Beautiful Boy by
What had happened to my beautiful boy? To our family? What did I do wrong? Those are the wrenching questions that haunted David Sheff's journey through his son Nic's addiction to drugs and tentative steps toward recovery. Before Nic became addicted to crystal meth, he was a charming boy, joyous and funny, a varsity athlete and honor student adored by his two younger siblings. After meth, he was a trembling wraith who lied, stole, and lived on the streets. David Sheff traces the first warning signs: the denial, the three a.m. phone calls--is it Nic? the police? the hospital? His preoccupation with Nic became an addiction in itself. But as a journalist, he instinctively researched every treatment that might save his son. And he refused to give up on Nic. "Filled with compelling anecdotes and important insights . . . An eye-opening memoir." -- Washington Post
The Dead Inside by
All Cyndy wanted was to be loved and accepted. By age fourteen, she had escaped from her violent home, only to be reported as a runaway and sent to a "drug rehabilitation" facility that changed her world. To the public, Straight Inc. was a place of recovery. But behind closed doors, the program used bizarre and intimidating methods to "treat" its patients.
Ninety Days by
The goal is ninety--just ninety clean and sober days to loosen the hold of the addiction that caused Bill Clegg to lose everything. Six weeks out of his most recent rehab, Clegg returns to New York and starts attending two or three meetings each day. It is in these that he befriends new allies including Polly, who struggles daily with her own cycle of recovery and relapse, and the unshakably sober Asa. At first, the support is not enough: Clegg relapses with only three days left.
Tweak by
Nic Sheff was drunk for the first time at age eleven. In the years that followed, he would regularly smoke pot, do cocaine and Ecstasy, and develop addictions to crystal meth and heroin. Even so, he felt like he would always be able to quit and put his life together whenever he needed to. It took a violent relapse one summer in California to convince him otherwise.
We Can't Be Friends by
High school sucks for a lot of people. High school extra sucks when you believe that every kid in the school is out to get you. I wasn't popular before I got locked up in Straight Inc., the "tough love" program for teens. But when you're psychologically beaten for sixteen months, you start to absorb the lessons. Everything is evil except Straight, Inc. And when you're finally released, you crave safety. And if you can't get there, you'd rather be dead.
Beautiful by
When Cassie moves from the tiny town to a suburb of Seattle, she is determined to leave her boring, good-girl existence behind. Cassie's new existence both thrills and terrifies her. Swept into a world of parties and social land mines, she sheds her virginity, embraces the numbness she feels from the drugs, and floats through it all. She ignores the dangers of her life...but she can't sidestep the secrets and the cruelty.
Clean by
Olivia, Kelly, Christopher, Jason, and Eva have one thing in common: They're addicts. Addicts who have hit rock bottom and been stuck together in rehab to face their problems, face sobriety, and face themselves. None of them wants to be there. None of them wants to confront the truths about their pasts. But they'll all have to deal with themselves--and one another--if they want to learn how to live.
Heroine by
A powerful exploration of the opioid crisis-through the eyes of a college-bound softball star. When a car crash sidelines Mickey just before softball season, she has to find a way to hold on to her spot as the catcher for a team expected to make a historic tournament run. Behind the plate is the only place she's ever felt comfortable, and the painkillers she's been prescribed can help her get there. The pills do more than take away pain; they make her feel good but she spirals out of control.
Positive by
Paige Rawl has been HIV positive since birth, but growing up, she never felt like her illness defined her. One day in middle school, she disclosed to a friend her HIV-positive status--and within hours the bullying began. Paige was never sure when or from where the next text, taunt, or hateful message would come. Then one night Paige found herself in her bathroom staring at a bottle of pills. That could have been the end of her story. Instead, it was only the beginning.
A Girl Like That by
Sixteen-year-old Zarin Wadia is many things: an Indian girl, a bright and vivacious student, an orphan, a troublemaker whose romantic entanglements are the subject of endless gossip. So how is it that Porus, a Parsi boy, has only ever had eyes for her? And how did Zarin and Porus end up dead in a car together, crashed on the side of the highway in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia? When the religious police arrive, everything everyone thought they knew about Zarin is called into question.
Gutless by
The wide receiver best able to hang on to his quarterback's passes, Brock Ripley would be a star for the varsity team--if he could just bring himself to put his body on the line. But he can't. Just like he can't bring himself to stand up for his friend Richie Fang, who has been targeted by the quarterback, known for his bullying. As events spiral out of control, Brock is faced with a true test of character.
Hope's Boy by
Trapped in poverty and confronted with unthinkable tragedies, all Andrew ever wanted was to be with his mom. But as her mental health declined, and with no one else left to care for him, authorities arrived and tore Andrew from his mother's arms. Hope was institutionalized, and Andrew was placed in foster care. After surviving one of our country's most notorious children's facilities, Andrew was thrust into a loveless foster family that refused to accept him as one of their own.
Three Little Words by
As her mother spirals out of control, Ashley is left clinging to an unpredictable, dissolving relationship, all the while getting pulled deeper and deeper into the foster care system. Painful memories of being taken away from her home quickly become consumed by real-life horrors, where Ashley is juggled between caseworkers, shuffled from school to school, and forced to endure manipulative, humiliating treatment from a very abusive foster family.
Relative Strangers by
Eighteen-year-old Jules has always wished for a close-knit family. She never knew her father, and her ex-addict mother has always seemed more interested in artistic endeavors than in bonding with her only daughter. Then a simple quest to find a baby picture for the senior yearbook leads to an shocking discovery: for the first two years of her life, Jules lived in foster care. What she finds is a wonderful family who loved her as their own and hoped to adopt her.
All-American Murder by
Aaron Hernandez was a college All-American who became the youngest player in the NFL and later reached the Super Bowl. His every move as a tight end with the New England Patriots played out the headlines, yet he led a secret life--one that ended in a maximum-security prison. Between the summers of 2012 and 2013, not long after Hernandez made his first Pro Bowl, he was linked to a series of violent incidents culminating in the death of Odin Lloyd, a semi-pro football player who dated the sister of Hernandez's fianc#65533;e, Shayanna Jenkins. All-American Murder is the first book to investigate Aaron Hernandez's first-degree murder conviction and the mystery of his own shocking and untimely death.
Just Mercy by
Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need. One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young man who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didn't commit. The case drew Bryan into a tangle of conspiracy, political machination, and legal brinksmanship--and transformed his understanding of mercy and justice forever.
Prison Baby by
Deborah, the adopted daughter of a progressive Jewish couple in Seattle, felt like an outsider. Her mixed Asian features set her apart from her white, well-intentioned parents who evaded questions about her past. But when she discovered a letter revealing the truth of her prison birth to a heroin-addicted mother--and that she spent the first year of life in prison--Deborah spiraled into emotional lockdown. For years she turned to drugs, violence, and crime as a way to cope with her grief.
Guantanamo Boy by
Robbed of his childhood, this is one boy's experience of the supposed war on terror. Khalid, a fifteen-year-old Muslim boy from England, is abducted from Pakistan while on holiday with his family. He is taken to Guantanamo Bay and held without charge, where his hopes and dreams are crushed under the cruelest of circumstances. An innocent denied his freedom at a time when most boys are finding theirs, Khalid tries and fails to understand what's happening to him.
An Uninterrupted View of the Sky by
Francisco's life consists of school, soccer, and trying to find space for himself in his family's cramped yet boisterous home. But when his father is arrested on false charges and sent to prison by a corrupt system. Francisco and his sister must move into the prison with their father. Francisco faces an impossible decision- Break up the family and take his sister to their grandparents in the Andean highlands, fleeing the city, or remain together in the increasingly dangerous prison.
All the Things We Never Knew by
A reporter chases the biggest story of her life -- her husband's descent into mental illness. Even as a reporter, Sheila Hamilton missed the signs as her husband David's mental illness unfolded before her. By the time she had pieced together the puzzle, it was too late. Her once brilliant and passionate partner was dead within six weeks of a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, leaving his wife and nine-year-old daughter without so much as a note to explain his actions.
Buffering by
This time, she's stirring up memories and tales from her past. By combing through the journals that Hannah has kept for much of her life, this collection of narrative essays deliver a fuller picture of her life, her experiences, and the things she's figured out about family, faith, love, sexuality, self-worth, friendship and fame. Revealing what makes Hannah tick, this sometimes cringe-worthy collection of stories is sure to deliver plenty of Hannah's wit and wisdom, and encourage you to try your hand at her patented brand of reckless optimism.
Furiously Happy by
Jenny Lawson examines her own experience with severe depression and a host of other conditions, and explains how it has led her to live life to the fullest: "I've often thought that people with severe depression have developed such a well for experiencing extreme emotion that they might be able to experience extreme joy in a way that 'normal people' also might never understand. And that's what Furiously Happy is all about."
