Abuse
Breathing underwater by Alex Flinn(2001)Sent to counseling for hitting his girlfriend, Caitlin, and ordered to keep a journal, sixteen-year-old Nick recounts his relationship with Caitlin, examines his controlling behavior and anger, and describes living with his abusive father.
A child called "it" : one child's courage to survive by David J. Pelzer(1995)This book chronicles the unforgettable account of one of the most severe child abuse cases in California history. It is the story of Dave Pelzer, who was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played tortuous, unpredictable games--games that left him nearly dead. He had to learn how to play his mother's games in order to survive because she no longer considered him a son, but a slave; and no longer a boy, but an "it." Dave's bed was an old army cot in the basement, and his clothes were torn and raunchy. When his mother allowed him the luxury of food, it was nothing more than spoiled scraps that even the dogs refused to eat. The outside world knew nothing of his living nightmare. He had nothing or no one to turn to, but his dreams kept him alive--dreams of someone taking care of him, loving him and calling him their son.
Counterfeit son by Elaine Marie Alphin(2000)Edgar Award winner
When serial killer Hank Miller is killed in a shoot-out with police, his abused son Cameron adopts the identity of one of his father's victims in order to find a better life.
Don't you dare read this, Mrs. Dunphrey by Margaret Peterson Haddix(1997)In the journal she is keeping for English class, sixteen-year-old Tish chronicles the changes in her life when her abusive father returns home after a two-year absence.
The facts speak for themselves by Brock Cole(1997)At the request of her social worker, thirteen-year-old Linda gradually reveals how her life with her unstable mother and her younger brother led to her rape and the murder she witnessed.
Fault line by Janet Tashjian(2003)When seventeen-year-old Becky Martin, an aspiring comic, meets Kip Costello, she is caught in a mentally and physically abusive relationship.
Love, Sara by Mary Beth Lundgren(2001)In a series of emails and journal entries Sara, a high school junior with a history of sexual abuse and foster home care, reveals her feelings about herself and two friends who are headed for destruction.
Nothing to lose by Alex Flinn(2004)A year after running away with a traveling carnival to escape his unbearable home life, sixteen-year-old Michael returns to Miami, Florida, to find that his mother is going on trial for the murder of his abusive stepfather.
Past forgiving by Gloria D. Miklowitz(1995)Fifteen-year-old Alexandra finds that her boyfriend Cliff demands all her time, isolates her by his jealousy, and finally becomes physically abusive.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson(2001)Michael L. Printz Honor Book, 2000
A traumatic event near the end of the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda's freshman year in high school.
Uncle Vampire by Cynthia D. Grant(1993)Sixteen-year-old Caroline and her twin sister Honey know for sure that their Uncle Toddy is a vampire who comes at night to drink their blood but fear of the consequences makes them keep their terrible secret.
When she hollers by Cynthia Voigt(1994)Tish, a teenager who has been enduring abuse from her adoptive stepfather since she was a small child, finally decides she must do something to stop him.
Body image and eating disorders
Diary of an anorexic girl by Morgan Menzie(2003)A young girl keeps a diary recording her struggles with anorexia.
Girls under pressure by Jacqueline Wilson(2003)Book 2 in the Girls Quartet series.
Ellie learns to deal with her self-image as she battles anorexia.
The grooming of Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor(2000)During the summer between eighth and ninth grades, Alice and her friends Pamela and Elizabeth decide to improve themselves through exercise.
I am an artichoke by Lucy Frank(1995)Working as a mother's helper in New York City, fifteen-year-old Sarah finds herself caught in the middle of a troubled relationship between an eccentric writer and her anorexic daughter.
Keeping the moon by Sarah Dessen(1999)Fifteen-year-old Colie, a former fat girl, spends the summer working as a waitress in a beachside restaurant, staying with her overweight and eccentric Aunt Mira, and trying to explore her sense of self.
Life in the fat lane by Cherie Bennett(1998)Sixteen-year-old Lara, winner of beauty pageants and Homecoming Queen, is distressed and bewildered when she starts gaining weight and becomes a fat girl.
Mates, dates, and chocolate cheats by Cathy Hopkins(2006)Izzie has gained eight pounds since Christmas and is worried about how she looks. She starts to doubt her friends and herself, even though she has been selected for a TV teen panel, and a cute boy at the TV studio seems to like her just the way she is.
More than you can chew by Marnelle Tokio(2003)More Than You Can Chew is a novel about an anorexic teenager who struggles to regain her mental health.
Perfect by Natasha Friend(2004)Following the death of her father, a thirteen-year-old uses bulimia as a way to avoid her mother's and ten-year-old sister's grief, as well as her own.
