Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak.
Since the beginning of the school year, high school freshman Melinda has found that it's been getting harder and harder for her to speak out loud: "My throat is always sore, my lips raw.... Every time I try to talk to my parents or a teacher, I sputter or freeze.... It's like I have some kind of spastic laryngitis." What could have caused Melinda to suddenly fall mute? Could it be due to the fact that no one at school is speaking to her because she called the cops and got everyone busted at the seniors' big end-of-summer party? Or maybe it's because her parents' only form of communication is Post-It notes written on their way out the door to their nine-to-whenever jobs. While Melinda is bothered by these things, deep down she knows the real reason why she's been struck mute...

Ashby, R.S. Going for the Gold: Sarah Hughes, America's Sweetheart.
Geared toward slightly older readers, Going for the Gold: Sarah Hughes, America's Sweetheart by R.S. Ashby spotlights the 16-year-old champ in a chapter book format.

Betancourt, Jeanne. Three Girls in the City: Exposed.
Maya, Carolyn, and Joy are best friends. They are three friends who are doing projects with cameras, sharing fun times, adventures, and even some bad times.

Betancourt, Jeanne. Three Girls in the City: Self-Portrait.
Three13 year-old girls meet at a summer photo class: Carolyn, fresh from Wyoming, motherless and scared; Joy, who has everything plus a bad attitude, and Maya from Harlem, strong, proud and surprised to find herself liking these 2 mismatched girls. Just as these 3 discover they're friends despite their differences, Carolyn's father decides to send her back 'home' to Wyoming. Then, in her first flush of street-smart confidence, Carolyn gets scarily lost on the subway - and it's Joy and Maya who find her - and show her dad that New York City is the home they've been looking for.
 
Blume, Judy, editor. Places I Never Meant to Be.
n this provocative collection, Judy Blume, the censors' favorite target, assembles an all-star cast of young adult writers who have themselves felt the pain of censorship. Each contributes an original short story and some highly quotable observations on their own experiences and feelings when under attack.

Boock, Paula. Dare Truth Or Promise
Excerpt: “ ’I’m in love with that girl,’ she said out loud in amazement, because she knew that this was a life-changing thing and life-changing things should be said aloud, should have a moment in time, and a place in the air, some molecular structure to make them real. I’m in love with that girl, she heard as it reverberated inside her head. And it was a truth, she realized, as things are which you don’t think, but discover have always existed.

Brashares, Ann. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
They were just a soft, ordinary pair of thrift-shop jeans until the four girls took turns trying them on--four girls, that is, who are close friends, about to be parted for the summer, with very different sizes and builds, not to mention backgrounds and personalities. Yet the pants settle on each girl's hips perfectly, making her look sexy and long-legged and feel confident as a teenager can feel. "These are magical Pants!" they realize, and so they make a pact to share them equally, to mail them back and forth over the summer from wherever they are. Beautiful, distant Lena is going to Greece to be with her grandparents; strong, athletic Bridget is off to soccer camp in Baja, California; hot-tempered Carmen plans to have her divorced father all to herself in South Carolina; and Tibby the rebel will be left at home to slave for minimum wage at Wallman's.

Braun, Sandra. Incredible Women Inventors.
This addition to the acclaimed Women's Hall of Fame series profiles ten incredible women with an itch to invent. Written in an accessible, engaging, and informative style, Incredible Women Inventors examines both the challenges and successes in the lives of Canadian and international problem-solvers.

Canfield, Jack et al. Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul: 101 Stories of Life, Love and Learning
A collection of inspirational stories from contributors such as Bill Cosby, Robert Fulghum, Jennie Garth, Jennifer Love Hewitt, A.J. Langer, and many more.

Canfield, Jack et al. Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul II
You asked for more Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul – so here it is, from the hearts of Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Kimberly Kirberger. You’ll find 101 stories to help you deal with a world that seems more and more difficult every day.

Canfield, Jack et al. Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul on Tough Stuff.
This latest offering in the best-selling Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul series explores a host of challenges faced by today's teens. Within its pages teens will find portraits of life's complexities expressed from the viewpoint of their peers. Teen contributors share their thoughts and feelings on difficult issues, ranging from poor self-image to thoughts of suicide, from family discord to coping with the loss, from peer pressure to school violence.
 

