Self Image Fiction

Viveca North has always done her best to be perfect. She runs three miles every morning before arriving early to school where she volunteers as a peer tutor. After school, she prioritizes studying. On weekend mornings, she reads classic literature and the newspaper—a habit she developed to help prep for the SATs and then never dropped. Her classmates consider her a bit of a know it all. So it’s no surprise doesn’t have many friends, but she feels she’s earned her spot as valedictorian. Too bad Jamison Clifton is trying to take it from her. . .Jamison doesn’t need to try to be perfect.

It has been two years since his mom’s death, and Jamison, his dad, and his younger sister seem to be coping, but they’ve been dealing with their loss separately and in different ways. When Jamison has to be reminded of his mother’s birthday, on the day of her birthday, he worries that his memory of her is slipping away, and he is forced to reckon with the passing of time. To help make sense of it, he picks up his camera - the Nikon his mother gave him a few years back.

Verónica has had many surgeries to manage her disability. The best form of rehabilitation is swimming, so she spends hours in the pool, but not just to strengthen her body. Her Florida town is home to Mermaid Cove, a kitschy underwater attraction where professional mermaids perform in giant tanks . . . and Verónica wants to audition. But her conservative Peruvian parents would never go for it. And they definitely would never let her be with Alex, her cute new neighbor.

It's hard not to notice Terra Cooper. She's tall, blond, and has an enviable body. But with one turn of her cheek, all people notice is her unmistakably "flawed" face. Terra secretly plans to leave her stifling small town in the Northwest and escape to an East Coast college, but gets pushed off-course by her controlling father. When an unexpected collision puts Terra directly in Jacob's path, the handsome but quirky Goth boy immediately challenges her assumptions about herself and her life, and she is forced in yet another direction.

Brennon Trapper isn’t sure who he really is, since there are two Brennons ticking inside his head. At school, he does whatever he must do to be liked, but at home, inside his trailer, he crawls back inside himself, wishing he could disappear. His father likely wouldn’t even notice if he did.

The journal of Michael "Storky" Pomerantz tells the tumultuous tale of life as a high-schooler - complete with the fact that the love of his life is dating a high-school football player. As he chronicles the highs - and, of course, the most embarrassing lows - of his freshman year in high school, Storky paints an amusing and oftentimes hilarious portrait of an average teenager. But Michael is a not-so-ordinary kid, with a wit and charm that is atypical of average teens, and you will soon be cheering for him to lose his nickname and win the girl.

I’m a real ace at arguing with myself. Take a subject like Tanner Cobb. On the one hand, he stole. On the other, he helped his little brother read and count. Then again, he stole shoes in front of his little brother. But, he brought the shoes back and offered to make up for what he’d done. My mind said, don’t trust him. My instincts said, he might not be all bad. Inconsistencies are a royal pain; the older you get, the more they multiply. After a life-altering summer on the road, Jenna Boller is dripping with newfound maturity.

A room is not much. It is not arms holding you. Not a kiss on the forehead. Not a packed lunch or a remembered birthday. Just a room. But for 17-year-old Zoe, struggling to shed the suffocating responsibility of her alcoholic mother and the controlling guilt of her grandmother, a rented room on Lorelei Street is a fierce grab for control of her own future.

In order to save her family's farm, Roshen, 16, must leave her rural home to work in a factory in the south of China. There she finds arduous and degrading conditions and contempt for her minority (Uyghur) background. Sustained by her bond with other Uyghur girls, Roshen is resolved to endure all to help her family and ultimately her people. A workplace survival story, this gritty, poignant account focuses on a courageous teen and illuminates the value - and cost - of freedom.

Paul DuPree is working at a soup kitchen in Harlem the summer his father dies, just trying to get by. But Elijah, the soup man, won't stop talking about the social contract and asking Paul questions about heavy-duty things. Paul has never thought about this stuff. He'd rather hang out with Keisha, an unwed teen mom whose basketball skills rival his own. Then Sly, a notorious Harlem big shot, shows up. Paul is both intrigued and intimidated by Sly and his conspiracy theories, and for once he starts contemplating how you really get ahead in life.

A classic coming-of-age story. Carl Matt - even his name mocks him. The people of Wattle Beach do their best to grind him under foot. Why are the Matts such pariahs? The answer lies in Wiseman's Cove, a short ride across the strait, where Carl finds refuge in the most unlikely place. Wiseman's Cove has been waiting for Carl - waiting a long time.

