PEER PRESSURE

Adoff, Jamie.  Names Will Never Hurt Me. New York: Dutton Children's Books,2004.
In a novl dealing with teen issues: ostracism, racism, violence, peer pressure, and low self-esteem; four teens from different backgrounds and with different interests weave together the course of a day at their school. (grades 7-10)

Bradby, Marie.  Some Friend. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, c2004.
Pearl wants to be friends with pretty, popular Lenore and she also likes poor, unfashionable Artemesia. She tries to get along with everyone but ends up doing the worst thing possible. Now she doesn't have any friends at all. Or does she? (ages 9-12)

Bunting, Eve.  Jumping the Nail.  Harcourt Paperbacks; Reprint edition, 1993.
When teenagers in a California coastal community challenge each other to "jump the Nail"--leap from dangerous cliffs into the ocean--group pressure and manipulative relationships quickly drive the game out of control.  (grades 6-8)

Cappo, Nan Willard.  Cheating Lessons.  New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2002.
When her team is announced as finalists in the state Classics Bowl contest, Bernadette suspects that cheating may have been involved. (grades 6-10)

Draper, Sharon.  Battle of Jericho.  New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2003.
Sixteen-year-old Jericho is thrilled to be asked to join the Warriors of Distinction. He is determined to do anything to become a member, but when the initiation becomes harrowing, he begins to have second thoughts. (ages 12 & up)

Haddix, Margaret Peterson.  Leaving Fishers.  New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1997.
When Dorrie's family moves to a new town, she becomes painfully lonely while unsuccessfully trying to fit in at her new high school.  (ages 12 & up)

Hicks, Betty.  I Smell Like Ham.  Brookfield, Ct.: Roaring Brook Press, 2002.
Nick tries to maintain his sense of integrity as he works to succeed on the school basketball team, adjust to his new stepmother and "dorky" stepbrother, and deal with peer pressure from his friends.  (ages 8-12)

Koja, Kathe.  Buddha Boy.  New York: Frances Foster Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003.
Justin spends time with Jinsen, the unusual and artistic new student whom the school bullies torment and call Buddha Boy, and ends up making choices that impact Jinsen, himself, and the entire school. (grades 6-10)

Korman, Gordon.  Jake, Reinvented.  New York: Hyperion, 2003.
An homage to The Great Gatsby, Korman's novel is a fresh look at the age-old themes of popularity, acceptance, and human nature.  Rick becomes friends with the popular new boy, Jake Garrett, football player and host of superlative parties, and in the process discovers the true nature of his schoolmates and uncovers the mystery of Jake's past.  (ages 12 & up)

Papademetriou, Lisa.  Sixth-Grade: Glommers, Norks, And Me.  New York: Hyperion Books for Children, c2005.
Allie Kimball is about to learn that middle school is a world populated with glommers (girls who cling to each other in groups), norks (combo of nerd and dork), and squashes (crushes to make you feel like your heart's been stepped on).

Pascal, Francine.  The Ruling Class.  New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2004.
Sick of being bullied and harrassed, a new girl at a wealthy suburban Dallas high school plots revenge on the girls in the ruling clique.  (ages 14 & up)

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SUICIDE & DEATH

Butcher, Kristin. The Hemingway Tradition. Orca Book Publishers, 2002.
Shaw Sebring is sixteen and trying desperately to understand and accept his father's recent suicide. Moving with his mother halfway across the country does not help. (ages 12 & up)

Chalifour, Francis. After. Tundra Books, 2005.
Fifteen-year-old Francis’s father has committed suicide and nothing will be the same again. Suicide is ugly, unglamorous, and it is never a solution. Its aftermath is dreadful. At first, Francis feels a terrible guilt. Could he have been a better son? Soon the guilt turns to anger and then to a sadness so profound that he thinks he can’t bear it. In the course of months, with the love of his mother, with counseling, and with time, Francis takes his first steps toward coming to terms with his father’s – and his family’s – tragedy. (ages 12 & up)

Crutcher, Chris. Chinese Handcuffs. New York: Greenwillow Books, c1989. Still troubled by his older brother's violent suicide, eighteen-year-old Dillon becomes deeply involved in the terrible secret of his friend Jennifer, who feel she can tell no one what her stepfather is doing to her. (ages 12 & up)

Dewey, Jennifer Owings. Borderlands. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 2002.
After attempting suicide, seventeen-year-old Jamie is admitted to a psychiatric ward, where she must come to terms with the abusive, neglectful family relationships that have led to her situation and where she meets a young man whose problems are much worse than her own. (ages 12 & up)

Dreyer, Ann. After Elaine. Chicago: Cricket Books, 2002.
Gina relives events that preceded her angry, hostile, older sister Elaine's senseless death, as her family struggles with their grief and Gina faces the added pressures of starting middle school. (ages 9-12)

