Book picks similar to
Cashing In by Susan Colebank


young-adult
realistic-fiction
ya
light-romance

Imani All Mine


Connie Rose Porter - 1999
    In her ghettoized world where poverty, racism, and danger are daily struggles, Tasha uses her savvy and humor to uncover the good hidden around her. The name she gives her daughter, Imani, is a sign of her determination and fundamental trust despite the odds against her: Imani means faith. Surrounding Tasha and Imani is a cast of memorable characters: Peanut, the boy Tasha likes, Eboni, her best friend, Miss Odetta, the neighborhood gossip, and Tasha's mother, Earlene, who's dating a new boyfriend. Tasha's voice speaks directly to both the special pain of poverty and the universal, unconquerable spirit of youth. Authentic in every detail, this is an unforgettable story. As Seventeen declared, "Porter's candid narrative will have you hooked from the opening sentence."

Top 8


Katie Finn - 2008
    I had my three best friends, a brand-new boyfriend, and the lead in the school play. Aside from that history paper I hadn't started, things felt perfect.Then I returned from spring break to find my Friendverse profile hacked. Someone clearly out to ruin me had spilled the most damaging secrets - AND posted the worst photos of me ever taken - online.

Songs for a Teenage Nomad


Kim Culbertson - 2007
    Fearful of putting down roots anywhere, but armed with her song journal, she moves to her own sound track through a world that bounces her between the school drama crowd, a mysterious loner, and an unlikely boy who will become her first love. But it's the troubling truth she uncovers about her father that forces Calle to face the toughest choice of her young life.

You Killed Wesley Payne


Sean Beaudoin - 2011
     A job that involves a body. A body wrapped in duct tape found hanging from the goal posts at the end of the football field. You Killed Wesley Payne is a truly original and darkly hilarious update of classic pulp-noir, in which hard-boiled seventeen year-old Dalton Rev transfers to the mean hallways of Salt River High to take on the toughest case of his life. The question isn't whether Dalton's going to get paid. He always gets paid. Or whether he's gonna get the girl. He always (sometimes) gets the girl. The real question is whether Dalton Rev can outwit crooked cops and killer cliques in time to solve the mystery of "The Body" before it solves him.Sean Beaudoin (Going Nowhere Faster, Fade to Blue) evokes the distinctive voices of legendary crime/noir authors Dashiell Hammett and Jim Thompson with a little bit of Mean Girls and Heathers thrown in for good measure. It'll tease you, please you, and never ever leave you. Actually, that's not true. It's only a book. One that's going to suck you in, spit you out, and make you shake hands with the devil. Probably.

The Secret Rites of Social Butterflies


Lizabeth Zindel - 2008
    Desperate to make new friends and to distract herself from troubles at home, she falls in with a group of social butterflies at the ritzy private school she now attends. These girls keep a top-secret record of their classmates, most intimate details on a wall in one of their apartments. Maggie's friends insist they are collecting the truth--not gossip--about the lives of today's teenagers. But she soon learns that certain information in the wrong hands can do irreparable damage.This is the second novel from Publishers Weekly "Flying Start" author and literacy legacy Lizabeth Zindel.

Inside Girl


J. Minter - 2007
    Her family is legendary in New York City, but she’s sick of her friends just trying to get closer to her hot older brother, Patch.So when Flan starts a new high school, she decides to reinvent herself as a totally normal girl. The only problem is, Flan’s life is anything but normal. After all, she has a starlet in her bedroom hiding from the paparazzi, the hottest club promoter in NYC camping out on her living room floor, and a beautiful socialite crashing in her guest room.Flan quickly finds that keeping her crazy social life from her new friends is like keeping a Marc Jacobs sample sale secret-totally impossible! What will happen when her two worlds collide? Will New York’s ultimate Inside Girl be left…an outsider?

You Don't Even Know


Sue Lawson - 2013
    He plays water polo. He has a part-time job. He’s doing okay at school.Then the thing that anchors Alex is ripped away and his life seems pointless.How can he make anyone else understand how he feels, when he doesn’t even know?

The Boy Who Couldn't Sleep and Never Had To


D.C. Pierson - 2010
    They share a love of drawing, the bottom rung on the cruel high school social ladder and a pathological fear of girls.  Then Eric reveals a secret: He doesn’t sleep. Ever.  When word leaks out about Eric's condition, he and Darren find themselves on the run. Is it the government trying to tap into Eric’s mind, or something far darker?  It could be that not sleeping is only part of what Eric's capable of, and the truth is both better and worse than they could ever imagine.