Chambers, Veronica. Mama's Girl
On the streets of Brooklyn in the 1970s, Veronica Chambers mastered the whirling helixes of a double-dutch jump rope with the same finesse she brought to her schoolwork, her often troubled family life, and the demands of being overachieving and underprivileged. Though her mother seemed to bear out the adage that "black women raise their daughters and mother their sons," Veronica never stopped trying to do more, do better, do it all.

Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street.
Esperanza Cordero, a girl coming of age in the Hispanic quarter of Chicago, uses poems and stories to express thoughts and emotions about her oppressive environment.

Cooper-Mullin, A. & Coye, J. M. Once Upon a Heroine: 450 Books for Girls to Love
This is a carefully constructed resource of books about and for girls. While it includes recommendations on the well known..."Little Women", "Anne of Green Gables" and "Harriet the Spy", it also includes recommendations on unusual, clever and hard to find books such as Jan Andrews' "Very Last First Time" and Jacqueline Dembar Greene's "Out of Many Waters". In addition to the typical one-paragraph summaries of the books, the authors have interviewed dozens of prominent accomplished American women about their favorite childhood books.

Cummings, Priscilla. What Mr. Mattero Did.
Grade 6-8 When three seventh-grade girls from Oakdale Middle School come forward with an accusation that Mr. Mattero touched them inappropriately, the passionate, veteran music teacher is summarily sent home, and a formal investigation and lots of informal character assassination quickly gets underway. Once the media becomes involved, the man becomes persona non grata and is presumed guilty by most. Naturally, he's devastated, and his family suffers too, as the rumors and reproaches escalate. Melody, Mattero's daughter, is particularly affected; she happens to be an eighth-grader at Oakdale.

Donoghue, Emma. Stir-fry
Seventeen and sure of nothing, Maria has left her parents’ small-town grocery for university life in Dublin. An ad in the Student Union – “2 women seek flatmate. No bigots” – leads Maria to a home with warm Ruth and wickedly funny Jael, students who are older and more fascinating than she’d expected. But one day something Maria glimpses by accident blows her mind open, and she is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her sexuality. A poignant, funny, and sharply insightful coming-of-age story, Stir-fry is a lesbian novel that explores the conundrum of desire arising in the midst of friendship and probes feminist ideas of sisterhood and nonpossessiveness.

Frank, Anne. The Diary of a Young Girl.
A beloved classic since its initial publication in 1947, this vivid, insightful journal is a fitting memorial to the gifted Jewish teenager who died at Bergen-Belsen, Germany, in 1945. Born in 1929, Anne Frank received a blank diary on her 13th birthday, just weeks before she and her family went into hiding in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. Her marvelously detailed, engagingly personal entries chronicle 25 trying months of claustrophobic, quarrelsome intimacy with her parents, sister, a second family, and a middle-aged dentist who has little tolerance for Anne's vivacity. The diary's universal appeal stems from its riveting blend of the grubby particulars of life during wartime (scant, bad food; shabby, outgrown clothes that can't be replaced; constant fear of discovery) and candid discussion of emotions familiar to every adolescent (everyone criticizes me, no one sees my real nature, when will I be loved?). Yet Frank was no ordinary teen: the later entries reveal a sense of compassion and a spiritual depth remarkable in a girl barely 15. Her death epitomizes the madness of the Holocaust, but for the millions who meet Anne through her diary, it is also a very individual loss.
 
Fritz, Jean. The Double Life of Pocahontas
Pocahontas was the special favorite of her father, the great chief Powhatan. And when the English settlers came to Virginia, she became a ‘sister’ to Captain John Smith, who was ‘adopted’ into her tribe. She was permitted to move freely between the Indian and white worlds, and her life seemed perfect until she was kidnapped by the settlers. And before Peace could be made, she would be asked to turn her back on everything she loved – and to leave her Indian world behind forever.
 
Gantos, Jack. Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key
Joey Pigza has problems. Big problems. He was emotionally abused by his grandmother. He has never met his dad. He can't get along in his elementary school classroom because of his mood swings and his "dud meds." We gradually see that Joey must have Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), which is not being effectively controlled with his current medication. Joey's life is a terrifying roller-coaster ride, and Jack Gantos, author of the Rotten Ralph books, drags the reader along to see what life is like with ADD. The story is written from the boy's point of view in a sharp, worried style that veers out of control when Joey does. Joey's control of his own behavior slips away as we read, horrified to see this boy trying to get a grip on his life and failing. He disrupts the class field trip; he puts his finger in a pencil sharpener and injures himself; he swallows his house key. Then he runs through the classroom holding open sharp scissors. When he trips and falls, seriously injuring a classmate, he is transferred to a special-education program in another school. Here, thankfully, he encounters a caring teacher who recommends further medical evaluation, and Joey is eventually able to return to his former school.

