Difficult Teens

Reaching the end of their flight in The Knife of Never Letting Go, Todd and Viola did not find healing and hope in Haven. They found instead their worst enemy, Mayor Prentiss, waiting to welcome them to New Prentisstown. There they are forced into separate lives: Todd to prison, and Viola to a house of healing where her wounds are treated. Soon Viola is swept into the ruthless activities of the Answer, while Todd faces impossible choices when forced to join the mayor’s oppressive new regime.

Kristina Georgia Snow is the perfect daughter: gifted high school junior, quiet, never any trouble. But on a trip to visit her absentee father, she meets a boy who introduces her to crank. At first she finds it freeing, but soon Kristina's personality disappears inside the drug. What began as a wild, ecstatic ride turns into a struggle through hell for her mind, her soul, and her life.

As a world-ending war surges around them, Todd and Viola face monstrous decisions. The indigenous Spackle, thinking and acting as one, have mobilized to avenge their murdered people. Ruthless human leaders prepare to defend their factions at all costs, even as a convoy of new settlers approaches. And as the ceaseless Noise lays all thoughts bare, the projected will of the few threatens to overwhelm the desperate desire of the many.

Audie Award, Middle Grade, 2016. Lost and alone in the forbidden Black Forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and suddenly finds himself entwined in a puzzling quest involving a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica. Decades later Friedrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California each become sinterwoven when the very same harmonica lands in their lives, binding them by an invisible thread of destiny. All the children face daunting challenges: rescuing a father, protecting a brother, holding a family together.

Eden and Josh never had a fair shot at a healthy relationship. When they dated in high school, they each had their own problems getting in the way of the deep connection they felt toward one another. Unbeknownst to Josh, Eden was carrying the burden of a devastating sexual assault, while Josh was dealing with his own private struggle of having an alcoholic father.

When stable boy Arcturus accidentally summons a demon and becomes Hominum's first common summoner, he becomes the key to a secret that the powerful overlords would do anything to keep hidden. Whisked away to Vocans Academy so he can be kept watch over, Arcturus finds himself surrounded by enemies. But he has little time to settle in before his life is turned upside down once again, for Hominum Empire is in turmoil.

Owen Foster has never wanted for anything. Then his mother shows up at his elite New Orleans boarding school cradling a bombshell: his privileged life has been funded by stolen money. After using the family business, the single largest employer in his small Louisiana town, to embezzle millions and drain the employees' retirement accounts, Owen's father vanished without a trace, leaving Owen and his mother to deal with the fallout. Owen returns to Lake Cane to finish his senior year, where people he hardly remembers despise him for his father's crimes.

He was perfect. At first. The summer before senior year, seventeen-year-old Chloe thinks she’s found the perfect boyfriend in Kieran, an aspiring actor, but he soon reveals a darker side to his charming quirks and carefree attitude. He’s possessive, jealous and prone to violent fits of rageful blame. Chloe tries to help him but soon realizes that he is beyond her reach. She must get away from him, but Kieran will not let her go. Chloe faces the ultimate choice: save herself or save Kieran.

Darren Shan, Vampire Prince and "vampaneze" killer, faces his worst nightmare yet - school. But homework is the least of Darren's problems. Bodies are piling up, time is running out, and the past is catching up with the hunters fast. Darren must forge new alliances and try to unravel the mystery behind the malevolent forces that have been set in motion against him. In this second part of the Hunters trilogy, the stakes are raised and the pace quickens to keep listeners on the edge of their seats.

At the start of 1991, 11-year-old Ali Fadhil was consumed by his love for soccer, video games, and American television shows. Then, on January 17, Iraq's dictator, Saddam Hussein, went to war with 34 nations led by the United States. Over the next 43 days, Ali and his family survived bombings, food shortages, and constant fear. Ali and his brothers played soccer on the abandoned streets of their Basra neighborhood, wondering when or if their medic father would return from the war front. Cinematic, accessible, and timely, this is the story of one ordinary kid's view of life during war.

