Self Image

Millicent Chalmers isn’t here to make friends. She’s here to win, and she’s on track to set a record if—no, when—she wins the state debate tournament for the fourth year in a row. Millie doesn’t care what anyone thinks of her, least of all the sexist bullies bent on destroying her reputation. Taggart Strong couldn’t care less about winning debate, much to the consternation of his teammates, school, and parents. But when a tournament takes a scary turn, Millie and Tag find themselves unexpectedly working together. Maybe they can teach each other a thing or two.

Still reeling from a recent trauma, sixteen-year-old Dell is relieved when her mom suggests a stay at the family cabin. But the much-needed escape quickly turns into a disaster. The lake and woods are awash in trash left by a previous tenant. And worse, Dell’s mom has invited her boyfriend’s daughter to stay with them. Confident, irreverent Ivy presses all of Dell's buttons—somehow making Dell’s shame and self-consciousness feel even more acute. Yet Dell is drawn to Ivy in a way she doesn't fully understand.

Make C.H.A.N.G.E.S. that last! Master your emotions and transform your teen years with skills that stick. The teen years can feel like drinking water from a firehose—overwhelming. Every turn brings new challenges: grades, friendship drama, and self-image battles. It's like a daily test without a study guide. Nearly 50% of teens report stress that negatively impacts their lives, citing school pressures, social challenges, and future planning. Managing intense emotions is tough.

Dean Foster knows he’s a trans guy. He’s watched enough YouTube videos and done enough questioning to be sure. But everyone at his high school thinks he’s a lesbian - including his girlfriend, Zoe, and his theater director, who just cast him as a “nontraditional” Romeo. He wonders if maybe it would be easier to wait until college to come out. But as he plays Romeo every day in rehearsals, Dean realizes he wants everyone to see him as he really is now - not just on the stage, but everywhere in his life. Dean knows what he needs to do.

What if you could do things no one else could? Life would be so much easier if you could run faster than a train or leap over a building. You could go anywhere - be anything you wanted to be. Dating would be easier. Money would come freely. The world would be your playground. Everything would change for the better. Well, I’m here to tell you, that just isn’t true. And I would know...Super is a young adult fiction novel that follows the story of JJ Morris - a junior at Oak Hill High School.

Central International School’s annual lock-in is legendary - and for six students, this year’s lock-in is the answer to their dreams. The chance to finally win the contest. Kiss the guy. Make a friend. Become the star of a story that will be passed down from student to student for years to come. But then a group of students, led by Marisa Cuevas, stage an eco-protest and chain themselves to the doors, vowing to keep everyone trapped inside until their list of demands is met.

Una delle insidie più pericolose e sottovalutate della nostra epoca, in cui le nuove tecnologie digitali funzionano come un rallentatore cognitivo ed emotivo che rende tutto apparentemente fattibile e fruibile senza sforzo, è il progressivo deperimento - se non addirittura l'estinguersi - della passione, quella sfida lanciata al mondo e a se stessi per continuare a migliorarsi, a sperare, a sognare.

Extraordinary insight into living without sight. Outside Myself will enlighten both young and old. Tallie is a young girl struggling to adjust to her blindness. Benjamin is an older gentleman working in a library for the blind. A chance phone call between them leads to a transformative year, and a window of understanding is flung open as empathy, independence, and resolution rush in.

Hope is a decision, but it is a hard one to recognize in the face of oppression, belittlement, alienation, and defeat. To help embolden hope, here is a powerhouse collection of essays and personal stories that speak directly to teens and all YA readers. Featuring Angie Thomas, Marie Lu, Nicola Yoon, David Levithan, Libba Bray, Jason Reynolds, Renée Ahdieh, and many more!

My lips are white. Sixteen-year-old Sep stares into the bathroom mirror. It’s not some weird lipstick (she never wears lipstick). Her lips are just - white. In a panic, she digs up an old lipstick and smears it on her colorless lips. But soon, more and more white spots begin to bloom, spreading their chalky tendrils across her olive brown skin. Does she have a disease? Is she turning into some kind of freak?

With a 50/50 shot at inheriting her family's genetic curse, Rose is skeptical about pursuing anything that presumes she'll live to be a healthy adult - including her dream career in ballet and the possibility of falling in love. But when she meets a boy from a similarly flawed genetic pool and gets an audition for a dance scholarship across the country, Rose begins to question her carefully laid rules.

In Diva, the companion to Alex Flinn's YA novel Breathing Under Water, Caitlin is dealing with a lot. She's living through the aftermath of an abusive relationship, she has a youth-obsessed mother who just doesn't understand her, and she's on a constant yo-yo diet to live up the standards of her nitpicking friends. All Caitlin wants is to escape her not-so-glamorous life and pursue her dream of becoming a singer, but when she's accepted into the Miami High School of the Arts, her life doesn't magically become perfect.

Henry "Biggie" Abbott is the son of one of Finch, Iowa's most famous athletes. His father was a baseball legend and his step-dad is a close second. At an obese 300+ pounds though, Biggie himself prefers classroom success to sports. As a perfectionist, he doesn't understand why someone would be happy getting two hits in five trips to the plate. "Forty percent, that's an F in any class", he would say. As Biggie's junior year begins, the girl of his dreams, Annabelle Rivers, starts to flirt with him and suggests he should play baseball.

If Greer Walsh could only live inside her head, life would be easier. She’d be able to focus on excelling at math or negotiating peace talks between her best friend and...everyone else. She wouldn’t spend any time worrying about being the only Kennedy High student whose breasts are bigger than her head.

Faith Herbert can finally admit that she’s not a regular teen — and take advantage of her new flying superpowers. After the chaos of her first semester, Faith just wants to end her senior year in a normal way — enjoying all the hallmarks of graduating high school, like prom, with her best friends Matt and Ches.

In the moving and compelling debut novel from Benjamin Zephaniah, a young man's life is completely changed when his face is badly scarred in a car accident. Martin seems to have it all. He's cool, funny and he's the undisputed leader of the Gang of Three, who roam their East London estate during the holidays looking for fun. But one night after the Gang leave a late-night rap club, Martin accepts a ride from Pete, a Raider's Posse gang member. Too late, he realises that the car is stolen and that the police are after them.

Eighteen-year-old Constance is not interested in marriage or in being a “young lady”. But for a young woman coming of age in the early 1800s, that’s just about all that’s available to her. When her parents arrange her a marriage with a man more than twice her age, she’s powerless to resist. Stance couldn’t possibly find her newfound husband less appealing, but what can she do? Here’s what: Four months into the marriage, she can slip out of their bed in the middle of the night, and she can put on his clothes.

It has been two years since his mom’s death, and Jamison, his dad, and his younger sister seem to be coping, but they’ve been dealing with their loss separately and in different ways. When Jamison has to be reminded of his mother’s birthday, on the day of her birthday, he worries that his memory of her is slipping away, and he is forced to reckon with the passing of time. To help make sense of it, he picks up his camera - the Nikon his mother gave him a few years back.

As you adjust to the changes happening within and around you, nothing is as important as developing your sense of self. Teenagers struggling with their self-worth tend to engage in self-destructive behavior, doubt their potential, and neglect important relationships. Sound familiar?

Up until her 15th birthday, the most important thing in the world to Beatriz Mendez was her dream of becoming a professional dancer and getting herself and her family far from the gang life that defined their days - that and meeting her dance idol Debbie Allen on the set of her favorite TV show, Fame. But after the latest battle in a constant turf war leaves her gang leader brother, Junito, dead and her mother grieving, Beatriz has a new set of priorities. How is she supposed to feel the rhythm when her gang needs running and her mami can't brush her own teeth?