Staying fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher(1993)The daily class discussions about the nature of man, the existence of God, abortion, organized religion, suicide and other contemporary issues serve as a backdrop for a high-school senior's attempt to answer a friend's dramatic cry for help.
When Zachary Beaver came to town by Kimberly Willis Holt(2001)During the summer of 1971 in a small Texas town, thirteen-year-old Toby and his best friend Cal meet the star of a sideshow act, 600-pound Zachary, the fattest boy in the world.
Death and suicide
24 hours by Margaret Mahy(2000)During his first twenty-four hours after finishing high school, seventeen-year-old Ellis unexpectedly becomes part of an inner-city world far different from his comfortable life, which helps deal with his best friend's recent suicide.
After by Francis Chalifour(2005)Fifteen-year-old Francis struggles to come to terms with his father's suicide.
Impulse by Ellen Hopkins(2007)Three teens who meet at Reno, Nevada's Aspen Springs mental hospital after each has attempted suicide connect with each other in a way they never have with their parents or anyone else in their lives.
Many stones by Carolyn Coman(2000)After her sister Laura is murdered in South Africa, Berry and her estranged father travel there to participate in the dedication of a memorial in her name.
No right turn by Terry Trueman(2005)After three years of wanting only to be invisible, sixteen-year-old Jordan begins to recover from his father's suicide and start living again when a neighbor's vintage Corvette Stingray opens up new possibilities for him.
A rose for Melinda by Lurlene McDaniel(2002)Letters, journal entries, e-mails, doctors' reports, and instant messages weave this heartbreaking story of an aspiring ballet dancer battling leukemia and the effect it has on her family and friends.
Saying it out loud : a novel by Joan Abelove(1999)With the help of her best friend, sixteen-year-old Mindy sorts through her relationships with her solicitous mother and her detached father as she tries to come to terms with the fact that her mother is dying from a brain tumor.
Stay with me by Garret Freymann-Weyr(2006)When her sister kills herself, sixteen-year-old Leila goes looking for a reason and, instead, discovers great love, her family's true history, and what her own place in it is.
Trigger by Susan Vaught(2006)Teenager Jersey Hatch must work through his extensive brain damage to figure out why he decided to shoot himself.
The truth about forever by Sarah Dessen(2004)The summer following her father's death, Macy plans to work at the library and wait for her brainy boyfriend to return from camp, but instead she goes to work at a catering business where she makes new friends and finally faces her grief.
Under the wolf, under the dog by Adam Rapp(2004)Sixteen-year-old Steve struggles to make sense of his mother's terminal breast cancer and his brother's suicide.
Drug and alcohol use and abuse
The Beast by Walter Dean Myers(2003)A visit to his Harlem neighborhood and the discovery that the girl he loves is using drugs give sixteen-year-old Anthony Witherspoon a new perspective both on his home and on his life at a Connecticut prep school.
Bottled up : a novel by Jaye Murray(2003)A high school boy comes to terms with his drug addiction, life with an alcoholic father, and a younger brother who looks up to him.
Crackback by John Coy(2005)Miles barely recalls when football was fun after being sidelined by a new coach, constantly criticized by his father, and pressured by his best friend to take performance-enhancing drugs.
Go ask Alice(1971)A fifteen-year-old drug user chronicles her daily struggle to escape the pull of the drug world.
Rooftop by Paul Volponi(2006)From the acclaimed author of "Black and White" comes a new novel about an urban youth working to earn his GED and kick his drug habit. Trouble comes to a head one tragic night on a rooftop when his estranged cousin, who has shown up for rehab, is shot by the police.
Runner by Carl Deuker(2005)Living with his alcoholic father on a broken-down sailboat on Puget Sound has been hard on seventeen-year-old Chance Taylor, but when his love of running leads to a high-paying job, he quickly learns that the money is not worth the risk.
Stoner & Spaz by Ronald Koertge(2002)A troubled youth with cerebral palsy struggles toward self-acceptance with the help of a drug-addicted young woman.
Tears of a tiger by Sharon M. Draper(1994)John Steptoe Award for New Talent winner.
The death of high school basketball star Rob Washington in an automobile accident affects the lives of his close friend Andy, who was driving the car, and many others in the school.
True confessions of a Hollywood starlet : a novel by Lola Douglas(2005)Teen movie star Morgan Carter retreats to a small midwestern town to recuperate anonymously after an overdose and rehabilitation, recording her thoughts in a diary.
Fitting in
Harley, like a person by Cat Bauer(2000)Fourteen-year-old Harley, an artistic teenager living with her alcoholic father and angry mother, suspects that she is adopted and begins a search for her biological parents.