All started with a dare


infinetely finite
    "I dare you, Jade Elsie Brooke, to break into Trystan Woods's house and steal a pair of his boxers without him finding out." Jade Brooke was the daredevil who had never turned down a dare, no matter how bad it was. So when a simple game of truth or dare ends up flipping her life upside down in the form of a dare, she has no one to blame but herself. Trystan Woods was the boy out of reach for most, who stood at the top of the high school food chain. Everyone loves him, and he was the football team captain. Jade had never interacted with him, until the day she was dared to break into his house and steal his underwear. The only flaw in the plan? When he catches her in his room holding his boxers.

Girl Over the Edge


Amy Kinzer - 2011
     Seventeen-year-old best friends Beckett Smith and Chloe Baker can’t shake their reputations after taking risqué photos at a college party. The pictures are distributed to the North Lake High School student body sending the best friends to the bottom rung of the social ladder right before senior year. When Beckett and Chloe return to school, they find themselves ill prepared for the harassment and bullying that follows. Beckett has an easier time being reaccepted than Chloe. And she’ll do anything to be part of her old clique and to get a second chance at a relationship with her ex-boyfriend, star running back Kale Fenton. But Beckett’s attempts at a normal senior year are at odds with Chloe’s increasingly anti-social behavior. As Chloe’s life spirals out of control she becomes obsessed with the Aurora Bridge in Seattle, also known as Suicide Bridge, a place known for the jumpers. And after everyone’s abandoned Chloe, Beckett is the one person who can prevent Chloe from making the jump. GIRL OVER THE EDGE is a novel about best friends, damaged relationships, and the help that sometimes comes from unexpected places.

Stoner & Spaz


Ron Koertge - 2002
    The last person he wants to run into is drugged-up Colleen Minou, resplendent in ripped tights, neon miniskirt, and an impressive array of tattoos. But when Colleen climbs into the seat beside him and rests a woozy head on his shoulder, Ben has that unmistakable feeling that his life is about to change. With unsparing humor and a keen flair for dialogue, Ron Koertge captures the rare repartee between two lonely teenagers on opposite sides of the social divide. His smart, self-deprecating protagonist learns that kindred spirits may be found for the looking — and that the resolve to follow your passion can be strengthened by something as simple as a human touch.

Echo


Francesca Lia Block - 2001
    This outstanding story is no different. Following the life of Echo, an L.A. baby born to an artistic dad and a mom who's an angel, this enthralling story offers more than fairy dust and the supernatural. It tells the tale of a girl who feels doomed to be less than angelic, at least in comparison with her mother. Mom's startling beauty and aura enchant all who meet her, and Echo can never keep up. Desperate to be loved as much, and maybe find her own identity, she escapes to the boys in her life. Ultimately, she must rely on herself for the strength to survive.Simple text ands story lines do not appeal to Block, who weaves a tale with amazing grace and the flowing energy of a true genius. Images of vampires, ghosts, and fairies fill these pages, daring the reader to believe. Told from the point of view of Echo and the key players in her life, the story imparts a dreamlike quality to Echo's life. This a novel layered with pain beauty, and triumph, all which will appeal to young readers.

Last Christmas: A Private Christmas


Kate Brian - 2008
    But on the first night of Christmas vacation, a blizzard traps her on campus with irresistible bad-boy Thomas Pearson. Alone. Instead of snuggling with her boyfriend next to a cozy fire in Vermont, she's huddling for warmth with Thomas in Ketlar House. As the snow transforms Easton into a winter wonderland, Ariana finds herself falling for Thomas. But someone is watching their clandestine romance unfold, someone intent on turning their holiday weekend into a nightmare... Last Christmas reveals the secret of what really happened before Private began -- and the shocking truth will change everything for fans of Kate Brian's bestselling series.

Like Mandarin


Kirsten Hubbard - 2011
    True beauty is wild-girl Mandarin Ramey: 17, shameless and utterly carefree. Grace would give anything to be like Mandarin. When they're united for a project, they form an unlikely, explosive friendship, packed with nights spent skinny-dipping in the canal, liberating the town's animal-head trophies, and searching for someplace magic. Grace plays along when Mandarin suggests they run away together. Blame it on the crazy-making wildwinds plaguing their Badlands town. Because all too soon, Grace discovers Mandarin's unique beauty hides a girl who's troubled, broken, and even dangerous. And no matter how hard Grace fights to keep the magic, no friendship can withstand betrayal.

Crazy


Han Nolan - 2010
    As he tries to hold his crazy father and their crumbling home together, Jason relies on a host of imaginary friends for guidance as he stumbles along trying not to draw attention to his father’s deteriorating condition.Both heartbreaking and funny, Crazy lives up to the intense and compelling characters Han Nolan is praised for. As Jason himself teeters on the edge of insanity, Nolan uncovers the clever coping system he develops for himself and throws him a lifeline in the guise of friendship.