Friction

Author	Matt Whyman
ISBN	0060746653

In the South American town of Medellin, where drug dealers rule and hope is scarce, young assassins are in large supply. Take Shorty and Alberto: two hardened best friends from poor homes whose biggest dream is to see a live soccer match. These boys understand that the one true power they will ever possess...

Author	Pete Hautman
ISBN	0689869037

You could say that my railroad, the Madham Line, is almost the most important thing in my life. Next to Andy Morrow, my best friend....I guess you could say that I'm not only disturbed, I'm obsessed. Lots of people think Doug Hanson is a freak -- he gets beat up after school and the girl of his dreams calls...

Author	Janet Tashjian
ISBN	0805080635

A hard-hitting novel that breaks open the gritty world of teen relationship abuse

Seventeen-year-old Becky Martin dreams of being a stand-up comic. She also craves the affection of a boyfriend. When attractive Kip, a rising star in the San Francisco comedy club scene, comes into Becky's...

Author	Martha Brooks
ISBN	0374349851

Seventeen-year-old Odella is haunted by family secrets. Why doesn't her great-aunt Gloria visit anymore? Why does her mother, Sally, drink so much? Sally's tragic car accident on a frozen lake when she was sixteen seems to have cast a spell over her life that no one can break. Odella tries to hold her...

Author

Jacquie Gordon

"If you think in terms of teaching as a shared journey of discovery, instead of just a job, look what's involved: sharing of knowledge, hunger for understanding, desire for approval, opening of another spirit, penetration of one mind into another, the mystery of the unknown, the pleasure of success,...

Author	Christine Kole MacLean
ISBN	0738710296

Selected for the Book Sense Autumn 2006 Children's Pick List!

It's not like there's a "find yourself" kit or road signs that say "This way to being your own person." If you're lucky, maybe there's someone who can help you, like a fat lady on the beach might yell "Keep going! You can do it!" if you're...

Author	Malin Alegria
ISBN	0689878109

For as long as Estrella Alvarez can remember, her mother has been planning to throw her an elaborate quinceañera for her fifteenth birthday -- complete with a mariachi band, cheesy decorations, and a hideous dress. Just thinking about her quince makes Estrella cringe. But her mother insists that...

Author	David Lubar
ISBN	0618439099

To the Bozo, the clown who sits inside the cage above the dunk tank, everyone is a "mark." Once he has zeroed in on his victim, the Bozo comes up with the perfect wisecrack something funny enough to make people stop and listen, and cruel enough to hook the mark. Now the mark is bent on revenge, and he'll buy...

Author	Rita Williams-Garcia
ISBN	0688162479

Even though they were born in different countries, Akilah and Victoria are true best friends. But Victoria has been acting strange ever since she returned from her summer in Nigeria, where she had a special coming-of-age ceremony. Why does proud Victoria, named for a queen, slouch at her desk and answer...

Author	Kathryn Lasky
ISBN	0152012591

Harper Jessup is an avid reader, and when her parents become “migrants for God” she must keep her books secret. As Harper grows older and realizes how valuable reading is to her, she comes to understand that her parents’ radical efforts in favor of educational censorship are related to a quest...

Author	Ellen Wittlinger
ISBN	0689863357

NOBODY SHOULD HAVE A NIGHT LIKE THIS. 8:30 P.M.: It's been four years since Michelle was killed. Leo can't stand to be at home with his mom -- she's crazy with rage. He's got anger of his own and pictures of his dead sister he can't get out of his head. 9:00 P.M.: Bree parks her mom's car and locks the doors. She's...

Author	Kathe Koja
ISBN	0142402095

The kids at school call Jinsen “Buddha Boy”—he wears oversize tie-dyed dragon T- shirts, shaves his head, and always seems to be smiling. He’s clearly a freak. Then Justin is paired with him for a class project. As he gets to know Jinsen and his incredible artistic talent, Justin questions his...

Author	Debra Garfinkle
ISBN	0142407828

The journal of Michael "Storky" Pomerantz tells the tumultuous tale of life as a high-schooler—complete with the fact that the love of his life is dating a high school football player. As he chronicles the highs—and, of course, the most embarrassing lows—of his freshman year in high school,...

