Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, the Federation of Children's Book Groups Prize and longlisted for the 2015 Carnegie Medal, Kim Slater's outstanding debut, Smart, is moving and compelling novel with a loveable character at its heart.'I found Jean's friend dead in the river. His name was Colin Kirk. He was a homeless man, but he still wanted to live.' There's been a murder, but the police don't care. It was only a homeless old man after all. Kieran cares. He's made a promise...
Homeless and alone on the streets, sixteen-year-old Mattie Rollins and her six-year-old sister, Meg, race to discover the fate of their missing mother.
Thursday's Child (NEW LONGMAN LITERATURE 11-14)
by Sonya Hartnett
During the long, hungry years of the Great Depression, Harper Flute's family struggles to cope with life on the hot, dusty land. Her younger brother Tin seeks refuge in the contrast of an ancient subterranean world. A world that nurtures but - as disturbing events in the community reveal - can also kill. A world that is silent, yet absorbs secrets. A world that has the power to change lives for ever. Sometimes you have to dig deep to survive...
"A stirring, powerful, and heart-wrenching story of coming of age, falling in love, and trying to lead a life of dignity." -Jeff Zentner, award-winning author of The Serpent KingIn Strickland County-a forgotten stretch of land in Southern Appalachia-there isn't a lot of anything to go around. But when eighteen-year-old Harlowe Compton's brother is killed by the Praters-the family who controls everything, from the mines to the law to the opioid trade-he wonders if the future will ever hold more t...
Embry Woods has secrets. Some are small, like the ones about her complicated past. Others are bigger, like her growing feelings for best friend s ex-boyfriend, Holden. But the biggest secret she carries is about what they did at the abandoned Sea Cliff Inn ... and the resulting terrible fire.
When her world is turned upside down at her sister's death, a mentor is assigned to fourteen-year-old Cashay to help her through her anger and grief.
Abandoning kickboxing after a tragedy in the ring, champion fighter Haley is forced to train an attractive mixed martial arts student who secretly fights on Haley's behalf to redeem his troubled past. Abandoning kickboxing after a tragedy in the ring, champion fighter Haley trains a cute mixed martial arts student who secretly fights to redeem his troubled past. The plot contains profanity. The AR quiz does not include bonus novella CROSSING THE LINE.
Her street name is Maybe She lives with a tribe of homeless teens -- runaways and throwaways, kids who have no place to go other than the cold city streets, and no family except for one another. Abused, abandoned, and forgotten, they struggle against the cold, hunger, and constant danger. With the frigid winds of January comes a new girl: Tears, a twelve-year-old whose mother doesn't believe her stepfather abuses her. As the other kids start to disappear -- victims of violence, addiction, and...
A Girl of the Limberlost (G.K. Hall large print perennial bestseller collection) (A Dell Yearling classic)
by Gene Stratton-Porter
Elnora Comstock is a poor girl, living with her widowed mother on the edge of the Limberlost swamp. She begins high school despite lack of money and her painfully unfashionable dress. She faces cold neglect from her mother, a woman ruined by the death of her husband. Eventually, Elnora wins her mother's love. She then meets and falls in love with a young man who is already engaged.
Crystal must choose between her dream of becoming the first college student in her family, or keeping a promise to her twin sister, Amber, to raise together the baby one had in high school.
The Bundu Bunch orphans, a community headman, a peer of the realm, a national leader. Some are more dumb than others. Some are not dumb at all. After losing their parents to the AIDS pandemic in southern Africa, Sipho and his fellow orphans cannot start school. Without an education, their prospects of escaping poverty are slim. Enter Aiyasha, the fifteen-year-old head of the orphan household. Aiyash uses her special talent to ensure her orphan charges receive the education they crave. But Aiyas...
Cassandra Mortmain is no ordinary teenager. She belongs to an extraordinary family including a father suffering from writer's block and a lute-playing stepmother, Topaz, who communes with nature near the wild, tumble-down castle that is their home. Cassandra's diary reveals how their lives are changed forever two American brothers arrive to lay claim, not only to their home, but also their hearts.
CCBC's Best Books for Kids & Teens (Fall 2015) - Commended Fifteen-year-old Edie Fraser searches for her mother, who has gone missing shortly after the two moved to London, England, to escape Edie's abusive father. Is it possible to outrun your past? Fifteen-year-old Edie Fraser and her mother, Sydney, have been trying to do just that for five years. Now, things have gone from bad to worse. Not only has Edie had to move to another new school - she's in a different country. Sydney promi...
When her mom is diagnosed with terminal cancer, Jayce searches for her estranged father, hoping he can fix everything. Jayce Loewen has had to take on a lot of responsibility over the years. Her single mom works two jobs and long hours, leaving Jayce in charge of her four-year-old sister most of the time. When her mom is diagnosed with cancer, Jayce decides to track down her long-absent father in the hope that he will be able to make everything okay again. Looking for her dad was one thing...