Self Image Fiction

As a teenager, you face a multitude of challenges. The pressures to excel in academics, secure college admissions, and succeed in extracurricular activities can feel immense. The rise of social media adds to the stress, with constant exposure to idealized versions of others' lives making you feel inadequate and frustrated. These pressures can fuel anxiety, anger, and feelings of overwhelm.

It's 1812. When her father is killed, 14-year-old Jane, known as Suri, is sent from her home in India to relatives in England. But there she doesn't find the quiet life that was planned for her. Kidnapped for her inherited fortune by her grandmother, she escapes, only to become involved with anti-British freedom-fighters from her home country, the Punjab in northern India. Where do her loyalties lie now? With England, country of her father? Or the Punjab, the country she knows best, where her friends are, and where she grew up?

Dear teenager, breathe a sigh of relief. Here it is. The book you’ve been waiting for! After working with people your age for more than 20 years, I know how keen you are to make the most of the good times. You want to feel better equipped to handle life’s ups and downs. You want less drama, doubt, anger, worry, fear, and stress in your life at school, sport, and with your friends. That’s where ROC and Rise comes in.

Up until her 15th birthday, the most important thing in the world to Beatriz Mendez was her dream of becoming a professional dancer and getting herself and her family far from the gang life that defined their days - that and meeting her dance idol Debbie Allen on the set of her favorite TV show, Fame. But after the latest battle in a constant turf war leaves her gang leader brother, Junito, dead and her mother grieving, Beatriz has a new set of priorities. How is she supposed to feel the rhythm when her gang needs running and her mami can't brush her own teeth?

Jessie and the gang are reunited for a second heart-pounding whitewater ride through the Grand Canyon. The teens are thrilled to have another go at the Colorado together - especially Jessie, who will get to pilot a raft this time. But when they find out that the infamous ringleader Troy is behind the reunion trip, tempers flare. Troy says he wants the chance to redeem himself, but Jessie suspects his motives. Nonetheless, and even as the water rises to record levels, the river calls Jessie and the others to embark on another life-or-death adventure.

Weeping Under This Same Moon is based on a true story of two teenage girls from different cultures, whose paths intertwine, dramatically altering the course of their lives. In this testament to the power of love and the spirit of volunteerism, Mei and Hannah come together in celebration of culture and language, food and friendship, and the ultimate rescue of both young women from their own despair.

Ethan’s life couldn’t possibly get any worse. His mom’s job isn’t enough to pay the rent, let alone anything that could make life more bearable. And to make it worse, now she’s decided to move them both in with her brother—some boring guy who has nothing better to do than make Ethan’s life miserable. Uncle Garrett seems to be everywhere. Everyone knows him, everyone adores him, and it’s driving Ethan crazy. But when Ethan gets himself into trouble, those irritating things about Uncle Garrett start to make more sense.

Gabe is officially living in Vegas. It's his dream scenario - except for the fact that his girlfriend, Irina, is back in Seattle and surrounded by college guys. And his apartment is a little sketchy. Still, Gabe manages to pull off the bluff of a century: he finishes bartending school and gets a job at a club, even though, technically, he's not of legal age to serve. Being a man means paying the bills, and Gabe wants to show everyone that he can make it on his own and stay faithful to Irina.

Mira has almost always had it all...until it all crashes and burns. She's hurt in a horrible car accident, and the only way the doctors can help is to try experimental prosthetics and chips that are implanted directly into her brain. It's a huge risk, but after months of testing and therapy Mira is back and better than ever. But soon her friends turn against her as their parents call her on unfair advantages and get her cut from lacrosse and the scholarships she was depending on for college.

Harley Milano has dreamed of becoming a trapeze artist for as long as she can remember. With parents who run a famous circus in Las Vegas, she spends almost every night in the big top watching their lead aerialist perform, wishing with all her heart and soul that she would be up there herself one day. After a huge fight with her parents, who continue to insist she go to school instead, Harley leaves home, betrays her family, and joins the rival traveling circus Maison du Mystère.

Girl Code: Never date a friend's ex. Willa Evans has no intention of breaking the code. So what if she's always secretly loved her next-door neighbor Zach? As her best friend's boyfriend, he was always off-limits and it needs to stay that way, even though they just broke up. Even though every time she turns around he's there, tempting her. Flor Hidalgo has a lot on her plate: her breakup with Zach, her dad's new dating life, and her struggling grades. So why can't she stop thinking about her hot, know-it-all tutor? At least she's got Willa, her constant in the chaos.

