young adult works

"There's one thing Jay Collier knows for sure--he's a statistical anomaly as the only out gay kid in his small rural Washington town. While all his friends can't stop talking about their heterosexual hookups and relationships, Jay can only dream of his own firsts, compiling a romance to-do list of all the things he hopes to one day experience--his Gay Agenda. Then, against all odds, Jay's family moves to Seattle and he starts his senior year at a new high school with a thriving LGBTQIA+ community. For the first time ever, Jay feels like he's found where he truly belongs. But as Jay begins crossing items off his list, he'll soon be torn between his heart and his hormones, his old friends and his new ones... because after all, life and love don't always go according to plan." --.

When her friend's sister is the latest victim in the child-snatchings plaguing her region, Amraeya ni Ansarim makes the journey to the royal court despite the mental and physical pain her malformed foot causes her, because she dares hope the rulers will help. She finds unexpected allies in the city, from the foreign princess to a street thief, but as the mystery unravels, it's possible the answers she seeks could endanger the entire kingdom.

Cameron is used to moving at a moment's notice because he and his mother are always running away from his supposedly violent father, but he is disturbed by their latest refuge, a creepy, deserted farmhouse, haunted by bloodthirsty dogs--and when he sees a boy hiding in the barn, and finds an old picture of the same boy, he starts wondering about the possibility of human ghosts.

Seventeen-year-old Rose Hemmersbach aspires to break out of small town Sparta, Wisconsin and achieve her artistic dreams, just like her aunt Colleen, but must face her mother's heroin addiction and its ramifications first.

Told through police transcripts, tweets, direct messages, and two voices, pop sensation Eric inadvertently falls in love with his biggest fan, agoraphobic Tessa, through deception, leading to a real-life meeting with dire consequences.

"Welcome to North Harbor High ... where a girl can get bullied to death. Sheridan Alexander moves to her fifth foster home since kindergarten. Her two goals are to graduate and exit the system without any more trouble. That is until she is assigned locker 572 and finds the abandoned journal of Ribbon Barber. The journal pages reveal the endless insults and abuse flung at an innocent girl. "Sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you." Yeah, right. Words of hate scar forever. Sheridan needs to find Ribbon and protect her before it's too late even if it means giving up her most stable home in years. Ribbon has a right to be left alone."--Amazon website.

From award-winning, bestselling author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam of the Exonerated Five comes a powerful YA novel in verse about a boy who is wrongfully incarcerated. The story that I thought was my life didn't start on the day I was born. Amal Shahid has always been an artist and a poet. But even in a diverse art school, he's seen as disruptive and unmotivated by a biased system. Then one fateful night, an altercation in a gentrifying neighborhood escalates into tragedy. "Boys just being boys" turns out to be true only when those boys are white. The story that I think will be my life starts today. Suddenly, at just sixteen years old, Amal's bright future is upended: he is convicted of a crime he didn't commit and sent to prison. Despair and rage almost sink him until he turns to the refuge of his words, his art. This never should have been his story. But can he change it' With spellbinding lyricism, award-winning author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam tell a moving and deeply profound story about how one boy is able to maintain his humanity and fight for the truth, in a system designed to strip him of both.

The Mighty Muskrats have a new case to solve: to find the whereabouts of their grandpa's long-lost sister. Once in the bright lights of the big city, the cousins get distracted, face off with bullies, meet some heroes and unlikely teachers, and experience many of the difficulties First Nations kids can face in the city. The Muskrats' search for their missing auntie takes them all the way to the government, and reveals hard truths about their country's treatment of First Nation families"--Provided by publisher.

Fiercely told, this is a powerful coming-of-age story told in verse, from one of the UK's leading poets, Dean Atta. Perfect for fans of Sarah Crossan and Poet X.A boy comes to terms with his identity as a mixed-race gay teen - then at university he finds his wings as a drag artist, The Black Flamingo. A bold story about the power of embracing your uniqueness. Sometimes, we need to take charge, to stand up wearing pink feathers - to show ourselves to the world in bold colour.