Joseph

Author	M. Sindy Felin
ISBN	1416917950

"The best way to avoid being picked on by high school bullies is to kill someone."

Karina has plenty to worry about on the last day of seventh grade: finding three Ds and a C on her report card again, getting laughed at by everyone again, being sent to the principal -- again. She'd like this to change,...

Author	Susan Shaw
ISBN	0525478299

Safe. To Tracy, safe means having Mama close by. Years after her mother's death, Tracy still feels her presence. But the moment Tracy is forced into a car as she is walking home from school one day, safe is ripped away. In the aftermath of an unspeakable crime, thirteen-year-old Tracy must fight her way...

Author

Ellen Yeomans

Typical teenager Kit lives a happy, normal life of friends,boys, and loving family. She and her younger brother, Buddy, are incredibly close despite their eight-year age difference, bonded by a shared love of baseball and math. But when Buddy is taken suddenly by cancer, Kit and herparents struggle...

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	Terry Trueman
ISBN	0060574941

In baseball, fielding your position at third base is tricky—that's why third is called "the hot corner." You have to be aware that anything can happen at any time.

This should be the best year of Scott's life: It's his last season of varsity ball, his team is about to go to the city championship,...

Author

Carolita Blythe

Faye doesn't mean to hit the old lady she and her friends are mugging. But she does. The old lady isn't moving, but Faye has no reason to feel guilty for leaving her there. The old lady might be ancient and wrinkly now. But back in the day, she was as beautiful as they come—a famous movie star. And everyone...

Author	Hope Anita Smith
ISBN	0805072020

So many unanswered questions weigh down thirteen-year-old C.J. as he struggles to understand why his father walked out. His father is back now, though C.J. is not as quick to forgive as the other members of his family. He still feels the weight of responsibility that fell on his shoulders when Daddy was...

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	Lorie Ann Grover
ISBN	0689852487

"I'm leaving." Dad's words come as a complete shock to Essie. How can he just walk out on her and the family, especially when Mom is pregnant?Essie keeps her dad's leaving a secret. Then Essie's classmate, Chris Crow, disappears, and everyone finds out he's been kidnapped. Is Chris okay? Is Dad ever...

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	Janet Nichols Lynch
ISBN	0823421856

Aww, I loved this book.

R.D. is a 15 year old Mexican-American kid starting 8th grade for the second time. His father is out of the picture and his mother has long been gone away, serving time in prison for a drug offense. He is taken in by his grandmother, but she leaves him with her boyfriend Earl...

Author	Julie Gonzalez
ISBN	0385732287

The character Will is such a bully! But he got what he deserved by being put in jail. He pressured all his friends (Ryan,Daniel,and Connor) in to playing the game russian roulet. He finally got Connor and Ryan to take a turn, but he thought Daniel was to chicken (which he was). Then Will decided to make daniel...

Author	E.E. Charlton-Trujillo
ISBN	0385733321

Growing up in a dead-end South Texas town, Mickey had two things she could count on: her big brother, Danny—the football hero everyone loved—and a beat-up copy of The Outsiders. But after the accident—after Danny abandoned her to a town full of rumors and a drunken father—all Mickey had left...

Author	Olivia Birdsall
ISBN	0385733704

Mia never thought she'd be the child of a broken home. Yet when she's 15 years old, one day her father just up and moves out. As her family life crumbles, her love life is finally coming together. Julian, her brother Allen's best friend and her longtime crush, has finally noticed her—and being with Julian...

Author	Tony Varrato
ISBN	1897073798

Ideal for reluctant readers and ESL students, this short novel has action, intrigue, and relatable teen characters.
At first glance, Alex Miller seems like a typical kid, typical hair, typical clothes, typical hobbies. But Alex's life is anything but typical... and fitting in has become a matter...

Author	Walter Dean Myers
ISBN	0061214779

"You can create something new and change the direction of your life." Walter Dean Myers on DOPE SICK
A drug deal goes south and a cop has been shot. Lil J's on the run. And he's starting to get dope sick. He'd do anything to change the last twenty-four hours, and when he stumbles into an abandoned building,...

Author	Michael Simmons
ISBN	0385731965

Brett Gerson is a 15-year-old spoiled-rotton rich kid; he spends his days lounging by the pool, playing videogames on his big-screen tv, and basically doing anything he wants. One day there is a knock on the door and everything changes, Brett’s father is arrested for insider trading. Brett’s family...

Author	Tanita S. Davis
ISBN	0375848150

SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD LAINEY DREAMS of becoming a world famous chef one day and maybe even having her own cooking show. (Do you know how many African American female chefs there aren’t? And how many vegetarian chefs have their own shows? The field is wide open for stardom!) But when her best friend—and...

Author	Nancy Bo Flood
ISBN	1590786610

On the island of Saipan, in the South Pacific, the second world war is a distant idea. The Japanese have governed the island for twenty-five years and they mix regularly with the native islanders. Though no one questions who holds power, the two peoples coexist peacefully.

Joseph has known...

Author	J. Alexander
ISBN	1439149909

How does a six-foot-four, Bronx-born black gay male become Queen of the Catwalk? In one word: attitude. Beloved by millions of fans for his outrageous wit, spot-on critiques, and irrepressible flair, J. Alexander, affectionately known as Miss J, has helped groom hundreds of wannabe models as a runway...

Author	Christopher Grant
ISBN	0375861912

High school freshman Martine (Teenie for short) is a good student, with a bright future ahead of her. She's desperate to be accepted into a prestigious study abroad program in Spain so that she can see what life is like beyond the streets of Brooklyn. She wouldn't mind escaping from her strict (though...

Author

Sharon G. Flake

This collection of original stories and poems provides rare insight into the minds of adolescent African American boys. There's Tow-Kaye, getting married at age seventeen to the love of his life, who's pregnant. James writes in his diary about his twin brother's terrible secret, while Tyler explains...

Author	Sarah Mussi
ISBN	1416915508

Zac Baxter's grandfather has always told him that he's the descendant of African kings, whose treasure was stolen when his ancestors were sold into slavery. Of course, Zac brushes this off as a tall tale -- until his grandfather is murdered and their apartment is completely ransacked. Clearly somebody...

Author	Jabari Asim
ISBN	0399168567

A glimpse into the boyhood of Civil Rights leader John Lewis.
 
John wants to be a preacher when he grows up—a leader whose words stir hearts to change, minds to think, and bodies to take action. But why wait? When John is put in charge of the family farm’s flock of chickens, he discovers that...

Author

Paul Volponi

Martin was sitting on the front stoop of his apartment building minding his own business when he was arrested for something he didn't even mean to do. Five months later, he's still locked up on Rikers Island, in a New York City jail. Just when it seems things couldn't get much worse, Martin is caught between...