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"I've been on teams and in clubs my whole life, surrounded by people who are united by a common purpose, and I have never felt anything like this." ~ from E.K. Johnston's Exit, Pursued by a Bear
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| Essential Maps for the Lost by Deb CalettiFiction. While swimming in Seattle's Lake Union, 18-year-old Mads Murray makes a shocking discovery: the body of Anna Floyd, a woman who jumped off a nearby bridge. Though Mads is supposed to spend the summer focusing on real estate classes to please her unstable mother, she can't stop herself from obsessing about Anna. She even tracks down Anna's son, Billy. The two teens bond quickly over parental issues and a shared love of a quirky children's book...but can their fragile relationship survive if Mads tells Billy about her connection to his mother? Told in alternating voices, Essential Maps for the Lost offers a sensitive look at grief, guilt, and finding yourself. |
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The art of being normal
by Lisa Williamson
David Piper, always an outsider, forms an unlikely friendship with Leo Denton who, from the first day at his new school wants only to be invisible, but when David's deepest secret gets out, that he wants to be a girl, things get very messy for both of them
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| The Great American Whatever by Tim FederleFiction. Hiding in your room with your phone off for months might sound awful, but for aspiring screenwriter Quinn, it's easier than facing the world after his sister Annabeth's death last winter. Now it's summer, however, and Quinn can't hide anymore -- he lets his persistent friend Geoff drag him to a party, where he meets Amir, a hot college guy. As the attraction between him and Amir grows, Quinn (who tends to narrate his life like a screenplay) sorts through his messy past while trying to make sense of his future. By turns witty, sardonic, and heartbreaking, The Great American Whatever is a great pick for fans of Jesse Andrews' Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. |
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Down With the Shine
by Kate Karyus Quinn
Sneaking some of her uncles' moonshine to a party and urging her friends to make wishes as they drink, in accordance with her family's tradition, Lennie is astonished when each of the wishes come true, including some with deadly consequences.
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Silence is goldfish : a novel
by Annabel Pitcher
My name is Tess Turner--at least, that's what I've always been told.
I have a voice but it isn't mine. It used to say things so I'd fit in, to please my parents, to please my teachers. It used to tell the universe I was something I wasn't. It lied.
It never occurred to me that everyone else was lying too.
Fifteen-year-old Tess doesn't mean to become mute. At first, she's just too shocked to speak. And who wouldn't be? Discovering your whole life has been a lie because your dad isn't your real father is a pretty big deal. Terrified of the truth, Tess retreats into silence.
Reeling from her family's betrayal, Tess sets out to discover the identity of her real father. He could be anyone--even the familiar-looking teacher at her school. Tess continues to investigate, uncovering a secret that could ruin multiple lives. It all may be too much for Tess to handle, but how can she ask for help when she's forgotten how to use her voice?
In a brilliant study of identity, betrayal, and complex family dynamics, award-winning author Annabel Pitcher explores the importance of communication, even when we're faced with unspeakable truths.
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| Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica HesseHistorical Fiction. "Nothing in this war is what it seems." That's certainly true of innocent-looking Hanneke, who cycles through Nazi-occupied 1943 Amsterdam without anyone suspecting that she's a black market smuggler. Grieving the loss of her soldier boyfriend, Hanneke tries her best to ignore the war -- until a customer asks for her help in the search for a missing Jewish girl, drawing Hanneke into the Dutch resistance and forcing her to confront the limits of her courage. Similar to Elizabeth Wein's Code Name Verity, Girl in the Blue Coat combines wrenching emotional truths, a vivid setting, and a gripping pace to create a truly unforgettable read. |
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Frannie and Tru
by Karen Hattrup
Frannie has always idolized her cousin Tru. At seventeen, Tru is charismatic, rich, charming—everything fifteen-year-old Frannie wants to be, and everything she’s not. So when Frannie overhears her parents saying that after a bad coming-out experience Tru will be staying with them in Baltimore for the summer, Frannie is excited and desperate to impress him. But as Frannie gets swept up in Tru’s worldly way of life, she starts to worry that it may all be a mask Tru wears to hide a dark secret. And if Tru isn’t the person Frannie thought he was, what does that mean for the new life she has built with him? Confronting issues of race, class, and sexuality, Karen Hattrup weaves a powerful coming-of-age story that’s at once timeless and immediate, sharply observed, and recognizable to anyone who has ever loved the idea of a person more than the reality.
