Tales of the Madman Underground


John Barnes - 2009
    For years, Karl's been part of what he calls "the Madman Underground" - a group of kids forced (for no apparent reason) to attend group therapy during school hours. Karl has decided that senior year is going to be different. He is going to get out of the Madman Underground for good. He is going to act - and be - Normal. But Normal, of course, is relative. Karl has five after-school jobs, one dead father, one seriously unhinged drunk mother . . . and a huge attitude. Welcome to a gritty, uncensored rollercoaster ride, narrated by the singular Karl Shoemaker.

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac


Gabrielle Zevin - 2007
    She wouldn't have had to go back for the yearbook camera, and she wouldn't have hit her head on the steps. She wouldn't have woken up in an ambulance with amnesia. She certainly would have remembered her boyfriend, Ace. She might even have remembered why she fell in love with him in the first place. She would understand why her best friend, Will, keeps calling her "Chief." She'd know about her mom's new family. She'd know about her dad's fiancée. She never would have met James, the boy with the questionable past and the even fuzzier future, who tells her he once wanted to kiss her. She wouldn't have wanted to kiss him back.But Naomi picked heads.After her remarkable debut, Gabrielle Zevin has crafted an imaginative second novel all about love and second chances.Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac is a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Speak


Laurie Halse Anderson - 1999
    She is friendless, outcast, because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. As time passes, she becomes increasingly isolated and practically stops talking altogether. Only her art class offers any solace, and it is through her work on an art project that she is finally able to face what really happened at that terrible party: she was raped by an upperclassman, a guy who still attends Merryweather and is still a threat to her. Her healing process has just begun when she has another violent encounter with him. But this time Melinda fights back, refuses to be silent, and thereby achieves a measure of vindication. In Laurie Halse Anderson's powerful novel, an utterly believable heroine with a bitterly ironic voice delivers a blow to the hypocritical world of high school. She speaks for many a disenfranchised teenager while demonstrating the importance of speaking up for oneself.Speak was a 1999 National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature.

Cracked Up to Be


Courtney Summers - 2008
    She's quit the cheerleading squad, she's dumped her perfect boyfriend, and she's failing school. Her parents are on a constant suicide watch and her counselors think she's playing games, but they don't know that the real reason for this whole mess isn't something she can say out loud. It isn't even something she can say to herself. A horrible thing has happened and it just might be her fault. If she can just remove herself from everybody--be totally alone--then everything will be okay...The problem is, nobody will let her.

Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets


Evan Roskos - 2013
    Always positive. I need to be more positive, so I wake myself up every morning with a song of myself.”Sixteen-year-old James Whitman has been yawping (à la Whitman) at his abusive father ever since he kicked his beloved older sister, Jorie, out of the house. James’s painful struggle with anxiety and depression—along with his ongoing quest to understand what led to his self-destructive sister’s exile—make for a heart-rending read, but his wild, exuberant Whitmanization of the world and keen sense of humor keep this emotionally charged debut novel buoyant.

Life as Told by Nerdy


tsubame - 2012
    What's the big deal you say? Nothing except for the fact that he's some insanely beautiful Greek God under those nerdy glasses. And now, he lives next door. I'm Sarah and this is my story.http://www.wattpad.com/story/384625-l...

Sir, I Think The Badboy Knows About Us...


Makeandoffer
    She knows that having an affair with her hot English Teacher Mr. Vincent is wrong, but she just can't seem to be able to stay away from him. No one knows about the affair and things between them are perfect. Then, her Aunty Daisy arrives back into town, with her delinquent step-son, Cole Harlem. They have nowhere to live, so Grace's mum offers for them to stay with her and Grace. As soon as she meets Cole, her life begins to turn upside down. Grace suddenly has a lot of work to do, which involves trying to stay out of trouble even though Cole seems determined to get her into it and keeping her affair with Mr. Vincent a secret. But when not all goes to plan, what will happen once the Badboy knows her secret?

The Only Girl in the Band


youXfoundXme - 2011
    She's got the look and she's got the voice. The only thing that's stopping her is her stage fright...and an opportunity. But opportunity knocks when pop-punk band, The Velocity, holds auditions for a new lead singer at the restaurant that Vanessa works at. Getting in was the easy part. Surviving as the only girl in the band is the hard part. Can she do it?

(OLD) The Misfortunes of Lolita


Losangelesque
    Please note that this is an unedited, significantly different version I had written as a teenager. I hope you will read the updated version, which I have rewritten with tenderness and care. Former high school football star Frank Novak meets profound and depressed loner Lolita Abri — and falls headfirst into love. Throughout the course of one school year, they unravel each other and their sadness, setting apart their differences and realizing that sometimes love isn't enough — and sometimes it just might be.

Reality Boy


A.S. King - 2013
    Twelve years later, he’s still haunted by his rage-filled youth—which the entire world got to watch from every imaginable angle—and his anger issues have resulted in violent outbursts, zero friends, and clueless adults dumping him in the special education room at school.Nothing is ever going to change. No one cares that he’s tried to learn to control himself, and the girl he likes has no idea who he really is. Everyone’s just waiting for him to snap…and he’s starting to feel dangerously close to doing just that.In this fearless portrayal of a boy on the edge, highly acclaimed Printz Honor author A.S. King explores the desperate reality of a former child “star” who finally breaks free of his anger by creating possibilities he never knew he deserved.

Such a Pretty Girl


Laura Wiess - 2007
    Her father was supposed to be locked up until Meredith turned eighteen. She thought she had time to grow up, get out, and start a new life. But Meredith is only fifteen, and today her father is coming home from prison. Today her time has run out.

Mismatched Compatibility


Louisse Carreon - 2013
    But what if you share an undeniable chemistry with your complete opposite?Ethan Tyler is your typical arrogant jerk of a bad boy. He likes sports, girls and booze -- and he got no problem getting it all. While in the world of luxurious life style, Daniella Howard couldn't ask for more. All she wanted was someone to see her, and rescue her from all the superficiality. Daniella grew up in prestige, as Ethan lived a normal life. They didn't get along when they met, having lived in completely different worlds and having different beliefs.Five days is all they have, though. Five days to bicker and five days to get to know each other . All it takes is FIVE days to change their lives forever.So how will it possibly work between them? Mismatched Compatibility (featuring the characters from "A and D" and "Realize")

By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead


Julie Anne Peters - 2009
    She starts visiting a website for “completers”— www. through-the-light.com.While she’s on the site, Daelyn blogs about her life, uncovering a history of bullying that goes back to kindergarten. When she’s not on the Web, Daelyn’s at her private school, where she’s known as the freak who doesn’t talk.Then, a boy named Santana begins to sit with her after school while she’s waiting to for her parents to pick her up. Even though she’s made it clear that she wants to be left alone, Santana won’t give up. And it’s too late for Daelyn to be letting people into her life... isn't it?National Book Award finalist Julie Anne Peters shines a light on how bullying can push young people to the very edge.

Believe Me, I'm Lying


Jordan Lynde - 2010
    Her uncle comes to her house with a job offer. For her to become a teacher at his school. A school for delinquents.

Right Behind You


Gail Giles - 2007
    Now, after years in a juvenile ward, he is ready for a fresh start. But the ghosts of his past soon demand justice, and he must reveal his painful secret. How can Kip tell anyone that he really is--or was--a murderer?