Hurry down Sunshine by
An extraordinary family story and a memoir of exceptional power. In it, Michael Greenberg recounts in vivid detail the remarkable summer when, at the age of fifteen, his daughter was struck mad. It begins with Sally's sudden visionary crack-up on the streets of Greenwich Village, and continues, among other places, in the out-of-time world of a Manhattan psychiatric ward during the city's most sweltering months. It is a tale of a family broken open, then stitched together again.
Out Came the Sun by
Born just a few months after her grandfather Ernest Hemingway shot himself, it was Mariel's mission as a girl to escape the desperate cycle of mental health issues that had plagued generations of her family. Surrounded by a family tortured by alcoholism, depression, suicide, schizophrenia, and cancer, it was all the young Mariel could do to keep her head.
Challenger Deep by
Caden Bosch is on a ship that's headed for the deepest point on Earth: Challenger Deep, the southern part of the Marianas Trench. Caden Bosch is a brilliant high school student whose friends are starting to notice his odd behavior. Caden Bosch is designated the ship's artist in residence to document the journey with images. Caden Bosch pretends to join the school track team but spends his days walking for miles, absorbed by the thoughts in his head. Caden Bosch is split between his allegiance to the captain and the allure of mutiny. Caden Bosch is torn.
Crazy by
Connor knows that Izzy will never fall in love with him the way he's fallen for her. But somehow he's been let into her crazy world and become her closest confidante. The closer they get, however, the more Connor realizes that Izzy's highs are too high and her lows are too low. And the frenetic energy that makes her shine is starting to push her into a much darker place. As Izzy's behavior gets erratic and self-destructive, Connor gets desperate to stop her from plummeting.
Finding Alice by
On the surface, Alice Laxton seems no different from any other college girl: bright, inquisitive, excited about the life ahead of her. But for years, a genetic time bomb has been ticking away. Because of Alice's near-genius intelligence, teachers and counselors have always made excuses for her "little idiosyncrasies." But during a stress-filled senior year at college, a new world of voices, visions, and unexplainable "knowledge" causes Alice to begin to lose her grip.
How It Feels to Float by
Tells a story about love and grief, about inter-generational mental illness, and how living with it is both a bridge to someone loved and lost and, also, a chasm. She explores the hard and beautiful places loss can take us, and honors those who hold us tightly when the current wants to tug us out to sea.
Schizo by
The fascinating, shocking, and ultimately quite hopeful story of one teen's downward spiral into mental illness by the bestselling author of Tweak. Miles's little brother Teddy is missing. The police believe he drowned at the beach--the very same day Miles had his first schizophrenic episode. But Miles knows better--Teddy is alive. Kidnapped. There was even a witness! Fueled by guilt, Miles sets off to rescue Teddy. There is so much to overcome, though. The endless pills he must take. The girl who steals his heart and plays with it. The black crows that follow him. As seen through Miles's distorted perception, his world closes around him as he pushes to keep it open. What you think you know about his world is actually a blur of gray, though, and the sharp focus of reality proves startling. The New York Times bestselling author of Tweak offers a fascinating and ultimately quite hopeful story of one teen's downward spiral into mental illness. Praise for SCHIZO: Included in CNN.com's roundup of "new titles to feed your YA addiction" "Readers fascinated by the dark side of the human mind in realistic fiction will enjoy this deft portrayal of a brain and a life spiraling out of control. Miles is an endearing character whose difficult journey will generate compassion and hope." -School Library Journal "[T]he crafting of the plot and the convergence of the different storylines keeps pages turning. Schizo is a thrilling read for teens." -VOYA "[A}}n insightful perspective on one teen's struggle with mental illness." --Publishers Weekly "Miles's clipped first-person narration is immediate and intimate." --Horn Book "[A] heartbreaking story, but particularly important in the climate around mental illness today." -Bustle.com
When We Collided by
17 year-old Jonah Daniels has lived in Verona Cove, California, his whole life, and only one thing has ever changed: his father used to be alive, and now he is not. With a mother deeply depressed, Jonah and his five siblings struggle to keep up their home and the restaurant their dad left behind. But at the start of summer, Vivi, the new girl in town rolls in. Charming and unfiltered, she refuses to be held down by the medicine she's told should make her feel better, and it's not long before Vivi's zest for life begins to falter.
Eleanor and Park by
Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits-smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you'll remember your own first love-and just how hard it pulled you under.
The Fall of Innocence by
For the past eight years, sixteen-year-old Emilia DeJesus has done her best to move on from the attack she suffered in the woods behind her elementary school. With the love and support loved ones, Emilia is doing just that. But when a discovery about her attacker's identity comes to light, and the memories of that day break through the mental box in which she'd shut them away, Emilia is forced to confront her new reality and make sense of truths about her past, her family, and herself.
A List of Cages by
When Adam Blake lands the best elective ever in his senior year, serving as an aide to the school psychologist, he thinks he's got it made. Then the doctor asks him to track down a freshman who keeps dodging her, and Adam discovers that the boy is his foster brother he hasn't seen in five years...
Push by
Precious Jones, 16 years old and pregnant by her father with her second child, meets a determined and highly radical teacher who takes her on a journey of transformation and redemption.
Until Tuesday by
A captain in the U.S. Army, Luis Montalván never backed down from a challenge during his two tours of duty in Iraq. After returning home, his physical wounds and post-traumatic stress disorder began to take their toll. He wondered if he would ever recover. Then Luis met Tuesday, a golden retriever trained to assist the disabled. Tuesday had lived among prisoners and at a home for troubled boys, and he found it difficult to trust in or connect with a human being--until Luis.
Breaking Free by
In this searing memoir of survival, the daughter of Warren Jeffs, the self-proclaimed Prophet of the FLDS Church, takes you deep inside the secretive polygamist Mormon fundamentalist cult run by her family and how she escaped it. Born into the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Rachel was raised in a strict patriarchal culture defined by subordinate sister wives and men they must obey. Living outside mainstream Mormonism and federal law, Jeffs arranged marriages between under-age girls and middle-aged and elderly members of his congregation. In 2006, he gained international notoriety when the FBI placed him on its Ten Most Wanted List. Though he is serving a life sentence for child sexual assault, Jeffs' iron grip on the church remains firm, and his edicts to his followers increasingly restrictive and bizarre.
Educated by
Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches. Her father distrusted the medical establishment, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse. When her brother got himself into college and came back with news of the world beyond the mountain, Tara decided to try a new kind of life. She studied psychology, politics, philosophy, and history.
Escape by
When she was eighteen years old, Carolyn Jessop was coerced into an arranged marriage with a stranger. Merril Jessop already had three wives. But arranged plural marriages were an part of Carolyn's heritage: She was born into the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), the radical offshoot of the Mormon Church. Carolyn had eight children and withstood her husband's psychological abuse. Carolyn chose freedom over fear and fled her home with her eight children.
Holy Ghost Girl by
She was just three years old when her mother signed on as the organist of tent revivalist David Terrell, and before long, Donna Johnson was part of the hugely popular evangelical preacher's inner circle. At seventeen, she left the ministry for good, with a trove of stranger- than-fiction memories. A homecoming like no other, Holy Ghost Girl brings to life miracles, exorcisms, and faceoffs with the Ku Klux Klan. And that's just what went on under the tent.
Jesus Land by
Julia and her adopted brother, David, are 16. Julia is white. David is black. It is the mid-1980s and they have just moved to rural Indiana, a landscape of cottonwood trees and an all-encompassing racism. At home are a distant mother--more involved with her church's missionaries than her own children--and a violent father. This riveting memoir takes us from Indiana to a place beyond imagining: a religious reform school in Dominican Republic--with discipline by any means necessary.
The Chosen One by
Thirteen-year-old Kyra has grown up in an isolated community without questioning the fact that her father has three wives and she has twenty brothers and sisters, with two more on the way. When the Prophet decrees that she must marry her sixty-year-old uncle---who already has six wives---Kyra must make a desperate choice in the face of violence and her own fears of losing her family forever.
Keep Sweet by
Alva has never questioned her parents, never questioned her faith, never questioned her future. She is content with the strict rules that define her life in Pineridge, the walled community where she lives with her father, his 7 wives, and 28 siblings. This is all she knows and she has never thought to challenge it. But everything changes when she is caught giving her crush an innocent first kiss. Beaten, scorned, and facing a forced marriage to a violent, 55 year old man, she wants to escape.
The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by
The Kevinian cult has taken everything from seventeen-year-old Minnow, and when she rebelled, they took away her hands. As she languishes in juvenile detention, she struggles to un-learn everything she has been taught to believe, adjusting to a life behind bars and recounting the events that led up to her incarceration. But when an FBI detective approaches her about making a deal, Minnow sees she can have the freedom she always dreamed of.
