Teen Violence

Cole Matthews used to be a violent kid, but a year in exile on a remote Alaskan island has a way of changing your perspective. After being mauled by a Spirit Bear, Cole started to heal. He even invited his victim, Peter Driscal, to join him on the island and they became friends. But now their time in exile is over, and Cole and Peter are heading back to the one place they're not sure they can handle: high school. Gangs and violence haunt the hallways, and Peter's limp and speech impediment make him a natural target.

Nine-year-old Ling is very comfortable in her life; her parents are both dedicated surgeons in the best hospital in Wuhan. But when Comrade Li, one of Mao's political officers, moves into a room in their apartment, Ling begins to witness the gradual disintegration of her world. In an atmosphere of increasing mistrust, Ling fears for the safety of her neighbors and, soon, for herself and family.

Maddie Diaz never should have taken that shortcut through the park. If she hadn't, she wouldn't have seen two gang members attacking a homeless man. Now, as the only witness, Maddie knows there's a target on her back. But her courage has also caught the attention of Lobo, the mysterious leader of a rival gang, who promises to protect her. Lobo might be out for his own revenge, but Maddie knows she can trust him.

Sebastian Cody did something horrible, something no one - not even Sebastian himself - can forgive. At the age of four, he accidentally shot and killed his infant sister with his father's gun. Now, 10 years later, Sebastian has lived with the guilt and horror for his entire life. With his best friend away for the summer, Sebastian has only a new friend - Aneesa - to distract him from his darkest thoughts.

In her most dangerous mystery to date, Sammy runs into a strange girl trying to escape from a scary looking guy at the mall. When the girl asks Sammy to watch her shopping bag and then flees, Sammy is alarmed to discover that inside the bag is a baby! In her seventh adventure, the intrepid detective puts her life on the line as she confronts the seamy gang life of her hometown in her search for the baby's mother and the evil man who is threatening them all in this edge-of-your-seat mystery.

Alenna Shawcross and the others who escaped the wheel are working toward an all-out assault on the United Northern Alliance. The plan is to dismantle it from the inside - and Alenna is one of the few people who can access the organization's inner sanctum. But when she returns to the home she has nearly forgotten, she encounters old friends and is swept into a secret plan that puts everything she loves in danger.

In a world where magic is illegal, Cassel Sharpe has the most deadly ability of all: With one touch, he can transform any object - including a person - into something else entirely. And that makes him a wanted man. The Feds are willing to forgive all his past crimes if he’ll only leave his con-artist family behind and go straight. But why does going straight feel so crooked? For one thing, it means being on the opposite side of the law from Lila, the girl he loves.

Lately everybody's messing with Jamal. His teachers, the kids at school, even his dad. And now that Jamal's brother Randy's in the slam, Crazy Mack has a crazy idea. He wants Jamal to take control of the Scorpions and run crack. All the gang jive - Jamal has no use for it. Unless, like some say, it's the only way to cop the bread for Randy's appeal.

After parting ways with her troubled mermaid tribe, Luce just wants to live peacefully on her own. But her tranquility doesn’t last long: She receives news that the tribe is on the verge of collapse and desperately needs her leadership. The tribe’s cruel queen wants Luce dead. Dorian, the boy Luce broke mermaid law to save, is determined to make her pay for her part in the murder of his family. And while the mermaids cling to the idea that humans never suspect their existence, there are suddenly ominous signs to the contrary.

When Gabby Perez is almost drugged at a nightclub, she decides to take action. Teaming up with a mysterious stranger known as X, the two go after a gang who is drugging and kidnapping innocent girls off the Miami streets and forcing them into prostitution. As their search deepens, Gabby and X can't ignore their undeniable attraction to each other. Then Gabby discovers the truth about who X really is and the danger that surrounds him. Can their love survive the light of day?

Glimmer of Hope tells the story of how a group of teenagers raced to channel their rage and sorrow into action and went on to create one of the largest youth-led movements in global history.

Karina Chopra would have never imagined becoming friends with the boy next door - after all, they've avoided each other for years and she assumes Chris is just like the boys he hangs out with, who she labels a pack of hyenas. Then Karina's grandfather starts tutoring Chris, and she discovers he's actually a nice, funny kid. But one afternoon something unimaginable happens - the three of them are assaulted by a stranger who targets Indian-American Karina and her grandfather because of how they look. Her grandfather is gravely injured and Karina and Chris vow not to let hate win.

Kit and Fancy Cordelle are sisters of the best kind: best friends, best confidantes, and best accomplices. The daughters of the infamous Bonesaw Killer, Kit and Fancy are used to feeling like outsiders, and that's just the way they like it. But in Portero, where the weird and wild run rampant, the Cordelle sisters are hardly the oddest or most dangerous creatures around. It's no surprise when Kit and Fancy start to give in to their deepest desire: the desire to kill.

Savannah is lucky. The daughter of upper-class African-American parents in Washington DC in 1919, she lives luxuriously, with an elite education and her pick of the young men in her set. But lately the structure of her society - the croquet games, the Sunday teas, the pretentiousness - has felt suffocating. When she meets a young man from the working class named Lloyd, Savannah has a chance to see how the “other half” lives. Saddened by their situation, she is motivated to make a true difference.

Computer whiz Teddy and his family are sent reeling after his little sister Tina is killed in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting. Teddy wants revenge and begins planning how to get it: luckily the police interrupt his scheme before he can act. Now he's been placed into the capable hands of Mariana Diaz, the tough probation officer who just might save him from himself.

Keir Sarafian may not know much, but he knows himself. And the one thing he knows about himself is that he is a good guy. A guy who's a devoted son and brother, a loyal friend, and a reliable teammate. And, maybe most important of all, Keir is a guy who understands that when a girl says no, she means it. But that is not what Gigi Boudakian, childhood friend and Keir's lifelong love, says at all. What Gigi says seems impossible to Keir - something inexcusable - the worst thing he can imagine, the very opposite of everything he wants to be.

Best-selling author Robert Cormier's suspenseful and masterfully told novel takes bold steps into some of the most difficult topical territory ever conceived for young adult fiction.

Life changes forever for Liv when her older brother, Jonah, accidentally shoots himself with his best friend Clay’s father’s gun. Now, Jonah needs round-the-clock care just to stay alive, and Liv feels like she’s the only person who can see that her brother is still there inside his broken body. With Liv’s mom suing Clay’s family, there are divisions in the community that Liv knows she’s not supposed to cross. But Clay is her friend, too, and she refuses to turn away from him - just like she refuses to give up on Jonah.

Jade and her friends, Jenny, Mads, and Summer, rule their glittering LA circle. Untouchable, they have the kind of power other girls only dream of. Every party is theirs, and the world is at their feet. Until the night of Jade's sweet 16, when they crash a St. Andrew’s Prep party. The night the golden boys choose Jade as their next target. They picked the wrong girl. Sworn to vengeance, Jade transfers to St. Andrew’s Prep. She plots to destroy each boy, one by one. She'll take their power, their lives, and their control of the prep school's hierarchy.

Nominated for a National Book Award in 1971, His Own Where is the story of Buddy, a fifteen-year-old boy whose world is spinning out of control. He meets Angela, whose angry parents accuse her of being "wild." When life falls apart for Buddy and his father, and when Angela is attacked at home, they take action to create their own way of staying alive in Brooklyn. In the process, the two find refuge in one another and learn that love is real and necessary.