Showing titles in Coming of Age

Jim (aka Kid Sensation) counts himself fortunate in that his friends have always been there for him, and he - in turn - tries to be there for them. That’s why it is with a great deal of enthusiasm that he looks forward to attending an event honoring his friend, the teen warlock Kane. However, his plans are immediately complicated by two factors. First, an emissary from the nigh-omnipotent group of beings known as Incarnates unexpectedly appears on his doorstep. It is an arrival that, while not unwelcome, introduces a certain amount of unpredictability and chaos in his life.

For 13 years, Ben Tomlin was an only child. But all that changes when his mother brings home Zan - an eight-day-old chimpanzee. Ben’s father, a renowned behavioral scientist, has uprooted the family to pursue his latest research project: a high-profile experiment to determine whether chimpanzees can acquire advanced language skills. Ben’s parents tell him to treat Zan like a little brother. Ben reluctantly agrees. At least now he’s not the only one his father’s going to scrutinize,

When seventeen-year-old aspiring designer Tahira Janmohammad’s coveted fashion internship falls through, her parents have a Plan B. Tahira will work in her aunt’s boutique in the small town of Bakewell, the flower capital of Ontario. It’s only for the summer, and she’ll get the experience she needs for her college application. Plus her best friend is coming along. It won’t be that bad. But she just can’t deal with Rowan Johnston, the rude, totally obsessive garden-nerd next door with frayed cutoffs and terrible shoes. Not to mention his sharp jawline and soft lips.

Natalie Armstrong has everything: She's smart and beautiful, has the perfect boyfriend, early acceptance to college, and a loving family. But the summer she turns 17, she finally decides to ask some unanswered questions: Who are her biological parents, and why did they give her up when she was born? These questions take her on a journey from the deep woods of Maine to the streets of New York City, from the pages of old phone books and a tattered yearbook photo to the realization that she might actually meet her biological mother face-to-face.

The ratings are real. One number, 0 to 100, determines your place in society. Earn a high rating, and the world is yours for the taking. But fall to zero, and you may as well cease to exist. Societies thrive on order, and the Rating System is the ultimate symbol of organized social mobility. The higher it soars, the more valued you are. The lower it plummets, the harder you must work to improve yourself.

“Our cousins have done this program,” Sophie whispers. “Best kept secret. Zero supervision.” And just like that, Ever Wong’s summer takes an unexpected turn. Gone is Chien Tan, the strict educational program in Taiwan that Ever was expecting. In its place, she finds Loveboat: a summer-long free-for-all where hookups abound, adults turn a blind eye, snake-blood sake flows abundantly, and the nightlife runs nonstop. But not every student is quite what they seem.

When Jake Sheffield, a typical Christian teenager, awakens to discover that he can hear the deepest spiritual needs of those around him, the reality of the deep needs of the world hits him. And the lives he touches, through the help of the Holy Spirit, will never be the same. As his friends witness the power of sharing Christ with others, they too begin the "hear" like Jake. The Heart Reader of Franklin High is a moving, evangelistic challenge for Christian teens.

Heir apparent, young Prince Ahkin feels unprepared for leadership after his father's death. His royal blood controls the power of the sun, and he’s now responsible for the lives of all the Chicome people. Despite all Ahkin’s efforts, the sun is fading - and the end of the world may be near. For Mayana, the only daughter of the Chicome family whose blood controls the power of water, the old emperor’s death may mean that she's next. Ahkin must marry before ascending the throne, and Mayana is one of six noble daughters presented to him. Those who are not chosen will be sacrificed.

Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship - the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.

I’ve been listening to my father sing for my whole life. I carry him in my pocket on my MP3 player. It’s just that we’ve never met face to face. My mother would never tell me how I came to be, or why my rock star father and I have never met. I thought it was her only secret. I was wrong. When she dies, he finally appears. Suddenly I have a first-class ticket into my father’s exclusive world. A world I don’t want any part of - not at this cost. Only three things keep me going: my a cappella singing group, a swoony blue-eyed boy named Jake, and the burning questions in my soul.