Sister Wife by
Celeste was born and raised in Unity, yet she struggles to fit in. At fifteen she is repulsed at the thought of being assigned to an older man and becoming a sister wife, and she knows for certain she is not cut out to raise children. She wants something more for herself, yet feels powerless to change her destiny because rebelling would bring shame upon her family. Although she is assigned to a caring man, his sixth wife, she is desperately unhappy. How will Celeste find her way out of Unity?
I Am Malala by
When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education. On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive. Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journeys.
Land of Second Chances by
Though Rwanda is a tiny, landlocked country dropped like a pebble on the equator, it is a lush and beautiful land fertile with hope and searching for a new identity. So when its best young bike racer, Adrien Niyonshuti, becomes obsessed with earning a slot to compete in the London Olympic Games, all eyes turn to him. Supporting Adrien is his coach, Jonathan Boyer, the first American to race in the Tour de France.
Diamond Boy by
Set against the backdrop of Zimbabwe's brutal recent history, Diamond Boy is the story of a young man who succumbs to greed but finds his way out through a transformative journey to South Africa in search of his missing sister, in search of freedom, and in search of himself. A high-stakes, harrowing adventure in the blood-diamond fields of southern Africa.
Don't Touch by
When her parents split up, Don't touch becomes Caddie's mantra. Maybe if she keeps from touching another person's skin, Dad will come home. She knows it doesn't make sense. Soon she's covering every inch of her skin and wearing evening gloves to school. Her drama class is all about interacting with her partners, especially Peter, who's auditioning for the role of Hamlet. Caddie wants to play Ophelia, but if she does, she'll have to touch Peter... and kiss him. Caddie would love nothing more than to kiss Peter, but she isn't sure she's brave enough to let herself fall.
Every Last Word by
Samantha McAllister looks just like the rest of the popular girls in her junior class. But hidden beneath the straightened hair and expertly applied makeup is a secret that her friends would never understand: Sam has Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries that she can't turn off.
Finding Audrey by
Audrey wears dark glasses all the time, even in the house. She almost never goes out, doesn't talk to new people, and finds making eye contact to be nearly impossible. One day she meets Linus. Linus is her brother's friend and a nice spirit with whom she can talk through her fears. As their friendship deepens, she and Linus begin to develop feelings for each other. But how can they have a future together when Audrey hasn't dealt with her past?
OCD Love Story by
When Bea meets Beck, she knows that he's her kind of crazy. He makes her feel almost normal. Despite her feelings for Beck, Bea can't stop thinking about someone else: a guy who is gorgeous and magnetic, and has no idea Bea even exists. But Bea spends a lot of time watching him. She has a journal full of notes. Some might even say she's obsessed. But this isn't a choice, it's a compulsion. She's breaking down, and she might end up breaking her own heart.
This Story Is a Lie by
Seventeen-year-old Peter Blankman is a math genius. He also suffers from devastating panic attacks. Pete gets through each day with the help of his mother--a famous scientist--and his beloved twin sister, Bel. But when his mom is nearly assassinated in front of his eyes and Bel disappears, Pete finds himself on the run. But his greatest battle will be with the enemy inside: the constant terror that threatens to overwhelm him.
Turtles All the Way Down by
Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there's a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her best friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett's son, Davis. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the spiral of her own thoughts.
Underwater by
After a tragedy, she feels like she's stuck underwater. On October fifteenth, everything changed. Morgan tried to do something kind--and inadvertently played a role in a deadly tragedy. Before, Morgan loved the beach. Now, she is unable to even move beyond the front door of the apartment she shares with her mother and little brother. Unable to see her friends. Unable to go to school. The only person she interacts with besides her family is Brenda, her psychologist.
The 57 Bus by
If it weren't for the 57 bus, Sasha and Richard never would have met. Both were high school students from Oakland, California, one of the most diverse cities in the country, but they inhabited different worlds. Each day, their paths overlapped for a mere eight minutes. But one afternoon on the bus ride home from school, a single reckless act left Sasha severely burned, and Richard charged with two hate crimes and facing life imprisonment.
All American Boys by
A bag of chips. That's all sixteen-year-old Rashad is looking for at the corner bodega. What he finds instead is a fist-happy cop, Paul Galluzzo, who mistakes Rashad for a shoplifter, mistakes Rashad's every flinch at every punch the cop throws as further resistance and refusal to STAY STILL as ordered. There were witnesses: Quinn Collins--a varsity basketball player and Rashad's classmate who has been raised by Paul since his own father died in Afghanistan--and a video camera.
Anger Is a Gift by
Six years ago, Moss Jefferies' father was murdered by an Oakland police officer. Along with losing a parent, the media's vilification of his father and lack of accountability has left Moss with near crippling panic attacks. Now, in his sophomore year of high school, Moss and his fellow classmates find themselves increasingly treated like criminals in their own school. New rules. Random locker searches. Constant intimidation and Oakland Police Department stationed in their halls. Despite their youth, the students decide to organize and push back against the administration. When tensions hit a fever pitch and tragedy strikes, Moss must face a difficult choice: give in to fear and hate or realize that anger can actually be a gift.
Dear Martin by
Justyce McAllister is a good kid, an honor student, and always there to help a friend--but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. Despite leaving his rough neighborhood behind, he can't escape the scorn of his former peers or the ridicule of his new classmates. Justyce looks to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for answers. But do they hold up anymore?
Does My Head Look Big in This? by
As soon as sixteen-year-old Amal makes the decision to start wearing the hijab full-time, everyone has a reaction. Her parents, her teachers, her friends, people on the street. But she stands by her decision to embrace her faith and all that it is, even if it does make her a little different from everyone else. Can she handle the taunts of "towel head" and the prejudice of her classmates, and manage her growing friendship with the cutest boy in school?
The Hate U Give by
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family.
The Hoopster by
Andre Anderson is an African American teenager with a bright future. He loves to play basketball. He loves to hang out with his friends. He loves to laugh. Andre has skills, brains, and heart. He also has a dream. Then he is viciously attacked. Now everything he ever believed about the world has been called into question, even his deadly jump shot.
Response by
Noah and his friends go to a predominantly all-white neighborhood with a plan: steal a car, sell it to a chop shop, and make some fast cash. But that never happens. Instead, Noah, a teen father, becomes the victim of a vicious beating that leaves him with a fractured skull. The question is, was the attacker protecting his turf, or did he target Noah just because he's black?
Wingshooters by
Michelle LeBeau, the child of an American father and a Japanese mother, lives with her grandparents in Deerhorn, Wisconsin--a small town that had been entirely white before her arrival. This fragile peace is threatened when the expansion of the local clinic leads to the arrival of the Garretts, a black couple from Chicago. The Garretts' presence upsets most of the residents of Deerhorn--when Mr. Garrett makes an accusation against one of the town leaders.
Your House Will Pay by
A powerful and taut novel about racial tensions in Los Angeles, following two families--one Korean-American, one African-American--grappling with the effects of a decades-old crime In the wake of the police shooting of a black teenager, Los Angeles is as tense as it's been since the unrest of the early 1990s. But Grace Park and Shawn Matthews have their own problems. But when another shocking crime hits LA, both the Park and Matthews families are forced to face down their history.
Grief Girl by
Imagine that you're going through one of the hardest parts of your life—being a teenager—when your parents are killed in a horrific car crash. Now you, your 17-year-old sister, and your three-year-old brother are on your own. Imagine what that would be like. Then read this book and find out.
The Beauty That Remains by
We've lost everything...and found ourselves. Music brought Autumn, Shay, and Logan together. Death might pull them apart. Autumn always knew exactly who she was- a talented artist and a loyal friend. Shay was defined by two things- her bond with her twin sister, Sasha, and her love of music. And Logan has always turned to writing love songs when his real love life was a little less than perfect. But when tragedy strikes each of them, somehow music is no longer enough. Now Logan is a guy who can't stop watching vlogs of his dead ex-boyfriend. Shay is a music blogger who's struggling to keep it together. And Autumn has become a girl who sends messages that she knows can never be answered. Each of them wonders- How different would my life be if this hadn't happened? And now that it has . . . what's next? "An emotional, must-read story of the way music connects us, the way tragedy threatens to break us apart, and the way life can change, for better or worse, in an instant." --Bustle.com "This is the sort of book that pieces a broken heart back together, stronger than before." --Jeff Zentner, Morris Award winning author of The Serpent King
The Crying Tree by
After Irene and Nate Stanley move to Oregon with their two children, Bliss and Shep, the unthinkable happens: Shep is shot and killed during an apparent robbery in their home. The murderer, a young mechanic with a history of assault, robbery, and drug-related offenses, is caught and sentenced to death. Years later, Irene gets the notice that she had craved for so long--Daniel Robbin has stopped his appeals and will be executed within a month. Irene isn't the only one with a secret to hide.
