Book picks similar to
Making It by Barbara Corcoran


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Crush On Mr.Bad Boy


LiLLyCoOLeSt1 - 2012
    But having a crush on the school's bad boy who's ranked highest on the food chain while you're the nerd in the bottom of the food chain is a hundred times harder.Meet Rosaline Arlene Winnefred who's known as the school's 'nerd'. She's that girl who has no more than two friends, gets picked on by pretty much everyone, and locks herself up in her bedroom on a Saturday night reading cheesy romance novels. Not to mention she believes in fairy tales and has a hopeless crush on the school's bad boy. You get the picture?Axel Storm Spencer is the complete opposite of her. He's got that bad boy image that girls love so much. He's tough, violent, and feared by pretty much everyone.In a turn of events, the two get thrown into different messes together. Everything from wild parties, Halloween dances, to discipline referrals and revenge. Her crush might not be so hopeless after all..."After all, it was just a crush on Mr. Bad Boy."

Kathleen, Please Come Home


Scott O'Dell - 1978
    Immigration and drugs are hot topics. Ages 13+

See You Down the Road


Kim Ablon Whitney - 2004
    The problem is Bridget’s not sure the Traveler life is for her anymore. She feels guilty about pulling scams, and she’s definitely not sure she wants to get married, even though Patrick’s a good guy. But Bridget’s always been the good girl who does what she’s told, and there’s no way her parents will let her out of the wedding. And if she leaves the life, she’s out of the family for good. Tautly written, with a riveting storyline and sympathetic characters coping with universal themes of family and social pressure, See You Down the Road will captivate readers to the very end.

Ice Cream, Teasing, and Awkward Situations


Miadaley17
    However, that's kind of hard to do when you have a narcissistic arch-nemesis who's hell-bent on ruining your life.From the moment he laid eyes on her, he seemed to take an immediate dislike. After all, it only took a measly few hours of knowing her for him to kick a soccer ball right at her unsuspecting 11-year-old face.Though they did not know it then, this iconic moment would mark the beginning of what felt like a lifelong feud. Six years later and their mutual hatred for one another is still very much alive and kicking. She despised him, and he despised her and that's the way it always would be. But what happens when sparks fly, and stomachs flutter? Will someone break the eternal feud?One's thing for sure- Mia will definitely not be the one to break.

Tell Me If the Lovers Are Losers


Cynthia Voigt - 1982
    . . until she met her college roommates, Niki and Hildy. Niki is always in motion, brash, often vulgar, with a philosophy of "win at any cost." And Hildy's aura of serene wisdom cloaks a most unusual way of looking at things. They became inseparable -- until something happened that changed their lives forever.

Dunces Anonymous


Kate Jaimet - 2009
    Josh just wants to run and hide. If only there were a club to help downtrodden eleven-year-olds escape their parents' ambitions! But since no such club exists, Josh has to invent one--he calls it Dunces Anonymous, and before he knows it, the membership is up to three.Magnolia and Wang help Josh lose the school presidential election, but that's just the beginning of the club's activities. Magnolia, pressured by her mom into trying out for the role of Juliet in the school's play, finds herself fending off the advances of an overly amorous Romeo. Wang's father has forced him to join the school chess club, but Wang desperately wants to take fencing lessons instead.As the three friends try to free Magnolia from the school play, liberate Wang from the chess club and get rid of horrible Stacey Hogarth, who has vowed to become the new president of Dunces Anonymous, they realize that they all have talents--if only their parents could see them.

My Not-So-Terrible Time at the Hippie Hotel


Rosemary Graham - 2003
    Her father has dragged her to Farnsworth House, a.k.a. the Hippie Hotel, on Cape Cod. It's a place where divorced parents bring their children for quality "Together Time." Tracy dreads the whole idea, until she meets the other girls her age at the hotel. They seem friendly and fun. But they're also great at flirting, which Tracy definitely isn't. When Tracy meets Kevin, a cute, smart guy, she panics. With pretty friends like Kelsey and Beka around, how can Tracy possibly interest Kevin? Then again, maybe she is someone worth knowing, and maybe Kevin thinks so too. Filled with strong, appealing characters and heartfelt narration, this is a touching and memorable first novel.

The Last Domino


Adam Meyer - 2005
    At school he faces constant pressure and ridicule from the jocks and their girlfriends. Then he meets Daniel, a new kid who doesn't seem afraid of anything. All Travis is good at is drawing, and praise from Daniel leads to a combustible friendship—one where manipulation makes Travis go to violent extremes to get what he thinks he wants and deserves most. Though you know Travis brings a gun to school from the first chapter, the events leading up to that day unfold with gripping tension, making this powerful debut novel impossible to put down.

