The Spaces Between Us — Stacia Tolman

Two outcast best friends are desperate to survive senior year and break away from their dying factory town in this unforgettable YA debut.

Serena Velasco and her best (and only) friend, Melody Grimshaw, are dying to get out of Colchis. Until now they've both been coasting, keeping a safe distance from the bleakness of home and the banality of high school. To make things more interesting Serena fixates on communism, eager to get a rise out of their conservative small town. Her Western Civ teacher catches on and challenges her with an independent study of class and upward mobility―what creates the spaces between us. Meanwhile, Grimshaw takes on a mission of her own: to make it onto the cheerleading squad, find a job, and escape the weight of her family's hopeless reputation.

But sometimes the biggest obstacles are the ones you don't see coming; Grimshaw's quest for success becomes a fight for survival, and Serena's independent study gets a little too real. With the future of their friendship and their lives on the line, the stakes have never been so high.