How to Make Friends with the Dark by
Here is what happens when your mother dies. It's the brightest day of summer and it's dark outside. It's dark in your house, dark in your room, and dark in your heart. You feel like the darkness is going to split you apart. That's how it feels for Tiger. It's always been Tiger and her mother against the world. Then, on a day like any other, Tiger's mother dies. And now it's Tiger, alone. Here is how you learn to make friends with the dark.
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by
Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents' house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family. But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga's role. Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too.
The Last Time We Say Goodbye by
In the tradition of Thirteen Reasons Why and All the Bright Places, The Last Time We Say Goodbye is a deeply affecting novel that will change the way you look at life and death. Since her brother, Tyler, committed suicide, Lex has been trying to keep her grief locked away, and to forget about what happened that night. But as she starts putting her life, her family, and her friendships back together, Lex is haunted by a secret she hasn't told anyone--a text Tyler sent, that could have changed everything.
Personal Effects by
After his older brother dies in Iraq, Matt makes a discovery that rocks his beliefs about strength, bravery, and honor in this page-turning debut. Ever since his brother, T.J., was killed in Iraq, Matt feels like he's been sleepwalking through life -- failing classes, getting into fights, and avoiding his dad's lectures about following in his brother's footsteps. T.J.'s gone, but Matt can't shake the feeling that if only he could get his hands on his brother's stuff from Iraq, he'd be able to make sense of his death. But as Matt searches for answers about T.J.'s death, he faces a shocking revelation about T.J.'s life that suggests he may not have known T.J. as well as he thought. What he learns challenges him to stand up to his father, honor his brother's memory, and take charge of his own life. With compassion, humor, and a compelling narrative voice, E. M. Kokie explores grief, social mores, and self-discovery in a provocative first novel.
The Theory of Everything by
Just because everyone else thinks you should be over it, doesn't mean you are. Last year, Sarah's best friend Jamie died in a freak accident. Back then, everyone was sad; now they're just ready for Sarah to get over it and move on. But Sarah's not ready to move on. She can't stop reliving what happened, struggling with guilt, questioning the meaning of life, and missing her best friend. Her grades are plummeting, her relationships are falling apart, and her normal voice seems to have been replaced with a snark box. Life just seems random: no pattern, no meaning, no rules - and no reason to bother. In a last-ditch effort to pull it together, Sarah befriends Jamie's twin brother Emmett, who may be the only other person who understands what she's lost. And when she gets a job working for the local eccentric who owns a Christmas tree farm, she finally begins to understand the threads that connect us all, the benefit of giving people a chance, and the power of love.
Tyler Johnson Was Here by
A young man searches for answers after the death of his brother at the hands of police in this striking debut novel. When Marvin Johnson's twin, Tyler, goes to a party, Marvin goes to keep an eye on his brother. What starts as harmless fun turns into a shooting, followed by a police raid. Tyler has gone missing, and it's up to Marvin to find him. When Tyler is found dead, a video leaked online tells an even more chilling story: Tyler has been shot and killed by a police officer.
Americanized by
At thirteen, Sara Saedi uncovered a family secret: she was breaking the law simply by living in the United States. Fear of deportation kept Sara up at night, but it didn't keep her from being a teenager. She desperately wanted a green card, along with clear skin, her own car, and a boyfriend. Sara pivots from the prospect that she might be kicked out of the country at any time to the almost-as-terrifying possibility that she might be the only one of her friends without a date to the prom.
Beautiful Country by
In Chinese, the word for America, Mei Guo, translates directly to "beautiful country." Yet when seven-year-old Qian arrives in New York City in 1994 full of curiosity, she is overwhelmed by crushing fear and scarcity. In China, Qian's parents were professors; in America, her family is "illegal" and it will require all the determination and small joys they can muster to survive. In Chinatown, Qian's parents labor in sweatshops. Instead of laughing at her jokes, they fight constantly, taking out the stress of their new life on one another. Shunned by her classmates and teachers for her limited English, Qian takes refuge in the library and masters the language through books, coming to think of The Berenstain Bears as her first American friends. And where there is delight to be found, Qian relishes it: her first bite of gloriously greasy pizza, weekly "shopping days," when Qian finds small treasures in the trash lining Brooklyn's streets, and a magical Christmas visit to Rockefeller Center--confirmation that the New York City she saw in movies does exist after all. But then Qian's headstrong Ma Ma collapses, revealing an illness that she has kept secret for months for fear of the cost and scrutiny of a doctor's visit. As Ba Ba retreats further inward, Qian has little to hold onto beyond his constant refrain: Whatever happens, say that you were born here, that you've always lived here. Inhabiting her childhood perspective with exquisite lyric clarity and unforgettable charm and strength, Qian Julie Wang has penned an essential American story about a family fracturing under the weight of invisibility, and a girl coming of age in the shadows, who never stops seeking the light.
Call Me American by
Abdi Nor Iftin fell in love with America from afar. As a child, he learned English by listening to American pop artists. When U.S. marines landed in Mogadishu to take on the warlords, Abdi cheered the arrival of these real Americans, who seemed as heroic as those of the movies. But when the radical Islamist group al-Shabaab rose to power in 2006, it suddenly became dangerous to celebrate Western culture. Abdi used his language skills to post secret dispatches until he had to flee to Kenya.
The Distance Between Us by
Reyna Grande vividly brings to life her tumultuous early years in this “compelling . . . unvarnished, resonant” (BookPage) story of a childhood spent torn between two parents and two countries. As her parents make the dangerous trek across the Mexican border to “El Otro Lado” (The Other Side) in pursuit of the American dream, Reyna and her siblings are forced into the already overburdened household of their stern grandmother. When their mother at last returns, Reyna prepares for her own journey to “El Otro Lado” to live with the man who has haunted her imagination for years, her long-absent father.
Enrique's Journey by
Enrique's Journey recounts the unforgettable quest of a Honduran boy looking for his mother, eleven years after she is forced to leave her starving family to find work in the United States. Braving unimaginable peril, often clinging to the sides and tops of freight trains, Enrique travels through hostile worlds full of thugs, bandits, and corrupt cops. But he pushes forward, relying on his wit, courage, hope, and the kindness of strangers.
Escape from Camp 14 by
No one born and raised in these camps is known to have escaped. No one, that is, except Shin Dong-hyuk. Shin knew nothing of civilized existence--he saw his mother as a competitor for food, guards raised him to be a snitch, and he witnessed the execution of his mother and brother. These camps are clearly visible in satellite photographs, yet North Korea's government denies they exist.
Every Falling Star by
Every Falling Star is the intense memoir of a North Korean boy named Sungju who was forced at age twelve to live on the streets and fend for himself. To survive, Sungju creates a gang and lives by thieving, fighting, begging, and stealing rides on cargo trains. Sungju richly recreates his scabrous story, depicting what it was like for a boy alone to create a new family with his gang, "his brothers," to daily be hungry and to fear arrest, imprisonment, and even execution.
The Far Away Brothers by
True story about identical twin teenage brothers who escape El Salvador's violence to build new lives in California as undocumented immigrants. Ernesto and Raúl Flores are identical twins, living in rural El Salvador, they think the United States is just a far-off dream. But when Ernesto ends up on the wrong side of MS-13, one of El Salvador's brutal gangs, he flees for his own safety. Raúl, fearing that he will be mistaken for his brother, follows close behind.
The Far Away Brothers by
The deeply reported story of identical twin brothers who escape El Salvador's violence to build new lives in California--fighting to survive, to stay, and to belong. Growing up in rural El Salvador in the wake of the civil war, the United States was a distant fantasy to identical twins Ernesto and Raul Flores--until, at age seventeen, a deadly threat from the region's brutal gangs forces them to flee the only home they've ever known. In this urgent chronicle of contemporary immigration, journalist Lauren Markham follows the Flores twins as they make their way across the Rio Grande and the Texas desert, into the hands of immigration authorities, and from there to their estranged older brother in Oakland, CA. Soon these unaccompanied minors are navigating school in a new language, working to pay down their mounting coyote debt, and facing their day in immigration court, while also encountering the triumphs and pitfalls of teenage life with only each other for support. With intimate access and breathtaking range, Markham offers an unforgettable testament to the migrant experience. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW | WINNER OF THE RIDENHOUR BOOK PRIZE | SILVER WINNER OF THE CALIFORNIA BOOK AWARD | FINALIST FOR THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE | SHORTLISTED FOR THE J. ANTHONY LUKAS BOOK PRIZE | LONGLISTED FOR THE PEN/BOGRAD WELD PRIZE FOR BIOGRAPHY
The Girl with Seven Names by
As a child growing up in North Korea, Hyeonseo Lee was one of millions trapped by a communist regime. Her home on the border with China gave her some exposure to the world beyond the confines of the Hermit Kingdom and, she began to wonder, question and to realize that she had been brainwashed her entire life. Aged seventeen, she decided to escape North Korea. She could not have imagined that it would be twelve years before she was reunited with her family.
