Teen Social Issues

A lyrical coming-of-age story set in the 1960s, Hot Fudge Sundae Blues is an extraordinary companion to Bev Marshall's first two novels, Walking Through Shadows and Right as Rain. Here again she mines the territory of the small town of Zebulon, Mississippi, where even the most seemingly ordinary folks harbor well-disguised heartaches and intricate secrets.

Unashamed breaks the silence about the sins girls think they have to hide. With daring and a touch of humor, author Jessie Minassian shares her own story of struggle and victory. God longs for you to live in the freedom he died for! So whether you're caught in a cycle of sin yourself or just want to know how to help the silent sufferers all around you, let this audiobook be the beginning of your journey toward health, healing, and freedom in his love for you.

Though Savannah Rose - “Sparrow” to her friends and family - is a gifted ballerina, her real talent is keeping secrets. Schooled in silence by her long-dead mother, Sparrow has always believed that her lifelong creed - “I’m not the kind of girl who tells” - will make her just like everyone else: Normal. Happy. Safe. But in the aftermath of a brutal assault by her seemingly perfect boyfriend Tristan, Sparrow must finally find the courage to confront the ghosts of her past, or lose herself forever....

No one knows what really happened on the beach where Roxanne Cole's body was found, but her boyfriend, Cage, took off that night and hasn't been seen since. Until now. One year - almost to the day - from Ro's death, when he knocks on the door of Blue Gate Manor and asks where she is. Cage has no memory of the past 12 months. According to him, Ro was alive only the day before. Ro's sister Mae wouldn't believe him, except that something's not right. Nothing's been right in the house since Ro died.

In a book that tackles the biggest challenges facing us today, Chelsea Clinton combines facts, supplemental material, and stories to give listeners a deep understanding of the world around them - and how anyone can make a difference. With stories about children and teens who have made real changes big and small - in their families, their communities, in our country, and across the world - this book will inspire listeners of all ages to do their part to make our world a better place.

Keisha Montgomery's junior year was devastating. But Keisha is getting her life back on track. She's been elected senior class president, and she has met Jonathan Hathaway, the new 23-year-old track coach. Tall and handsome, Jonathan actually talks to Keisha like she's a woman instead of a girl. But when this forbidden relationship takes a frightening turn, Keisha once again finds herself plunged into the darkness she has worked so hard to escape.

A two-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Award, Sharon Draper has penned numerous modern classics of youth literature. The third installment of her acclaimed Jericho trilogy, Just Another Hero returns to familiar territory for a new spin on her indelible characters. Arielle Gresham is faced with numerous problems at home, and a rash of petty crimes has beset her school. After alienating just about everyone who could help her, Arielle makes a fateful decision to help solve these crimes.

Nelson Glassman may have been exposed to the HIV virus and is terrified of testing positive...but what if being positive is the only way to keep the guy of his dreams? Kyle Meeks finally has the guy of his dreams and is ready to do anything to stay by his side...but will "anything" include sabotaging his own future? Jason Carrillo knows he has to face his future and is prepared to face it out and gay...but is he prepared to let go of the dream that has sustained him all of his life?

It's 1968, and "Itch" Colchester loves everything about her home in rural Florida. But she especially loves Gramps - with his quiet wisdom and loving understanding. That's why it hurts so much when Gram finds him dead one morning. It also hurts to leave the piney woods of Beaver Creek for a double-wide trailer in Cousin Effie's small town Ohio.

Cris Burks won widespread acclaim for her engaging first novel, SilkyDreamGirl. Burks' second offering follows the life of a determined girl struggling toward adulthood in 1950s Chicago. The devastating discovery that "Daddy" is not her real father opens a great chasm in Neecey's world and leads to Neecey's abusive mother bringing a succession of no-good men into the home. Nevertheless, as she grows into a woman, the resilient Neecey strives to overcome despair and forge a new life for herself.

Ava, CJ, Jordan, and Martha (listed in alphabetical order out of fairness) have been friends since kindergarten. Now they're in their senior year, facing their biggest fears about growing up and growing apart. But there's more than just college on the horizon. One of these girls is destined to become the president of the United States. The mystery, of course, is which girl gets the gig.

When Lily Michaels-Ryan ditches her ADHD meds and lands in detention with Abelard, she's intrigued - he seems 30 seconds behind while she feels 30 seconds ahead. It doesn't hurt that he's brilliant and beautiful. When Abelard posts a quote from The Letters of Abelard and Heloise online, their mutual affinity for ancient love letters connects them. The two fall for each other. Hard. But is it enough to bridge their differences in person?

Seventeen-year-old Tess Fowler has dropped out of high school, tossed her laptop in a freezing lake, then jumped in after it fully clothed. Why? Because Jonah was the boy she knew only through texts and emails but understood to his very core. Jonah was the only boy she’d told she loved and the only boy to say it back. And Jonah was the boy whose suicide she never saw coming.

Dry, sarcastic, 16-year-old Cam Cooper has spent the last seven years in and out hospitals. The last thing she wants to do in the short life she has left is move 1,500 miles away to Promise, Maine - a place known for the miraculous events that occur there. But it's undeniable that strange things happen in Promise: everlasting sunsets; purple dandelions; flamingoes in the frigid Atlantic; an elusive boy named Asher; and finally, a mysterious envelope containing a list of things for Cam to do before she dies.

Dancing with the Paris Opera ballet is 14-year-old Marie van Goethem's greatest joy. And yet she must honor her father's dying request to keep their poverty-stricken family together. She certainly can't count on the help of her drunken mother or selfish older sister. When famous artist Edgar Degas asks Marie to model for a sculpture, she welcomes the income - although she's hesitant to pose nude.

Seventeen-year-old Lorna loves her adoptive sister, Callie. But Callie can't say "I love you" back. In fact, Callie can't say anything at all. Because Callie is an Iceling - one of hundreds of teens who were discovered 16 years ago on a remote Arctic island, all of them lacking the ability to speak or understand any known human language.

For Kalvin Barnes, the only thing that comes close to the rush of playing the knockout game is watching videos of the knockout game. Kalvin's crew always takes videos of their KOs, but Kalvin wants more - something better. He thinks if someone could really see the game for what it was, could appreciate it, could capture the essence of it - that would be a video for all time. The world would have to notice. That's where Erica comes in.

Astrid Jones desperately wants to confide in someone, but her mother's pushiness and her father's lack of interest tell her they're the last people she can trust. Instead, Astrid spends hours lying on the backyard picnic table watching airplanes fly overhead. She doesn't know the passengers inside, but they're the only people who won't judge her when she asks them her most personal questions...like what it means that she's falling in love with a girl.

Once again blending multiple story strands that transcend time and place, Grasshopper Jungle author Andrew Smith tells the story of 15-year-old Ariel, a refugee from the Middle East who is the sole survivor of an attack on his small village. Now living with an adoptive family in Sunday, West Virginia, Ariel's story of his summer at a boys' camp for tech detox is juxtaposed against those of a schizophrenic bomber and the diaries of a failed arctic expedition from the late 19th century.

In this award-winning novel, Hannah's journey through bullying and grief shows just how long old wounds can take to heal. Hannah's world is in pieces, and she doesn't need the school counselor to tell her she has deep-seated psychological issues. It's been almost a year since her popular older sister, Katie, died in a car accident. Hannah should feel terrible, but for the first time in ages, the bullies who relentlessly tormented her have backed off - and she feels a glimmer of hope.