15 new YA books from 2015

What would you do if you knew you were dying? That’s the question 17-year-old Abe Sora asks himself after he’s diagnosed with ALS. His friends’ well-intentioned pity causes him to turn to online chat rooms where he finds relationships that don’t feel like a burden. But as his physical condition deteriorates, he’s reminded of the absolute truth: He’s going to die, one way or another.

Two polar-opposite kids are brought together by the budding relationship of their single parents. Stewart is an awkward brainiac, and Ashley is the “It’’ girl. When they begin living together under one roof, it throws their respective worlds into conflict and brings up questions of bullying, acceptance, and what it means to be a family.

Sydney has grown up in the shadow of her brother’s self-destruction. But when the charismatic Peyton makes a serious mistake with life-altering repercussions, Sydney begins questioning her role in the family and place in the world.

After the death of her father and withdrawal of her mother, Eva finds solace in college preparations, her best friend Annie, and a new crush named Will. But when Will’s family moves across the country, Eva develops a creative scheme to go visit him: She plans to win a teen game show with a $20,000 scholarship and a trip to Los Angeles as the prize.

Told through the eyes of the sharp Mary Iris Malone (aka Mim), “Mosquitoland’’ is the story of a teen who runs away from her new life in Mississippi. Tired of living unhappily with her father and stepmother, she steals bus fare and journeys back to Cleveland, where her mother lives. Along the way, she meets a cast of characters who help shed light on the journey, exterior and interior, that Mim has undertaken.

“Vanishing Girls’’ is a psychological thriller that exposes the strong bond of sisterhood. Nick and Dara were inseparable until an accident shook up their relationship. Though they continue living under one roof, they make efforts to differentiate their lives to the point of barely speaking. But when Dara goes missing, Nick has to uncover the mystery of what happened to his sister.

Sixteen-year-old Aysel lives in the wake of a terrible crime committed by her father. Her classmates whisper, and her mother flinches at the sight of her. She obsesses about her death, and seeks help in hastening it through an online site called Suicide Partners. There, she meets Roman, with whom she makes a suicide pact. As the two plan their own deaths, her perspective on life becomes more complex, ultimately leaving her in an existential dilemma and a fraught partnership.

“Golden Son’’ is the second book in the “Red Rising’’ dystopian fiction series. Brown’s take on the genre, so popular in young adult fiction, is fresh and sharp. The protagonist, Darrow, was born a ‘Red,’ oppressed by the elite ‘Gold’ class. Throughout the series, Darrow strives to liberate his people and bring them into a new world order.

“Emmy and Oliver’’ is the story a town dismantled by the disappearance of one of its children. Emmy and Oliver were best friends until Oliver’s third-grade kidnapping. Now, Emmy is a high school senior, smothered by her parents and unable to forget what happened to her friend. When Oliver suddenly reappears in the town, the two try to reconcile the past with their looming entrance into adulthood.

AJ Flynn failed his GCSE’s, and his future isn’t looking bright. When he gets a job at a law firm, he seizes his second chance. But while he’s working in the office, he finds a key that opens up the door —literally— into another world. “The Door That Led to Where’’ jumps between the modern day and 1830s London, with a mystery set at the heart of it all.

Gigi, Bette, and June have different backgrounds and personalities, but the same goal: to be the best. “Tiny Pretty Things’’ exposes the backstabbing, ambition, and betrayal amidst three top-tier students at an elite ballet academy who will do anything to land the lead role.

Clare Takata discovers that her mother and stepfather have been hiding details of their past, including those surrounding her father’s death. As she works to uncover the truth, she finds that her seemingly ordinary family is embroiled in the world of Japanese crime. “Ink and Ashes’’ is a thriller with a twist, throwing questions about growing up, straddling culture, and the meaning of family into the fray.

Fifteen-year-old Mikey is a smart kid crippled by acute anxiety and agoraphobia. He has a hard time going out in public, but with his sister by his side, he can manage. When he sees something he shouldn’t have, he becomes the target of a gang—throwing Mikey into a world in which he has little control and forcing him to grapple with both his internal problems and very real physical ones.

These books show opposite sides of the same battle as a mother and daughter cope with 17-year-old Elena Dunkle’s anorexia. In “Elena Vanishing,’’ we see five years of Elena’s life through her eyes, while “Hope and Other Luxuries’’ follows the struggle from the point of view of her mother, Clare.

Ahdieh beautifully re-imagines the classic tale of “One Thousand and One Nights.’’ Shahrzad volunteers to marry the Caliph of Khorasan, who weds virgin after virgin only to kill them the next morning. Shahrzad uses her storytelling skills to stay alive, as her feelings for the Caliph change—all while an uprising builds outside the castle walls.