BookStudyDigest

Wednesday, 7 September 2022

[New post] Books for Tweens and Teens – Contemporary & Social Issues Part I

Site logo image Bayside Library watch read review posted: " Hi there, readers! We are almost done with the recommendations for tweens and teens. Today, I'm moving on to books set in a contemporary environment which explore and discuss some hard hitting but important social issues. Some of these are quite funny an" Bayside Library

Books for Tweens and Teens – Contemporary & Social Issues Part I

Bayside Library watch read review

Sep 8

Hi there, readers! We are almost done with the recommendations for tweens and teens. Today, I'm moving on to books set in a contemporary environment which explore and discuss some hard hitting but important social issues. Some of these are quite funny and sweet, but please do pay attention to any trigger warnings. Let me know in the comments if you have read any of these and your thoughts.


For the younger ones:

Worse Things by Sally Murphy 

Worse Things follows the lives of three main characters: Blake, an Aussie Rules football player who suffers a devastating injury; Jolene, a hockey player who hates the game and and is grieving over the recent death of her father; and Amed, a soccer-loving, non-English speaking orphan who feels like an outsider since arriving in Australia after being raised in a refugee camp. On the surface, it seems they have nothing in common, except sport, but other things conspire to bind them together. 

Age from 10 years. 

How to Make Friends with the Sea by Tanya Guerrero  

Pablo is homesick. 

He's only twelve years old, but he's lived in more countries than he can count. After his parents divorced, he and his mother have moved from place to place for years, never settling anywhere long enough to call it home. And along the way, Pablo has collected more and more fears: of dirt, of germs, and most of all, of the ocean. 

Now they're living in the Philippines, and his mother, a zoologist who works at a local wildlife refuge, is too busy saving animals to notice that Pablo might need saving, too. Then his mother takes in Chiqui, an orphaned girl with a cleft lip—and Pablo finds that through being strong for Chiqui, his own fears don't seem so scary. 

He might even find the courage to face his biggest fear of all…and learn how to make friends with the sea. 

The Mysterious Disappearance of Aiden S. (as told by his brother) by David Levithan 

Aidan disappeared for six days. Six agonizing days of searches and police and questions and constant vigils. Then, just as suddenly as he vanished, Aidan reappears. Where has he been? The story he tells is simply. . . impossible. But it's the story Aidan is sticking to. 

His brother, Lucas, wants to believe him. But Lucas is aware of what other people, including their parents, are saying: that Aidan is making it all up to disguise the fact that he ran away. 

When the kids in school hear Aidan's story, they taunt him. But still Aidan clings to his story. And as he becomes more of an outcast, Lucas becomes more and more concerned. Being on Aidan's side would mean believing in the impossible. But how can you believe in the impossible when everything and everybody is telling you not to? 

Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes

A powerful coming-of-age story about two brothers - one who presents as white, the other as Black - and the ways they are forced to navigate a world that doesn't treat them equally. Donte wishes he were invisible. As one of the few black boys at his school, he feels as if he is constantly swimming in whiteness. Most of the students don't look like him. They don't like him either. Dubbed the 'Black Brother', Donte's teachers and classmates make it clear they wish he were more like his lighter skinned brother, Trey. When an incident with a white student leads to Donte's arrest and suspension, he's sure the only way to get even is to beat the student at the school's most valued game: fencing. With the help of a former Olympic fencer, Donte embarks on a journey to carve out a spot on the school's fencing team and to find a way to make people at school see past the colour of his skin to who he really is. 

 For ages 8-12 years. 

The Ethan I Was Before by Ali Standish 

Ethan had been many things. He was always ready for adventure and always willing to accept a dare, especially from his best friend, Kacey. But that was before. Before the accident that took Kacey from him. Before his family moved from Boston to the small town of Palm Knot, Georgia. 

Palm Knot may be tiny, but it's the home of possibility and second chances. It's also home to Coralee, a girl with a big personality and even bigger stories. Coralee may be just the friend Ethan needs, except Ethan isn't the only one with secrets. Coralee's are catching up with her, and what she's hiding might be putting both their lives at risk. 