A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea by
Nineteen-year-old Doaa Al Zamel stays afloat on a small inflatable ring and clutches two little girls--barely toddlers--to her body. The children had been thrust into Doaa's arms by their drowning relatives, all refugees who boarded a dangerously overcrowded ship bound for Italy and a new life. For days as Doaa drifts, she prays for rescue and sings to the babies in her arms. She must stay alive for them. She must not lose hope.
How Dare the Sun Rise by
Sandra just ten years old when she found herself with a gun pointed at her head. She had watched as rebels gunned down her mother and sister in a refugee camp. The rebel didn't pull the trigger, and Sandra escaped. Thus began a new life for her and her surviving family members. Eventually, they moved to America, only to face yet another ethnic divide. Sandra may have crossed an ocean, but there was now a much wider divide she had to overcome. And it started with middle school in New York.
Illegal by
From a deadly border to America's kidnapping capital--the secret lives at the heart of the immigration controversy Arizona's violent border is the busiest gateway for illegal immigration in America, making Arizona Ground Zero for the immigration debate. No state is as hostile to the undocumented, and no city is as unwelcoming as Phoenix. Yet Phoenix is home to thousands who live in the shadows, where civil rights are neglected and lives are lost.
In Order to Live by
Park's family was loving, but life in North Korea was brutal. With thirteen-year-old Park suffering from a botched appendectomy and weighing sixty pounds, she and her mother were smuggled into China. By the time she and her mother made their way to South Korea two years later, her father was dead and her sister was missing.
Running for My Life by
Running for My Life is not a story about Africa or track and field athletics. It is about outrunning the devil and achieving the impossible faith, diligence, and the desire to give back. It is the American dream come true and a stark reminder that saving one can help to save thousands more. Lopez Lomong chronicles his inspiring ascent from a barefoot lost boy of the Sudanese Civil War to a Nike sponsored athlete on the US Olympic Team.
Stay True by
PULITZER PRIZE WINNER * NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A gripping memoir on friendship, grief, the search for self, and the solace that can be found through art, by the New Yorker staff writer Hua Hsu "This book is exquisite and excruciating and I will be thinking about it for years and years to come." --Rachel Kushner, New York Times bestselling author of The Flamethrowers and The Mars Room In the eyes of eighteen-year-old Hua Hsu, the problem with Ken--with his passion for Dave Matthews, Abercrombie & Fitch, and his fraternity--is that he is exactly like everyone else. Ken, whose Japanese American family has been in the United States for generations, is mainstream; for Hua, the son of Taiwanese immigrants, who makes 'zines and haunts Bay Area record shops, Ken represents all that he defines himself in opposition to. The only thing Hua and Ken have in common is that, however they engage with it, American culture doesn't seem to have a place for either of them. But despite his first impressions, Hua and Ken become friends, a friendship built on late-night conversations over cigarettes, long drives along the California coast, and the successes and humiliations of everyday college life. And then violently, senselessly, Ken is gone, killed in a carjacking, not even three years after the day they first meet. Determined to hold on to all that was left of one of his closest friends--his memories--Hua turned to writing. Stay True is the book he's been working on ever since. A coming-of-age story that details both the ordinary and extraordinary, Stay True is a bracing memoir about growing up, and about moving through the world in search of meaning and belonging.
American Dirt by
Lydia Quixano Pérez lives in the Mexican city of Acapulco. She runs a bookstore. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while there are cracks beginning to show in Acapulco because of the drug cartels, her life is, by and large, fairly comfortable. But when Lydia's husband's tell-all profile of a drug lord is published, none of their lives will ever be the same.
American Street by
On the corner of American Street and Joy Road, Fabiola Toussaint thought she would finally find une belle vie--a good life. But after they leave Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Fabiola's mother is detained by U.S. immigration, leaving Fabiola to navigate her American cousins, Detroit's west side; a new school; and a romance, all on her own. Just as she finds her footing in this strange new world, a dangerous proposition presents itself, and Fabiola soon realizes that freedom comes at a cost.
Barely Missing Everything by
In the tradition of Jason Reynolds and Matt de la Peña, this heartbreaking, no-holds-barred debut novel told from three points of view explores how difficult it is to make it in life when you--your life, brown lives--don't matter. Juan has plans. He's going to get out of El Paso, Texas, on a basketball scholarship and make something of himself--or at least find something better than his mom Fabi's cruddy apartment, her string of loser boyfriends, and a dead dad. Basketball is going to be his ticket out, his ticket up. He just needs to make it happen. His best friend JD has plans, too. He's going to be a filmmaker one day, like Quinten Tarantino or Guillermo del Toro (NOT Steven Spielberg). He's got a camera and he's got passion--what else could he need? Fabi doesn't have a plan anymore. When you get pregnant at sixteen and have been stuck bartending to make ends meet for the past seventeen years, you realize plans don't always pan out, and that there some things you just can't plan for... Like Juan's run-in with the police, like a sprained ankle, and a tanking math grade that will likely ruin his chance at a scholarship. Like JD causing the implosion of his family. Like letters from a man named Mando on death row. Like finding out this man could be the father your mother said was dead. Soon Juan and JD are embarking on a Thelma and Louise-like road trip to visit Mando. Juan will finally meet his dad, JD has a perfect subject for his documentary, and Fabi is desperate to stop them. But, as we already know, there are some things you just can't plan for...
The Book of Unknown Americans by
When fifteen-year-old Maribel Rivera sustains a terrible injury, the Riveras leave behind a comfortable life in Mexico and risk everything to come to the United States so that Maribel can have the care she needs. Once they arrive, it's not long before Maribel attracts the attention of Mayor Toro, the son of one of their new neighbors, who sees a kindred spirit in this beautiful, damaged outsider.
The Border by
Pato, Arbo, Marcos, and Gladys are powerless as the lives they once knew are taken from them. Then they are seen by the gunmen. They run. Except they have nowhere to go. The narcos responsible for their families' murders have put out a reward for the teens' capture. Staying in Mexico is certain death, but attempting to cross the border through an unforgiving desert may be as deadly as the secrets they are trying to escape.
Borderline by
Life's not easy for Sami Sabiri, a funny, gutsy fifteen-year-old stuck at a private school where he's the only Muslim kid. But things are about to get a lot worse. When Sami catches his father in a lie, he gets suspicious . . . and he's not the only one. In a flash, the FBI descends on his home and Sami's family becomes the center of an international terrorist investigation. Now, as his world unravels, Sami must find a way to save his father, his family, and his life.
City of Saints and Thieves by
Tina and her mother arrived in Kenya looking for the chance to start fresh. Her mother found work as a maid for a family, headed by Greyhill, one of the city's business leaders. When her mother is found shot to death in Greyhill's personal study, she knows exactly who's behind it. With revenge on her mind, Tina spends the next four years working as a thief for the Goondas, a local gang. It's a job that brings her back to the Greyhill home, giving her the chance for revenge.
Dream Country by
The novel begins in suburban Minneapolis at the moment when seventeen-year-old Kollie Flomo begins to crack under the strain of his life as a Liberian refugee. He's exhausted by being at once too black and not black enough for his African American peers and worn down by the expectations of his own Liberian family and community. When his frustration finally spills into violence and his parents send him back to Monrovia to reform school, the story shifts.
