Getting It (by Alex Sanchez)

Inspired by Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Carlos asks openly gay student Sal to help with an image makeover, hoping to land the girl of his dreams. Sal agrees -- in exchange for Carlos' help forming a gay-straight alliance. Sal does improve Carlos' room, clothes, and hair -- but more than that, he teaches him how to stand up for himself and what he thinks is right.

The fun premise may be a bit of a stretch, but author Alex Sanchez captures some realities of high school life well -- where young teens play around with sex without love and even nice guys don't say anything when they see someone being picked on. This is Sanchez's first book without a gay protagonist, which may make it appeal to a wider audience, especially straight boys. The casual hook-ups -- which often begin with the Internet -- will shock parents more than any of the gay subject matter, and will certainly give families something to talk about (see our Internet Safety Guide).

This book is thicker than it needs to be, and readers may not care much about some secondary story lines -- like Carlos' mom's relationship. But readers will keep reading for more on sensitive Carlos, whose heart is in the right place even though he doesn't always do the right thing (or fall for the right girl).