Gantos, Jack. What Would Joey Do?
Joey's dad just roared into town on a motorcycle, his mom is chasing her ex-husband away with a broomstick, and his grandma's camped out on the couch behind a plastic shower curtain. What's more, Joey's chihuahua has been dognapped, and his mom insists that he be homeschooled with a mean blind girl and her super-religious mother. Welcome to Joey's world. With his new self-assumed role as "Mr. Helpful," Joey's on a mission to make everything and everyone better. Can Joey accomplish all this or will his wild, wired behavior spin him out of control all over again?

Garden, Nancy. Annie On My Mind
Excerpt: “’Liza,’ Mom said, looking into my eyes, ‘I want you to tell me the truth, not because I want to pry, but because I have to know. This could get very unpleasant…Now – have you and Annie – done any more than the usual experimenting…’ ‘No, Mom,’ I said, trying to look back at her calmly. I’m not proud of it. I make no excuses – I lied to her.”

Gavin, Jamila. Three Indian Princesses.
Princess Savitri: Savitri happily leaves the palace to live with her husband, Satyvan, in the jungle. But beneath her joy lurks fear, for Savitri carries a dark secret. It is written in the stars that Satyvan will die within a year Princess Damayanti: Everyone wishes to marry the beautiful Damayanti, including the gods. Even they, however, are happy to consent to her marriage to King Nala all except the demon Kali, who lays a curse on the perfect couple Princess Sita: Prince Rama is about to become king when he is banished to the jungle for fourteen years by his jealous stepmother. His loyal wife Sita follows, only to be kidnapped by Ravana, Lord of the Demons

George, Jean Craighead. Julie of the Wolves.
Lost on the Tundra. To her small Eskimo village, she is known as Miyax; to her friend in San Francisco, she is Julie. When the village is not longer safe for her, Miyax runs away. But she soon finds herself lost in the Alaskan wilderness, without food, without even a compass to guide her. Slowly she is accepted by a pack of Arctic wolves, and she grows to love them as though they were family. With their help, and drawing on her father's teachings, Miyax struggles day by day to survive. But the time comes when she must leave the wilderness and choose between the old ways and the new. Which will she choose? For she is Miyax of the Eskimos - but Julie of the Wolves.

Gilbert, Elizabeth. Stern Men.
Set on two fictitious islands in northern Maine during the 1970s, this first novel by the author of a sparkling story collection, Pilgrims, begins slowly but warms up with smart, sassy humor. Isolated from the mainland by 20 miles of sea, but separated from each other only by a small channel, the islands of Fort Niles and Courne Haven should be natural allies, sharing the local lobster industry. Instead, the two communities are old enemies, torn apart by centuries of hostile, occasionally violent competition among their territorial lobstermen. Ruth Thomas, daughter of one of Fort Niles's most cutthroat lobstermen, has returned home after four years at a private girls' school, determined both to resist her rich grandfather's plans to send her to college and to find her place among the island's rough-spoken personalities. Both propositions prove more difficult than she expects.

Girzone, Joseph F. Joshua In the City.
The effect of the eponymous hero on a New York inner-city neighborhood is the subject of this latest in Girzone's (Never Alone) inspirational series. Gentle, mysterious Joshua is propositioned by a young runaway turned prostitute. When her pimp muscles in, Joshua brings him to his knees, promising the young woman he'll never bother her again. He also heals the next person they encounter, a wealthy woman troubled by depression; Girzone would have us believe that this affluent woman is the prostitute's loyal friend and regular picnic companion! Then Joshua meets the woman's generous husband, some confused black youths and their single mother and several others, all of whom he impresses with his kindliness and charity.

Gray, Gwendolyn. Girls Who Grew Up Great: A Book of Encouragement for Girls About Amazing Women Who Dared to Dream.
Listen up to hear the stories of some daring women who made a huge difference in the world: Murasaki Shikibu, who wrote the world's first novel. Miranda Stuart, who disguised herself as a man for her entire life to become England's first female doctor. Maggie Lena Walker, the first African American woman to become president of a bank. Angelina and Sarah Moore Grimke, two sisters who were the first women to speak out for women's rights in America.These are just a few of the remarkable women you'll read about in GIRLS WHO GREW UP GREAT. It's full of stories about girls like you who, as they grew up, dared to dream, conquered challenges, and made a better world for us all.

