Banished, by Sophie Littlefield

Wheeee, look at me!  I read a contemporary fantasy! 

This is not my best genre.  I know the kids love it but I am so, so sick of the forbidden human/creature romance. The next vampire I meet is getting kicked in the teeth (fangs).

But anyway, I quite liked this.  Hailey lives with her evil, nasty, abusive grandmother, who deals drugs for a living and has no noticeable redeeming qualities.  She loves and takes care of Chub, a developmentally delayed 4-year-old boy that her grandmother adopted, took a brief interest in, and promptly discarded. 

Hailey discovers she has healing powers.  An unknown aunt shows up out of nowhere.  Can she trust the aunt?  Her powers?  What the heck is going on?

Pros:

• Contains no vampires, werewolves, fairies, demons, zombies, etc.  Romance is suggested at the end, but is not a major theme.  Also, romantic interest is a real live human boy! 
• Suspenseful.

Cons:

• First in a series.  I know, I know, I just have to learn to accept it.
• The villains are very, very villain-y.  No gray areas here.

Recommended for: If there is overlap between fans of A Child Called It (and other stories of abuse) and fans of contemporary/urban fantasy--and I think there is--this is the perfect book for them.