Teen High Interest Titles

"With an addict mother and deadbeat dad, Shelby truly hopes that blood does not define her. She discovers a passion for photography, hoping to make something of herself through art. But when her mother dies of an overdose, Shelby finds herself in a dark place. Taken in by her aunt, she rebels in school and turns away from everyone, except a mysterious classmate named Brandt. Shelby doesn't realize that Brandt is a vampire--until it's too late. Overwhelmed...

"Tae has moved twice in his life. First, from South Korea to the United States when he was adopted as a baby, and then to a new town before he starts high school. In Tae's new school, he's one of the youngest players, and the only person of color, trying out for the Varsity soccer team--a team known for its violent hazing practices. Tae wants more than anything to be part of the team, but worries about fitting in. Then, he sees a familiar face. Luke...

"Eric Wallace is sick of secrets. As a Black queer teen, Eric's efforts to conform to fit his parents' and classmates' expectations have left him exhausted by the summer after senior year. When Eric finds out his pastor father has been cheating on his mother, his picture-perfect family crumbles. Eric rages at the double standards he's been held to. He travels to Los Angeles with his best friends to escape his home life and finally start to live on...

"When the police come knocking at her door, Maybeth is worried her mother is caught up in their small town's drug scene again. Instead, the police are there to question Maybeth about her beloved and long-absent father. He has become the lead suspect in a string of unsolved murders across the country--and Maybeth may be the key to convicting him. Trapped between her scientific mind and her love for her father, Maybeth is forced to confront the reality...

"Kiki is a teen artist living with her Greek-American family in Queens. After a man with mental illness is killed by the police, protests fill the streets. Kiki's into art, not activism, and would rather observe from the sidelines than participate, but she reluctantly joins her friends on a march. She is shocked when a protester lifts up a photograph of her brother, Stavros, and one word--#Murderer. Stavros, a police rookie, says he was just defending...

3.5 stars

Written in blank verse, the story of Mildred Loving, an African American girl, and Richard Loving, a Caucasian boy, who challenge the Virginia law forbidding interracial marriages in the 1950s.

It's no secret Anna's parents are going through a rough patch. But when that rough patch turns positively volatile, Anna starts to wonder why her parents are staying together at all. Will their anger destroy everything Anna has ever known? Can Anna allow herself to fall in love when she sees how it can turn so easily to hate?

"Edgar wants nothing more than to live his life out loud. But telling the truth about his sexuality isn't so easy in his traditional Mexican-American family, and his Amá has made it clear she won't accept who he is. Things get even harder when Edgar's macho father returns home after months away, and the house erupts into fighting and simmering tension. Edgar worries what would happen if he told his father the truth about who he is, and feels he'll...

4.7 stars

In the summer of 1988, twelve-year-old Chuck Bell is sent to stay with his grandparents, where he discovers jazz and basketball and learns more about his family's past.

"Things are looking up for Alex. Years after being taken away from her alcoholic mother and placed in a foster home, Alex is finally taking hold of her future and applying to film schools. But right on cue, her birth mother comes back into her life. Alex is not about to let her mother derail her life again. Then she learns her mother is very sick. She agrees to meet with her currently sober mother, promising to guard her heart and prepare for disappointment....