All the Rage by Courtney Summers

Romy Grey's life has been hell since she was raped by the sheriff's son: No one believes her, she's a target for bullies, and her whole family's reputation is as gutter trash.

Carefully, she's kept her diner job separate from everything else - it's out of town, and her coworkers are mostly from the next town over. She's even noticed the flirtatious friendship offered by the cute cook, Leon. But then, her two carefully separated worlds collide and everything gets jumbled - she almost loses her job, she's blacked out a critical night, an ex-friend is missing, and she can't explain the push-pull of her reactions to Leon. And who would believe her, even if she could explain?

I loved this book's dramatic pacing and the twisting alliances of the mystery. It's a realistic look at the tangle of high school relationships and the angry crush of unpopularity, where it's not always pretty or tidy. What a good book and a great thought-provoking novel.

Ask Me by Kimberly Pauley

When a high school girl goes missing and then turns up dead, there are bound to be questions - but not everybody wants to hear the truth, and certainly not the whole, gory, unvarnished truth. With a mystical truth-teller in their presence though, the town might get a lot more than they bargained for when pondering what happened to Jade Price.

Aria is trying to keep quiet the fact she's an oracle - a descendant of the mythological prognosticators - who is compelled to truthfully answer every question overheard in her presence. She cannot stop the words when even inadvertent questions are asked, but they're not always clear-cut answers (sometimes its a riddle, a poem, or some obscured truth).

Aria tempers the truth by using her headphones to drown out the questions and by mumbling in public. But neither of those solutions are making high school easy for the 17 year old as questions fly fast and furious. When both of Jade's "boyfriends" start paying attention to Aria, the killer will have to be revealed eventually, right? But again, the truth isn't always crystal clear.

They mystery element is well done, and I changed my mind several times as I tried to predict where the story was going. This was a fun book, and it also made me spend some time thinking about how awful life would be if you couldn't lie or even control your own mouth. (yes - I see you laughing. shut up)