Girl at War by
For readers of The Tiger's Wife and All the Light We Cannot See comes a powerful debut novel about a girl's coming of age--and how her sense of family, friendship, love, and belonging is profoundly shaped by war. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY BOOKPAGE, BOOKLIST, AND ELECTRIC LITERATURE * ALEX AWARD WINNER * LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE FINALIST * LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILEYS WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION Zagreb, 1991. Ana Jurić is a carefree ten-year-old, living with her family in a small apartment in Croatia's capital. But that year, civil war breaks out across Yugoslavia, splintering Ana's idyllic childhood. Daily life is altered by food rations and air raid drills, and soccer matches are replaced by sniper fire. Neighbors grow suspicious of one another, and Ana's sense of safety starts to fray. When the war arrives at her doorstep, Ana must find her way in a dangerous world. New York, 2001. Ana is now a college student in Manhattan. Though she's tried to move on from her past, she can't escape her memories of war--secrets she keeps even from those closest to her. Haunted by the events that forever changed her family, Ana returns to Croatia after a decade away, hoping to make peace with the place she once called home. As she faces her ghosts, she must come to terms with her country's difficult history and the events that interrupted her childhood years before. Moving back and forth through time, Girl at War is an honest, generous, brilliantly written novel that illuminates how history shapes the individual. Sara Nović fearlessly shows the impact of war on one young girl--and its legacy on all of us. It's a debut by a writer who has stared into recent history to find a story that continues to resonate today. Praise for Girl at War "Outstanding . . . Girl at War performs the miracle of making the stories of broken lives in a distant country feel as large and universal as myth."--The New York Times Book Review (Editor's Choice) "[An] old-fashioned page-turner that will demand all of the reader's attention, happily given. A debut novel that astonishes."--Vanity Fair "Shattering . . . The book begins with what deserves to become one of contemporary literature's more memorable opening lines. The sentences that follow are equally as lyrical as a folk lament and as taut as metal wire wrapped through an electrified fence."--USA Today
Illegal by
Nora is on a journey far away from home. When her father leaves their beloved Mexico in search of work, she stays behind. She fights living in poverty--waiting for her father's return. When the letters and money stop coming, Nora decides that she and her mother must look for him in Texas. After a bad experience crossing the border, the two are all alone in a new place. Nora must find the strength to survive while aching for small comforts: friends, a new school, and her quinceañera.
The Lines We Cross by
Every once in a while, Michael's parents drag him to meetings and rallies with their anti-immigrant group. And it all makes sense to him. Until Mina shows up at his school, and turns out to be funny, smart - and a Muslim refugee from Afghanistan. Suddenly, his parents' politics seem much more complicated. Michael has to decide where he stands. Mina has to protect herself and her family. Both have to choose what they want their world to look like.
Now Is the Time for Running by
Just down the road from their families, Deo and his friends play soccer in the dusty fields of Zimbabwe, cheered on by Deo's older brother, Innocent. It is a day like any other . . . until the soldiers arrive and Deo and Innocent are forced to run for their lives, fleeing the wreckage of their village for the distant promise of safe haven. Along the way, they face the prejudice and poverty that await refugees everywhere, and must rely on the kindness of people they meet to make it through.
The Radius of Us by
Ninety seconds can change a life-not just daily routine, but who you are as a person. Gretchen Asher knows this, because that's how long a stranger held her to the ground. A car sped toward them and Gretchen's attacker told her to run. Ninety seconds can change a life-not just where you live, but how others think of you. Phoenix Flores knows this, because months after setting off toward the U.S./Mexico border in search of safety for his brother, he finally walked out of detention.
The Tyrant's Daughter by
When her father is killed in a coup, Laila and her mother and brother leave their war-torn homeland for a fresh start in Washington, D.C. At her new school, Laila makes mistakes, makes friends, and even meets a boy who catches her eye. This new life brings unsettling facts to light. The newspapers call her father a brutal dictator and suggest that her family's privilege came at the expense of innocent lives. Meanwhile, her mother would like nothing more than to avenge his death.
Watched by
Naeem is a Bangledeshi teenager living in Queens who thinks he can charm his way through anything. But then mistakes catch up with him. So do the cops, who offer him an impossible choice- spy on his Muslim neighbors and report back to them on shady goings-on, or face a police record. Naeem wants to be a hero-a protector. He wants his parents to be proud of him. But as time goes on, the line between informing and entrapping blurs. Is he saving or betraying his community?
You Bring the Distant Near by
Told in alternating teen voices across three generations, You Bring the Distant Near explores sisterhood, first loves, friendship, and the inheritance of culture--for better or worse. From a grandmother worried that her children are losing their Indian identity to a daughter wrapped up in a forbidden biracial love affair to a granddaughter social-activist fighting to preserve Bengali tigers, Perkins weaves together the threads of a family growing into an American identity.
Driving Miss Norma by
When Miss Norma was diagnosed with uterine cancer, she was advised to undergo surgery, radiation, and chemo. But instead of staying in a hospital bed, Miss Norma told her doctor, "I'm ninety years old. I'm hitting the road." So Miss Norma took off in a motor home with her son, his wife, and their dog. She tries new foods, rides in a hot air balloon, and mounts for a horseback ride. Miss Norma's health improves and conversations that had once been taboo begin to unfold.
Just Don't Fall by
When he was just nine years old, Josh Sundquist was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a virulent cancer strain that eventually claimed his left leg. Just Don't Fall is the story of the boy Josh was and of the young man he became-an heroic struggle through numerous hospitalizations and worse to become an award-winning skier in the Paralympics and renowned motivational speaker. What emerges is one of the most fresh and sincere works of inspiration to come along in years.
Notes Left Behind by
Notes Left Behind by Brooke and Keith Desserich began as a journal they kept after their five-year-old daughter Elena was diagnosed with brain cancer and given just 165 days to live. As poignant and inspiring as Randy Pausch's The Last Lecture, it is the story of the courage of a truly remarkable little girl who accomplished so much in so little time--and of her parents' love and dedication to their child and their family.
Before I Die by
This is the story of a girl who is determined to live, love, and to write her own ending before her time is finally up. Tessa has just months to live. Fighting back against hospital visits, endless tests, and drugs with excruciating side effects, Tessa compiles a list. It's her To Do Before I Die list. Released from the constraints of "normal" life, Tessa tastes new experiences to make her feel alive while her failing body struggles to keep up.
Everything, Everything by
Basically, I'm allergic to the world. I don't leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. I only see my mom and my nurse. But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly. Maybe we can't predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It's almost certainly going to be a disaster.
Just Breathe by
David Scheinman is the popular president of his senior class, battling cystic fibrosis. Jamie Turner is a quiet sophomore, struggling with depression. The pair soon realizes that they're able to be more themselves with each other than they can be with anyone else, and their unlikely friendship starts to turn into something so much more. But neither Jamie nor David can bring themselves to reveal the secrets that weigh most heavily on their hearts--and their time for honesty may be running out.
The Last Leaves Falling by
Sora is going to die, and he's only seventeen years old. Diagnosed with ALS, he's already lost the use of his legs. Sora visits chat rooms online and finally finds what he wants: friendship without pity. As much as he loves his friends, he can't ignore what's ahead. He's beginning to lose function in his hands, and soon he'll become even more of a burden. Sora makes the decision to leave life on his own terms, and he needs his friends to help him.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by
On the first day of his senior year, Greg Gaines thinks he's figured it out. The answer to the basic question: How is it possible to exist in a place that sucks so bad? His strategy: remain at the periphery at all times. Keep a low profile. Make films with the one person who is even sort of his friend, Earl. This plan works for exactly eight hours. Then Greg's mom forces him to become friends with a girl who has cancer. This brings about the destruction of Greg's entire life.
Holding up the Universe by
Everyone thinks they know Libby, the girl dubbed "America's Fattest Teen." After her mom's death, she's been picking up pieces, dealing with her father and her grief. Now, Libby's ready for high school. Everyone thinks they know Jack, too. No one knows is that Jack can't recognize faces. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game--Libby and Jack are both upset, then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel.
Skinny by
Do you ever get hungry? Too hungry to eat? Holly's older sister, Giselle, is self-destructing. Haunted by her love-deprived relationship with her late father, this once strong role model and medical student, is gripped by anorexia. Holly, a track star, struggles to keep her own life in balance while coping with the mental and physical deterioration of her beloved sister.
Wintergirls by
Lia and Cassie are best friends, frozen in fragile bodies, competitors in a contest to see who can be the thinnest. But then Cassie suffers the ultimate loss--her life--and Lia is left haunted by her friend's memory and racked with guilt for not being able to help save her. This book explores Lia's struggle and her desperate attempts to hold on to hope.
Boy Meets Depression by
Kevin Breel burst into the public's awareness when at 19 his TED talk became a worldwide phenomenon. Star athlete, ace student, and life of the party- in short, he was every parent's dream. From the outside his life looked perfect. On the inside, though, the pain and shame of depression were killing him. Now, in his first book, he smashes the silence surrounding what it's like to be young, male, and depressed in a culture that has no place for that. Through the lens of his own near suicide, he shows other sufferers that the real miracle of life isn't found in perfection, it's in our ability to heal and accept the dark parts of ourselves."
The Burn Journals by
An incredible and true story of self-destruction and recovery, about a 14-year-old boy who sets himself on fire and the year that follows-a book for adults, adolescents, teacher, and professionals that spotlights teenage despair and suicide like no other.
This Close to Happy by
A rare, vividly personal account of what it feels like to suffer from clinical depression, written from a woman's perspective and informed by an acute understanding of the implications of this disease over a lifetime. Daphne Merkin recounts her early hospitalization for depression in poignant detail, as well as her complex relationship with her mercurial, withholding mother.
