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Hit
the Road
by Caroline Cooney
Sixteen-year-old
Brittany acts as chauffeur for her grandmother and Gran's three
friends on their way to a college reunion. This adventure involves
lies, theft, kidnapping and lessons that will not soon be forgotten. |
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13
Little Blue Envelopes
by Maureen Johnson
When
Ginny receives a pack of mysterious envelopes from her favorite
aunt, she leaves New Jersey to journey through Europe on a scavenger
hunt. She is given several destinations and instructions to open
one envelope upon her arrival at each place. Throughout her adventures,
she collects pieces of her aunt's past and learns much about herself. |
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The
Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch
by Joseph Delaney
Tom
Ward, seventh son of a seventh son, is apprenticed to the Spook,
whose job is to defend the living against ghosts, ghasts, boggarts,
and witches. When Mother Malkin escapes her confinement while Spook
is away, Tom is forced to use his wits and help his new friend Alice
fight the evil witch. |
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If
I have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's my Prince? by
Melissa Kantor
Lucy
Norton is a Cinderella! When her father remarries and moves her
from the West Coast to Long Island, Lucy is left with her stepmother
and twin stepsisters. Living in the basement with no furniture and
a long list of chores, her life is miserable. When she meets Connor,
the cutest jock in school, she goes from friendless to popular.
Will he be her prince? |
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Just
Listen
by Sarah Dessen
Annabel
Greene seems to have it all. However, that is not the case. At school,
she is shunned because she's hiding secrets about an end of the
year party. At home, family peace hangs in the balance because she's
hiding secrets about her sister's anorexia. Her life is changed
when she meets Owen Armstrong, the school's loner who is obsessed
with music and telling the truth. |
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Sleeping
Freshmen Never Lie
by David Lubar
Scott
Hudson is small, lost and a Freshman. The seniors trap him and take
his spare change. His honors homework keeps him up all night, and
his gym teacher is trying to kill him. To top it off, his mother
is pregnant. He starts a journal to the unborn baby, and with comical
entries he begins to cope with his life.
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Runner
by
Carl Deuker
Chance
Taylor's father, a Gulf War Veteran and alcoholic, is fired from
his job. Chance worries about where they will get the money to pay
the mortgage for the run-down sailboat they call home. Running along
the Seattle waterfront is an escape from all his problems. When
a marina employee offers to pay him $250 a week to pick up packages,
Chance finds himself in danger and gets a glimpse of the heroic
man his father once was. |
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Sold
by Patricia McCormick
Lakshmi,
a thirteen-year-old from a mountain village in Nepal, thinks she
is being hired as a maid. Instead, she is forced into prostitution
in India when her stepfather "trades" her for 800 rupees.
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Copper
Sun by
Sharon Draper
Amari
is a 15-year-old Ashanti girl who is happily anticipating her marriage
to Besa. When slavers arrive in her village, her family is slaughtered
and her world shattered. Shackled and frightened she is shipped
to the Carolinas and forced into slavery. Amari develops friendships
and struggles for freedom in this historical fiction novel. |
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Black
and White
by Paul Volponi
(mature readers)
Two
Island City High School basketball stars known as "Black and
White" turn to robbery to get easy money for shoes and senior
fees. When the gun goes off during a robbery, Marcus and Eddie tell,
in alternating chapters, what happens to them in the aftermath.
Their friendship is challenged as they experience the justice system
differently because of race. |
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Rash
by Pete Hautman
The
year is 2076. Verbal abuse, obesity and dangerous activities in
the United States are against the law. Helmets and health food are
in and sports are outlawed. Bo Marsten, 16, loses self control and
hits another classmate. Sentenced to work at a pizza factory, Bo
finds himself a candidate for the warden's favorite past time, football. |
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The
Glass Castle
by Jeannette Walls
(mature readers)
Jeannette
Walls, now a freelance writer, writes of the poverty, hunger, jokes,
and bullying that she and her siblings endured while growing up.
Her mother, unwilling to assume the responsibilities of parenting,
and her father, an alcoholic, taught their children to fend for
themselves. |
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Crossing
the Wire by
Will Hobbs
Life
is difficult for the Flores family. When Victor's father dies, he
tries to support his family on their farm in Mexico. When corn prices
drop, Victor attempts a dangerous border crossing, jumping trains
and fleeing thieves and border officials to make it to the United
Stated to find work. |
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Uglies
by
Scott Westerfeld
In
this futuristic society, young people believe they are ugly until,
at age 16, they undergo an operation that changes them into "pretties."
Tally Youngblood looks forward to turning 16 until she meets another
female named Shay who questions this way of life and urges Tally
to defect to a distant settlement of simple living. When Shay disappears,
Tally is coerced by cruel Dr. Cable to find Shay and her patriots
or stay "ugly" forever. |
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Becoming
Chloe
by Catherine Ryan Hyde
(mature readers)
Jordy,
homeless, gay, and abused, finds a kindred spirit when he rescues
Chloe from a rape near the building where they live. When Jordy
all but commits murder to protect Chloe, he realizes they must leave
New York City for their safety and sanity. They crisscross America
looking for evidence of beauty in what so far has been a grim existence. |
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