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The Season of You & Me
by Robin Constantine
Cassidy Emmerich is reeling from a sudden, humiliating breakup. The last thing she wants to do is stick around and be reminded of her ex everywhere she goes. On impulse, she decides to spend the summer with her father and his family at their Jersey Shore bed-and-breakfast. A different scene and a new job working as a camp counselor seem like the perfect recipe for forgetting Gavin as quickly as possible—not to mention for avoiding him until he leaves for college. Bryan Lakewood is sick of nevers. You’ll never walk. You’ll never surf. You’ll never slow dance with a girl and have her put her head on your shoulder. Last year he made one false move—now he’s paralyzed and needs to use a wheelchair. But this summer, he’s back at his camp job and is determined to reclaim his independence—and his confidence. Cass is expecting two months of healing her broken heart. Bryan is expecting a summer of tough adjustments. Neither is expecting to fall in love.
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Drag teen : a tale of angst and wigs
by Jeffery Self
A regular guest on such shows as Desperate Housewives presents the story of an insecure high school senior whose ambition to be the first member of his family to leave his backwater town and go to college prompts him to compete in a drag queen pageant for a college scholarship.
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Flannery
by Lisa Moore
Sixteen-year-old Flannery Malone has it bad. She’s been in love with Tyrone O’Rourke since the days she still believed in Santa Claus. But Tyrone has grown from a dorky kid into an outlaw graffiti artist, the rebel-with-a-cause of Flannery’s dreams, literally too cool for school. Which is a problem, since he and Flannery are partners for the entrepreneurship class that she needs to graduate. And Tyrone’s vanishing act may have darker causes than she realizes. Tyrone isn’t Flannery’s only problem. Her mother, Miranda, can’t pay the heating bills, let alone buy Flannery’s biology book. Her little brother, Felix, is careening out of control. And her best-friend-since-forever, Amber, has fallen for a guy who is making her forget all about the things she’s always cared most about — Flannery included — leading Amber down a dark and dangerous path of her own. When Flannery decides to make a love potion for her entrepreneurship project, rumors that it actually works go viral, and she suddenly has a hot commodity on her hands. But a series of shattering events makes her realize that real-life love is far more potent — and potentially damaging — than any fairy-tale prescription.
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Great Falls
by Steve Watkins
When his older brother returns after tours in Iraq and Afghanistan with severe PTSD, Shane reluctantly agrees to accompany him on a camping trip that becomes a dangerous and life-risking journey as his brother disconnects from reality and succumbs to paranoia. By the author of Juvie.
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Ask Me How I Got Here
by Christine Heppermann
How do you define yourself? By your friends? Your family? Your boyfriend? Your grades? Your trophies? Your choices? By a single choice? From the author of the acclaimed Poisoned Apples comes a novel in verse about a young woman and the aftermath of a life-altering decision. Fans of Laurie Halse Anderson and Ellen Hopkins will find the powerful questions, the difficult truths, and the inner strength that speak to them in Ask Me How I Got Here. Addie has always known what she was running toward, whether in cross country, in her all-girls Catholic school, or in love. Until she and her boyfriend—her sensitive, good-guy boyfriend—are careless one night, and she gets pregnant. Addie makes the difficult choice to have an abortion. And after that—even though she knows it was the right decision for her—nothing is the same. She doesn’t want anyone besides her parents and her boyfriend to know what happened; she doesn’t want to run cross country anymore; she can’t bring herself to be excited about anything. Until she reconnects with Juliana, a former teammate who’s going through her own dark places. Once again, Christine Heppermann writes with an unflinching honesty and a deep sensitivity about the complexities of being a teenager, being a woman. Her free verse poems are moving, provocative, and often full of wry humor and a sharp wit.
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The World Beneath
by Janice Warman
Growing up in the maid's room of a wealthy white employer's home in 1970s South Africa, young Joshua rescues a stranger amid anti-apartheid riots sweeping through the country, which compel him to make heartbreaking choices. By the author of The Class of '79.
