November Blues (by Sharon M. Draper)

This sequel to The Battle of Jericho can be read on its own -- it's much better than its predecessor. Author Sharon Draper's attempts at teen dialect are still embarrassingly awkward (she should just delete from her author's lexicon "she's all that and a bag of chips" right now), but they are less intrusive here, and more than balanced by a much more real and believable story.

That story also has a powerful emotional center that the previous book lacked. Draper clearly gets girls much better than boys, and from the moment that November's contractions begin, the web of relationships that has been carefully built up from the start comes to the forefront, and makes the rest of the book breathtakingly moving. The ending is unresolved, which may mean the author plans another book. But even if not, the refusal to tie everything up neatly was still the right way to go.