All the Bright Places by
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death. Every day he thinks of ways he might kill himself, but every day he also searches for--and manages to find--something to keep him here, and alive, and awake. Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her small Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister's recent death. When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school--six stories above the ground-- it's unclear who saves whom. Soon it's only with Violet that Finch can be himself. And it's only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet's world grows, Finch's begins to shrink.
And We Stay by
Senior Paul Wagoner walks into his school with a stolen gun, threatens his girlfriend, Emily Beam, and then takes his own life. Soon after, angry and guilt-ridden Emily is sent to a boarding school in Amherst, Massachusetts, where two quirky fellow students and the spirit of Emily Dickinson offer helping hands. But it is up to Emily Beam to heal her own damaged self, to find the good behind the bad, hope inside the despair, and springtime under the snow.
Falling into Place by
"On the day Liz Emerson tries to die, they had reviewed Newton's laws of motion in physics class. Then, after school, she put them into practice by running her Mercedes off the road." Why did Liz Emerson decide that the world would be better off without her? Why did she give up? The nonlinear novel pieces together the short and devastating life of Meridian High's most popular junior girl. How do we impact one another? How do our actions reverberate?
Girl in Pieces by
Charlotte Davis is in pieces. At seventeen she's already lost more than most people do in a lifetime. But she's learned how to forget. The broken glass washes away the sorrow until there is nothing but calm. You don't have to think about your father and the river. Your best friend, who is gone forever. Or your mother, who has nothing left to give you. Every new scar hardens Charlie's heart just a little more, yet it still hurts so much. It hurts enough to not care anymore, which is sometimes what has to happen before you can find your way back from the edge. A deeply moving portrait of a girl in a world that owes her nothing, and has taken so much, and the journey she undergoes to put herself back together.
It's Kind of a Funny Story by
Like many ambitious New York City teenagers, Craig Gilner sees entry into Manhattan's Executive Pre-Professional High School as the ticket to his future. Determined to succeed at life-which means getting into the right high school to get into the right college to get the right job-Craig studies night and day to ace the entrance exam, and does. That's when things start to get crazy. At his new school, Craig realizes that he isn't brilliant compared to the other kids; he's just average, and maybe not even that. He soon sees his once-perfect future crumbling away. The stress becomes unbearable and Craig stops eating and sleeping-until, one night, he nearly kills himself. Craig's suicidal episode gets him checked into a mental hospital, where his new neighbors include a transsexual sex addict, a girl who has scarred her own face with scissors, and the self-elected President Armelio. There, isolated from the crushing pressures of school and friends, Craig is finally able to confront the sources of his anxiety. Ned Vizzini, who himself spent time in a psychiatric hospital, has created a remarkably moving tale about the sometimes unexpected road to happiness. For a novel about depression, it's definitely a funny story.
Lovely, Dark and Deep by
Wren Wells is hiding out. Though she lived through the accident that killed her boyfriend Patrick, the girl she used to be didn't survive. Instead of heading off to college as planned, Wren retreats to her father's studio in the northern woods of Maine. All she wants is a little quiet, a place where she can be in control. Then she meets Cal Owen. Dealing with his own troubles, Cal is hiding out too. When the chemistry between them threatens to pull Wren from her hard-won exile, Wren has to choose: risk opening her broken heart to the world again, or join the ghosts who haunt her.
My Heart and Other Black Holes by
Sixteen-year-old physics nerd Aysel is obsessed with plotting her own death. With a mother who can barely look at her without wincing, classmates who whisper behind her back, and a father whose violent crime rocked her small town, Aysel is ready to turn her potential energy into nothingness. There's only one problem: she's not sure she has the courage to do it alone. But once she discovers a website with a section called Suicide Partners, Aysel's convinced she's found her solution--Roman, a teenage boy who's haunted by a family tragedy, is looking for a partner. Even though Aysel and Roman have nothing in common, they slowly start to fill in each other's broken lives. But as their suicide pact becomes more concrete, Aysel begins to question whether she really wants to go through with it. Ultimately, she must choose between wanting to die or trying to convince Roman to live so they can discover the potential of their energy together.
Scars by
Kendra, a sexual abuse survivor, cuts to cope with the pain, but she doesn't remember the identity of who abused her. Kendra makes a friend in Meghan, and falls in love with her. When Kendra's abuser starts threatening her, she must find a way to face her past and stop hurting herself--before it's too late.
Willow by
Seven months ago, on a rainy March night, sixteen-year- old Willow's parents drank too much wine and asked her to drive them home. They never made it. Willow lost control of the car and her parents died in the accident. Now she has left behind her old home, friends, and school, and blocks the pain by secretly cutting herself. But when Willow meets Guy, a boy as sensitive and complicated as she is, she begins an intense, life-changing relationship that turns her world upside down. Told in an arresting, fresh voice, Willow is an unforgettable novel about one girl's struggle to cope with tragedy, and one boy's refusal to give up on her.
Girlbomb by
At fifteen, sick of her unbearable and increasingly dangerous home life, Janice Erlbaum walked out of her family's Brooklyn apartment and didn't look back. From her first frightening night at a shelter, Janice knew she was in over her head. She was beaten up, shaken down, and nearly stabbed by a pregnant girl. But it was still better than living at home. As Janice slipped further into street life, she nevertheless attended high school, harbored crushes, and even played the lead in the spring musical. She also roamed the streets, clubs, bars, and parks of New York City with her two best girlfriends, on the prowl for hard drugs and boys on skateboards. Together they scored coke at Danceteria, smoked angel dust in East Village squats, commiserated over their crazy mothers, and slept with one another's boyfriends on a regular basis.
The Lost Boy by
Imagine a young boy who has never had a loving home. His only possesions are the old, torn clothes he carries in a paper bag. The only world he knows is one of isolation and fear. Although others had rescued this boy from his abusive alcoholic mother, his real hurt is just begining -- he has no place to call home. This is Dave Pelzer's long-awaited sequel to A Child Called "It". In The Lost Boy, he answers questions and reveals new adventures through the compelling story of his life as an adolescent. Now considered an F-Child (Foster Child), Dave is moved in and out of five different homes. He suffers shame and experiences resentment from those who feel that all foster kids are trouble and unworthy of being loved just because they are not part of a "real" family. Tears, laughter, devastation and hope create the journey of this little lost boy who searches desperately for just one thing -- the love of a family.
Runaway Girl by
Carissa Phelps was a runner. By the time she was twelve, she had run away from home, dropped out of school, and fled blindly into the arms of a brutal pimp. Even when she escaped him, she could not outrun the crushing inner pain of abuse, neglect, and abandonment. With little to hope for, she expected to end up in prison, or worse. But then her life was transformed through the unexpected kindness of a teacher and a counselor. Through small miracles, Carissa accomplished the unimaginable, graduating from UCLA with both a law degree and an MBA. She left the streets behind, yet found herself back, this time working to help homeless and at-risk youth discover their own paths to a better life.
Smile for the Camera by
Kelle James ran away from an abusive home at the age of fifteen to the best place she could think of. New York City. She was going to be a model, rich, famous, and she was going to find people who treated her right. She had no idea what was in store for her and within three days she was homeless and broke. What follows is her exceptional story of trying to make it on her own with nothing to her name and no one to trust. She endures a string of people, mostly men, who take advantage of her youth and beauty, many disappointments and rejections, and the most famous murder trial of the 1970s. This is the story of a girl losing herself before finding her way in the city that never sleeps.
Into the Wild by
In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter. How McCandless came to die is the unforgettable story of Into the Wild. Immediately after graduating from college in 1991, McCandless had roamed through the West and Southwest on a vision quest like those made by his heroes Jack London and John Muir. In the Mojave Desert he abandoned his car, stripped it of its license plates, and burned all of his cash. He would give himself a new name, Alexander Supertramp, and, unencumbered by money and belongings, he would be free to wallow in the raw, unfiltered experiences that nature presented. Craving a blank spot on the map, McCandless simply threw the maps away. Leaving behind his desperate parents and sister, he vanished into the wild. Jon Krakauer constructs a clarifying prism through which he reassembles the disquieting facts of McCandless's short life. Admitting an interst that borders on obsession, he searches for the clues to the dries and desires that propelled McCandless. Digging deeply, he takes an inherently compelling mystery and unravels the larger riddles it holds: the profound pull of the American wilderness on our imagination; the allure of high-risk activities to young men of a certain cast of mind; the complex, charged bond between fathers and sons. When McCandless's innocent mistakes turn out to be irreversible and fatal, he becomes the stuff of tabloid headlines and is dismissed for his naiveté, pretensions, and hubris. He is said to have had a death wish but wanting to die is a very different thing from being compelled to look over the edge. Krakauer brings McCandless's uncompromising pilgrimage out of the shadows, and the peril, adversity , and renunciation sought by this enigmatic young man are illuminated with a rare understanding--and not an ounce of sentimentality. Mesmerizing, heartbreaking, Into the Wild is a tour de force. The power and luminosity of Jon Krakauer's stoytelling blaze through every page.
