Difficult Teens

Anya and the Dragon is the story of fantasy and mayhem in 10th century Eastern Europe, where headstrong 11-year-old Anya is a daughter of the only Jewish family in her village. When her family's livelihood is threatened by a bigoted magistrate, Anya is lured in by a friendly family of fools, who promise her money in exchange for helping them capture the last dragon in Kievan Rus. This seems easy enough, until she finds out that the scary old dragon isn't as old - or as scary - as everyone thought. Now Anya is faced with a choice: save the dragon, or save her family.

Long ago, shapeshifting monsters ruled the Commonwealth using blasphemous magic that fed on the souls of their subjects. Now, hundreds of years later, a new tomb has been uncovered, and despite the legends that disturbing a shapeshifter's final resting place will wake them once again, the Warlord is determined to dig it up. But it isn't just the Warlord who means to brave the traps and pitfalls guarding the crypt.

Each of the 18 kids in Mr. Ward's inner city classroom has something important to say, but some don't even realize it. Then Mr. Ward begins to have "open mic" poetry slams once a month on Fridays. Young adult listeners will identify with the characters in Bronx Masquerade as they explore questions about life and self-expression.

He's not like other guys. Liz has seen him around school. It's hard to miss Max - the tall, blond, blue-eyed senior stands out among all the other students at Roswell High. So why is he such a loner? Max is in love with Liz. He loves the way her eyes light up when she laughs and the way her long, black hair moves when she turns her head. Most of all, he loves to imagine what it would be like to kiss her. But he knows he can't get too close. He can't risk her discovering the truth about who he is - or what he is....Because the truth could kill her.

Charlie Dunbar had big plans for the summer break, but becoming a fugitive was nowhere on the list. Even more unexpected, his partner in crime is his own ailing grandfather. Now they're on the run, trying to make it across the country to see a special kind of doctor, while the world becomes mesmerized by their journey. They are the subject of heated debates on cable news channels. Thousands of people voice their support on Facebook fan pages. And Charlie's own parents appear on live TV to plead for him to come home safely. But Charlie isn't ready yet.

Life at 15 isn't easy for a girl if she's shy and hates the way she looks. Each day is heaven or hell, depending on who talks to her, or who doesn't. So when she's finally accepted by a group, she doesn't refuse their party games, even if it means taking LSD. Soon she's taking little pills to wake up and others to go to sleep, and the days begin to blur. Based on a 15-year-old's diary, Go Ask Alice is the intimate account of one girl's fatal journey into the world of drug addiction.

Inge Auerbacher is a happy German girl when the nightmare begins. Six-year-old Inge is made to wear a yellow star to identify her as a Jew. As the Nazis gain power, her family is subjected to greater and greater horrors. Their home and citizenship are taken away. Inge’s relatives are sent away, and she and her parents are forced into the Terezin concentration camp in Czechoslovakia.

The daughter of a respected horse healer, 14-year-old Amy has a powerful connection with horses. With her mother's help, she is developing her skills as a horse whisperer while tending to the animals at Heartland, a refuge for horses that have been emotionally or physically traumatized. But when her mother is killed in a tragic trailer accident, Amy realizes she will never see her world the same way again.

Caleb Springer is the up-and-coming star freshman quarterback on the high school football team, which isn't a surprise considering his dad, Sammy Springer, was an NFL superstar and is now the town celebrity. College scouts are already snooping around Caleb, and his future seems set. But just as Caleb's glory days begin, his dad starts to change. He's forgetting things and getting angry at random times. Caleb is forced to confront a bleak possibility: The sport that gives him so much status and self-worth might be the cause of his dad's strange behavior.

A disabled teen, an empathetic dragon, and a bond that will save the world. Sixteen-year-old Amel arrived at Dragon School just like everyone else - with a dream to ride dragons and join the Dominion Dragon Riders. But Amel has a crippled leg, and Dragon School training is grueling. Before she can even become an initiate, she must complete her first flight on a dragon. Can Amel survive First Flight and become a Dragon School initiate, or will her dreams dash on the rocks below?

Jaxon and Grace's story continues in New York Times best-selling author Tracy Wolff's captivating sequel to Crave. I'm in the fight of my life. For my humanity. For Jaxon. And for the world I've only just begun to be a part of. I'm all in, even if saving the people I love means I risk losing myself forever.

A seven-year-old girl has been bludgeoned to death and buried in a pile of leaves. Although the police have no leads, they are pressured to close the case as soon as possible. So they call in a master interrogator to question 12-year-old Jason, the victim's friend and the last person to see her alive. Although Jason is innocent, he is shy, insecure, and wants to give answers that will satisfy everyone.

Sixteen-year-old Lexi Stevens has never been kissed - never even been asked on a date. So when she humiliates herself in front of her crush and her brother's best friend offers to be her fake boyfriend for the week to make him jealous, she doesn't know if it's the stupidest idea ever or a dream come true. Noah Taylor gets kicked out of his house by his abusive stepdad. When his new "girlfriend" discovers him sleeping in his car and offers to let him sleep in her closet, he starts to wonder if he's found someone he can confide in after all.

When Marcus moves to a new town, he doesn't have any friends. While practicing football for impending tryouts, he strikes up an unlikely friendship with former NFL star Charlie Popovich, nicknamed "The King of Pop". Charlie is a charismatic prankster, and the best football player Marcus has ever seen. But when his behavior starts getting more and more erratic, Marcus learns a secret: Charlie is suffering from early onset Alzheimer's from the concussions he sustained while playing professional football.

Mira needs to get home for the holidays - badly. But when an incoming blizzard results in a canceled layover, it looks like she might get stuck at the Philadelphia airport indefinitely. And then Harper, Mira's glamorous seatmate from her initial flight, comes to the rescue. Harper and her three friends are renting a car, and they can drop Mira off on the way home. But as their trip begins, Mira discovers her fellow travelers aren't friends like she thought - they're total strangers. And every one of them seems to be hiding something dangerous.

In the blink of an eye, everyone disappears. Gone. Except for the young. There are teens, but not one single adult. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no Internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what's happened. Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents - unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers - that grow stronger by the day. It's a terrifying new world.

After losing her beloved sister three years ago, Savannah Litchfield has been living half a life. Now seventeen—the age Poppy died—the pain of losing her is worse than ever. When Savannah’s therapist suggests a trip around the world to help teens stricken by loss, she reluctantly agrees to it, clutching the unread journal Poppy left her as she goes.

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive. Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them - not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her. His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble. But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can't entirely explain.

Seventeen-year-old Mickey James III is a college freshman, a brother to five sisters, and a hockey legacy. With a father and a grandfather who have gone down in NHL history, Mickey is almost guaranteed the league’s top draft spot. The only person standing in his way is Jaysen Caulfield, a contender for the #1 spot and Mickey’s infuriating (and infuriatingly attractive) teammate. When rivalry turns to something more, Mickey will have to decide what he really wants, and what he’s willing to risk for it.

A bag of chips. That's all 16-year-old Rashad is looking for. What he finds instead is a fist-happy cop, Paul, who mistakes Rashad for a shoplifter, mistakes Rashad's pleadings that he's stolen nothing for belligerence, mistakes Rashad's every flinch at every punch the cop throws as further resistance and refusal to stay still as ordered. But how can you stay still when someone is pounding your face into the pavement?