Burned
by Ellen Hopkins 

Pattyn lives in a Mormon community. Her father is physically abusive toward her mother and verbally abusive to Pattyn and her numerous siblings. Pattyn becomes involved with a non-Mormon boy and tries to keep this relationship a secret from her family. This covert liaison is discovered by her father and as punishment she is sent to live with her aunt in the middle of nowhere. Pattyn discovers love and a sense of family without dysfunction while living with this aunt.

Ellen Hopkins is my new favorite author—I am devouring her books and they have all been outstanding; she addresses more adult themes and topics than the typical YA novel. Her books are written in verse and they are just beautiful, both visually and literarily.

The First Time She Drowned
by Kerry Kletter   

Cassie has been unjustly institutionalized for a couple of years. Now that she is 18, she leaves the hospital and enrolls in college. Her mother was the one who committed her; her mother is incredibly manipulative and has Cassie’s brother and father wrapped around her finger. Cassie begins to rebuild a normal life but her mother’s visit prompts resurgent memories of childhood trauma. She must learn to forgive and forget or cut her mother out of her life.