Social Pressure

Eleven-year-old Kieran wants to be part of the in-group at school. He wants to be on the soccer team. He wants to fit in. But then his weird cousin Bon turns up, both at school and at home. Bon's mom hasn't taken good care of him, and he knows nothing about fitting in, with his long blond braid, babyish hand-knit hat, and funny, precise voice. Bon doesn't play sports and likes to draw imaginary maps with stories about "Bon the Crusader" and "Kieran the Brave." No wonder the boys call him Rapunzel and throw his stuff around!

>In the case of Savanna and Gracie, friendship isn’t based on reason, but on the notion that opposites attract. Savanna is a head-turning, attention-seeking, accessorized one of “Those Girls,” while Gracie’s love of old movies and commitment to protecting the environment put her into the “everyone else” category. It seems as if nothing could come between them until Savanna’s lies and dependence on Gracie as a false alibi start to take a toll on their relationship.

On a hot summer night in a midwestern town, a high school teenage prank goes horrifically awry. Alcohol, guns, and a dare. Within minutes, as events collide, innocents becomes victims - with tragic outcomes altering lives forever, a grisly and unfortunate scenario all too familiar from current real-life headlines. But victims can also become survivors, and as we come to know each character through his/her own distinctive voice and their interactions with one another, we see how, despite pain and guilt, they can reach out to one another, find a new equilibrium, and survive.

Sixteen-year-old Bernadette Terrell is a champion debater who loves books, contests, and winning. When she's named captain of her school's Classics Bowl team to compete on TV against an elite private school for the state title, she's thrilled. It's more than a chance to earn glory for her town, and scholarship money for her family - not to mention make non-fictional friends. She's been training for this her whole life. Winning is her destiny. Or is it?

Alle verreisen in den Sommerferien ins Ausland. Nur Ina bleibt zu Hause - dabei hätte sie gerne genauso spannende Urlaubspläne wie die anderen. Und plötzlich hört sie sich vor ihrer Klasse sagen, sie würde in den Süden fahren. Damit die Lüge nicht auffliegt, bleibt Ina in den Ferien von morgens bis abends in ihrem Zimmer. Doch dann entdeckt der Neue aus der Klasse sie am Fenster und macht ihr einen vollkommen verrückten Vorschlag.

Maple Mehta-Cohen has been keeping a secret: she can’t read all that well. She has an impressive vocabulary and loves dictating stories into her recorder - especially the adventures of a daring sleuth who’s half Indian and half Jewish like Maple herself - but words on the page just don’t seem to make sense to her. Despite all Maple’s clever tricks to hide her troubles with reading, her teacher is on to her, and now Maple has to repeat fifth grade. Maple is devastated - what will her friends think? Will they forget about her?

Meg has been best friends with Beatrix forever. Everyone at school wants to be like confident, decisive Beatrix, and Meg has always felt the same. But this year, Meg wants to take a science course instead of dance class. She'd rather do what makes her happy‚ not what Beatrix wants. When a quirky girl named Hazel moves to town, Meg is partnered with her on a science project about bees. Meg learns a lot about being Queen Bee, in a hive and in middle school. As Beatrix is less than welcoming to Hazel, Meg feels her loyalty fraying.

Society embraces regulations that limit physical harm to others, as when smoking restrictions are defended as protecting bystanders from secondhand smoke. But we have been slower to endorse parallel steps that discourage harmful social environments, as when regulators fail to note that the far greater harm caused when someone becomes a smoker is to make others more likely to smoke. In Under the Influence, Robert Frank attributes this regulatory asymmetry to the laudable belief that individuals should accept responsibility for their own behavior.

Sixteen-year-old Makayla Summerlin enjoyed one thing in her crazy, messed-up existence: hanging with her friends at school. But her life is uprooted when she suddenly finds herself forced to live with a grandfather she barely remembers. One act of defiance will change her life forever. Having trouble adjusting to her new home, she sets sail in her grandfather's old sailboat. On a journey that will challenge everything she has ever believed about herself, Makayla must overcome her fears if she, and a surprising stowaway, are to survive.