For the older ones: 

Cemetery Boys series by Aiden Thomas

Cemetery Boys

Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can't get rid of him. 

When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free. 

However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school's resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He's determined to find out what happened and tie up some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave. 

The Cost of Knowing by Brittney Morris

Sixteen year old Alex Rufus lives with his younger brother, Isaiah, in a quiet neighbourhood in Chicago. But recently their neighbours have started calling the cops on anyone who doesn't look like their version of safe. Alex starts avoiding his neighbourhood by taking on more shifts at the local ice-cream shop, Scoops, and spending time with his girlfriend, Talia. But when Alex picks up an old family photo, everything changes: he has an intense vision that Isaiah might die. Alex wants to save Isaiah, but he knows the dangers of the future. How will he protect his brother when the street they grew up on doesn't feel like home anymore? 

Special Forces Cadet series by Chris Ryan

Siege

Tough enough? Smart enough? Max will require all his skills just to stay alive as a Special Forces Cadet... 

A top-secret government programme needs a crack team of undercover military operators. They must have awesome levels of determination, endurance and fitness. They must be able to think on their feet. The recruits undergo the most rigorous and testing selection process the modern military can devise. And in order to operate in circumstances where adult forces would be compromised, the recruits must be under sixteen. Only a few are tough enough and smart enough to make it . . . And once out in the field, they will require all their skills just to stay alive. Which is what happens when Max Silver, Abby Asher, Lukas Channing and Sami Hakim are sent into an armed siege in an inner-city school. 

As Far as You'll Take Me by Phil Stamper

Seventeen-year-old Marty Pierce leaves small-town Kentucky for London, hoping to explore his sexuality and find work playing oboe, but homesickness, anxiety, and his dwindling savings worsen even as his dreams are coming true.

The Boy from the Mish by Gary Lonesborough

It's a hot summer, and life's going all right for Jackson and his family on the Mish. It's almost Christmas, school's out, and he's hanging with his mates, teasing the visiting tourists, avoiding the racist boys in town. Just like every year, Jackson's Aunty and annoying little cousins visit from the city - but this time a mysterious boy with a troubled past comes with them… As their friendship evolves, Jackson must confront the changing shapes of his relationships with his friends, family and community. And he must face his darkest secret - a secret he thought he'd locked away for good. 

This Boy by Lauren Myracle

Paul Walden is just trying to make sense of life. After all, it's not easy being a teenage boy. He worries about things like death and if he's looking sharp enough, and he spends way too much time thinking about girls. As Paul navigates high school friendships, his parents' divorce, first love and first loss, he has to confront some of life's biggest questions, and learn what really matters most. 

Tribal Lores by Archimede Fusillo

Frankie Rescio is struggling with the death of his sister. Next door, Lochie Marsh is about to have his world invaded by his estranged, pregnant half-sister and her layabout boyfriend. Despite tensions simmering just below the surface for both boys and their families, they form a bond that connects their different worlds. Until tribal lores threaten to bring everything crashing down. 

A moving and explosive tale about what happens when tradition and the need to belong collide. Frankie Rescio is struggling with the death of his sister. Next door, Lochie Marsh is about to have his world invaded by his estranged, pregnant half-sister and her layabout boyfriend. Despite tensions simmering just below the surface for both boys and their families, they form a bond that connects their different worlds. Until tribal lores threaten to bring everything crashing down. 

Ages: 14+. 

The Ledge by Lesley Choyce

Nick was used to being good at everything. Hockey, football, track, they all came easy to him. Surfing was his latest passion. That is, until the accident. Now partially paralyzed, Nick is angry, depressed and getting far too fond of his prescription meds. But his frequent visits to his physiotherapist, a Syrian refugee, and a budding friendship with a partial amputee who has also experienced firsthand the horrors of war help him start to piece his life back together. A story about overcoming the odds and changing your life for the better. 

