Although the books in this roundup may all have very different plots, they have one thing in common. All of these books have a cast of strong teens who are on very special missions. And whether they are researching or fighting or just trying to figure things out, they all learn some very important life lessons along the way.

The Infamous Frankie Lorde 3
Brittany Geragotelis
Holiday House, 304 pages, $18.99
Frankie Lorde, a once renowned international thief, finds herself in a predicament once again in the third volume of The Infamous Frankie Lorde. She finds out that a group of wealthy parents is using their influence and wealth to buy their kids into the best institutions. Frankie sets out to get to the bottom of this scandal and in the process learns some important lessons. This book can be read as a standalone.

The Q
by Amy Tintera
Random House Children’s Books, 352 pages, $18.99
This action-packed YA novel will have readers cheering as they follow two teenagers from opposite worlds who must right their way through a dystopian America during a pandemic. Seventeen-year-old Maisie has spent her whole life in the Q—the post-pandemic quarantine. Lennon Pierce is the son of a US Presidential Candidate who has been kidnapped and dropped into the Q. The two teens must work together to get Lennon out of the Q before he is permanently infected. This book has many thought-provoking themes including political unrest, medical care, and poverty.

Wait for Me
by Sara Shepard
Union Square & Co., 320 pages, $18.99
Casey Rhodes is a seventeen-year-old in her sophomore year at NYU. When she starts hearing voices, she flees to the beach town of Avon to get away. The voices become more intense and soon she has visions of things and people she knows nothing about including a guy named Jake. This is a thriller suspense novel that has many twists and turns that readers will love.