Notes from the Midnight Driver by Jordan Sonnenblick

Alex Gregory, upset with his parent’s impending divorce, makes a bad decision.  He gets into his father’s left-behind liquor, steals his mom’s car, and drives off to confront his dad.  What results is a wrecked car, garden gnome decapitation, a drunk driving charge, and 100 hours of community service.  Alex is ordered by the tough judge to spend his hours at Egbert P. Johnson Memorial Home for the Aged working with a cranky old man named Solomon Lewis.  The story that develops is a mix of mystery, sad regret, new love, old love, and grand humor.

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

I read every Sarah Dessen book we get in.  I love her characters and often feel sorta sad when the book is over.  This effort is no exception.  In it, a studiously mature Auden spends the summer before college with her father's new family at the ocean, and it changes her life.  She connects with fellow insomniac, Eli, and they begin a quest to experience all the things she missed growing up--like food fights, learning how to ride a bike, delivering papers, etc.  Gradually Auden's opinions of people and situations change--and relationships with her divorced parents, new stepmother, new girlfriends, and Eli all reach a new level.

Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor

Addie misses her stepdad and "The Littles," whom Mommers lost due to neglect. Trying to make the best of a bad situation, Addie makes friends at school and a "nest" there in their tiny trailer. As Mommer's neglectful ways return, Addie's spine stiffens in her search for normal. I loved the characters in this book, and the ending made me sing.

Do You Know the Monkey Man? by Dori Hillestad Butler

Samantha is obsessed with finding her dad. He left when she was three, the same year her twin sister drowned on an outing with him. Her mom is remarrying and doesn't like to discuss either Sam's father or her twin. Frustrated by all the secrets, she goes to a psychic. What the psychic tells her is so shocking that she is driven to find out the truth. What Samantha learns on her search changes her life forever.