The Gravity of Us series by Phil Stamper

The Gravity of Us

When his volatile father is picked to become an astronaut for NASA's mission to Mars, seventeen-year-old Cal, an aspiring journalist, reluctantly moves from Brooklyn to Houston, Texas, and looks for a story to report, finding an ally (and crush) in Jeremy, the son of another astronaut. 

Adolescent. 

This is How We Change the Ending by Vicki Wakefield (trigger warnings in this, I would recommend 15 years and up)  

Sixteen-year-old Nate McKee is doing his best to be invisible. He's worried about a lot of things - how his dad treats Nance and his twin half-brothers; the hydro crop in his bedroom; his reckless friend, Merrick. Nate hangs out at the local youth centre and fills his notebooks with things he can't say. But when some of his pages are stolen, and his words are graffitied at the centre, Nate realises he has allies. He might be able to make a difference, change his life, and claim his future. Or can he? 

Floored by Sara Barnard, Holly Bourne, Tanya Byrne, Non Pratt, Melinda Salisbury, Lisa Williamson, Eleanor Wood

When they got in the lift, they were strangers (though didn't that guy used to be on TV?): Sasha, who is desperately trying to deliver a parcel; Hugo, who knows he's the best-looking guy in the lift and is eyeing up Velvet, who knows what that look means when you hear her name and it doesn't match the way she looks, or the way she talks; Dawson, who was on TV, but isn't as good-looking as he was a few years ago and is desperately hoping no one recognizes him; Kaitlyn, who's losing her sight but won't admit it, and who used to have a poster of Dawson on her bedroom wall, and Joe, who shouldn't be here at all, but who wants to be here the most. 

And one more person, who will bring them together again on the same day every year. 

Comment
Like
Tip icon image You can also reply to this email to leave a comment.

Unsubscribe to no longer receive posts from Bayside Library.
Change your email settings at manage subscriptions.

Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser:
https://baysidelibrarynews.wordpress.com/2022/09/08/books-for-tweens-and-teens-contemporary-social-issues-part-i/

Powered by WordPress.com
Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play
at September 07, 2022
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

No comments:

Post a Comment

Newer Post Older Post Home
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

The Consecrated Eminence: Reflections on the Objects Collection

...

  • PLDT Home honors mothers on their special day with a heartwarming video titled Backstage Moms
    Motherhood is definitely one of the hardest endeavors a woman can take in her li...
  • [New post] Mackintosh — Beyond the Swelkie (2021)
    peterson10 posted: "Mackintosh, Jim, and Paul S. Philippou, eds. Beyond the Swelkie: A Collection of Poems and Writings Cel...
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4HzWQvkVWY&list=PL3yuCT4HAt-cxd8mbfqU-9oN6bsd4YOzmhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4HzWQvkVWY&list=PL3yuCT4HAt-cxd8mbfqU-9oN6bsd4YOzm
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4HzWQvkVWY&list=PL3yuCT4HAt-cxd8mbfqU-9oN6b...

Search This Blog

  • Home

About Me

BookStudyDigest
View my complete profile

Report Abuse

Blog Archive

  • April 2025 (1)
  • September 2024 (859)
  • August 2024 (946)
  • July 2024 (879)
  • June 2024 (843)
  • May 2024 (875)
  • April 2024 (1018)
  • March 2024 (1239)
  • February 2024 (1135)
  • January 2024 (934)
  • December 2023 (923)
  • November 2023 (818)
  • October 2023 (743)
  • September 2023 (712)
  • August 2023 (722)
  • July 2023 (629)
  • June 2023 (566)
  • May 2023 (584)
  • April 2023 (629)
  • March 2023 (551)
  • February 2023 (399)
  • January 2023 (514)
  • December 2022 (511)
  • November 2022 (455)
  • October 2022 (530)
  • September 2022 (418)
  • August 2022 (412)
  • July 2022 (452)
  • June 2022 (467)
  • May 2022 (462)
  • April 2022 (516)
  • March 2022 (459)
  • February 2022 (341)
  • January 2022 (385)
  • December 2021 (596)
  • November 2021 (1210)
Powered by Blogger.