Hunter, Latoya. The Diary of Latoya Hunter
Here are Latoya’s innermost thoughts, recorded in her diary as the events happened. As she experiences her first year at JHS 80 in the Bronx, these are described in the simple but luminous prose of an intelligent, sensitive, shy, and deeply feeling young girl. Her story is, of course, typical of girls like her, and it is also unique. It is affirmative, inspiring, moving, human, real.

Johnson, Maureen. The Bermudez Triangle
Excerpt: “In the first moment, Nina thought Avery was helping Mel with a necklace. Then, she realized that Mel wasn’t wearing one. Also, putting on or removing a necklace doesn’t usually involve putting you lips on someone else’s. Oh my God. They’re kissing. Nina froze, holding the curtain to the side. One of her atomic laughs almost bubbled up, but them is stopped somewhere in her throat and sank back down. Nowhere in Nina’s arsenal of responses, replies, and reactions did she have anything for this. So she just stood there for a moment, trying to think of something neutral. Something you could say on any occasion at all. ‘What’s going on?’ she asked.”
 
Lamb, Wally. She's Come Undone.
In this engaging first novel, narrator Dolores Price recounts her life story from age four to age 40; her relentless parade of disasters makes for interesting reading.

Landon, Margaret. Anna and the King.
this classic tale blends fact and fiction as it tells the story of Englishwoman Anna Leonowens, who becomes governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the 1860s. The story is filled with detailed description.

LeBlanc, Margaret Ann. Ms. Mady Comes to Town.
 
Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars.
Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen often think about life before the war. But it's now 1943 and their life in Copenhagen is filled with school, food shortages, and the Nazi soldiers marching in their town. The Nazi won't stop. The Jews of Denmark are being "relocated, " so Ellen moves in with the Johansens and pretends to be part of the family. Then Annemarie is asked to go on a dangerous mission. Somehow she must find the strength and courage to save her best friend's life. There's no turning back now.
 
MacLachlan, Patricia. Skylark.
This successful sequel to Sarah Plain and Tall (1985) has enough dramatic tension and character development to satisfy devoted fans of the first book. Mail-order bride Sarah goes back east with children Anna and Caleb, leaving husband Jacob, whose name is "written in the land," to deal with their drought-ridden farm. Sarah's home in Maine makes a favorable impression on the children, but they miss their father and fear they will never return to the prairie.

Martin, Ann M. Belle Teal.
Ten-year-old Belle Teal Harper lives with her mother and grandmother in a small rural town in the early 1960s. Though they don't have much, Belle Teal feels rich with love and loyalty to her family and her best friends, Clarice and Little Boss.As a new school year begins, Belle Teal faces unexpected challenges. Her Gran's memory is slipping away. Her mother works longer hours to support the family. Little Boss' troubled relationship with his father is pushing the boy to extremes. And there are two new students in Belle Teal's class: a shy African American boy caught in the center of rampant prejudice, and a new girl whose outward confidence belies the secret she holds close.
 
McDaniel, Lurline. Telling Christina Goodbye.
Grade 6-10 Trisha is enjoying her senior year and planning to attend college in her home state, Indiana, with her longtime boyfriend, Cody. She's especially excited for her best friend, Christina, who's been offered a scholarship to the University of Vermont, which Trisha sees as an opportunity for the teen to get away from her controlling boyfriend, Tucker. Tension mounts when the four attend a basketball game together and Tucker starts a fight with a boy who talks to Christina. On the way home, the two couples have a car accident that leaves Christina dead and Cody in a coma.

Mylin, Deborah (editor). Body Language: New Moon Talks about Growing Up.

O'Connor, Karen. Dan Thuy's New Life in America.
Dan Thuy Huynh, 13, her parents, and her 9-year-old sister have been living with the girls' grandparents in San Diego for four months. Their journey to this country included one month spent hiding in Kampuchea (Cambodia), a 24-hour boat trip to Thailand, and 3 years there in a refugee camp. Both the history of the camps and their routines are succinctly described. As the family adapts to American life, the combining of the two cultures is portrayed, whether it be in food and clothing or in evaluating the traditional role of Southeast Asian women in contrast to their opportunities here.

