Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin, #1)

Robin LaFevers

Fiction 131g

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

     Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.
     Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart? (Publisher's description)

The Catastrophic History of You and Me

The Catastrophic History of You and Me

Jess Rothenberg

Fiction R743c

Brie's life ends at sixteen: Her boyfriend tells her he doesn't love her, and the news breaks her heart--literally.

But now that she's D&G (dead and gone), Brie is about to discover that love is way more complicated than she ever imagined. Back in Half Moon Bay, her family has begun to unravel. Her best friend has been keeping a secret about Jacob, the boy Brie loved and lost--and the truth behind his shattering betrayal. And then there's Patrick, Brie's mysterious new guide and resident Lost Soul...who just might hold the key to her forever after.

With Patrick's help, Brie will have to pass through the five stages of grief before she's ready to move on. But how do you begin again, when your heart is still in pieces? (Publisher's description)

Wandering Son, Volume 1

Wandering Son

Shimura Takako

GN Sh629w:E v. 1

The fifth grade. The threshold to puberty, and the beginning of the end of childhood innocence. Shuichi Nitori and his new friend Yoshino Takatsuki have happy homes, loving families, and are well-liked by their classmates. But they share a secret that further complicates a time of life that is awkward for anyone: Shuichi is a boy who wants to be a girl, and Yoshino is a girl who wants to be a boy. Written and drawn by one of today’s most critically acclaimed creators of manga, Shimura portrays Shuishi and Yoshino’s very private journey with affection, sensitivity, gentle humor, and unmistakable flair and grace. Book One introduces our two protagonists and the friends and family whose lives intersect with their own. Yoshino is rudely reminded of her sex by immature boys whose budding interest in girls takes clumsily cruel forms. Shuichi’s secret is discovered by Saori, a perceptive and eccentric classmate. And it is Saori who suggests that the fifth graders put on a production of The Rose of Versailles for the farewell ceremony for the sixth graders - with boys playing the roles of women, and girls playing the roles of men. Wandering Son is a sophisticated work of literary manga translated with rare skill and sensitivity by veteran translator and comics scholar Matt Thorn. (Publisher's description)

Boyfriends with Girlfriends

Boyfriends with Girlfriends
Alex Sanchez
Fiction Sa551b
Lance has always known he was gay, but he's never had a real boyfriend. Sergio is bisexual, but his only real relationship was with a girl. When the two of them meet, they have an instant connection--but will it be enough to overcome their differences? Allie's been in a relationship with a guy for the last two years--but when she meets Kimiko, she can't get her out of her mind. Does this mean she's gay? Does it mean she's bi? Kimiko, falling hard for Allie, and finding it impossible to believe that a gorgeous girl like Allie would be into her, is willing to stick around and help Allie figure it out. (Product Description)

Please Ignore Vera Dietz

Please Ignore Vera Dietz
A. S. King
Fiction K5693pL 2010
High-school senior Vera never expects her ex-best friend, Charlie, to haunt her after he dies and beg her to clear his name of a horrible accusation surrounding his death. But does Vera want to help him after what he did to her? (Booklist)

Girl in Translation

Girl in Translation
Jean Kwok
Fiction K979g
When Kimberly Chang and her mother emigrate from Hong Kong to Brooklyn squalor, she quickly begins a secret double life: exceptional schoolgirl during the day, Chinatown sweatshop worker in the evenings. Disguising the more difficult truths of her life-like the staggering degree of her poverty, the weight of her family's future resting on her shoulders, or her secret love for a factory boy who shares none of her talent or ambition-Kimberly learns to constantly translate not just her language but herself back and forth between the worlds she straddles. (Product description)

Bitter Melon

Bitter Melon
Cara Chow
Fiction C459b
Frances, a Chinese-American student at an academically competitive school in San Francisco, has always had it drilled into her to be obedient to her mother and to be a straight-A student so that she can go to Med school.  But is being a doctor what she wants?  It has never even occurred to Frances to question her own feelings and desires until she accidentally winds up in speech class and finds herself with a hidden talent.  Does she dare to challenge the mother who has sacrificed everything for her? (Product Description)

Mindblind

Mindblind
Jennifer Roy
Fiction R812m
Formulas are 14-year-old Nathaniel’s friends because they relax him, an important consideration for someone given to panic attacks when he has to interact with people. Nathaniel is a high-functioning “Aspie,” a term that those—like him—with Asperger’s syndrome employ to describe themselves. Fortunately, formulas aren’t Nathaniel’s only friends. His neighbor Cooper is one; pretty, vivacious Jessa, upon whom Nathaniel has a serious but unarticulated crush, is another; and Molly—an Aspie like him—is a third. The multitalented Nathaniel plays keyboards in a band, teaches himself Mandarin Chinese, and is an absolute whiz at mathematics. And why not? He has an IQ of 182. A genius, you say? Well, yes, but don’t tell Nathaniel that, for he has read that to be a bona fide genius, you have to make a contribution to the world, something he is determined to do (just as he is determined to kiss Jessa). (Booklist)

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Sherman Alexie
Fiction AL2752a
Junior is a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, he leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. (Publisher)

Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging

 

Angus, Thongs, and Full-frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson

Rennison, Louise

Fiction R295an2001

Presents the humorous journal of a year in the life of a fourteen-year-old British girl who tries to reduce the size of her nose, stop her mad cat from terrorizing the neighborhood animals, and win the love of handsome hunk Robbie.

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things

 

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things

Mackler, Carolyn

Fiction M2183e

Feeling like she does not fit in with the other members of her family, who are all thin, brilliant, and good-looking, fifteen-year-old Virginia tries to deal with her self-image, her first physical relationship, and her disillusionment with some of the people closest to her.

How to Be a Chicana Role Model

    

How to Be a Chicana Role Model

Serros, Michele

Fiction Se688h 

A collection of short stories reveals a young Chicano writer's determination to find laughter in struggling between two cultures without losing her identity.

The Catcher in the Rye

 

The Catcher in the Rye

Salinger, J.D.

Fiction Sa33c

In an effort to escape the hypocrisies of life at his boarding school, sixteen-year-old Holden Caulfield seeks refuge in New York City.

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

 

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.

Blume, Judy

Fiction B625a 1991

Faced with the difficulties of growing up and choosing a religion, a twelve-year-old girl talks over her problems with her own private God.

American Born Chinese

  

American Born Chinese

Yang, Greg Luen

GN.Y163a

Alternates three interrelated stories about the problems of young Chinese Americans trying to participate in the popular culture. Presented in comic book format.

Good Enough

   

Good Enough 

Yoo, Paula

Fiction Y8g 

A Korean American teenager tries to please her parents by getting into an Ivy League college, but a new guy in school and her love of the violin tempt her in new directions. 

Wait for Me

    

Wait for Me

Na, An

Fiction N112w

As her senior year in high school approaches, Mina yearns to find her own path in life but working at the family business, taking care of her little sister, and dealing with her mother's impossible expectations are as stifling as the southern California heat, until she falls in love with a man who offers a way out.

Saying Goodbye

  

Saying Goodbye

Lee, Marie G.

Fiction L5143s

In this sequel to Finding My Voice, Ellen is at Harvard. However, she doesn't want to be a doctor as her parents wish. She wants to write. Will she be able to break out on her own, or is she trapped by her past?

Necessary Roughness

  

Necessary Roughness 

Lee, Marie G.

Fiction L5143n1998

Chan Kim was the popular soccer star of his Los Angeles high school. Now he and his twin sister are the only Koreans in their new high school in Minnesota. Chan starts to play football to fit in, but will he survive the team hazing?