Branded a traitor, betrayed by a friend, hunted by the vampire clan—Darren Shan, the vampire's assistant, faces certain death. And even if he survives Vampire Mountain, an all-out catastrophe is headed his way that threatens the entire vampire clan. Can Darren reverse the odds and outwit a vampire prince? Can he avert the coming calamity? Darren's initiation on Vampire Mountain draws to a stunning, bloody conclusion in this sixth book of the Cirque du Freak series.

It's been over a year since all the adults disappeared. Gone. In the time since every person over the age of 14 disappeared from the town of Perdido Beach, California, countless battles have been fought: battles against hunger and lies and plague, and epic battles of good against evil. And now, the gaiaphage has been reborn as Diana's malicious mutant daughter, Gaia. Gaia is endlessly hungry for destruction.

Reeling from the devastation of Dust & Decay, Benny Imura and his friends plunge deep into the zombie-infested wastelands of the great Rot & Ruin. Benny, Nix, Lilah, and Chong journey through a fierce wilderness that was once America, searching for the jet they saw in the skies months ago. If that jet exists, then humanity itself must have survived somewhere.

When Adam Blake lands the best elective ever in his senior year, serving as an aide to the school psychologist, he thinks he's got it made. Sure, it means a lot of sitting around, which isn't easy for a guy with ADHD, but he can't complain, since he gets to spend the period texting all his friends. Then the doctor asks him to track down the troubled freshman who keeps dodging her, and Adam discovers that the boy is Julian - the foster brother he hasn't seen in five years.

The touching story of a young, mortally ill priest who spends his last days working among the Kwakiutl Indians of British Columbia.

Teens control the fate of America in the fourth and final book in the New York Times best-selling Unwind dystology by Neal Shusterman. Proactive Citizenry, the company that created Cam from the parts of unwound teens, has a plan: to mass produce rewound teens like Cam for military purposes. And below the surface of that horror lies another shocking level of intrigue: Proactive Citizenry has been suppressing technology that could make unwinding completely unnecessary.

For years, Sebastian has been lying to himself, doing whatever it took to convince himself that Mikey was just his best friend and the pain in the ass that he couldn’t stop thinking about; and now... He would do absolutely anything to stop screwing this up, but that probably wasn’t going to happen, not with his brother determined to help him. With every soul-crushing piece of advice his brother threw his way, Sebastian found himself thinking about everything that he had to lose if Mikey didn’t feel the same way and wondered if he was about to make the biggest mistake of his life.

Everything fell apart before we were able to pull ourselves together. When tragedy demands my silence, I have no choice but to give it - because losing a life also means saving so many more. I finally have everything I want. Having my best friend back is a dream come true. But everything at Black Falls High comes at a price, and these boys are mine. I’d do anything for them. Even in ruins. In silence. I’ll bring the chaos.

John Conlan is nicknamed “The Bathroom Bomber” after setting off firecrackers in the boys’ bathroom 23 times without getting caught. John and his best friend, Lorraine, can never please their parents, and school is a chore. To pass the time, they play pranks on unsuspecting people, and it's during one of these pranks that they meet the “Pigman”. In spite of themselves, John and Lorraine soon get caught up in Mr. Pignati’s zest for life. In fact, they become so involved that they begin to destroy the only corner of the world that has ever mattered to them. Can they stop before it’s too late?

Mary Murphy feels like she's drowning. Her violent father is home from prison, and the social worker is suspicious of her new bruises. An aunt she's never met keeps calling. And if she can't get a good grade on her science project, she'll fail her favorite class. But Mary doesn't want to be a victim anymore. She has a plan: build a real submarine, like the model she's been making with Kip Dwyer, the secretly sweet class clown. Gaining courage from her heroine, Joan of Arc, Mary vows to pilot a sub across the Chesapeake Bay, risking her life in a modern crusade to save herself.