I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios

Skylar's just graduated high school and she cannot wait to get out of the trailer park to start art school in San Francisco - just as soon as she can get her mom straightened out, sobered up, and jobbed.

Josh, on the other hand, got out ... to the Marines, and then straight to Afghanistan. Just two year later he's back at his mom's, rehabbing with a brand-new prosthesis and wondering how he even fits into the world anymore.

They were acquaintances and co-workers before, but this summer things are different: Skylar seems to understand Josh in a way everyone else can't, and they both could use a friend right now. But for every pull there's a push, and for every give there will be some take; this could be the start of something good or just another in a string of things that are bad, bad, bad.

I really enjoyed this book, and despite the synopsis I've written here it's much more than a young-love story. The novel is mostly told from Skylar's point of view, but we get intermittent glimpses inside Josh's head too. They're each dealing with much more than they're letting on, so this gives the reader the inside scoop on backstories and their thought processes.

Girlchild by Tupelo Hassman

Life for Rory Hendrix isn't easy - her family's history and poverty don't portend a happy future, either - but she's found a guide to help her navigate: the Girl Scout Handbook. Rory doesn't have a troop and has never met another girl scout, but she's sure the information and advice dispensed by the book are her key to survival.

Short chapters (almost independent short stories) make up the body of the novel. Some chapters are as short as a few paragraphs and none more than a few pages. There's a loose, almost journal or diary feel to the book: some chapters are government reports, others prayers to St. [whoever], a few Girl Scout badge requirements, and others are more traditional prose.

The book covers Rory's story from about ages 4 to 15. She's an early, precocious reader - against form and all genetics. She lives most of her life with her nose in a book - as well you might too, if you lived on the Calle (hers is a trailer park of the worst kind). And against all odds, it's a book I absolutely loved. While it's a dark and scary world Rory lives in, the girl is a bright shining star at its center.