The Stranger in the Woods by
Many people dream of escaping modern life. Most will never act on it--but in 1986, twenty-year-old Christopher Knight did just that when he left his home in Massachusetts, drove to Maine, and disappeared into the woods. He would not have a conversation with another person for the next twenty-seven years. Drawing on extensive interviews with Knight himself, journalist Michael Finkel shows how Knight lived in a tent in a secluded encampment, developing ingenious ways to store provisions and stave off frostbite during the winters. A former alarm technician, he stealthily broke into nearby cottages for food, books, and supplies, taking only what he needed but sowing unease in a community plagued by his mysterious burglaries. Since returning to the world, he has faced unique challenges--and compelled us to reexamine our assumptions about what makes a good life. By turns riveting and thought-provoking, The Stranger in the Woods gives us a deeply moving portrait of a man determined to live his own way.
The Great Alone by
Alaska, 1974. Unpredictable. Unforgiving. Untamed. For a family in crisis, the ultimate test of survival. Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America's last true frontier. Thirteen-year-old Leni, a girl coming of age in a tumultuous time, caught in the riptide of her parents' passionate, stormy relationship, dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for her family. She is desperate for a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if means following him into the unknown. At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. In a wild, remote corner of the state, they find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit days and the generosity of the locals make up for the Allbrights' lack of preparation and dwindling resources. But as winter approaches and darkness descends on Alaska, Ernt's fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: they are on their own. In the wild, there is no one to save them but themselves. In this unforgettable portrait of human frailty and resilience, Kristin Hannah reveals the indomitable character of the modern American pioneer and the spirit of a vanishing Alaska--a place of incomparable beauty and danger.The Great Alone is a daring, beautiful, stay-up-all-night story about love and loss, the fight for survival, and the wildness that lives in both man and nature.
A Long Way Gone by
Children have become soldiers of choice. Ishmael Beah used to be one of them. Until now, there has not been a first-person account from someone who came through this hell and survived. Beah tells a story: how at the age of twelve, he fled rebels and wandered a land ruined by violence. By thirteen, he'd been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts.
Beasts of No Nation by
After his father's death at the hands of militants, which he fled just before witnessing, Agu is vulnerable to the dangerous yet paternal nature of his new commander. While the war rages on, Agu becomes increasingly divorced from the life he had known before the conflict started--a life of school friends, church services, and time with his family, still intact. As he recalls these sunnier times, his daily reality continues to spin further downward into brutality.
The Power of Half by
It all started when fourteen-year old Hannah Salwen had an "eureka" moment seeing a homeless man. Until that day, the Salwens had been caught up providing a good life for their children, doing their part but not really feeling it. So when Hannah was stopped in her tracks by this disparity, her parents knew they had to do something. As a family, they made the decision to sell their mansion, downsize to a house half its size, and give half of the sale price to a worthy charity.
Finding Me by
Michelle was a young single mother when she was kidnapped by a school bus driver named Ariel Castro. For more than a decade afterward, she was tortured. 2 other women were also taken after her. After their escape Michelle was estranged from her family and fighting for custody of her son. Local police believed she had run away, so they removed her from the missing persons lists fifteen months after she vanished.
I Have the Right To by
In 2014, Chessy Prout was a freshman at St. Paul's School, a prestigious boarding school in New Hampshire, when a senior boy sexually assaulted her as part of a ritualized game of conquest. Chessy bravely reported her assault to the police and testified against her attacker in court. Then, in the face of unexpected backlash from her once-trusted school community, she shed her anonymity to help other survivors find their voice.
My Story by
Fourteen-year-old Elizabeth Smart was taken from her home in the middle of the night by Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee. Elizabeth was kept chained, dressed in disguise, repeatedly raped, and told she and her family would be killed if she tried to escape. After her rescue, she rejoined her family and worked to pick up the pieces of her life. In the years after her rescue, Smart transformed from victim to advocate, traveling the country and working to educate and inspire change.
Missoula by
Missoula, Montana, is home to a highly regarded state university whose beloved football team inspires a rabidly loyal fan base. Between January 2008 and May 2012, the Department of Justice investigated 350 sexual assaults reported by students to the Missoula police. Many of the alleged perpetrators played for the Grizzlies. Few of the cases were properly handled by the authorities.
We Believe You by
"Me too. It happened to me too." More than one in five women and 5 percent of men are sexually assaulted while at college. Some survivors are coming forward; others are not. InWe Believe You, students from every kind of college and university--large and small, public and private, highly selective and less so--share experiences of trauma, healing, and everyday activism, representing a diversity of races, economic and family backgrounds, gender identities, immigration statuses, interests, capacities, and loves. Theirs is a bold, irrefutable sampling of voices and stories that should speak to all.
All the Rage by
The sheriff's son, Kellan Turner, is not the golden boy everyone thinks he is, and Romy Grey knows that for a fact. Because no one wants to believe a girl from the wrong side of town, the truth about him has cost her everything-friends, family, and her community. But when a girl with ties to both Romy and Kellan goes missing after a party, and news of him assaulting another girl in a town close by gets out, Romy must decide whether she wants to fight or carry the burden of knowing more girls could get hurt if she doesn't speak up.
Asking for It by
It's summer in a quiet Irish town and tonight Emma and her friends have dressed to impress. The next morning Emma's parents discover her collapsed on the doorstop of their home, unconscious, dumped there. Emma can't remember what happened the night before, none of her friends will respond to her texts. At school, people turn away from her and whisper under their breath. Her mind may be a blank, but someone has posted photos of it on Facebook under a fake account, "Easy Emma"--photos she will never be able to forget.
The Nowhere Girls by
Grace Salter is the new girl in town, Rosina Suarez is the queer punk girl in a immigrant family, and Erin Delillo is obsessed with 2 things: marine biology and Star Trek. When Grace learns that Lucy Moynihan, the former occupant of her home, was run out of town for accusing the popular guys at school of rape, she sensed that Lucy never had justice. Rosina and Erin feel the same about Lucy's tragedy, so they form an anonymous group of girls at their school to resist the sexist culture.
Some Boys by
Some girls say no. Some boys don't listen. When Grace meets Ian, she's afraid. Afraid he'll reject her like the rest of the school, like her own family. After she accuses Zac, the town golden boy, of rape, everyone turns against her. Ian wouldn't be the first to call her a slut and a liar. Except Ian doesn't reject her. He's the one person who looks past the taunts and the names and the tough-girl act to see the real Grace. He's also Zac's best friend.
The Way I Used to Be by
Unforgettable story of a young woman as she struggles to find strength in the aftermath of an assault. Eden was always good at being good. Starting high school didn’t change who she was. But the night her brother’s best friend rapes her, Eden’s world capsizes. What was once simple, is now complex. What Eden once loved—who she once loved—she now hates. What she thought she knew to be true, is now lies.
Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree by
Based on interviews with young women who were kidnapped by Boko Haram, this novel tells the timely story of one girl who was taken from her home in Nigeria and her fight for survival. A new pair of shoes, a university degree, a husband--these are the things that a girl dreams of in a Nigerian village. But dreams turn to nightmares when her village is attacked by Boko Haram, a terrorist group. Kidnapped, she is taken into the forest where she is forced to follow her captors' radical beliefs.
Saint Death by
A propulsive, compelling, and unsparing novel set in the grimly violent world of the human and drug trade on the US-Mexican border. On the outskirts of Juarez, Arturo scrapes together a living working odd jobs and staying out of sight. But his friend Faustino is in trouble: he's stolen money from the narcos to smuggle his girlfriend and her baby into the US, and needs Arturo's help to get it back. To help Faustino, Arturo must face the world of drug and human traffickers.
Trafficked by
Hannah has struggled ever since her parents were killed and her beloved uncle vanished. So when she's offered the chance to become a nanny for a family in Los Angeles, it seems like a dream come true-and at first it is. But after weeks of working sixteen-hour days and not being able to leave the house, she still hasn't been paid. But as she begins uncovering the family's crooked history, she may be exposing more than she bargained on-and putting her life in danger.
The Weight of Blood by
Henbane sits deep in the Ozark Mountains. Folks there still whisper about Lucy Dane's mother, a bewitching stranger who appeared long enough to marry Carl Dane and then vanished when Lucy was just a child. Now on the brink of adulthood, Lucy experiences another loss when her friend Cheri disappears and is then found murdered, her body placed on display for all to see. What Lucy discovers is a secret that pervades the secluded Missouri hills, and beyond that, a horrific revelation.