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Anderson, Laurie Halse
Twisted
After finally getting noticed by someone other than school bullies and his ever-angry father, seventeen-year-old Tyler enjoys his tough new reputation and the attentions of a popular girl, but when life starts to go bad again, he must choose between transforming himself or giving in to his destructive thoughts.
250 p. 2007
Appears on the following book lists:
 Extraordinary Reads for High Schoolers
Teens' Top Ten Winners
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Bowsher, Melodie
My Lost and Found Life
When her mother is accused of embezzling a million dollars and vanishes, spoiled, selfish Ashley must fend for herself by finding a job and a place to live.
312 p. 2006
Appears on the following book lists:
Extraordinary Reads for High Schoolers
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Brande, Robin
Evolution Me other Freaks of Nature
Following her conscience leads high school freshman Mena to clash with her parents and former friends from their conservative Christian church, but might result in better things when she stands up for a teacher who refuses to include Intelligent Design in lessons on evolution.
268 p. 2007
Appears on the following book lists:
Amelia Bloomer Project
Other formats available |
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Chbosky, Stephen
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Written in the form of letters to an anonymous "Dear Friend", shy and introspective Charlie, a high school freshman, documents his day-to-day thoughts and feelings of some of the many struggles faced in high school -- from how to make friends, the intensity of a crush, sexuality, a first romance, family tensions, and experimenting with drugs, to dealing with the recent suicide of his best friend.
213 p. 1999
Appears on the following book lists:
Good Reads for Guys
Challenged and Banned Books
Built to Last
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Going, K. L.
Fat Kid Rules the World
Troy Billings is a 300-pound high school senior contemplating suicide when he meets Curt MacCrae, a homeless teenage musical genius who decides that Troy is just the drummer he's looking for to start a new band.
187 p. 2003
Appears on the following book lists:
It's Due Tomorrow!
Good Reads for High School
Printz Honor Books
Discussion Guides - Teen Books
Other formats available |
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Green, John
Looking for Alaska
Miles Halter's life used to be boring, monotonous, and unexciting. He had no true friends and was disappointed with everything. That all changed when he was sent to Culver Creek Preparatory school. Miles is nicknamed "Pudge" and becomes friends with the schools most daring students who live life on the edge. They smoke and drink frequently, but that means nothing to Miles. For him, it is all about Alaska, the gorgeous, smart, and very screwed up girl down the hall. With his friends, he pulls major pranks and explores the darkest underbelly of Culver Creek. Then, in a flash, it all fades away and nothing is the same ever again.
221 p. 2005
Appears on the following book lists:
Printz Medal Winners
Teens' Top Ten Winners
Discussion Guides - Teen Books
Other formats available |
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Halpin, Brendan
How Ya Like Me Now
After his father dies and his mother goes into rehab, Eddie moves from the suburbs into his cousin's Boston loft, where he gradually adjusts to being one of the few white kids in a progressive private school, and learns how to feel like a normal teenager.
201 p. 2007
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Headley, Justina Chen
Nothing but the Truth (and a Few White Lies)
Fifteen-year-old Patty Ho, half Taiwanese and half white, feels she never fits in, but when her overly-strict mother ships her off to math camp at Stanford, instead being miserable, Patty starts to become comfortable with her true self.
241 p. 2006
Appears on the following book lists:
Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature
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Howe, James
The Misfits
What do a 12-year-old student who moonlights as a tie salesman, a tall, outspoken girl, a gay middle schooler and a kid branded as a hooligan have in common? Best friends for years, they've all been the target of cruel name-calling and now that they're in seventh grade, they're not about to take it any more.
274 p. 2001
Other formats available |
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Limb, Sue
Girl, 15, Charming but Insane
Life was tragic enough before this spring started. With a distinct lack of boobage and an arse so big that birds of prey could nest within its shadows, Jess Jordan is saddled with the Goddess Flora for a best friend, a Britney Spears look-alike so gorgeous that one grain of her divine dandruff could make the blind see again. Jess knows that her soul mate is Ben Jones, a divine mixture of Leonardo diCaprio, Prince William, and Brad Pitt who oozes mystery and charisma. But the campaign to get Ben to notice her brings on a cavalcade of mortification and disaster, including, but not limited to, a minestrone soup explosion that takes place in her bra and a schoolwide viewing of a videotape that features a topless Jess referring to her breasts as "Bonnie" and "Clyde."
214 p. 2004
Appears on the following book lists:
Girl Talk
Good Reads for High School
Fabulous Reads for Middle Schoolers
Book Trailers - Spring 2009
Other formats available |
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Linker, Julie
Disenchanted Princess
When powerful Hollywood agent Jean-Claude Deschanel goes to prison for embezzlement, his teenage daughter West is sent to a small town in Arkansas to live with relatives she's never even met.
224 p. 2007
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Lockhart, E.
Fly On the Wall : How One Girl Saw Everything
When Gretchen Yee, a student at the Manhattan School for Art and Music, wants to understand boys and so wishes she were a fly on the wall of the boys' locker room, she never expects her wish to come true.
182 p. 2006
Appears on the following book lists:
Extraordinary Reads for High Schoolers
Other formats available |
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Lowry, Brigid
Things You Either Hate or Love
A cynical, self-conscious, and lonely Australian teenager spends her summer vacation making lists, eating comfort foods, and trying to earn enough money to attend a big rock concert.
179 p. 2006
Appears on the following book lists:
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McCafferty, Megan
Sloppy Firsts : a Novel
Take a peek into Jessica's journal and share her ups and downs as she tries to find her identity while dealing with the pressures of popularity, boys, and coping with the loss of her best friend Hope, who has moved away.
280 p. 2001
Appears on the following book lists:
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Moriarty, Jaclyn
The Murder of Bindy MacKenzie
Brilliant, precocious Bindy (who wrote in her diary at age 10, "I've been struggling a bit with Ulysses by James Joyce") is frustrated when her gestures of kindness toward fellow students go unappreciated. Her aggressive resistance to a new required course, Friendship and Development, sharply alienates a group of her fellow classmates, whom she nicknames the Venomous Six. But as she gradually gains self-awareness, it's these students, along with a dreamy transfer student, Finnegan, who embrace, support, and even save her.
494 p. 2006
Appears on the following book lists:
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Oates, Joyce Carol
Big Mouth & Ugly Girl
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.
266 p. 2002
Other formats available |
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Peters, Julie Anne
Define Normal : a Novel
When she agrees to meet with Jasmine as a peer counselor at their middle school, Antonia never dreams that this girl with the black lipstick and pierced eyebrow would end up helping her deal with the serious problems she faces at home and could become a good friend.
196 2003
Appears on the following book lists:
Other formats available |
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Plum-Ucci, Carol
What Happened to Lani Garver
Sixteen-year-old Claire is unable to face her fears about a recurrence of her leukemia, her eating disorder, her need to fit in with the popular crowd on Hackett Island, and her mother's alcoholism until the enigmatic Lani Garver helps her get control of her life at the risk of his own.
307 p. 2002
Appears on the following book lists:
Body Angst
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Qualey, Marsha
Just Like That
A tragic accident ending with the death of two people her own age changes life forever for an eighteen-year-old woman.
233 p. 2005
Appears on the following book lists:
Minnesota Authors for Teens
Minnesota Book Awards
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Vizzini, Ned
Be More Chill
Badly in need of self-confidence and a change of image, high school nerd Jeremy Heere swallows a pill-sized super computer that is supposed to help him get whatever he wants.
287 p. 2004
Appears on the following book lists:
Good Reads for High School
Good Reads for Guys
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