Author	Blake Nelson
ISBN	0142405744

Music is Pete's life. He's happiest when playing his Fender P-Bass. He doesn't care about prestige or getting girls; it's the quality of the music that matters. Then he meets the Carlisle brothers. They can't sing and they can barely play, but somehow they have a following. Pete can't resist, and he joins...

Author	Pamela Lowell
ISBN	0761453172

Abandoned. That's how Ronnie Hartman feels after her mother and Kenny, her mom's good-for-nothing boyfriend, move to Alaska, bringing Ronnie's two younger brothers with them and leaving her behind. Now thirteen years old, Ronnie has been returned from multiple foster homes because of her impulsive...

Author	Jacqueline Woodson
ISBN	0142403903

"Feels like I've known him since before he got to the world-longer than he knew himself, truthfully. Seems like we'd been friends really...Somewhere before life on earth..."

--Desire Viola Roselind, "Behind You", P. 24

"Kids are something. All they can see is the beauty in a moment."

...

Author	Gary Soto
ISBN	0152060227

On his thirteenth birthday, Ronnie woke up feeling like a chimp--all long armed, big eared, and gangly. He's been muddling through each gawky day since. Now his best friend, Joey, has turned thirteen, too--and after Joey humiliates himself in front of a cute girl, he climbs a tree and refuses to come...

Author	Jane St. Anthony
ISBN	0374372896

What happens when you get what you think you want and then don't know what to do with it? When twelve-year-old Margaret hears the boy next door call to her in the middle of the night, her heart races with excitement – and nervousness. Will this mean Sherman is her boyfriend? Although Sherman insists that...

Author	Adrian Fogelin
ISBN	1561452815

Twelve-year-old Cassie's life is changed when Jemmie, an African-American girl, and her family move in next door. Can she and Jemmie overcome family prejudice and cultural differences in a small, working-class town?
Cass is dreading a long, lonely summer until Jemmie and her family move in next...

Author	Sue Stauffacher
ISBN	0440419344

Franklin Delano Donuthead is a fifth grader with a lot of problems: For starters, his last name is Donuthead. He considers himself handicapped because one arm and leg are shorter than the other (by less than half an inch), his mother is trying to poison him with non-organic foods (like salami), he doesn’t...

Author	Priscilla Cummings
ISBN	0142408565

For days, three seventh-grade girls Claire, Jenna and Suzanne agonize over whether to say anything. Finally, they summon the courage to speak up about their music teacher, Frederick Mattero.

What happens next is chaos. Parents are called. A teacher is accused and attacked. The gossip mill...

Author	Amy Goldman Koss
ISBN	0142300330

Maya has been part of the group ever since the day Candace asked her if she wanted to "do lunch" in the cafeteria. Yet when Candace suddenly deems her unworthy, Maya's so-called friends just blow her off. While Maya just wants the girls back like they used to be, she knows that can never happen-because whatever...

Author	Lara Deloza
ISBN	0440237874

A fresh, honest look at the difficult choices and unexpected joys in a girl’s life under pressure.

Lucy Doyle is about to explode. She’s sure her name might as well be Loser because she‘s never, ever been kissed. To make matters worse, nearly all of her friends have left her behind for boys....

Author	Gail Giles
ISBN	1416909265

I WAS THE GHOST OF THE SCHOOL CORRIDORS.SKYE WAS THE DEVIL.AND I WAS DOOMED FROM THE DAY SHE SPOKE TO MESkye Colby? She's the multi-pierced, multi-tattooed girl hanging around the cybercafés, always out at odd hours in marginal places. The jocks call her "slut puppy," the bland blondes in the plaid...

Author	Barbara Hall
ISBN	0385733283

At the age of 16, it's standard procedure for every girl at Lynnie Russo's posh Los Angeles prep school to get a car. So on her 16th birthday, Lynnie is startled when she opens the small gift box from her father—it doesn't contain the shiny new set of keys she was expecting. Instead she finds a worn-out...