Blink and Caution by Tim Wynne-Jones

Blink hoping to steal some breakfast, is forced to go on the run after stumbling upon the fake kidnapping of a CEO and recovering the man's cellphone. While in his travels to find out more about what he witnessed, he meets up with Caution, a girl trying to ditch her drug-dealing boyfriend, who identifies Blink as a mark until he tugs at her heart strings.

This is a great read about two teens who are on the run, trying to survive and find their place in the world. Emotional and intense.

Blink and Caution is on the 2012 Tayshas High School Reading List.

Illegal by Bettina Restrepo

Nora, a fifteen-year-old Mexican girl, faces the challenges of being an illegal immigrant in Texas when she and her mother cross the border in search of Nora's father.

Ending up in inter-city Houston, Nora and her mother struggle to survive while living under the radar of immigration services. Follow Nora on her journey as she tries to find her father, earn money to survive and tries to figure out her way among the diversity of people in her neighborhood.

A realistic look immigration and the struggles of families to stay together.