Nemesis

by Brendan Reichs

Every other year, on her birthday, Min is murdered by a man in a black suit. It's always a horrible, painful death, but each time, she wakes up unscathed. She takes crazy pills, goes to therapy, and tries to overcome the fact that no one seems to believe this is really happening to her. But then she realizes that she might not be the only one suffering from this strange experience. As she digs deeper, she begins to uncover long-buried secrets that might get her killed. For real this time.

This is a fast-paced thriller with lots going for it. You'll really want to know what's going on with Black Suit. Min is a fun character--much more believable than a lot of female protagonists in this type of YA fiction these days.

Long Way Down

by Jason Reynolds

Will's brother Shawn has just been murdered. He thinks he knows who did it, so he gets his own gun, steels himself to do what needs to be done (revenge is the rule in his neighborhood), and gets on an elevator. As the car goes down, he's joined by people he once knew. When they were alive. Each visitor clues him in to something he didn't know about his family, his neighborhood, himself.

I'm late to the Jason Reynolds party. I know, I know. And now I know what all the hype is about. Beautifully written text and a compelling story with a timely message. What's not to love?

I listened to this on Overdrive, and Mr. Reynolds himself provides the narration. He has a beautiful voice--I highly recommend the audio version.