They were arguing about what was wrong with the economy.... Mary Ann’s parents had conversations like this all the time. They weren’t on opposite sides, but they had different opinions about what would make the world a happy place and they liked expressing them.

The critically acclaimed debut novel from Stephen Chbosky, Perks follows observant "wallflower" Charlie as he charts a course through the strange world between adolescence and adulthood. First dates, family drama, and new friends. Sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Devastating loss, young love, and life on the fringes. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it, Charlie must learn to navigate those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.

For all of Emory's life she's been told who she is. In town she's the rich one—the great-great-granddaughter of the mill's founder. At school she's hot Maddie Ward's younger sister. And at home, she's the good one, her stoner older brother Joey's babysitter. Everything was turned on its head, though, when she and Joey were in the car accident that killed Candy MontClaire. The car accident that revealed just how bad Joey's drug habit was.

This deliciously sharp novel captures the relentless ambitions and fears that animate parents and their children in modern America, exploring the conflicts between achievement and potential, talent and privilege. Set in the fictional town of Crystal, Colorado, The Gifted School is a keenly entertaining novel that observes the drama within a community of friends and parents as good intentions and high ambitions collide in a pile-up with long-held secrets and lies.

Long before he starred on some of television’s most beloved and long-running series such as Taxi and Who’s the Boss? and went on to distinguish himself in a variety of film and stage roles, Tony Danza was a walking contradiction: an indifferent student who dreamed of being a teacher. Inspiring a classroom of students was an aspiration he put aside for decades until one day it seemed that the most meaningful thing he could do was give his dream a shot. What followed was a year spent teaching 10th-grade English at Northeast High - Philadelphia’s largest high school with 3,600 students....

When Kristy Thomas has the great idea to form a baby-sitters club - a chance to earn money and spend time with her friends, all while doing something they each love to do - she has no idea how much the club will change everything. Crank calls, uncontrollable toddlers, wild pets, untruthful clients...running a business is hard work! Kristy and her co-founders, Mary Anne, Claudia, and Stacey, are sure they can handle anything. But only if they stick together....

What do you do when you try to turn into a dragon or a kitten, but you accidentally turn into a dritten instead? Or you try to conjure fire but can only make flurries? Or maybe you get to fly, but you can’t come back down? For Nory and her friends in Dunwiddle Magic School’s Upside-Down Magic class, magic is amazing, unpredictable, and out of control!

For a long time, Carmelo Anthony’s world wasn’t any larger than the view of the hoopers and hustlers he watched from the side window of his family’s first-floor project apartment in Red Hook, Brooklyn. He couldn’t dream any bigger than emulating his older brothers and cousin, much less going on to become a basketball champion on the world stage.

Twelve-year-old Danny Walker may be the smallest kid on the basketball court, but don't tell him that. Because no one plays with more heart or court sense. But none of that matters when he is cut from his local travel team, the very same team his father led to national prominence as a boy. Danny's father knows Danny isn't the only kid who was cut for the wrong reason, and together, this washed-up former player and a bunch of never-say-die kids prove that the heart simply cannot be measured.

The moving true story of a group of young men growing up on Chicago's West side who form the first all-Black high school rowing team in the nation, and in doing so not only transform a sport, but their lives.

Today's children live in a world filled with adventure, mental stimulation, topical issues, and personal challenges. The values they learn now, between the ages of 5 and 8, will shape the rest of their lives. Through this collection of heartfelt true stories about family ties, helping neighbors, and lasting friendships, children will see how other kids their age have learned valuable lessons from the choices they've made - and most of all, they will realize that they are not alone in dealing with some of the difficult issues in their lives.

Mishna Wolff grew up in a poor black neighborhood with her single father, a white man who truly believed he was black. "He strutted around with a short perm, a Cosby-esque sweater, gold chains and a Kangol---telling jokes like Redd Fox, and giving advice like Jesse Jackson. You couldn't tell my father he was white. Believe me, I tried," writes Wolff. And so from early childhood on, her father began his crusade to make his white daughter down.

For the first time, the remarkable couple depicted in the film The Blind Side tell their own deeply inspiring story. First came the best-selling book, then the Oscar-nominated movie—the story of Michael Oher and the family who adopted him has become one of the most talked-about true stories of our time. But until now, Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy have never told this astonishing tale in their own way and with their own words.

Josh Cameron has it all: a World Championship ring with the Boston Celtics, an MVP award, a clean-cut image, and the adoration of millions. What he doesn't have is family -- until the day 12-year-old smart aleck Molly Parker confronts him in a parking lot and claims to be his daughter, the only daughter of Jen Parker, Josh's college sweetheart and the still the only girl he's ever loved. Trouble is, Jen Parker died last year, and now Molly has tracked down the father she never knew.

Jasmine and Chelsea are best friends on a mission - they’re sick of the way women are treated even at their progressive NYC high school, so they decide to start a Women's Rights Club. They post their work online - poems, essays, videos of Chelsea performing her poetry, and Jasmine's response to the racial microaggressions she experiences - and soon go viral. But with such positive support, the club is also targeted by trolls. When things escalate, the principal shuts the club down. Not willing to be silenced, Jasmine and Chelsea will risk everything for their voices to be heard.

When her best friend and neighbor Margaret comes to her with a problem, Clementine goes to many lengths to help her friend. This sets off a rollicking adventure-filled week that finds Clementine getting into and out of further trouble, while learning valuable life lessons.

When Jayden and his teammates find out there’s not going to be a Hoop Group this year - and maybe ever again - they have to learn to lean on each other if they want to save their basketball season, in this inspiring new middle grade novel from NBA superstar LeBron James and acclaimed author Andrea Williams. A New York Times best seller!

Fifteen-year-old Spencer Harris is a proud nerd, an awesome big brother, and a David Beckham in training. He's also transgender. After transitioning at his old school leads to a year of isolation and bullying, Spencer gets a fresh start at Oakley, the most liberal private school in Ohio. At Oakley, Spencer seems to have it all: more accepting classmates, a decent shot at a starting position on the boys' soccer team, great new friends, and maybe even something more than friendship with one of his teammates.

Jasmine and Chelsea are best friends on a mission - they’re sick of the way women are treated even at their progressive NYC high school, so they decide to start a Women's Rights Club. They post their work online - poems, essays, videos of Chelsea performing her poetry, and Jasmine's response to the racial microaggressions she experiences - and soon go viral. But with such positive support, the club is also targeted by trolls. When things escalate, the principal shuts the club down. Not willing to be silenced, Jasmine and Chelsea will risk everything for their voices to be heard.

Our preteen years, ages nine to 13, can present some of the most difficult times in our young lives, a period of tremendous physical and emotional change. We're eager to leave the "kid" stage, yet we're uncertain about what adolescence will bring; we start hearing the familiar refrain "wait until you're older" far too often. Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul is a companion guide for these transitional years.