Book picks similar to
Skateboard Blues by Sydell Voeller


inspirational
personal-growth
action-and-adventure
ages-12-up

All But One


Julie Oleszek - 2017
    As her high school friends and boyfriend Murph head off to college, Anna still struggles to overcome the wounds of her past while navigating the challenges of the future. Anna wants to confide in Bridgett and Frances, the youngest and oldest of her siblings, but her family’s reticent past, despite their efforts to change, stops her. Meanwhile, as Anna’s friends of the fifth floor are released, they go on with their interrupted lives, and each is tested differently on the lessons they learned together. Nine years later, everyone receives a mailed letter from Jonny Love, a friend who Anna hasn’t seen or heard from since her days on the fifth floor. In the third book of The Fifth Floor trilogy, author Julie Oleszek reunites the patients of the locked psychiatric ward at Advocate Hospital.

Hopeless Romantic


Seth King - 2016
    After four months, though, it becomes clear just how he can get his life back on track and reassemble his soul: write a book about his lost love and shed her bad blood forever. There’s just one problem: that would make him a “male romance author,” and according to society, men know nothing about romance, right? Humorous and heartwarming, Seth King’s Hopeless Romantic is an inside look at what happens when you toss away the world’s judgments and decide to write your own future, one romance novel at a time.

Thin, and I


Andrijka Keller - 2018
    Her psychiatrist quickly prescribed her Prozac, to which she would eventually agree to. Shortly after, she was prescribed four more medications in hopes of 'curing' her. She believes it did the exact opposite. Andrijka's raw and edgy memoir takes the reader down a rabbit hole in a fast-paced, graphic, and darkly humorous depiction of recovery, self-acceptance, and what it means to be depressed as a modern teenager.

What I Didn't Say


Keary Taylor - 2012
    He's been in love with her for years and never had the guts to tell her. Now it's too late. Because after that night, Jake will never be able to talk again.When Jake returns to his small island home, population 5,000, he'll have to learn how to deal with being mute. He also finds that his family isn't limited to his six brothers and sisters, that sometimes an entire island is watching out for you. And when he gets the chance to spend more time with Samantha, she'll help him learn that not being able to talk isn’t the worst thing that could ever happen to you. Maybe, if she'll let him, Jake will finally tell her what he didn't say before, even if he can't actually say it.

Learning to Dance in the Rain (The Power of Gratitude)


Mac Anderson - 2009
    However, it's not the adversity, but how we react to it that will determine the joy and happiness in our lives. During tough times, do we spend too much time feeling sorry for ourselves, or can we, with gratitude...learn how to dance in the rain?It almost sounds too simple to feel important, but one word...gratitude, can change your attitude, and thus your life, forever. Sarah Breathnach said it best..."When we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present... We experience heaven on earth."Mac Anderson and BJ Gallagher have written a classic on "the awesome power of gratitude." No matter what your circumstances are, you cannot read this book and not feel extremely blessed.Learning to Dance in the Rain is an inspiring and beautiful book full of wonderful stories, quotes, poems and insight to help you reflect on the positives in life. A wonderful book to give to someone in need of encouragement - it can take you from feeling down to feeling blessed.

Towers: The Exigency Chronicles:Book 1


Terry Schott - 2020
    

Runes of Issalia


Jeffrey L. Kohanek - 2018
    Under a veil of deception and backed by natural talent, the teen then schemes his way into a school where the Empire's future leaders are trained.Within the Academy, a legendary school of magic, science, politics, and combat, he uncovers secrets kept hidden for centuries - secrets that expose cracks in the foundation of Empire society. Among his discoveries is a long forgotten magic, powerful and dangerous - a magic he is determined to wield. Caught between his continued charade and a desire to tame his frightening new abilities, one misstep on either front could destroy him._____________________________________THE EMBLEM THRONEWith the return of a lost magic...comes a dark prophecy.As they strive to become Masters within the Ministry, Brock and his friends resume their training at the Academy - an institution founded on magic, science, politics, and combat. However, an expansive web of lies resides within the Ministry, hidden behind a veil of benevolence. The exposure of one such secret forces Brock and his friends to flee the school with their lives in the balance.They soon discover that a larger threat looms...one that could end everything. Guided by the cryptic words of an ancient prophecy and backed by a forbidden magic they have yet to master, Brock and his companions embark on a quest to retrieve knowledge tied to a long lost throne, knowledge that might save humanity from extinction.______________________________________AN EMPIRE IN RUNESA powerful magic. An unstoppable army. The final battle to decide the fate of mankind.The eastern cities of Issalia lay in ruin, destroyed by an army of monsters so twisted that they devour their victims, dead or alive. Led by a boy named Brock, a group of teens scramble to find a means of stopping this dark force.Joined by fierce Tantarri warriors and a squad of raw paladin recruits, Brock leads a band of former slaves to battle. The future of mankind hinges upon a powerful, yet destructive magic...a magic they are still learning to control.As foretold in an ancient prophecy, this rag-tag force gathers upon the Tantarri plains, prepared to face an army of giants with vastly superior numbers. All the while, they must remain vigilant against a secret organization within the Ministry - one who will do anything to prevent the return of Chaos.