Kalina is a nobody, an orphan whose only remarkable trait is the silver hair she is forced to hide. But when she overhears that she might be a child of the Valdir, a silver-haired race of dragon riders that disappeared 16 years ago, she chooses to leave her old life behind and venture into the unknown to discover who she is and where the dragons disappeared to.

There’s nothing All Star pitcher Peter Friedman loves more than baseball. It’s his life. He breathes baseball, dreams about it, and works his tail off to be great. Most kids are nervous about starting high school, but Pete’s amazing arm is going to make his life pretty easy. When you’re the star, girls, popularity, and all-around stud status are sure to follow. But Pete’s freshman year doesn’t turn out as planned. A pitching accident over the summer ruins his arm. If he can’t play baseball, what is he supposed to do? If he isn’t the star pitcher, then who is he?

If there's one thing dragons fear, it's a kraken. Even lowly hull-scrubber Zee Tarrow knows that. Like everyone on the island kingdom of Tosh, he grew up frightened by fables and horrible tales of the great beasts of the deep. It seems an odd thing to impress upon the children of the realm, because–luckily for the dragons and their riders–no one has seen a kraken in a thousand years.

Fifteen-year-old Brandy Shaw, like most girls her age, deals with private demons. Forced to leave her hometown of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for Denton, Florida, she manages to forget the boy she left behind for a new one, Travis Daly. But Travis has his own problems that end up affecting Brandy in a number of destructive ways.

Henri “Halti” Haltiwanger can charm just about anyone. He is a star debater and popular student at the prestigious FATE academy, the dutiful first-generation Haitian son, and the trusted dog walker for his wealthy New York City neighbors. But his easy smiles mask a burning ambition to attend his dream college, Columbia University. There is only one person who seems immune to Henri’s charms: his “intense” classmate and neighbor Corinne Troy.

The worst thing that ever happened to Craig is also the best: Amy. Amy and Craig never should've gotten together - Craig is an awkward Dungeons & Dragons-playing geek, and Amy is the beautiful, fiercely intelligent student-body president of their high school. Yet somehow they did - until Amy dumped him. Then got back together with him. Then dumped him again. Then got back together with him again. Over and over and over. Unfolding over their senior year, Amy and Craig's relationship is a kaleidoscope of joy, pain, and laughter as an uncertain future looms on the horizon.

Jude loves photography, and he’s good at it, too. Between his parents’ divorce and his anxiety, being behind a camera is the only time his mind is quiet. Florence is confronting the premature end of her dance career as a degenerative eye disease begins to steal her balance. She’s having a hard time letting go. The two meet at Sunrise Night, their sleepaway art camp’s dusk-to-dawn closing celebration, and decide to take a chance on each other.

Ella’s life was picture perfect. She had a circle of close friends, a jam-packed social life, and an amazing boyfriend. But then something completely unexpected happened: a car accident after a Valentine’s Day dance. When Ella woke up in the hospital, she couldn’t remember the accident...or anything about the weeks before it, including the reason she broke up with her boyfriend.

In his small Georgia town, Barclay Elliot is basically a legend. Here basketball is all that matters, and no one has a bigger spotlight than Barclay. Until he decides to use the biggest pep rally in the town’s history to come out to his school. And things change. Quickly. Barclay is faced with hostility he never expected. Suddenly he is at odds with his own team, and he doesn’t even have his grandfather to turn to the way he used to. But who is Barclay if he doesn’t have basketball?

It's 1976 and Jamaica is on fire. The country is on the eve of important elections and the warring political parties have made the divisions between the poor and the wealthy even wider. And Irie and Jilly come from very different backgrounds: Irie is from the heart of Kingston, where fighting in the streets is common. Jilly is from the hills, where mansions nestled within lush gardens remain safe behind gates. But the two bond through a shared love of Reggae music, spending time together at Irie's father's record store, listening to so-called rebel music that opens Jilly's mind.