"Shine" by Lauren Myracle

Black Creek, North Carolina is a small town where everyone knows everyone's business. Teenagers at the local high school have grown up together, and it's a tragedy when 17-year-old Patrick Truman is found brutally beaten outside the convenience store where he worked. What is more shocking is that Patrick appears to be the victim of a vicious hate crime. Police are searching for subjects but they have no lead, and no witnesses have come forward.

16-year-old Cat used to be best friends with Patrick when they were younger. She stopped being social with him a few years back...not because of his personality or sexual preferences, just because Cat felt more at home by herself and at church.

When Cat hears of the attack against Patrick, she is devastated. Some community members warn her to leave the issue alone, and some people are convinced that Patrick deserved what he got. Cat is determined to find the responsible person(s) and bring them to justice for the crime they committed. When she starts her investigation, certain members of her friends and community are exposed in unfavorable circumstances. A dark, meanacing problem is ravaging the young people in Black Creek, and its presence may have contributed to Patrick's assault.

This is a powerful, raw, violent book, but has many important messages regarding hate crimes and stereotypes. I would recommend for high school or mature readers. Heavy language and subject matter, but extremely well written.

"Badd" by Tim Tharp

Ceejay has always been close with her older brother, Bobby. He is charismatic, smooth and wild at heart. When he gets caught stealing a car, Bobby has to decide between jail and the army. Bobby has been serving in Iraq, and Ceejay misses him terribly. She is both stunned and thrilled when Bobby comes back to town early and unannounced. Something isn't quite right, his behavior is moody and he's not acting like himself. He doesn't want to associate with the family and he's heavily drinking and doing dangerous drugs. There is an old, hippie musician in town named Captain Crazy. He is known for his unusual art sculptures and erratic behavior. Ceejay sees him protesting the war, and she gets very defensive about her brother and his tour of duty. But when Bobby and the Captain develop an unlikely friendship, Ceejay tries her best to support him. Each family member has their own way to deal with Bobby's Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Tharp also wrote "The Spectacular Now," which was a National Book Award Finalist. This is a powerful account of a family dealing with war in current times. It is well crafted and the characters are realistic and believable. There are lots of references to drugs and sex, but the main character Ceejay is pretty level headed and has disapproving perspectives on those behaviors.