Popular girl Bliss Merino is ready to have the perfect prom. But when she catches her boyfriend making out with her best friend in the back of the limo, she has only one thought: revenge.... Bad girl Jolene Nelson is the last person anyone expected to see at prom. Yet here she is, dressed in pink ruffles and feeling like a fool for believing that he would actually show up.... Meg Rose Zuckerman is ready to stop being a wallflower and start experiencing life firsthand. But when her date stands her up, she finds herself on the outside yet again....

The Superhero Syndrome. There’s a lot to be said about this subject. Males of all ages love to be praised for our work and our efforts… for our contributions and sacrifices. We want to be honored, respected, admired, loved, and needed. Put respect on our name! Every male fantasizes about being a Superhero at some point in our lives. But sometimes along the way that dream can get lost. It can get buried under a mountain of disappointment, apparent failures, and discouragement. We can get overwhelmed, withdraw, and become outright disinterested and resentful.

Do you worry about your teen struggling with social anxiety and self-esteem issues? Have you found them hesitant to join conversations or make new friends due to the fear of judgment? Are you looking for a resource that empowers your teen to embrace their unique identity while thriving in social settings? Many parents face these same concerns about their teenagers navigating the complex social dynamics of adolescence. With the right guidance, your teen can learn to overcome social challenges and develop confidence that will benefit them for a lifetime.

Thirteen-year-old Aaron was chosen to save their world, but it might come at the cost of losing his own... Breaking into an old lady's basement was supposed to reward Aaron with new friends. Instead he finds an enchanted amulet that transports him to another world - one at war with magic. Before he knows it, he is accused of witchcraft and invited to a bonfire - where he's the main attraction. If that's not bad enough, a goblin army shows up and toasts the town... literally.

Real-life peer pressure is not just about dares and bullies and can be much harder to spot. Peer pressure can cause people to avoid making friends outside their own clique, follow trends without thinking, try to achieve an impossible look, not take school seriously, and let anger turn into violence. Handling Peer Pressure examines the many different kinds of peer pressure, where it comes from, and how to beat it - and tells the stories of some remarkable people who did. The book is published by Chelsea House Publishers, a leading publisher of educational material.

Luke was not eager to accompany his best friend, Hayden, and the cocky new kid, Russell, up to the cliff that night. The plan was to watch Russell jump off the cliff into the lake - his initiation for the Briar Academy fencing team. But instead, after an angry confrontation with Hayden, Russell falls to his death. Now Hayden is in jail and the pressure is on Luke to report what he saw. But what did he see?

Ever decided to do something that seemed like a good idea and, in the second before there's no turning back, think, "I musta been totally mental when I came up with this"? And then, "Oh, well, here goes". That's how angel-in-training Grace Lightbourne felt right before she asked the Big Kahuna if she could go straight to Earth on a mission as a guardian angel. The problem? She never was a great student, and now she won't even finish her last three years of school.

The fall of the Awesome Threesome is the talk of the junior class. The three friends - Jennie, Emily, and Hillary - thought they’d be a trio forever. But what with Jennie’s relentless ambition, Emily’s jealousy, and Hillary’s building resentment, it seems the Awesome Threesome is over.

Vivienne embarks upon the summer of her dreams as one of the few students selected for a training program back east at Liberty Farms. But as focused as she is on her riding, Vivvie also has a secret agenda: to investigate the death of Joel Parker, her friend who she believes was tragically murdered. Vivvie has hardly set foot in the state-of-the-art barns before things start to go amiss.

Bestselling YA author Melinda Salisbury exposes the dark underbelly of new technologies in this gripping thriller.

When keen gamer Ivy Finch is sent to the Ash Tree Foundation after an online encounter turns dangerous...

Pondville’s general store is being robbed! Harry’s first challenge as the new sheriff in town is to form a posse and catch the thieves. Humorous and daring antics ensue as these oddball characters engage in an attempt to nab the perpetrators. Excitement, lessons, and laughter await in this action adventure where the hooligans learn crime does not pay and neither does caving in to peer pressure or rude, cheeky behavior.