Showing titles in Coming of Age

From first crushes to first heartbreaks, complicated family dynamics to community relationships, this powerful collection of stories explores race, class, culture, language, and the very idea of home as both a place and a feeling. Edited by Samira Ahmed and Sona Charaipotra and featuring some of the most acclaimed, bestselling South Asian authors writing for teens today—this is an essential collection of captivating stories about what it means to be South Asian.

Bree has enough on her plate. With the demands of school, an absentee mother, and a little sister who is…well, let’s just say “gifted”, she’s got plenty to deal with. She doesn’t need Mr. Popular, Kyle Roberts, interfering in her life. But sometimes what you think you need and what the world decides to throw at you couldn’t be more different. And just as the world comes crashing down, Bree is tossed a lifeline from the most unexpected of places. Because the world’s not done with Brianna Dover just yet…and neither is Kyle Roberts.

Hi. My name's Lea, like the field. I'm sixteen and I live on a farm that's too far away from the public schools so I'm home-schooled, but not, like, Christian home-schooled. My parents pulled me out of that a few years ago. My younger brother and I read a lot of books and learn what we want to learn. All that knowledge gets me in trouble though, because I mouth off to my dumb neighbors when they stick God and guns in my face. And I stick up for the people that they hate-the outsiders, the freaks, the people who live different lifestyles than them.

Kano Murasaki, called Risuko, is a young, fatherless girl, more comfortable climbing trees than down on the ground. Yet she finds herself enmeshed in a game where the board is the whole nation of Japan, where the pieces are armies moved by scheming lords, and a single girl couldn't possibly have the power to change the outcome. Or could she?

Paul Adams is the shortest kid at his high school, and the school bullies relentlessly pick on him. He spends the entire day wishing school would end so he can escape to his favorite sport of rock climbing. Lily Small is athletic, attractive, and, despite her last name, is actually very tall. Another kid, who looks almost like a grown man, introduces himself with a long Polynesian name, but says everyone calls him "Big," and he seems to like the nickname! As they get to know each other, Paul, Big, and Small discover they have a lot in common as outsiders in their high school.

Alice is on her own for the first time. She has no coach. No friends. Not even clothes that meet the Bastille Invitational’s strict dress code. There’s only the steady drumbeat of guilt inside—pressure to make the tournament’s costly expense “worth it” in the wake of Ba’s unexpected passing. But will a win on court justify the price she paid to get here?

Fifteen-year-old Mayten loves training as a tree singer, an esteemed position among her clan. But when she feels pain coming from the trees, she finds herself on an unexpected quest, one so dangerous she might never return home. Now Mayten must use her unfinished training to face betrayal, fear, and a deadly foe. Is she a match for the ancient evil attacking her trees, or will the entire kingdom fall to ruin?

The Wish Thief is a fantasy novel set in a world in which everyone is born with a Wish to make when coming of age. It follows the story of Lia, a teenage girl with a particularly strong Wish Orb and a big secret: she might be the only person in Maar who doesn’t want to wish for anything.

Lucy Hansson was ready for a perfect summer with her boyfriend, working at her childhood Bible camp on the lake and spending quality time with her parents. But when her mom's cancer reappears, Lucy falters—in her faith and in her ability to cope. When her boyfriend "pauses" their relationship and her summer job switches to a different camp—one for troubled kids—Lucy isn't sure how much more she can handle. Attempting to accept a new normal, Lucy slowly regains footing among her vibrant, diverse coworkers, Sundays with her mom, and a crush on a fellow counselor.

Winnie is living her best fat girl life and is on her way to the best place on earth. No, not Disneyland - her granny’s diner, Goldeen’s, in the small town of Misty Haven. While there, she works in her fabulous '50s-inspired uniform, twirling around the diner floor and earning an obscene amount of tips. With her family and ungirlfriend at her side, she has everything she needs for one last perfect summer before starting college in the fall...until she becomes Misty Haven’s Summer Queen in a highly anticipated matchmaking tradition that she wants absolutely nothing to do with.

Willow Covington has conquered every obstacle thrown at her to become one of the best figure skaters in the nation until a devastating injury shatters her Olympic dreams. She’ll do anything to get back on the ice, though, and if that means rehabbing while blocking shots and slapping a puck around, so be it. Coach says no dating, but that’s A-Okay with her anyway - she’s singularly focused on her goal. If only the team captain, Brodie Windom, wasn’t so infuriatingly hot as he shows her the ropes.

This story is loosely inspired by the true account of four young children who lived in a casino records warehouse. At the same time, their mom worked to escape their alcoholic father with homicidal tendencies.

Aubrey Lane Arrington was given a choice and one week to decide—does she want to stay at Eastbrooke Academy or go to school in London? So much has happened since then that could affect her decision. Her former best friend, Branson, started a fight with her boyfriend, Prince Augie. And when the event is live-streamed and goes viral, it has the makings of an international scandal.

Seventeen-year-old Lulu Li has her last summer before college all planned out. But her plans go awry when she learns that Kite Xu, her old next-door neighbor and childhood friend, will be returning home from South Korea.

Danielle Silver is a Philadelphia high school senior at the dawn of the ’90s. Ever since her parents split up, she has known her father was gay, but she never expected to be hit with the bombshell that he is HIV positive. As he sickens, and AIDS starts to claim the lives of his friends, Danielle searches for silver linings while trying to balance paralyzing fear, grief, her social life, and schoolwork—capturing all the feelings as adolescence and some hard facts collide.

Seventeen-year-old Theo Wright has it all figured out. His plan (well, more like his dad’s plan) is a foolproof strategy that involves exceling at his magnet school, getting scouted by college recruiters, and going to Duke on athletic scholarship. But for now, all Theo wants is a perfect prom night. After his best friend Jay dares Theo to prompose to his crush at Chloe Campbell’s party, Theo’s ready to throw caution to the wind and take his chances.

After arriving back at school from Johnny’s weekend of no rules, Arrington and Augie have a stronger relationship than ever. The schemers who tried to break them up failed, and Arrington now knows there are some people who’d like to witness their downfall. But with a full class schedule, dance practice, and other commitments, Arrington has more important things to worry about. Not only is she helping her friend, Laurent, unwrap a family secret that could shake up the political world, she’s also staring in a music video alongside the flirty Beckham.

Wild, beautiful, and (as rumor has it) experienced, Hayden Vargas doesn't have time for love or relationships. She's learned the hard way that the only person you can count on is yourself and she's hell-bent on earning enough money to leave her small, judgy Texas town as fast as possible. So when nerdy Emmaline Martin offers to pay Hayden for lessons in seduction, the money is so easy, there must be a catch. Enter the catch: Emmaline's older brother, popular, all-around nice guy™ Nolan Martin, who doesn't want his sister's reputation tarnished....

Mia cree que su vida no puede ir a peor: es la más alta de la clase, plana como una tabla de planchar, no para de suspender álgebra, su madre tiene una cita con uno de sus profesores (¡y para más inri, con el de álgebra!), el chico que le gusta no le hace ni caso... No hay nada emocionante en su día a día. O eso piensa, hasta que de un día para otro le anuncian que es la heredera al trono de Genovia, un diminuto país europeo.

Azadeh is a budding violinist on a music scholarship at an expensive private school, dealing with all the usual trials of being 16: trying her best to fit in, keep up and have fun. Then as her mum's mental health spirals out of control, Azadeh's world starts to unravel. Her friendships fall away and as much as she and her dad try to keep a lid on everything, their problems insist on taking over. Feeling alone, it's her violin that finally helps Azadeh to find her way back to her friends, herself and even her mum.