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Exit, Pursued by a Bear
by E.K Johnston
Fiction. Every graduating class from Palermo Heights, Ontario, has one student who dies and one who gets pregnant -- it's practically a tradition. Cheer captain Hermione Winters never would have guessed that she'd be the pregnant one...or that it would be a result of being drugged and raped at cheer camp. In the aftermath of the assault, Hermione's confidence is shattered, as is her reputation and her relationship with her boyfriend. Yet with the support of her best friend and the reassuring routine of sports, she holds tight to her identity as not a victim, but a survivor. Inspired by Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale, this emotionally charged story will speak to readers who relish unflinching, empowering realistic fiction.
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The safest lies
by Megan Miranda
"When Kelsey's agoraphobic mother disappears after years of claiming the kidnappers she escaped from were coming back for her, Kelsey quickly discovers that her mother isn't who she thought she was -- and she's not the abductor's only target"
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Summer of Sloane
by Erin L. Schneider
Warm Hawaiian sun. Lazy beach days. Flirty texts with her boyfriend back in Seattle.
These are the things seventeen-year-old Sloane McIntyre pictured when she imagined the summer she'd be spending at her mom's home in Hawaii with her twin brother, Penn. Instead, after learning an unthinkable secret about her boyfriend, Tyler, and best friend, Mick, all she has is a fractured hand and a completely shattered heart.
Once she arrives in Honolulu, though, Sloane hopes that Hawaii might just be the escape she needs. With beach bonfires, old friends, exotic food, and the wonders of a waterproof cast, there's no reason Sloane shouldn't enjoy her summer. And when she meets Finn McAllister, the handsome son of a hotel magnate who doesn't always play by the rules, she knows he's the perfect distraction from everything that's so wrong back home.
But it turns out a measly ocean isn't nearly enough to stop all the emails, texts, and voicemails from her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend, desperate to explain away their betrayal. And as her casual connection with Finn grows deeper, Sloane's carefree summer might not be as easy to come by as she'd hoped. Weighing years of history with Mick and Tyler against their deception, and the delicate possibility of new love, Sloane must decide when to forgive, and when to live for herself.
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| The Glittering Court by Richelle MeadFantasy. Facing an unwanted arranged marriage, the Countess of Rothford decides to run away and take her chances in Adoria, the New World. Adopting her maidservant's name and identity, the countess (now called Adelaide) joins the Glittering Court, a school that teaches upper-class manners to lower-class girls before sending them off to find husbands on the Adorian frontier. Well-bred Adelaide does her best to fit in, but keeping her secret isn't easy -- especially not after she finds herself falling for Cedric, the son of the Court's owner. Intriguing world-building, forbidden romance, and sweeping adventure all come together in this series debut from the author of the Vampire Academy series. |
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A hundred hours of night
by Anna Woltz
When Emilia de Wit ran away to New York City, she planned everything to a T. Plane ticket, purchased. Cute apartment, rented online. Subway map, printed and highlighted. This was no ordinary trip -- this was Emilia's declaration of independence. Her chance to escape the disaster her life has become. To get away from the horrible scandal that has rocked Amsterdam, the scandal that is all her dad's fault. To see if her mom, the glamorous, world-famous artist, will even notice. New York steals Emilia's heart at first sight -- even though absolutely nothing goes to plan. She didn't plan to end up homeless on a stranger's doorstep. She didn't plan to make friends with Seth, Abby, and Jim. And she could never have known that Hurricane Sandy would be barreling up the coast, straight for the city. All she wanted was to get away from her parents, her problems, her life... but when the storm hits and the power goes out, Emilia feels farther from home than she could have imagined.
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This Is My Brain on Boys
by Sarah Strohmeyer
Addie Emerson doesn’t believe in love. Not for herself anyway. With one year left of high school, she’s more interested in snagging a full scholarship to Harvard than a full-time boyfriend. That doesn’t mean she’s oblivious to the ways of the heart. Or, rather, the head. Because after months of research, Addie has discovered how to make anyone fall in love. All you need is the secret formula. But will her discovery be enough to win the coveted Athenian Award and all its perks? (See above, full scholarship to Harvard.) Or will she be undone by Dexter, her backstabbing lab partner, who is determined to deep-six her experiments at their exclusive private school? Those are the least of her problems now that she’s survived a death-defying flight with a mysterious, dark-haired boy, who has delicious chocolate-brown eyes and a few secrets of his own. With an experiment to mastermind, an infatuated exchange student on her hands, and at least one great white shark (more on that later), can Addie’s prefrontal cortex outwit her heart? Or will she have to give in to her amygdala and find out, once and for all, if this thing called love is more than just her brain on drugs?
