NNELS Upgrade

An American Library Association Youth Media Award Stonewall Honor Book Ray Liu knows he should be happy. He lives in a big suburban house with all the latest electronic gadgets, and even finds plenty of time to indulge in his love of gaming. He needs the escape. It’s tough getting grades that will please his army veteran father, when speaking English is still a struggle. And he can’t quite connect with his peers at high school -- Chinese immigrants like himself but who seem to have adjusted to North American life more easily.

When Natalie moves to a new high school she befriends 3 unwitting victims into her spider-web of manipulations, lies and deceit. Through the poetry and assignments of an English class we glimpse the world of the 4 teens.

<p>Longlisted for the ReLit Award</p> <p>Editor's Pick, <i>Vancouver Sun</i></p> <p><i>Dirtbags</i> is a novel about reckoning?with one?s past, one?s choices, and one?s expectations for the future.

Immediately upon her arrival in London to train as a spy, sixteen-year-old Nicki Haddon is assigned to help the British Secret Service infiltrate a drug cartel that is smuggling large amounts of heroin into the country. Placing herself in the midst of a tough East End street gang, she uncovers a plot to create a super-potent opiate and also discovers a royal connection – one that goes back to Queen Victoria herself. Nicki puts her life at risk as she goes after the kingpin of the cartel.

Rachel, a young Jewish woman from a small town in Russia, has made an incredible journey. Forced to leave her homeland because of the anti-Semitic violence that killed her father, she made her way across land and sea to find refuge in Shanghai, China where she not only survived but managed to establish herself as a newspaper writer ? no easy task for a woman at the turn of the 20th century. Now eighteen, Rachel remains separated from her sweetheart, Sergei, but she has finally realized her dream of coming to America.

When fifteen-year-old Elizabeth finds an antique doll in a garage sale, she thinks it would be a good gift for her dad who's about to ship out for Afghanistan. She doesn?t realize that the doll might be a missing (and very valuable) historical artifact. With the help of Evan, the cute guy who works at the local used bookstore, Elizabeth discovers that the doll is THE soldier doll: the inspiration for a famous World War I poem.

How do you say good-bye to your baby after you’ve just said hello to first love? Francis is a shy 15-year-old when he meets edgy, confident 16-year-old Sawyer at a party. Sparks fly… and Sawyer gets pregnant. They hardly know each other, but now must deal with both their relationship and the reality of a baby. Francis has a lot of growing up to do, and now it seems like he is being forced to do it all at once. When his life collides with Sawyer’s, Francis is forced to confront his own stereotypes about loss, sexuality, and family.

Danah's eating disorder has a personality – it's a demon she calls Ed, the voice in her head that undermines her self-esteem and her perception of the world. How can she explain that even when she tries to develop healthier eating habits, there is a demon wriggling inside her mind, determining her every step? The eighteen-year-old author of this novel for teens brings her own journal entries to life, revealing the mental anguish of a teen suffering with anorexia and the terrifying grip the disorder holds on her.

Caliban, born to a great sorceress, grew up on an island. Having escaped to live amongst kingdoms and courtiers, he now finds himself returning with his young charge Chiara, a girl who has a power within her that no one suspected. This magical adventure takes over where Shakespeare's The Tempest left off, picking up the tale of politics, thwarted love, and the struggle for power between humans and the magical world.

The year Louisiana – Easy for short – meets Janis Joplin is the year everything changes. Easy is a car mechanic in her dad’s shop, but she can sing the blues like someone twice her age. So when she hears that Janis Joplin is passing through her small town of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Easy is there with her heart - and her voice - in hand. It’s 1970 and Janis Joplin is an electrifying blues-rock singer at the height of her fame – and of her addictions. Yet she recognizes Easy’s talent and asks her to meet her in Texas to sing. So Easy begins an unusual journey that will change everything.