The Songs We Sing


Kylie Key - 2019
    He's olderHe's takenHe's off limitsHe's my best friend's brotherBut when Damon asks me to help him with his songwriting I'm happy to give him a hand.It might just be what I need to find my passion for music again.I know he only sees me as his little sister's friend.But something happens...the music and lyrics connect usCould we share more than just a song?

Arcadia's Choice (Arcadia Trilogy #3)


Jesi Lea Ryan - 2014
    Arcadia is sick of being used and abused for her psychic gifts. It was bad enough to be exploited by a madman, but when the users are closer to home, she must decide how far she is willing to go for others, and when she needs to watch out for herself.

Shadow People


Joyce McDonald - 2000
    Or maybe they were destined to meet, for they all share emotions that unite them—loneliness, frustration, and anger. Apart they are ordinary enough, unremarkable and not much noticed. Together, in the dark of night, they are drawn to violence like moths to a flame. Gem is a girl whose path crosses theirs when she falls in love with Gabriel. Will the whirlpool of destruction swallow her, too?

Muted


L.H. Owens - 2019
    Although unable to speak since the tragedy that took place on his eighth birthday, his words reach out to people across the globe. When he learns that more than a thousand Friesian stallions are being held by the U.S. pharmaceutical company, Pilatos Industries, he knows he has to do all he can to free them. The heir to Pilatos, the cool and efficient lawyer Karen Lawford, will do everything in her power to stop him. Karen's mother, a breeder of international show jumpers, notes that, "Those stallions represent an evil at the heart of Pilatos, and one wrongdoing is usually an indication of others." The extent of that evil becomes apparent as the release date of their new drug approaches. With Pilatos relying on the success of the revolutionary Stablex, there are no limits to what they will do to ensure Lane does not interfere with the Stablex stallions, which are needed to produce the drug. Lane tries to convince Karen that the stallions at Pilatos must be given their freedom, but his beliefs are losing the battle against the Pilatos creed of greed, and it is only when she learns the shocking truth of what lies at the centre of the laboratories that any change can take place… but is it too late for Lane? Sometimes, you only know how much you love someone once you lose them. The story takes you to The Spanish Riding School, the mountains of Austria and the wilds of America and Australia as Lane tries to reawaken Karen's love of horses and bring back the colour to her grey life. He believes she is the key to saving the stallions, but, since childhood, her father has taught her to put Pilatos ahead of all else, and that loyalty appears to be an insurmountable obstacle in his mission to free the stallions. A moving love story set against the greed of the corporate world. A story that explores what is important in life as the wisdom of Lane Dimity touches all those around him. You don't need to like horses to enjoy the book, but even the most experienced horse people will appreciate the knowledge shared by Lane. Quotes from readers: "I fell in love with Lane...where can I meet him? A great love story and I learned so much about horses." "I couldn't believe what Pilatos were doing, then I looked around where I work and I realised that is exactly what they would do. Chilling, enlightening and, thankfully, uplifting." "I read it for the horses and I wasn't disappointed. Lipizzaners, Friesians, Warmbloods, mustangs and others, presented knowledgably by a writer who knows horses. It left me with a lot to think about. I loved this book."

The Fosters: Keep Your Frenemies Close


Stacy Kravetz - 2015
    To complicate things, she's thrown together with Talya and the forced relationship between Callie and Talya takes a series of turns over the course of the book. The bright spot is a new guy, Austin, who is really into Callie--no, he's into Talya--no, he's into Callie. Callie and Talya reveal things to each other about their feelings for Austin, find common ground, find confidantes in each other, and bond over the work they're doing.Also, the relationships with the other kids on the weekend trip -- a new cast of characters which will be ongoing in the book series -- both create tension as well as draw Callie and Talya together. Ultimately, they see each other as something other than rivals and find they have more in common than they'd thought. But when they return to school, they're forced to decide whether they're really friends. And the first person they encounter is Austin, who has transferred to their school.

The Green Futures of Tycho


William Sleator - 1981
    Soon he is jumping back and forth in time, mostly to play tricks on his bossy older brothers and sister. But every time he uses the device, he notices that things are different when he gets back—and the futures he visits are getting darker and scarier. Then Tycho comes face-to-face with the most terrible thing of all: his grown-up self. Can Tycho prevent the terrible future he sees from coming true?

Wide Open: A Life in Supercross


Jeremy McGrath - 2004
    Supercross started out as a redneck '70s sideshow, but thanks largely to Jeremy McGrath it has become a massive extreme sport. Over the last three years, AMA Supercross attendance has mushroomed from 700,000 spectators a year to 1.5 million. This book will satisfy even the most hardcore fans, as it not only gives you the life and times of Jeremy McGrath, but acts as the calling card to the entire sport by including unique sections on how to become a Supercross racer, the workout regimes, fixing common bike problems, and more.