Alice, I think by Susan Juby(2003)Fifteen-year-old Alice keeps a diary as she struggles to cope with the embarrassments and trials of family, dating, school, work, small town life, and a serious case of "outcastitis."
Ask me no questions by Marina Tamar Budhos(2006)Fourteen-year-old Nadira, her sister, and their parents leave Bangladesh for New York City, but the expiration of their visas and the events of September 11, 2001, bring frustration, sorrow, and terror for the whole family.
Battle dress by Amy Efaw(2000)As a newly arrived freshman at West Point, seventeen-year-old Andi finds herself gaining both confidence and self esteem as she struggles to get through the grueling six weeks of new cadet training known as the Beast.
The body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci(2001)Torey Adams, a high school junior with a seemingly perfect life, struggles with doubts and questions surrounding the mysterious disappearance of the class outcast.
Confessions of a teenage drama queen by Dyan Sheldon(1999)In her first year at a suburban New Jersy high school, Mary Elizabeth Cep, who now calls herself "Lola," sets her sights on the lead in the annual drama production, and finds herself in conflict with the most popular girl in school.
The misfits by James Howe(2001)Four students who do not fit in at their small-town middle school decide to create a third party for the student council elections to represent all students who have ever been called names.
Sloppy firsts : a novel by Megan McCafferty(2001)A fresh, funny, utterly compelling fiction debut by first-time novelist Megan McCafferty, Sloppy Firsts is an insightful, true-to-life look at Jessica's predicament as she embarks on another year of teenage torment--from the dark days of Hope's departure through her months as a type-A personality turned insomniac to her completely mixed-up feelings about Marcus Flutie, the intelligent and mysterious "Dreg" who works his way into her heart. Like a John Hughes for the twenty-first century, Megan McCafferty taps into the inherent humor and drama of the teen experience. This poignant, hilarious novel is sure to appeal to readers who are still going through it, as well as those who are grateful that they don't have to go back and grow up all over again.
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli(2000)In this story about the perils of popularity, the courage of nonconformity, and the thrill of first love, an eccentric student named Stargirl changes Mica High School forever.
A step from heaven by An Na(2002)A young Korean girl and her family find it difficult to learn English and adjust to life in America.
Gangs and violence
Autobiography of my dead brother by Walter Dean Myers(2005)Jesse pours his heart and soul into his sketchbook to make sense of life in his troubled Harlem neighborhood and the loss of a close friend.
Bang! by Sharon Flake(2005)A teenage boy must face the harsh realities of inner city life, a disintegrating family, and destructive temptations as he struggles to find his identity as a young man.
Behind the eyes by Francisco X. Stork(2006)Sixteen-year-old Hector is the hope of his family, but when he seeks revenge after his brother's gang-related death and is sent to a San Antonio reform school, it takes an odd assortment of characters to help him see that hope is still alive.
Big Mouth & Ugly Girl by Joyce Carol Oates(2002)When sixteen-year-old Matt is falsely accused of threatening to blow up his high school and his friends turn against him, an unlikely classmate comes to his aid.
Fade to black by Alex Flinn(2005)An HIV-positive high school student hospitalized after being attacked, the bigot accused of the crime, and the only witness, a classmate with Down Syndrome, reveal how the assult has changed their lives as they tell of its aftermath.
Give a boy a gun by Todd Strasser(2000)The horrors of teen violence are explored in this eye-opening novel through the lens of one shattering event where two armed students hold terrified classmates and teachers hostage in a school gym.
Kung Fu High School by Ryan Gattis(2005)Life at hellish "Kung Fu" High School is narrated by Jen B. who, along with her brother, Cue, belongs to one of two gangs still standing against the puppet principal and the tyrant drug kingpin.
Miracle's boys by Jacqueline Woodson(2000)Twelve-year-old Lafayette's close relationship with his older brother Charlie changes after Charlie is released from a detention home and blames Lafayette for the death of their mother.
The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton(1997)The struggle of three brothers to stay together after their parent's death and their quest for identity among the conflicting values of their adolescent society.
Poison ivy by Amy Goldman Koss(2006)In a government class three popular girls undergo a mock trial for their ruthless bullying of a classmate.
Romiette and Julio by Sharon M. Draper(1999)Romiette, an African-American girl, and Julio, a Hispanic boy, discover that they attend the same high school after falling in love on the Internet, but are harrassed by a gang whose members object to their interracial dating.
Scorpions by Walter Dean Myers(1996, c1990)Newbery Honor Book
After reluctantly taking on the leadership of the Harlem gang, the Scorpions, Jamal finds that his enemies treat him with respect when he acquires a gun--until a tragedy occurs.
