kind of sort of understand what it might be like to go through something as emotionally and physically difficult as a face transplant. To look in the mirror and not recognize yourself. To be self conscious of the scars and feel like a monster. This book was heavy. But I loved it.

Sometimes you just need a luscious, delicious, heart-aching romance about young love that traverses the constraints of time and space and possibilities. Sometimes you need The Love That Split The World.

This book is stunning. It tells the story of Riley, a gender fluid teenager dealing with life and the consequences of being different. It's beautifully written and forced me to look at myself with new eyes when I found myself straining to assign Riley to a category: I wanted to know if Riley was born male or female. But that's not the point. Riley is gender fluid, so it doesn't matter what parts they were born with. I loved this story, I loved how real it felt, I loved the way it was written, and I loved the conversations that sprang up as I discussed it with my coworkers and friends while I was reading it. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

"The Guild" meets "Columbo" in this quirky, hilarious, intriguing murder mystery. Plus, I know the author, so that's cool.

Alice's childhood friend Ada accidentally follows Alice down the rabbit hole where she encounters many of the same creatures and adventures as Alice, in her friend's wake. A fantastic new companion to the original. Welcome back to Wonderland.

I loved this story. A gene therapy drug that cures the cripplingly introverted? Count me in! Except, then things go horribly, horribly wrong. This book is exciting and tempting and unnerving and fascinating.