I Can't Keep My Own Secrets
Six-Word Memoirs
By Teens Famous and Obscure
Edited by Larry Smith

and Rachel Fershleiser

HarperTeen 192 pp. $8.99 paperback

Try writing your truth in exactly six words. It's not easy, but much like adhering to the rules of a villanelle or a haiku, the restriction can yield something unexpected. The online magazine Smith invited its readers to submit six-word memoirs, a project inspired by Hemingway's famous and macho claim that a good writer could tell a story in only six words. (His example: "For sale: baby shoes. Never worn.") The editors put out a book of the tiny tales they received, and this second edition is made up entirely of entries by teens. What could have been a mere gimmick turns out to be a revelation. The stories are miniatures, but they open up whole lives behind them, and many of these young writers have a wisdom beyond their years. "I was so much happier fat," goes one entry. Another says, "I always imagine clowns without makeup." And another: "Computer ate my soul. Yours, too."

Nothing But Ghosts
By Beth Kephart

Harper Teen. 288 pp. $17.99

Well, this is a treat. Beth Kephart, whose memoir A Slant of Sun was a National Book Award finalist, has written another one of her beautiful YA novels - this one set locally, with references to the Devon Horse Show and little kids in Phillies T-shirts. And ghosts. Katie lives with her father, an eccentric art restorer, in a big and otherwise empty house; her mother has just died, and Katie, only 16, throws herself into busyness to cope. She takes a summer job working with the grounds crew on an unusual building project at the estate of a reclusive heiress whom no one in town has laid eyes on for years, and soon finds herself preoccupied with the woman's secrets. The lovely things in these characters' lives - pebble gardens and groves of apple trees, an old painting of "a metropolis" that her father restores (or, as he says, "resolves") late at night in his studio-shed, an honest-to-goodness riddle-filled mystery - are like something from a dream, but Kephart's writing isn't what you'd call dreamy, poetic as it is. It's solid and serviceable, beautiful in its well-madeness like an antique chair.

The Other Side
A Teen's Guide to Ghost Hunting
and the Paranormal
By Marley Gibson, Patrick Burns,

and Dave Schrader

Graphia. 112 pp. $10.99

Interest in hauntings, spirit activity, and other spooky phenomena is high right now, and this intelligent, upbeat book advises would-be ghost hunters on investigating the paranormal. Marley Gibson, who writes the YA fiction series Ghost Huntress, sought help for this nonfiction one from two experts in the field, Patrick Burns of TruTV's Haunting Evidence and Dave Schrader, host of Darkness Radio. Gibson's fiction background is surely what makes this book so pleasant, if occasionally cute, to read; it feels more like a conversation than a how-to manual. There is plenty of information here, though. One chapter collects dos and don'ts (do bring a partner, don't wear ghostlike reflective clothing); another breaks down the differences in types of hauntings, from noisy poltergeists to phantom vehicles. The bulk of the book is concerned with tools and technology and their uses, all of which are relatively affordable and appropriate for teens.

I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil
and I Want to Be Your Class President
By Josh Lieb

RazorBill. 304 pp. $15.99

You will find this either obnoxious or really funny. I started off in the first camp and quickly switched sides, though I did continue to wince at the occasional too-harsh jab. The central joke is that Oliver, a "very, very handsome" but "slightly over-round" middle school kid, is an evil genius and, secretly, the third-richest person in the world, a premise that allows author Lieb to riff unkindly on everything the kid observes. Lieb is the executive producer of The Daily Show, so his jokes are pretty darn good. The funniest moments are Oliver's irritable, mostly unpopular opinions of a kind that a 12-year-old couldn't possibly have. He describes, for instance, his after-school snack of grilled cheese with pickle chips as "a small, good thing," then footnotes the phrase: "To quote the title of an awful short story. Why do people insist on ranking it among Carver's best work? It's a perfect showcase of everything that's wrong with his fiction."

Pop
By Gordon Korman

Harper Teen. 272 pp. $16.99

Sixteen-year-old Marcus, a football player with NFL aspirations, has just moved with his mother all the way from Kansas to Upstate New York. He tries out for his new school's varsity team, where he faces the expected testosterone-fueled tensions over cute cheerleaders and big-shouldered dudes staking out their territory on the field. But there's another, odder addition to his life in Hudson Valley. A strange, dad-aged guy has started joining his practice sessions in the park, and even though he's in his 50s Charlie has a shoulder like a battering ram. The man turns out to be a former NFL linebacker, and Marcus eventually learns that an old injury has caused his friend's strange behavior and forgetfulness, forcing him to consider more seriously the consequences of the game. The story is fairly simplistic; the pleasure here comes from the crackle of the heart-pounding game scenes, and the attraction-charged banter between Marcus and Alyssa, the cheerleader who loves the game as much as he does.

Murder at Midnight
By Avi

Scholastic. 272 pp. $17.99

Although it's recommended for middle-grade readers, this charming mystery has a universal appeal. Set in a deliciously eerie 15th-century Italy, it's a fable about the magic of knowledge and invention. A street boy named Fabrizio has been taken in as assistant to a magician, and he's keen to learn his master's trade. But Mangus cares more about logic and learning than about the charlatan's tricks he uses to make a living, so instead he teaches Fabrizio to read by studying one page of Dante a week. Before the boy has made much progress, Mangus is accused of conspiring in a plot to overthrow the king, and Fabrizio has to use what few skills he has to save him. Luckily, he discovers the new-in-town Gutenberg press, and Maria, the sooty "printer's devil" who operates it. The novel's language is simple and elegant, and the characters quote philosophers and poets. This is smart, sweet fun.