The following books were chosen for their relevant, meaningful and realistic themes. The stories are thought provoking and engaging; the characters grow and change. We hope these novels will entertain you and help you discover your personal philosophies and value systems.
Friends ignore Melinda, a victim of date rape, when she blows the whistle on a teen party. As an outcast, she looses her willingness to talk. The ending is triumphant when she finds her voice, confronts her rapist, and finds new meaning in her life.
A collection of short stories centered around a school dance. Humorous and heartbreaking, sweet and bitter, themes touch on date rape, same sex crushes, family violence and love.
A cupid doll comes to life and offers romantic assistance to A.J., a teenage photographer suffering from unrequited love.
A collection of short stories about homosexual, transgender and questioning teens.
Written in diary format, Jonah Black, loves one girl who he hasn’t slept with. Jonah gets kicked out of boarding school and must repeat the 11th grade. (This book will give girls a sneak peek at a guy's thoughts.)
Katherine, 18, falls in love and decides to go all the way. After a summer separation from her lover, she discovers she is interested in other guys. So what does this mean about love? What does is mean about Katherine?
A story of lesbian love, Louie falls for Willa and then they must deal with homophobia.
Four good friends must part for the summer but a pair of pants will be shared between them. The pants lead the girls into bruising, but ultimately healing confrontations with love, courage, dying and forgiveness.
A collection of stories about teenage sexuality, with all of its confusion, pain and joy. Graphic sexual scenes are integral parts of the stories that range from sweetly romantic to dark and sensual.
It took only one sexual encounter for Valerie to get pregnant and now she doesn’t know what to do.
Keeping a journal for a summer project, Mary Lou, records first love and family intrigue while she gradually comes to an understanding and appreciation of people different from herself.
Dovey, a strong willed 12 year old, is accused of murdering her big sister’s boyfriend, in a small town in North Carolina, 1928.
A collection of poems about love and all its complications, this book is melodramatic, out of focus, real and raw.
A collection of stories written by girls between the ages of 12 and 18 revealing the secrets that enabled them to overcome the challenges they faced.
A group of kids form a third party for student council elections. The story is about peer pressure, discovering sexuality, love and loss.
Lang, 17, struggles with his homosexuality and infatuation for a girl.
A supernatural romance tells of the longings and passions of Vivian Gandillon, teenage werewolf.
Trying to make sense of family, friendship, romance and sex, Samantha, 16, moves with her mom to Manhattan to start a new life.
Sharp, funny, and painfully honest, this book is about Jessica, who can’t decide who she likes and wishes her parents would get a grip.
Her changing physique, first love and the town’s wartime secrets disquiet Zazoo, a Vietnamese orphan raised in France.
Three inner-city teenagers try to decide if they should sell a cache of cocaine to help themselves, though it would mean the demise of the neighborhood. Emerging sexuality, prejudice and drug addiction issues are also explored.
Alice, 13, sets long and short-term priorities for her life as she experiences the complexities of young love.
Angus, presented in diary format, tells the hilarious story of Georgia, a 14-year-old British girl, who tries desperately to win the love of sex god Robbie, while going to great extremes to improve her appearance.
Georgia is dating sex god Robbie until he decides they must break up because of their age differences. Meanwhile Georgia plots to win him back and continues to deal with embarrassing family, sometimes self-centered friends, dramas at school and her peculiar cat.
Nancy, an Asian American star high school basketball player, falls in love with Raina, a new player and an African American.
A collection of eight short stories in which a variety of characters experience the transfiguring power of love.
Verse novel in teen speak, about relationships and dating.
This story is about the perils of nonconformity and first love. An eccentric student, Stargirl, changes Mica High School and a guy named Leo forever.
Shabanu, the 12-year-old daughter of a nomad in the Cholistan Desert of present-day Pakistan, is soon to face an arranged marriage despite her desire to act independently and be involved in making decisions concerning her future.
Adrian tells of his troubles with girls, school, parents and the world. Things only get funnier as his life gets more desperate.
Mexican-American Tomas has a close girlfriend, hangs out with guys and is gay. While peers and family members succumb to homophobia, Tomas deals with rejection and a desire to commit suicide before finding help from a caring therapist.
Noli, a smart, boyish 17 year old, must come to terms with the fact that the boy she loves is gay.