False Gods


L.R. Trovillion - 2014
    Or is there? Cory Iverson has her sights set on riding in the prestigious Washington International Horse Show—a tall order for even the most experienced competitors. Problem is, she doesn’t even own a horse. But there’s an even bigger problem: she’s a quitter. Not a casual quitter, but a hard-core, serial, when-the-going-gets-tough quitter. This all starts to change, however, when the opportunity arises to rescue the perfect horse from slaughter and work with an experienced trainer who has the means to get her there. If she stays the course. But Cory discovers the road to qualifying for Washington is littered with roadblocks when she finds herself surrounded by problems outside her control: prescription painkillers appear in her mother’s purse; her ballerina sister wastes away before her eyes; her boyfriend is keeping secrets from her; and her normally opinionated trainer becomes strangely evasive. Worst of all, the horse show world proves to be full of dangers, including an unscrupulous trainer headed for the same show who will stop at nothing to win, including killing. Unless Cory quits.

God Strong: The Military Wife's Spiritual Survival Guide


Sara Horn - 2010
    These women can experience a roller coaster of emotions including disappointment, loneliness, and fear. Sara Horn, the wife of a navy reservist, understands the challenges these women face. She knows how to talk about faith and spiritual truths through the filter of military life.In her encouraging book, Horn shares her personal stories, as well as wisdom and anecdotes of other wives from all branches of service. She reminds readers that:God is in control.You can have joy, no matter what.Superwomen get grace, too.God knows where you hurt.Horn's reliance on Scripture and confidence in God's comfort during difficult times will remind military wives they don't have to be an army of one when they are God Strong.

Dating My Best Friend


Michelle MacQueen - 2021
    The accident that followed was tragic.Eighteen months have passed and I haven’t seen Cameron since that night. My best friend kissed me and then ghosted me.Fifty pounds later and I’m the F word. No, not that F word. This one has three letters that have haunted me my entire life. Now, Cameron Tucker is back. But who am I kidding? Peyton Callahan doesn’t get the guy. Cameron:The kiss was a huge mistake. The accident ruined my life.I kissed my best friend and then abandoned her. Now I’m back. I don’t regret loving her. I only wish she’d forgotten me and that incredible kiss. Because I know her. Peyton pushes buttons and pries into secrets. And this secret I’ve returned with? Let’s just say my label has a lot more than three letters.Book 1 in the Redefining Me series, Dating My Best Friend is a YA romance with all the feels.

The Second Jam


Lila Felix - 2015
    After ruining his cousin’s chances of college, he goes from job to job, from place to place, making sure he doesn’t have to face them—or himself.Beatriz Morales is set. She has a plan, a schedule, and a dream. Life has thrown her a few curve balls, but nothing keeps a derby woman down.She’d never admit it, but she’s stretched too thin. Something has to give.Love doesn’t just choose a person to see our strengths—sometimes love chooses the person we trust with our weaknesses.The choice is hers.

Rookie


Jerry B. Jenkins - 1991
    Jenkins is the author of many books including the New York Times bestseller Out of the Blue with Orel Hershiser.

Once Upon A Push


istolethecookiez - 2013
    Let me explain more, yeah? She was pushed, by her best friends, into a guy- but not just any guy. Cyrus Angelo, the infamous Cyrus Angelo. Maverly Perkins is full of witty comebacks, a loud laugh, and has a fierce attitude. Love doesn't come easy to her but does it to anyone? Just as Maverly is giving up on guys, due to a past experience with a jerk, she’s pushed into something she doesn't want to get involved with, literally. No, not something- more like someone; Cyrus Angelo to be exact. But some things are different about him; her usual witty and sarcastic comments become stutters and nervous babbling. What is this feeling in the pit of her stomach? A crush? Love? Of course not.Cyrus Angelo- those are the two words that make guys run and girls swoon. No one talks to him, threatens him, touches him, or talks back to him. The last time any one of these things happened; someone ended up in a hospital for 6 weeks in the intensive care unit. But what happens when Maverly breaks all those rules… within a 2 minute period? After a promise to 'see her later,' too many awkward moments to count, crazy parties where a few people get drunk and tell their life story in full detail, funny experiences of falling, failing, and fighting, terrible flirting, and stupid games of truth or dare- Who knows what could happen? And to think it all started with a push.

Love Like Crazy


Megan Squires - 2014
    She’s not waiting on the handsome prince with his white horse to come to her rescue. But even though she’s not waiting on it, that doesn’t stop nineteen-year-old Lincoln Ross from driving straight into her heart with his teal and white campervan and his too tall stature and perpetually goofy grin.It’s difficult to believe in a happily ever after when a happy now is quite hard to find. But Lincoln gives Eppie hope that despite the odds, a true and unconditional love might actually be out there. A revised fairytale. A new kind of love story.But then again, that might just be plain crazy.(Love Like Crazy is an upper YA novel.)

Letters to Nowhere


Julie Cross - 2013
    I've gotten used to living with my gymnastics coach. I've even adjusted to sharing a bathroom with his way-too-hot son. Dealing with boys is not something that's made it onto my list of experiences as of yet. But here I am, doing it. And something about Jordan--being around him, talking to him, thinking about him--makes me feel like I can finally breathe again. That's something I haven't been able to do lately. He knows what it feels like to be me right now. He knows what it's like to wonder--what now? I think about it constantly. I need answers. I need to know how to get through this. In the gym, if you're struggling, you train harder, you do drills and conditioning. How do I work hard at moving on? At being on my own? And what happens if I might be...maybe...probably falling for Jordan? I mean we live together now. That can't happen, can it? But kissing him...well, let's just say it's not an easy activity to forget.