Expecting

In this addition to the Gravel Road Rural series, an alternative high school serves as a haven for pregnant teens in a small Texas town. In text written at a third-grade level, short chapters shift attention among three girls—Lyric, Kaelynn, and Yessenia—introducing their different family backgrounds, as well as their struggles with drug addiction, abuse, and bad decisions. The characters’ realistic dialogue, believable expressions of emotion, and complicated circumstances provide inviting entry points for readers, who will also glean information about teen pregnancy along the way. Ages 14–up. (Feb.)