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| Boy21 by Matthew QuickRealistic Fiction. In a dismal Pennsylvania town that has more than its share of violence, Finley, a.k.a. "White Rabbit," is the only white player on his high school's varsity basketball team. He keeps his head down and his mouth shut, focusing most of his energy and attention on the game -- and on escaping his messed-up town with his girlfriend, Erin. But then Finley's coach insists that he befriend a new player, Russ, a wealthy African-American guy who has an odd way of coping with the trauma of his parents' murder: he claims that he's from outer space and calls himself Boy21. If you like carefully crafted characters and intense stories of friendship, conflicting loyalties, and tragedy, don't miss this "unusual and touching" (Booklist) read. |
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Recruited
by Suzanne Weyn
Kadeem Jones is a star quarterback for Southside High. He is thrilled when college scouts seek him out. His visit to Teller College is amazing. College cheerleaders pay attention to him. The recruiter even gives him money to have a good time. But then NCAA officials accuse Teller's staff of illegally recruiting top talent. Will Kadeem decide to help their investigation, even though it means the end of the good times? What will it do to his chances of playing college football?
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| Winger by Andrew Smith; illustrated by Sam BosmaFiction. As the youngest guy in his 11th grade class and the skinniest player on the rugby team, Ryan Dean knows what it's like to be the underdog. His over-the-top attitude gets him in trouble with teachers and sports rivals alike, and his awkwardness with girls (especially his friend Annie) leads to a lot of hormonal frustration. Like Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Winger offsets angst and tragedy with realistically raunchy teen guy talk and hilarious comics. For a memorable novel with an "unexpectedly ferocious punch" (Booklist), check out Winger and its sequel, Stand-Off. |
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I'm with stupid
by Geoff Herbach
Facing tough choices throughout his senior year of high school, nerd-turned-jock Felton Reinstein tries out a sequence of identities in an effort to figure out who he is, an endeavor that leads to his suspension from the track team, his mother's departure and a dive in his popularity. Original.
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Heat
by Mike Lupica
Pitching prodigy Michael Arroyo is on the run from social services after being banned from playing Little League baseball because rival coaches doubt he is only twelve years old and he has no parents to offer them proof.
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| Outcasts United: The Story of a Refugee Soccer Team That Changed a Town by Warren St. JohnNonfiction. After immigrating to the United States from war-torn countries all over the world, many of the boys in Clarkston, Georgia's refugee resettlement center were learning a common language besides English: soccer. Led by their determined coach, Luma Mufleh, the boys formed 3 soccer teams known as the Fugees, and though they didn't have much when it came to equipment and fans, their unusual team spirit began to attract attention. Pairing play-by-play action with the all-too-real struggles of adjusting to life in a new country, this "uplifting underdog story" (Kirkus Reviews) is a winner for sports fans and nonfiction readers alike. |
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The crossover
by Kwame Alexander
"With a bolt of lightning on my kicks . . .The court is SIZZLING. My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. Cuz tonight I’m delivering," announces dread-locked, 12-year old Josh Bell. He and his twin brother Jordan are awesome on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood, he's got mad beats, too, that tell his family's story in verse, in this fast and furious middle grade novel of family and brotherhood from Kwame Alexander.
Josh and Jordan must come to grips with growing up on and off the court to realize breaking the rules comes at a terrible price, as their story's heart-stopping climax proves a game-changer for the entire family.
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| The Running Dream by Wendelin Van DraanenRealistic Fiction. Jessica is a runner -- it's her identity and the only thing she wants to do -- but after a tragic car accident leaves her a partial amputee, she thinks that her life might as well be over. As Jessica tries to cope with physical therapy, adjust to using a prosthetic leg, and catch up on all the work she's missed in school, she has a revelation and decides that she will run again. This ultimately upbeat and inspiring story will captivate readers who like tales of triumph over adversity (such as Bethany Hamilton's faith-focused memoir Soul Surfer). |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Prince George's County Memorial Library System 9601 Capital Lane Largo, Maryland 20774 301-699-3500www.pgcmls.info/ |
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