Physical and mental diseases and disabilities
Accidents of nature by Harriet McBryde Johnson(2006)Having always prided herself on blending in with "normal" people despite her cerebral palsy, seventeen-year-old Jean begins to question her role in the world while attending a summer camp for children with disabilities.
The curious incident of the dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon(2003)Despite his overwhelming fear of interacting with people, Christopher, a mathematically-gifted, autistic fifteen-year-old boy, decides to investigate the murder of a neighbor's dog and uncovers secret information about his mother.
Cut by Patricia McCormick(2000)While confined to a mental hospital, thirteen-year-old Callie slowly comes to understand some of the reasons behind her self-mutilation, and gradually starts to get better.
Damage by A. M. Jenkins(2001)Seventeen-year-old football hero Austin, trying to understand the inexplicable depression that has drained his interest in life, thinks that he has found relief in a girl who seems very special.
A face in every window by Han Nolan(1999)After the death of his grandmother, who held the family together, teenage JP is left with a mentally challenged father and a mother who seems ineffectual and constantly sick, and he feels everything sliding out of control.
Joey Pigza loses control by Jack Gantos(2002)Joey, who is still taking medication to keep him from getting too wired, goes to spend the summer with the hard-drinking father he has never known and tries to help the baseball team he coaches win the championship.
Not as crazy as I seem by George Harrar(2003)As fifteen-year-old Devon begins mid-year at a new prestigious prep school, he is plagued by compulsions such as the need to sort things into groups of four.
Of sound mind by Jean Ferris(2001)Tired of interpreting for his deaf family and resentful of their reliance on him, high school senior Theo finds support and understanding from Ivy, a new student who also has a deaf parent.
The silent boy by Lois Lowry(2003)Katy, the precocious ten-year-old daughter of the town doctor, befriends a retarded boy.
When she was good by Norma Fox Mazer(1997)The death of her abusive, manipulative older sister prompts seventeen-year-old Em to remember their unpleasant life together, with their parents and then later on their own.
Wild roses by Deb Caletti(2005)In Washington State, seventeen-year-old Cassie learns about the good and bad sides of both love and genius while living with her mother and brilliant, yet disturbed, violinist stepfather and falling in love with a gifted young musician.
Teen Parenthood
The first part last by Angela Johnson(2003)Won the Coretta Scott King Award and the Michael L. Printz Award.
Bobby's carefree teenage life changes forever when he becomes a father and must care for his adored baby daughter.
The girl with a baby by Sylvia Olsen(2003)Jane has always been the good Williams. Her brothers might be high school dropouts and late-night rowdy partiers, but never Jane. Now she's one of those: the teenage mothers packing diaper bags with their knapsacks, wheeling strollers into the high school daycare, tired and grumpy.
Hanging on to Max by Margaret Bechard(2002)When his girlfriend decides to give their baby away, seventeen-year-old Sam is determined to keep him and raise him alone.
Make lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff(1993)In order to earn money for college, fourteen-year-old LaVaughn babysits for a teenage mother.
Teen relationships
Blind sighted by Peter Moore(2002)Kirk, a creative misfit who is in trouble at high school because he is bored with his classes, learns to deal with his alcoholic mother, new friends, and life with the help of a blind young woman who hires him to read to her.
Born blue by Han Nolan(2001)Janie was four years old when she nearly drowned due to her mothers neglect. Through an unhappy foster home experience, and years of feeling that she is unwanted, she keeps alive her dream of someday being a famous singer.
Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn(2002)After being expelled from a fancy boarding school, Cyd Charisse's problems with her mother escalate after Cyd falls in love with a sensitive surfer and is subsequently sent from San Francisco to New York City to spend time with her biological father.
Hard love by Ellen Wittlinger(2001)After starting to publish a zine in which he writes his secret feelings about his lonely life and his parents' divorce, sixteen-year-old John meets an unusual girl and begins to develop a healthier personality.
Life is funny: a novel by E. R. Frank(2000)The lives of a number of young people of different races, economic backgrounds, and family situations living in Brooklyn, New York, become intertwined over a seven year period.
The murder of Bindy MacKenzie by Jaclyn Moriarty(2006)Class brain Bindy Mackenzie has alienated her entire high school but when she realizes someone is trying to kill her, she has to make friends in order to get help.
Spellbound by Janet McDonald(2001)Raven, a teenage mother and high school dropout living in a housing project, decides, with the help and sometime interference of her best friend Aisha, to study for a spelling bee which could lead to a college preparatory program and four-year scholarship.
