National Network for Equitable Library Service

A powerfully emotional story of four people touched by a teen's death, award-winning author Gurjinder Basran's Help! I'm Alive is a clear-eyed exploration of meaningful connection in the modern era After video footage of Jay's death is shared on social media, a suburban Vancouver community is left to try to make sense of what happened to Jay and whether his death was an accident or a suicide. Help! I'm Alive explores the aftermath through the eyes of four people all suddenly confronted with who they have been and how they should be in the wake of such loss.

'It is the voice of the characters, the kindness of strangers, and the ingenuity and determination of our protagonist against terrible forces that make this story sing.' — San Francisco Chronicle on Tucker's debut, The Clay Girl From the author of the Indie Next List pick The Clay Girl comes a deeply moving novel about the resilience of a remarkable young woman unraveling the mystery of a missing friend while struggling to grow past the trauma of her calamitous upbringing.

An assault survivor realizes she can rewind time and relives the experience in order to erase it. A teen athlete wonders why she isn't more afraid of death when the plane carrying her team catches fire. The daughter of a superhero ruminates on how her father neglected his children to pursue his heroics. Two shut-in depressives form a bond on Twitter while a deadly virus wipes out most of the population of North America. The stories in Erase and Rewind probe the complexities of living as a woman in a skewed society.

Set in Calgary in 1982, during the recession that arrived on the heels of Canada's National Energy Program, The Western Alienation Merit Badge follows the Murray family as they struggle with grief and find themselves on the brink of financial ruin. After the death of her stepmother, Frances 'Frankie' Murray returns to Calgary to help her father, Jimmy, and her sister, Bernadette, pay the mortgage on the family home. When Robyn, a long-lost friend, becomes their house guest old tensions are reignited and Jimmy, Bernadette and Frances find themselves increasingly alienated from one another.

Not every story has a happy ending.Since her brother's death, eight-year-old Egg Murakami has been living day-to-day on the family ostrich farm near Bittercreek, discovering life to be an ever-perplexing condition. Mama Murakami has curled up inside a bottle, and Papa has exiled himself to the barn with the birds. Big sister Kathy tells stories to Egg so that the world might not seem so awful.The Murakami family is not happy. But in the hands of Tamai Kobayashi, their story becomes a drama of rare insight and virtuosity.

In Rosario, Argentina, Camila Hassan leads a double life. At home, she is a careful daughter, living within her mother's narrow expectations, in the shadow of her soccer-star brother, and under the abusive rule of her short-tempered father. On the field, she is La Furia, a powerhouse of skill and talent. When her team qualifies for the South American tournament, Camila gets the chance to see just how far those talents can take her. But the path ahead isn't easy. Her parents would never allow a girl to play fútbol, and she needs their permission to go any farther.

A twelve-year-old boy struggles with the worst kind of fame?as the sole survivor of a notorious plane crash?in a heart-wrenching and life-affirming novel for readers of Small Great Things, Little Fires Everywhere, and The Immortalists . What does it mean not just to survive, but to truly live? One summer morning, twelve-year-old Edward Adler, his beloved older brother, his parents, and 183 other passengers board a flight in Newark headed for Los Angeles.

Eighth grader Drew Ellis is no stranger to the saying 'You have to work twice as hard to be just as good.' His grandmother has reminded him his entire life. But what if he works ten times as hard and still isn't afforded the same opportunities that his privileged classmates at the Riverdale Academy Day School take for granted? To make matters worse, Drew begins to feel as if his good friend Liam might be one of those privileged kids.

Checkout 19 follows a young woman who finds herself in love, in conflict with life and death, and in a life made of books, where the act of turning the page is a way of carrying on living. Fearlessly inventive in its form, merging linguistic ingenuity and a searing emotional depth, this book explores class, the notion of freedom, adolescence, transcendence, sexual politics and artistic synthesis. Bennett's singular prose ensnares the reader from the off and surprises them at every turn.

From the author of Meet Cute Diary comes a delectable rom-com that's brimming with zest and a sprinkle of sweetness. A must-read for fans of Casey McQuiston and Julian Winters.Theo Mori and Gabriel Moreno have always been at odds. Their parents own rival businesses--an Asian American café and a Puerto Rican bakery--and Gabi's lack of coordination has cost their soccer team too many games to count.Stuck in the closet and scared to pursue his own dreams, Gabi sees his parents' shop as his future.