2 June Books I Don't Want to Miss

You know the story: Too many books, not enough time. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how much I was enjoying the young adult novel Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway. Here are two more June HarperTeen books that I'm looking forward to reading. Maybe this week?

Although being immersed in a virtual reality game is not a new concept, Julia Durango's The Leveller (ISBN: 9780062314000) promises to be a twisty and exciting take on the genre. Nixy Bauer calls herself a bounty hunter, but instead of catching bad the guys, the teen is sent by parents to pull their kids out of MEEP, a virtual reality world in which players can make themselves over into whatever they want to be. When the game's developer calls Nixy to find his son, Wyn, she takes the job. But once inside the game, she discovers that Wyn is being held captive and is unable to return to the real world. To complicate matters, Nixy is beginning to have feelings for Wyn and is having trouble figuring out if they're real or just part of the VR game. This thriller has a mix of mystery, action, and a possible romance.

Rebecca Maizel's Between Us and the Moon (ISBN: 9780062327611) is a contemporary novel that deals with very real issues. Sarah is a fifteen-year-old math whiz who dreams of being an astronomer. She's not unhappy, but sometimes she wants to be seen as pretty and fun loving, instead of sensible and hardworking. When she meets Andrew, a college boy, during a family vacation on Cape Cod, she decides to be the girl she's always imagined she could be. Using her sister as a role model, Sarah undergoes a transformation, including pretending to be older than she really is. First love is sweet for this new Sarah, but has she really changed? What is her authentic self? This story of self-discovery and self-acceptance sounds like it will have a strong appeal to both teens and adults.