As everyone at her Brooklyn high school announces their summer adventures, Olivia harbors a dirty secret: Her plan is to binge-watch horror movies and chat with her online friend, Elm. Olivia and Elm have never shared personal details, apart from their ages and the fact that Elm's aunt is a low-budget horror filmmaker. Then Elm pushes Olivia to share her identity and sends her a selfie of his own. Olivia is shocked by how cute he is! In a moment of panic, assuming she and Elm will never meet in real life, she sends a photo of her gorgeous friend Katie.

In Banshee, Samantha Baxter - wife, mother, poetry professor - learns she has breast cancer and then ruins her own life. Tumbling through a catastrophic midlife crisis, she gives herself permission to partake in behaviors she's observed in her male colleagues, including having an affair with a student her daughter's age, ranting at board meetings, and telling her poetry students what she really thinks of their work. Underneath biting, witty narration lurks a childish, confused, and unrealized adult woman hell-bent on destroying her relationships and professional life.

Stella lives with depression, and her goals for junior year are pretty much limited to surviving her classes, staying out of her parents’ constant fights, and staving off unwanted feelings enough to hang out with her friends Lin and Katie. Until Kevin. A quiet, wry senior who understands Stella and the lows she’s going through like no one else. With him, she feels less lonely, listened to - and hopeful for the first time since ever.... But to keep that feeling, Stella lets her grades go, and her friendships slide.

It's been two years since the night that changed Ashley's life. Two years since she was raped by her brother's teammate. And a year since she sat in a court and watched as he was given a slap on the wrist sentence. But the years have done nothing to stop the pain. It's been two years of hell for Derek. His family is totally messed up, and he and his sister are barely speaking. He knows he handled it all wrong. Now at college, he has to come to terms with what happened, and the rape culture that he was inadvertently a part of that destroyed his sister's life.

Die #1 der "New York Times"-Bestsellerliste: Dick UND schön? Unsicher UND mutig? Dumplin' ist all das und noch viel mehr. Willowdean - "16, Dolly-Parton-Verehrerin und die Dicke vom Dienst" - wird von ihrer Mutter immer nur Dumplin' genannt. Bisher hat sie sich in ihrem Körper eigentlich immer wohl gefühlt. Sie ist eben dick - na und? Mit ihrer besten Freundin Ellen an ihrer Seite ist das sowieso total egal. Doch dann lernt sie den sportlichen und unfassbar attraktiven Bo kennen. Kein Wunder, dass sie sich hoffnungslos in ihn verknallt - dass er sie allerdings aus heiterem Himmel küsst, verunsichert sie völlig.

Daria Esfandyar is Iranian-American and proud of her heritage, unlike some of the “Nose Jobs” in the clique led by her former best friend, Heidi Javadi. Daria and her friends call themselves the Authentics, because they pride themselves on always keeping it real. But in the course of researching a school project, Daria learns something shocking about her past, which launches her on a journey of self-discovery. It seems everyone is keeping secrets. And it’s getting harder to know who she even is any longer.

Being yourself can be such a bad idea. For 16-year-old Badi Hessamizadeh, life is a series of humiliations. After withdrawing from public school under mysterious circumstances, Badi enters Magnificat Academy. To make things "easier", his dad has even given him a new name: Bud Hess. Grappling with his Iranian-American identity, clinical depression, bullying, and a barely bottled rage, Bud is an outcast who copes by resorting to small revenges and covert acts of defiance, but the pressures of his home life and the unrequited affection of his new friend, Nikki, prime him for a more dangerous revolution.

Stella was born to sing. Someday Broadway. But everything changes when a tragic accident renders her deaf; she cannot hear, much less sing. Trapped in a strange new world of total silence, she must face not only the loss of her friends, her hopes, and her voice but also the loss of her identity and her life's purpose. Who is she if she's not a singer? Hayden is a quiet loner, an outcast, and the only person Stella can communicate with; his profound stutter makes him speak so slowly, she is able to easily read his lips.

Dancing with the Paris Opera ballet is 14-year-old Marie van Goethem's greatest joy. And yet she must honor her father's dying request to keep their poverty-stricken family together. She certainly can't count on the help of her drunken mother or selfish older sister. When famous artist Edgar Degas asks Marie to model for a sculpture, she welcomes the income - although she's hesitant to pose nude.