Tenderness by Robert Cormier

Wow. So, um, this book kinda freaked me out. And for that reason, teens will like it. The YA novels follows two characters--Eric and Lori. Lori is a runaway who has an adult body and knows how to use it. She runs away a lot from her mother who isn't a good mother and her mom's boyfriends who are a little too friendly. Lori's always on the lookout for tenderness--and it's always in the arms of a man. Messed up, eh?

Eric is worse. He looks for tenderness and happiness in the animals and people he kills. He murders his mom and stepfather and serves a few years in jail as a juvenile. But now he's 18 and released, and his psychopath abilities are urging him to kill again.

These two lovely characters come together and destroy each other, but not in the way you might think....Don't expect to smile as you read this dark, disturbing tale.