Zira og Alberte var har været bedste veninder altid, men pludselig går alt i stykker mellem dem. Så starter de på samme gymnasium, og mens Alberte begynder at få succes som youtuber og bliver vildt populær, lukker Zira sig mere og mere inde i sig selv. Men måske er alting ikke, som det ser ud i en video på youtube. En roman om status og selvhad. Om de mennesker, vi har brug for, og de mennesker, vi gerne vil være - og hvordan de to kan være svære at forene.

You cant trust life to give you decent parents, or beautiful eyes, a fine French accent or an outstanding flair for fashion. No, life does what it wants. Its sneaky as a thief. Maisie's first day of High school should be exciting, but all she wants is to escape. Her world is lonely and chaotic, with an abusive mother and a father whos rarely there to help. So when Maisie, who finds refuge in her art, meets the spirited Rachel and her mother, a painter, she catches a glimpse of a very different world - one full of life, creativity, and love - and latches on.

In the moving and compelling debut novel from Benjamin Zephaniah, a young man's life is completely changed when his face is badly scarred in a car accident. Martin seems to have it all. He's cool, funny and he's the undisputed leader of the Gang of Three, who roam their East London estate during the holidays looking for fun. But one night after the Gang leave a late-night rap club, Martin accepts a ride from Pete, a Raider's Posse gang member. Too late, he realises that the car is stolen and that the police are after them.

What’s worse than being fat your freshman year? Being fat your sophomore year. Life used to be so simple for Andrew Zansky - hang with the Model UN guys, avoid gym class, and eat and eat and eat. He’s used to not fitting in: into his family, his sports-crazed school, or his size-48 pants. But not anymore. Andrew just met April, the new girl at school and the instant love of his life! He wants to find a way to win her over, but how? When O. Douglas, the heartthrob quarterback and high-school legend, saves him from getting beaten up by the school bully, Andrew sees his chance to get in with the football squad.

Thirteen-year-old Olivia Hughes has always considered herself a lucky girl. She knows what she wants to do with her life - be an actress. And she’s already on her way. She just landed a national ad campaign that should get her noticed. But then her luck runs out. A little pimple turns into a full-blown case of acne, with serious side effects for her career, her relationships, and her self-esteem. Now all she wants to do is hide, but she can’t. She goes from being the girl at school who everyone wants to be...to Zitface, a girl who is teased, dumped, and even fired.

Als Mitternacht auf Mittag fiel, kam Carter ins Fürimmerhaus. Das Fürimmerhaus steht zwischen den Welten, am Ufer eines dunklen Ozeans. Es hat tausende Hallen und Säle, seine Korridore sind endlos. Und noch immer wächst es weiter und verändert sich. Im Fürimmerhaus stranden junge Heldinnen und Helden, die ihre Welten vor dem Untergang bewahrt haben. Die Herrschenden fürchten ihre Macht und schicken sie hierher ins Exil. Doch Carter ist kein Held wie die anderen. Er besitzt keine Erinnerung, ist nur von einem überzeugt: Er hat niemals eine Welt gerettet.

Planning is Zoe Rosenthal’s superpower. She has faith in a properly organized to-do list and avoids unnecessary risks. Her mental checklist goes something like this: 1) Meet soulmate: DONE! 2) Make commitment: DONE! 3) Marriage: TO COME! (after college). She isn’t sure which college yet, but it will have a strong political science department, since her perfect boyfriend, Simon, plans to “save the country,” as his sister puts it, “and the planet and everything.” Zoe will follow along, the perfect serious, supportive girlfriend - once her flirtation with fandom is over.

At first, when a massive ice storm traps 14-year-old Hannah and her family in a remote cabin, it feels like a game to practice the survival skills she's been learning. That all changes when an accident leaves her mother desperately low on insulin. With no power and no way to contact the outside world, Hannah steals away with the four family dogs tied to an old dogsled. All she has to do is make it to the nearest cabin and find a working phone to save the day. But a wrong turn and worsening weather leave her in grave danger and saddled with an unexpected passenger.

On the vast and indescribably beautiful South Rim of the Grand Canyon a young Hualapai boy faces a bleak future in 1902. River Thunder's mother has just passed into the Spirit World and River Thunder will carry his flute, courage and trusting innocence to the Hackberry Day School still standing today on old Route 66 while never once imagining how his fate will one day soar like an eagle over the magnificent Grand Canyon.