A relationship with a guy has meant only hurt to newly cautious Annabel, young Margaret is exploring the difference between having a boyfriend and a friend who is a boy, and in the midst of Audrey's infatuation she loses her sense of self. These stories feature spunky girls navigating the rapids of romance.

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Reading anything by Sarah Dessen is an invitation to a world of complex, interesting characters who are wrestling with important issues. Similar to the main character in Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, Annabel has been sexually assaulted at a spring party by former best friend Sophie's boyfriend Will. When Sophie discovers Will and Annabel together, she jumps to conclusions and accuses Annabel of moving in on her guy. Will encourages Sophie's assumptions and Annabel is too stunned to speak up for herself. Annabel isolates herself from Sophie during the summer, and years of being self-centered, drama queen Sophie's friend means that Annabel has no one else to turn to when school starts in the fall and Sophie's mean girl campaign against Annabel is punctuated by name-calling and continued abuse. Meanwhile, Annabel's family is challenged by older sister Whitney's struggles with anorexia. It's a particular trial for mom, who has dealt with grief over the death of her own mother by immersing herself in the modeling careers of all three daughters - and now that oldest sister Kirsten has left modeling behind for college and modeling has damaged Whitney, Annabel reluctantly keeps on with her mother's dream. Annabel begins to understand the consequences of her unwillingness to confront her difficulties when she makes friends with Owen, another loner who teaches her what he has learned in his court-ordered anger management courses. As their relationship lunches ahead, Annabel takes baby steps toward learning to tell the truth about what she needs and how she feels, tools that help her make the right choice when she has a chance to speak up asWill victimizes another girl. Hard to put down, bittersweet to finish - you want to stay in Owen and Annabel's world.

The Summer Sherman Loved Me by Jane St. Anthony

St. Anthony is pitch-perfect on the subject of early romance. Neighbor Sherman knows that twelve year old Margaret will be out on the sleeping porch the first night of summer. He wakes her up by loudly whispering, "I love you," lures her on a bike ride and scares her by pretending he has fallen going fast over the locally famous thirteen bumps. This doesn't strike Margaret as romantic; she is both intrigued by and attracted to Sherman, while at the same time finding his behavior almost completely confusing. She does understand the rose he sends her, but she goes to great lengths to figure out if he stole it from a neighbor's garden. Margaret's mom has told her that, "Boys and girls don't mix in the dark," but has provided precious few other details; even talks with Margaret's best friend Grace don't clear up Margaret's questions about girl-guy relationships. Margaret is sure her mom won't approve of Sherman moving from neighbor to boyfriend, and there's always the good chance that Margaret's four year old twin sisters will spill the beans. The 1960s setting provides a background for some of the frustrations of being home with kids that are seen in both Margaret's and Sherman's moms.

Crushed by Tom and Laura McNeal

Audrey and her best buddies Lea and C.C. are having a rough adjustment to a large public high school after the cozy sanctuary of their previous years in a tiny private one. Sticking together partially shields them from bully Theo and vapid mean girls Sands and Zondra, but it's only when smooth and handsome new student Wickham Hill starts dating Audrey that she feels she's found her place at school and her true self. There are plenty of clues that Wickham is way too good to be true - he persuades high-achieving Audrey to let him copy answers off her physics test in the class they share and it's clear that he's keeping secrets about why he doesn't drive. Skillfully woven subplots about an underground school gossip sheet and Audrey's dad's bankruptcy keep the tension building, along with exceptionally well done supporting characters. Somewhat inarticulate classmate Clyde has a crush on Audrey and is suspicious and jealous of Wickham, but willfully blind Audrey doesn't want to believe what Clyde tells her about Wickham's past. C.C.'s slightly younger brother Brian is immature, clever, sarcastic, and not above using binoculars out his bedroom window to watch Audrey sunbathe. Clyde's mother, who is dying of cancer, is memorable, and even vicious Theo is more than one-dimensional. By the end of the story, Wickham's duplicity, the gossip sheet, and Audrey's dad's insolvency have left many of the characters crushed, but Audrey's physics teacher provides perspective when she reminds Audrey about what it means to be resilient. An absolute page turner.

Chris Gustafson is the library teacher at Whitman Middle School. Do you have a question for Chris? Email her at cgustafson@seatleschools.org.