Young Adult Relationships

Charles Dickens is known not only for his novels, but also for his short stories, particularly "A Christmas Carol." In the latter genre, interestingly, these stories had a powerful commercial impulse, for they were serialized in magazines at the Christmas season.

When Oakley Nelson loses her older brother, Lucas, to cancer, she thinks she'll never recover. Between her parents' arguing and the battle she's fighting with depression, she feels nothing inside but a hollow emptiness. When Mom suggests they spend a few months in California with Aunt Jo, Oakley isn't sure a change of scenery will alter anything, but she's willing to give it a try.

Simon would have done anything to save his best friend after a mysterious accident almost killed her - including follow her into a virtual world. And what he and Kat discovered there was more terrifying than they could have ever imagined. Unwitting hospital patients are being forced to test a device that lets VR be experienced with all five senses. The technology is so advanced that it's deadly.

Macy's school officially classifies her as "disturbed", but Macy isn't interested in how others define her. She's got more pressing problems: Her mom can't move off the couch, her dad's in prison, her brother's been kidnapped by Child Protective Services, and now her best friend isn't speaking to her.

For Titus and his friends, it started out like any ordinary trip to the moon - a chance to party during spring break and play with some stupid low-grav at the Ricochet Lounge. But that was before the crazy hacker caused all their feeds to malfunction, sending them to the hospital to lie around with nothing inside their heads for days. And it was before Titus met Violet, a beautiful, brainy teenage girl who has decided to fight the feed and its omnipresent ability to categorize human thoughts and desires.

Seventeen-year-old Elena is vanishing. Every day means renewed determination, so every day means fewer calories. This is the story of a girl whose armor against anxiety becomes artillery against herself as she battles on both sides of a lose-lose war in a struggle with anorexia.

She’s never been in love, either. Charlie’s beautiful best friend, Tess, has kissed three boys, and fallen immediately, indescribably in love with each one of them. When Charlie unexpectedly finds herself drawn to Kevin Lazarus, of all people, she’s in a mess of trouble right away.

Elena Gilbert is alive - again. When Elena sacrificed herself to save the two vampire brothers who love her - the handsome, brooding Stefan and the sleek and dangerous Damon - she was consigned to a fate beyond death. Until a powerful supernatural force pulled her back. Now Elena is not just human. She has powers and gifts that were bestowed on her in the afterlife. What's more, her blood pulses with an overwhelming and unique force that makes her irresistible to any vampire.

Lauren DeStefano makes a stellar debut with this chilling tale. The first installment of a planned trilogy, Wither introduces listeners to a bleak world where a mysterious disease kills most women by the age of 20 and men by the age of 25. Like many girls her age, 16-year-old Rhine has been captured and forced into marriage in an effort to keep the population growing. But, despite her new husband’s wealth, she wants nothing more than to escape her servitude and return home before time runs out.

Lou has enough confusion in front of her this summer. She’ll be working in her family’s ice-cream shack with her newly ex-boyfriend—whose kisses never made her feel desire, only discomfort—and her former best friend, King, who is back in their Canadian prairie town after disappearing three years ago without a word.

For Angel Rahimi life is about one thing: the Ark - a pop-rock trio of teenage boys who are taking the world by storm. Being part of the Ark’s fandom has given her everything she loves - her friend Juliet, her dreams, her place in the world. Jimmy Kaga-Ricci owes everything to the Ark. He’s their frontman - and playing in a band with his mates is all he ever dreamed of doing. But dreams don’t always turn out the way you think.

Meredith's family's annual game of assassin at Martha's Vineyard during a summer wedding is the perfect chance to honor her sister's legacy, and finally join the world again. But when she forms an alliance with a cute groomsman, she's at risk of losing both the game . . . and her heart.

Georgia feels loveless - in the romantic sense, anyway. She’s 18, never been in a relationship, or even had a crush on a single person in her whole life. She thinks she's an anomaly, people call her weird and she feels a little broken. But she still adores romance - weddings, fan fiction and happily ever afters. After a disastrous summer, Georgia is now at university, hundreds of miles from home. She is more determined than ever to find love - and her annoying roommate, Rooney, is a bit of a love expert, so perhaps she can help.

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might die. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him. Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister's recent death. When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it's unclear who saves whom.

When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton’s type is girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact. On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has $10,000 in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun - but no Katherines.

Shane is still reeling from the suicide of his kid sister, Destiny. How could he have missed the fact that she was so sad? He tries to share his grief with his girlfriend, Tara, but she's too concerned with her own needs to offer him much comfort. What he really wants is to be able to turn to the one person on the rez whom he loves - his friend, David. Things go from bad to worse as Shane's dream of going to university is shattered and his grieving mother withdraws from the world.

Kristina Georgia Snow is the perfect daughter: gifted high school junior, quiet, never any trouble. But on a trip to visit her absentee father, she meets a boy who introduces her to crank. At first she finds it freeing, but soon Kristina's personality disappears inside the drug. What began as a wild, ecstatic ride turns into a struggle through hell for her mind, her soul, and her life.

Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton is a Maasai tribesman of Kenya. In this fascinating autobiography, he shares stories about growing up in his nomadic tribe - from licking sweat off cows’ noses to survive a drought, to facing down a lion at age 14, to playing soccer for the president of Kenya. The only member of his family to receive a formal education, Joseph sometimes lived as much as 40 miles away from school. While at school, he learned about Western culture and traditions.

At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting - he’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It’s ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth.

The Solomon Grimoire - a powerful book of magic - has gone missing. When John and Philippa are chosen to retrieve it, their quest sends them trotting across the globe. But what they don't know is they are being lured into a trap by the Blue Djinn. When Philippa falls right into the trap, John must embark on a perilous adventure to save his sister.