Teen Age Girls

Call Me Athena: Girl from Detroit is a beautifully written novel in verse loosely based on author Colby Cedar Smith’s maternal grandmother. The story follows Mary as she and her family emigrate from Greece to Detroit in the 1930s, creating a historically accurate portrayal of life as an immigrant during the Great Depression, hunger strikes, and violent riots. Mary lives in a tiny apartment with her immigrant parents, her brothers, and her twin sister, and she questions why her parents ever came to America.

11-year-old Ruthless will do whatever it takes to live up to her name. Slaughtering pirates, running an underground gambling operation, and intercepting Russian spies are just a few examples. In true Ruthless fashion, she runs for Mayor with the help of her incredibly strong best friend, Owen. Her town of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has no age requirement to run for the post. The chances of a child winning are slim, to say the least, so Ruthless and Owen disguise themselves as an adult, with the good old ‘two kids in a trench coat’ ruse.

Back Creek is a teenage drama set in the summer of 1975 in tidewater Virginia about a girl graduating from high school who temporarily puts her college plans aside to look after her mother, who has returned home to rural North Carolina, her older sister, a photographer who’s returned from New York City, pregnant with the child of a hometown boyfriend who’s just killed himself on the creek, and an alcoholic father unable to get along with his wife and the older sister.

Despite - or perhaps because of - her fancy car, private school education, and life of privilege, Lola Renaldi has become a volunteer junkie. Feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, visiting the elderly - if it's a good cause, she's done it. Lola's favorite stint, building affordable houses, puts her directly in the path of Rodney. He refuses to discuss why he's doing community service, but it's clear he's hiding something dark about his past. As their friendship grows, Lola begins to question the true reasons for her obsessive volunteerism.

Lizzie Richards isn't excited to be starting over at a new school for her senior year, but she's trying to take her mother's advice and make the most of it - the only way she can: By disobeying her strict parents' rules. Lizzie's father has moved the family around every few years to advance his career, so she has never had a chance to develop the kind of "BFF" relationships. Thanks to Maura's plotting, Lizzie becomes everyone's new favorite babysitter. Lizzie decides to break her mother's rules by using Maura's computer to create a secret Facebook account.

Twelve-year-old Arianna learns an asteroid threatens to wipe out Earth, she's terrified. But the impending disaster vanishes as mysteriously as it appeared, leaving her to wonder if it was nothing more than a strange dream. What's more mysterious is discovering her eleven new best friends shared a similar experience.

Judy Lohden is your above-average 16-year-old: sarcastic and vulnerable, talented and uncertain, full of big dreams for a big future. With a singing voice that can shake an auditorium, she should be the star of Darcy Arts Academy, the local performing-arts high school. So why is a girl this promising hiding out in a seedy motel room on the edge of town?

Macy's school officially classifies her as "disturbed", but Macy isn't interested in how others define her. She's got more pressing problems: Her mom can't move off the couch, her dad's in prison, her brother's been kidnapped by Child Protective Services, and now her best friend isn't speaking to her.

Cris Burks won widespread acclaim for her engaging first novel, SilkyDreamGirl. Burks' second offering follows the life of a determined girl struggling toward adulthood in 1950s Chicago. The devastating discovery that "Daddy" is not her real father opens a great chasm in Neecey's world and leads to Neecey's abusive mother bringing a succession of no-good men into the home. Nevertheless, as she grows into a woman, the resilient Neecey strives to overcome despair and forge a new life for herself.

Cameron Wolfe is a loser. He knows it. He's the quiet one, not a soccer star like his brother Steve or a charming fighter with a new girl every week like his brother Rube. Cam would give anything to be near one of those girls, to love her and treat her right. He especially likes Rube's latest, Octavia, with her brilliant ideas and bright green eyes. But what woman like that would want a loser like him? Maybe Octavia would, Cam discovers. Maybe he'd even have something to say. And those maybes change everything—winning, loving, losing, the Wolfe brothers and Cameron himself.

Jasbir, aka Jazz, has always been a stellar student and an obedient, albeit wise-cracking, daughter. Everything has gone along just fine - she has good friends in the "genius" program she's been in since kindergarten, her teachers and principal adore her, and her parents dote on her. But now, in her junior year of high school, her mother hears that Jazz was seen hugging a boy on the street and goes ballistic.

The only thing she stands to lose are her shoes.Cinderella is an ordinary teenage girl, with an extraordinary name. But because of that name, she and her cousins, Belle, Aurora, Ariel, and Snow White suffer years of torment from their peers. Then as the girls enter high school and the enticing world of dating, a life-altering decision must be made. Is it finally time to stop fighting, and surrender to the fairy tale clichés that have been holding them back? By embracing their names, the girls discover an inner-strength they never knew existed.

Sara needs to cross the US border illegally to help her Tía Elena after learning her parents and siblings were killed in an accident. She needs to elude kidnappers and FBI agents on her way to live with her criminal uncle. Survival depends on her successful trip from Baja to Oregon. Will she thrive or only survive? Will she meet the love of her life along the way?

Sixteen-year-old Lorena is a science nerd at a time when girls don't do science. It's 1962 and the message from President Kennedy's Committee on the Status of Women isn't well received in her conservative community. Lorena plays the roles expected of a good girl. She's Lorena to her teachers, Lor to her friends, and Reenie to her Dad. She can't make her parents understand why she doesn't want the traditional role of teacher, nurse, or secretary like her older two sisters do.

A novel-in-verse about a young girl coming-of-age and stepping out of the shadow of her former best friend. Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Nikki Grimes. With gritty and heartbreaking honesty, Mahogany L. Browne delivers a novel-in-verse about broken promises, fast rumors, and when growing up means growing apart from your best friend.

A story of friendship, courage and a bit of crime. Bridget wants a quiet life, including, if possible, keeping her parents out of prison. Then a boy called Menzies makes her an offer she can't refuse, and they set off on a job of their own. It's a desperate, daring plan, to rescue two kids, Jamal and Bibi, from a desert detention centre. Can Bridget and Menzies pull off their very first jail break, or will they end up behind bars too? Sometimes to help a friend, you have to dig deep.

Krista thinks she is just a regular teenager. She hangs out with her friends, has a crush on a cute boy. But suddenly, her world changes. She begins to see shadows on peoples' faces, finding herself in a race to save the life of someone she knows.

Chelsea and her mother embark on a fresh start in the vibrant city of Tampa, Florida, eager for a brighter future. The thrill of a new city and new opportunities brings excitement into Chelsea's life until she crosses paths with the most popular guy in school. As their relationship blooms, Chelsea finds herself at a crossroads where her promising future hangs in the balance. In a whirlwind of emotions and high school drama, she must navigate the challenges of her new romance while keeping her dreams alive.

Eleven-year-old Julia has lived in Wekweètì, NWT, since she was five. Although the people of Wekweètì have always treated her as one of their own, Julia sometimes feels like an outsider, disconnected from the traditions and ancestral roots that are so central to the local culture.

Melissa has had a fantastic summer hanging out with her friends and making new ones. But life as she knows it will change when they all come together to begin their sophomore year at Dearborn High. Connections will be made and friendships will be tested. Will Melissa’s family and friends be able to help her through the challenges she will face in the upcoming months?