Myracle, Lauren. Kissing Kate
Lissa and Kate had spent almost every day together since they were twelve. But then one night last summer, Kate leaned in to kiss Lissa, and Lissa kissed her back. Now Kate is pretending that her friend doesn’t exist, and it is Lissa who needs a secret cure for her feelings and confusion…Lissa discovers that there isn’t a cure for life – and that sometimes falling in love with the wrong person is the only way to find your footing.

O'Dell, Scott. Streams to the River, River to the Sea.
Scagawea, a Shashone Indian, guided and interpreted for explorers Lewis and Clarke as they traveled up the Mississippi, but she had adventures long before that one, like the time she was captured by the Minnetarees, and taken away from her family and everything that she knew and loved....
 
Quindlen, Anna. Being Perfect.
A few times in your life, someone will tell you something so right, so deeply true that it changes you forever. That is what Anna Quindlen, author of the timeless bestseller A Short Guide to a Happy Life, does here. In Being Perfect, she shares wisdom that, perhaps without knowing it, you have longed to hear: about the perfection trap, the price you pay when you become ensnared in it, and the key to setting yourself free. Quindlen believes that when your success looks good to the world but doesn’t feel good in your heart, it isn’t success at all.

Rice, Ashley. Girls Rule: A Very Special Book Created Especially for Girls.
This is a book for girls. For girls who are thinkers and believers. For girls who are readers and changers and dreamers. For girls who look for rainbows and friendship. For girls who are not afraid to be different. Join one such girl, Penelope J. Miller, as she narrates this book, becomes your friend, and takes you on a journey through all the fun, craziness, and challenges of being a girl in the world. She's here with words of experience, support, advice, and a whole lot of laughs. And she's even left some space for you to write down your own thoughts, memories, wishes, and ideas.

Santiago, Esmeralda. Almost a Women
The broad outlines of Santiago's life story, begun in When I Was Puerto Rican (1993) and continued here, are familiar; indeed, they limn the quintessential American experience--that of a stranger in a strange land. Santiago, writing prose as notable for its poise and directness as for its sharp detail, picks up where she left off, with her arrival at age 13 in Brooklyn, New York, and chronicles her struggle not only to learn a new language and adjust to a far more diverse and divisive society.

Singer, Marilyn. Stay True: Short Stories for Strong Girls
If your parents promise you something and don’t deliver, can you go on strike? Are there any real Cinderella stories anymore? How do you stay true to yourself, anyway? The eleven distinguished authors in this humorous and heartfelt collection – among them M.E. Kerr, Norma Fox Mazer, Andrea Davis Pinkney, and Rita Williams-Garcia – explore issues like generational differences, independence, abuse, and relationships in stories that will touch and inspire.

Sittenfeld, Curtis. Prep.
Curtis Sittenfeld's poignant and occassionally angst-ridden debut novel Prep is the story of Lee Fiora, a South Bend, Indiana, teenager who wins a scholarship to the prestigious Ault school, an East Coast institution where "money was everywhere on campus, but it was usually invisible." As we follow Lee through boarding school, we witness firsthand the triumphs and tragedies that shape our heroine's coming-of-age. Yet while Sittenfeld may be a skilled storyteller, her real gift lies in her ability to expertly give voice to what is often described as the most alienating period in a young person's life: high school.

Vail, Rachel. Please, Please, Please.
Hurley never sits with her legs crossed. It works against her turn-out in dancing. Encouraged by her doting mother, the girl has been devoted to ballet for six years. Lately though, it seems her commitment to dance is causing her to miss crucial seventh-grade experiences such as the class apple-picking trip, soccer, and time at the pizza place with her crowd. CJ's struggle to decide how to please her mother, please her friends, and still please herself is the basis of this story.

Wolff, Wirginia Eulwer. Bat 6.
Since the turn of the century, two rival Oregon farm communities have put their differences behind them and come together once a year to watch their sixth-grade girls' teams play softball. In the spring of 1949, the "50-year girls" excitedly anticipate their moment of glory. Bat 6 is their story, reconstructed just after it happened. The narrative is comprised of firsthand reporting from girls on both sides. This year, each team has a ringer. For the Bear Creek Ridge Mountaineers, it's Japanese-American first-baseman Aki, whose family has just moved back to the community after spending most of the war years in an internment camp. The Barlow Pioneers' marvel is their center fielder who calls herself Shazam, a troubled youngster who does everything, except her schoolwork, with an unsettling, single-minded intensity. Her father was killed at Pearl Harbor and she has maintained a deep-seeded hatred of the Japanese ever since.