Fine, Anne. Up on Cloud Nine. New York: Delacorte Press, 2002.
While Stolly struggles to regain consciousness in a hospital bed, Ian recalls some of their best and worst times together as he writes a biography of his eccentric best friend. (grades 4-7)

Garland, Sherry. I Never Knew Your Name. New York: Ticknor & Fields, 1994.
An observer laments the lonely life of a teenage suicide whose neighbors didn't even know his name. (grades 4 and up)

Goings, K.L. Fat Kid Rules the World. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2003.
Seventeen-year-old Troy, depressed, suicidal, and weighing nearly 300 pounds, gets a new perspective on life when a homeless teenager who is a genius on guitar wants Troy to be the drummer in his rock band. (grades 8 & up)

Kornblatt, Marc. Izzy’s Place. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2003.
While spending the summer at his grandmother's Indiana home, ten-year-old Henry Stone gets help from a new friend in coping with the recent death of his grandfather and the possibility of his parents getting divorced. (ages 8-12)

Lawrence, Iain. Gemini Summer. New York: Delacorte Press, 2006.
In 1965, Danny's grief over the death of his older brother Beau is eased when a stray puppy adopts him, but he soon realizes that Beau is somehow in the dog, and sets out to make his brother's dream of seeing a rocket launch at Cape Kennedy come true. (ages 9-14)

Lion, Melissa. Swollen. New York: Laurel-Leaf Books, 2006.
A teenaged girl copes with the death of a star track and field athlete by running. (ages 12 & up)

MacCullough, Carolyn. Falling Through Darkness. Brookfield, Conn.: Roaring Brook Press, 2003.
Seventeen-year-old Ginny unexpectedly gets help from her father's new tenant while struggling to cope with her guilt and confusion over the death of her daredevil boyfriend. (ages 12 & up)

Mayfield, Sue. Drowning Anna. New York: Hyperion, 2002.
Using diary entries, flashbacks, and third person perspectives, this compelling story takes a frank look at how one bright, seemingly well-adjusted teen decides to take her own life after repeated bullying and teasing by a classmate. (ages 10-14)

Maynard, Joyce. The Cloud Chamber. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2005.
In 1966, when his father's attempted suicide causes his family to be ostracized by their small Montana farming community, fourteen-year-old Nate copes with his sadness and anger by trying to win the school science fair. (ages 10 & up)

Monthei, Betty. Looking for Normal. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2005.
Twelve-year-old Annie and her younger brother, Ted, try to cope with their turbulent emotions, as well as with their grandmother's terrible anger and grief, after their father kills their mother and then commits suicide. (grades 5-8)

Peters, Julie. Far From Xanadu. New York: Little, Brown, 2005.
In a small Kansas town, 16-year-old Mary-Elizabeth "Mike" Szabo tries to come to terms with her father's suicide and her own homosexuality. (ages 12 & up)

Pevsner, Stella. How Could You Do It, Diane? New York: Clarion Books, 1989.
As Bethany struggles to find the reasons why her sister committed suicide, her parents try to repress the incident. (ages 10-14)

Roberts, Willo Davis. The One Left Behind. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006.
Mandy's life changes forever when her ten-year-old twin sister eats a hamburger tainted with E coli and dies. (ages 8-12)

Vaught, Susan. Trigger. Bloomsbury, 2006.
Teenager Jersey Hatch must work through his extensive brain damage to figure out why he decided to shoot himself. (ages 12 & up)

Wartski, Maureen Crane. My Name is Nobody. New York: Walker, 1988.
A desperate teenager on the brink of suicide is rescued by a retired policeman who gives the boy a home and an appreciation for life. (grades 8 & up)

Wittlinger, Ellen. Blind Faith. New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2006.
While coping with her grandmother's sudden death and her mother's resulting depression, 15-year-old Liz finds herself falling for a new neighbor whose mother is dying of cancer. (grades 7 & up)

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TEEN PREGNANCY & PARENTING

Bechard, Margaret.  Hanging On to Max.  Brookfield, Conn.: Roaring Brook Press, 2002.
When his girlfriend decides to give their baby away, seventeen-year-old Sam is determined to keep him and raise him alone.  (grades 8 & up)

Christianson, C.B.  I See the Moon.  New York: Maxwell Macmillan International, 1994.
Twelve-year-old Bitte learns the answer to the question, "What is love?" when her older sister decides to place her unborn child for adoption.  (grades 5-7)

Ferris, Jean.  Looking for Home.  New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1989.
Daphne decides to run away from her father's violent moods, get a job, and give her baby up for adoption. It seems like a simple plan, but it's really the hardest thing she's ever had to do.   (ages 12 & up)

Fienberg, Anna.  Borrowed Light.  New York: Delacorte Press, 2000.
Intricate relationships between family and friends make this a poignant and memorable debut novel. Sixteen-year-old Callisto May discovers that she is pregnant and fights to keep her life from spinning out of control.  (ages 14 & up)

