All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brandon Kiely

Told in alternating voices (and written by two stellar authors), this book offers an intense, interesting dual-view of police and race issues straight from the news.

Both are good boys, one white and one black. The main conflict arises from an innocent exchange, but leads to a shakeup in the entire community's perspectives. It was awesome to hear from both sides of an issue, to feel the conflict within different families and as individuals process the events.

We picked this one for an all-aged discussion at the library, and I'm sorry I had to miss talking about it - it's really a book you want to discuss.

Boy21 by Matthew Quick

Finley lives for basketball, and because he isn't the best player on the team he works extra hard to prove he's an asset. But when Coach asks Finley to watch over a special new kid in town, the strange boy's friendship changes everything: Russ has been through tough stuff and seems not quite right in the head, yet he becomes the kind of friend Finley's never had. When it comes down to friendship or basketball, there are tough choices to make.

Matthew Quick always does a wonderful job with marginalized characters, and typically he likes to put you right inside the head of his most damaged character. So it's a bit different that in this novel, he chose Finley's voice: Finley's life isn't ideal and there's a lurking darkness, but he's a more "normal" character than Russ, who believes he's from outer space and answers to Boy21 instead of his name. Just a slight change of style for Quick, I thought.

I absolutely loved this book, and I have really come to adore Quick's writing style and the stories he tells. His scenarios aren't easy, but they're a journey I'm glad to embark upon to get a new perspective.

If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson

Both Jeremiah and Ellie are new to their private Manhattan high school, and both are going through a rough patch in their personal lives. When they run into one another (literally) the first time in the halls, something immediately clicks into place.

But he's black, and she's Jewish; she's a doctor's youngest daughter, and he's a famous artistic couple's only child. While they're defiant together as a couple, they're each reluctant to introduce the other to their family.

One thing I found interesting is the relative timelessness of this story - Woodson has made it feel contemporary, yet they don't use cell phones or Facebook or IM one another. There's no tech to date the story. So it would be wonderful as a discussion book: when do you think the book takes place? Could the book have taken place in 1986? Or 2016? What might be different?