12/31/2021 0 Comments Stories About Teen pregnancyPregnancy can be hard for anybody, but experiencing it as a teenager can have its own set of unique challenges. The characters in these novels each handle pregnancy in their own way, leaning on the support of family, friends, and sometimes strangers, along the way. High school senior Emoni Santiago had to grow up early after becoming a mother her freshman year. Caring for her daughter Emma, who she affectionately calls Babygirl, while juggling school and helping her abuela with the bills has her plate full. Where she finds solace is in the kitchen cooking with her “magic hands.” Her cooking talents not only brings her joy, but also has a strong effect on all who indulge in her food. But with her financial struggles and responsibilities, she doubts whether she could pursue a culinary career. That is, until she takes the new culinary class at school. Through this class she gains an understanding about combining technique with talent and a culinary experience in Spain. In the midst of it all, she begins to develop a love interest in the new student Malachi, the first since her relationship with Babygirl’s father. With recipes separating parts, With the Fire on High is beautifully written in prose through Emoni’s voice and continues to show the talents of bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo. Seventeen-year-old Maverick Carter has everything under control. As the son of a former gang legend, Mav is able to maintain money through the King Lords. He helps his mom, who works two jobs while his dad’s in prison, hangs out with his girlfriend and cousin, and still dabbles with his schoolwork. Everything is ok. Until, that is, Maverick finds out he’s a father. He now has a son, Seven, who depends on him. Quickly, his life is completely turned upside down as he tries to sling dope, finish school, and raise a child. Eventually he’s offered the chance to go straight, and that is an offer he just can’t refuse. For his son, and himself, he becomes determined to prove he’s much more than what the world tells him. Unfortunately, it’s not easy when King Lord blood runs through your veins, and the circumstances of his past threaten to tear Mav apart, especially after the brutal murder of a loved one. This book, from bestselling author Angie Thomas, extends on the world from The Hate U Give and allows us into the world of Mav and be witness to his growth. Seventeen-year-old Veronica Clarke is college-bound, with a bright future staring her in the face. But what she finds also staring at her is a piece of plastic with two solid pink lines. She’s pregnant. Now Veronica is considering a decision she never imagined she’d have to make: an abortion. And the closest place to get one is over nine hundred miles away. With not-so-progressive parents, a sometimey boyfriend, and no car, Veronica turns to the only person who won’t judge her: her ex-best friend Bailey Butler, a legendary misfit at Jefferson High. Seems simple enough. That is until three days of stolen cars, crazed ex-boyfriends, aliens, ferret napping, and the betrayal of a broken friendship that can’t be outrun. As they take this trip to help Veronica make this choice, they also discover their choices in choosing friendship.
0 Comments
Dealing with mental health struggles can be overwhelming. These books explore those obstacles and show how important it is to have a strong support system. Below are also some great resources to give you help if you find yourself struggling with your own mental health. Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He’s a Fractional Persian - half, his mom’s side - and his first-ever trip to Iran is about to change his life. Darius has never really fit in at home, and he’s sure things are going to be the same in Iran. His clinical depression doesn’t exactly help matters, and trying to explain his medication to his grandparents only makes things harder. Then Darius meets Sohrab, the boy next door, and everything changes. Soon, they’re spending their days together, playing soccer, eating faludeh, and talking for hours on a secret rooftop overlooking the city’s skyline. Sohrab calls him Darioush - the original Persian version of his name - and Darius has never felt more like himself than he does now that he’s Darioush to Sohrab. Adib Khorram’s brilliant debut is for anyone who’s ever felt not good enough - then met a friend who makes them feel so much better than okay. Charlotte Davis is in pieces. At seventeen she’s already lost more than most people do in a lifetime. But she’s learned how to forget. The broken glass washes away the sorrow until there is nothing but calm. You don’t have to think about your father and the river. Your best friend, who is gone forever. Or your mother, who has nothing left to give you. Every new scar hardens Charlie’s heart just a little more, yet it still hurts so much. It hurts enough to not care anymore, which is sometimes what has to happen before you can find your way back from the edge. A deeply moving portrait of a girl in a world that owes her nothing, and has taken so much, and the journey she undergoes to put herself back together. Kathleen Glasgow's debut is heartbreakingly real and unflinchingly honest. It’s a story you won’t be able to look away from. Biz knows how to float, right there on the surface--normal okay regular fine. She has her friends, her mom, the twins. She has Grace. And she has her dad, who shouldn't be here but is. So Biz doesn't tell anyone anything--not about her dark, runaway thoughts, not about kissing Grace or noticing Jasper, the new boy. And not about seeing her dad. Because her dad died when she was seven. But after what happens on the beach, the tethers that hold Biz steady come undone. Her dad disappears and, with him, all comfort. It might be easier, better, sweeter to float all the way away? Or maybe stay a little longer, find her father, bring him back to her. Or maybe--maybe maybe maybe--there's a third way Biz just can't see yet. Debut author Helena Fox tells a story about love, grief, and inter-generational mental illness, exploring the hard and beautiful places loss can take us, and honoring those who hold us tightly when the current wants to tug us out to sea. 12/15/2021 0 Comments Stories about overcoming addictionWhether dealing with it personally, with a friend, or family member, addiction is hard. Each of these characters carry addiction in their lives differently, but each discover that great healing is the way to truly recover. Blade never asked for a life of the rich and famous. In fact, he’d give anything not to be the son of Rutherford Morrison, a washed-up rock star and drug addict with delusions of a comeback. Or to no longer be part of a family known most for lost potential, failure, and tragedy. The one true light is his girlfriend, Chapel, but her parents have forbidden their relationship, assuming—like many—that Blade will become just like his father. In reality, the only thing Blade has in common with Rutherford is the music that lives inside them. But not even the songs that flow through Blade’s soul are enough when he’s faced with two unimaginable realities: the threat of losing Chapel forever, and the revelation of a long-held family secret, one that leaves him questioning everything he thought was true. All that remains is a letter and a ticket to Ghana—both of which could bring Blade the freedom and love he’s been searching for, or leave him feeling even more adrift. Kristina Snow is the perfect daughter: gifted high school junior, quiet, never any trouble. Then, Kristina meets the monster: crank. And what begins as a wild, ecstatic ride turns into a struggle through hell for her mind, her soul—her life. In Crank, Ellen Hopkins chronicles the turbulent and often disturbing relationship between Kristina, a character based on her own daughter, and the "monster," the highly addictive drug crystal meth, or "crank." Kristina is introduced to the drug while visiting her largely absent and ne'er-do-well father. While under the influence of the monster, Kristina discovers her sexy alter-ego, Bree: "there is no perfect daughter, / no gifted high school junior, / no Kristina Georgia Snow. / There is only Bree." Bree will do all the things good girl Kristina won't, including attracting the attention of dangerous boys who can provide her with a steady flow of crank. Madeline has a drinking problem and anger issues, so she's sent away to Spring Meadows, a rehab center in a row of rehab centers known as Recovery Road. On a weekly movie night in town she meets Stewart, who's dealing with demons of his own. It's an intense time, and the two of them come together intensely.When Madeline gets out of rehab, she tries to get back on her feet, and waits for Stewart to join her. When he does, though, it's not the ideal reunion that Madeline has dreamed of. Both of them still have serious problems. And love seems more like a question than an answer.True and insightful, Recovery Road is a story about finding the right person at the worst possible time. And loving that person anyway. No matter what. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
January 2022
Categories |