Hart, Karen.  Butterflies in May. Baltimore, MD: Bancroft Press, 2006.
Ali Parker is a high school senior. Suddenly her whole world shifts when she becomes pregnant. She struggles with the decisions she has to make about the baby.  (ages 12 & up)

Hrdlitschka, Shelly.  Dancing Naked.  Victoria, B.C.: Orca Book Publishers, 2001.
A heart-wrenching story about 16-year-old Kia, whose life is about to change forever as she learns she is pregnant.  (grades 8 & up)

Johnson, Angela.  The First Part Last.  New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2003.
Bobby's carefree teenage life changes forever when he becomes a father and must care for his adored baby daughter. 
(ages 12 & up)

Olsen, Sylvia.  The Girl With a Baby. Sono Nis Press, 2004.
In this contemporary novel about a fourteen-year-old teenage half-Indian who gets pregnant and decides to keep the baby, readers will experience the reality of teenage motherhood.  (ages 12 & up)

Oughten, Jerrie.  Perfect Family. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000.
When Welcome, a fifteen-year-old girl living in a small town in North Carolina during the 1950s, finds out that she is pregnant, she faces some important decisions.  (ages 10 & up)

Reynolds, Marilyn.  Too Soon for Jeff. Buena Park, Calif.: Morning Glory Press, 1994.
High school senior Jeff Browning is upset when he learns that his girlfriend is pregnant and determined not to let a baby ruin his plans to go to college on a debate scholarship, but his feelings change after the baby is born.  (ages 12 & up)

Sweeney, Joyce.  Waiting for June.  New York : Marshall Cavendish, 2003.
In the third trimester of her pregnancy, Florida high school senior Sophie tries to discover the identity of the father she has never known, while adamantly refusing to disclose the name of her own baby's father.  (ages 12 & up)

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BULLYING

Blume, Judy. Blubber. Scarsdale, N.Y.: Bradbury Press, 1974.
Jill goes along with the rest of the fifth-grade class in tormenting a classmate and then finds out what it's like when she, too, becomes a target. (ages 8 – 12)

Bone, Ian. Sleep Rough Tonight. New York: Dutton Books, 2005.
Teased and bullied by his high-school classmates, Alex Pimentino tries to prove his worth by following the commands of a former student just released from prison, but finds that his real strength comes from doing the right thing. (ages 14 & up)

Brooks , Kevin. Kissing the Rain. New York: Scholastic, 2004.
Moo Nelson calls the teasing he receives about his weight "the rain." He deals with it every day. There is no umbrella to hide under, just other kids' cruelty pouring down on him. (ages 12 & up)

Evangelista, Beth. Gifted. New York: Walker & Co., 2005.
Arrogant, mentally gifted George Clark has dreaded the eighth-grade class camping trip and its inevitable bullying, but a hurricane and a friend's loyalty make him realize what is important in life. (ages 10-14)

Koss, Amy Goldman. Poison Ivy. New Milford, Conn.: Roaring Brook Press, 2006.
In a government class three popular girls undergo a mock trial for their ruthless bullying of a classmate. (ages 11-14)

Mac, Carrie. The Beckoners. Victoria , BC : Orca Book Publishers, 2004.
After moving to a new town, Zoe tries to fit in at her new school by joining the Beckoners, a group of girls who use intimidation and violence to rule the school. (ages 12 & up)

Mayfield, Sue. Drowning Anna. New York: Hyperion, 2002.
Using diary entries, flashbacks, and third person perspectives, this compelling story takes a frank look at how one bright, seemingly well-adjusted, teen decides to take her own life after repeated bullying and teasing by a classmate. (ages 10-14)

Pascal, Francine. The Ruling Class. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2004.
Sick of being bullied and harassed, a new girl at a wealthy suburban Dallas high school plots revenge on the girls in the ruling clique. (ages 14 & up)

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CUTTING & SELF-MUTILATION

Carlson, Melody. Blade Silver: Color Me Scarred. Colorado Springs, CO: TH1NK Books, 2005.
Ruth copes with an abusive situation at home by cutting herself, until her high school counselor helps her get the treatment she needs to start a new life. (ages 14 & up)

Levonkron, Steven. The Luckiest Girl in the World. New York: Scribner, 1997.
Fifteen-year-old figure skater Katie Roskova inflicts pain on herself when she can't manage her feelings about her absent father, her overbearing mother, the pressures of her sport, and her school life. (ages 12 & up)

McCormick, Patricia. Cut. Asheville, NC : Front Street, 2000.
While confined to a mental hospital, thirteen-year-old Callie slowly comes to understand some of the reasons behind her self-mutilation, and gradually starts to get better. (grades 7 & up)

Stoehr, Shelley. Crosses. New York: Delacorte Press, 1991.
Unhappy at home, Nancy and her friend Katie adopt punk lifestyles and find relief in cutting themselves, until Nancy is forced to confront her problems. (ages 14 & up)

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