National Network for Equitable Library Service

New to town, Brent Bishop longs to stroll around school with the popular Brianna on his arm. But when Brianna begs him at a party full of schoolmates to stop hounding her, Brent's hopes are shattered. Trying to escape his humiliation, he attempts to destroy himself in a car crash and ends up killing Lea, an innocent teen unfortunate enough to cross his path. Lea's mother asks one thing of Brent: that he create four whirligigs from a picture of Lea and set them up at the four corners of the United States.

Rico and his ex-druggie friend head to the country in search of something better than 1960s New York City but discover that picket-fenced apple-pie people can be just as violent and judgmental as those they left behind.

The sequel to Shirlee Smith Matheson’s critically acclaimed Prairie Pictures follows the main character, Sherri, as she is uprooted once again and forced to adjust to life in Calgary and get ready to start at yet another new school. Sherri is thrilled to instantly make a new friend in Sam, the girl next door. A year older than Sherri, Sam is happy to show Sherri how to dress and behave. Eager to fit in, Sherri follows Sam’s lead until she discovers that appearances can be deceiving. Sometimes, it is hard to tell what is genuine from what is phony.

Before her plane even touches down in Newfoundland, Cheryl is already plotting her escape. She knows life on this rock will be no better than it was in the other places she’s been forced to live ever since her parents launched their cross-Canada tour. The unwilling spectator of her father’s morbid fascination with “dying cultures,” Cheryl has seen more than her fair share of towns so depressing they could haunt your dreams. His decision to study the defunct fishing industry in St.

Julia and Ruth have been unlikely best friends since they first met in Sunday school: Ruth was standing on the Bible-crafts table belting out "Jesus Loves Me." Now that they're a year away from graduation, they're putting the finishing touches on their getaway plans. But their dream of a funky big-city loft and rich, interesting older men is threatened when preacher's daughter Ruth goes to a wild party without studious Julia, and all hell breaks loose. Ruth gets pregnant; Julia gets creative.

Dan Hogg is thrilled when his uncle offers him work at a food fair. He wants money to hire a professional trainer to help him with his scrawny physique. Dan’s excitement vanishes when he learns that the job involves dressing up in a hotdog costume. Every dark cloud has its silver lining, he discovers, when he, or rather Frank Lee Better, his mascot persona, gains the admiration of a pretty girl names Brooke. The attention is great until Dan finds himself under attack.

Fifteen-year-old Christine is visiting her eccentric great-aunt in historic Witcombe, where a pickpocket has been victimizing tourists. Aunt Maude owns an antique store and also runs the town’s ghost walk, which gives Christine the opportunity to meet local characters and visitors, including a mysterious young man who seems to know far too much about the crimes. When the pickpocket targets Aunt Maude’s store, Christine is determined to find out who is behind the thefts.

After a lifetime of New Age “adventures” with her weirdo hippie mom, fifteen-year-old Maddie is realizing a lifelong dream and visiting New York City. Armed with her 130-item to-do list, Maddie hits the streets of New York with her friend Anna and Anna’s brother, Thomas. Maddie drags her friends around on an epic quest for the ultimate art-show outfit, oblivious to the fact that they don’t share her passion for vintage clothing. Three days into the trip, the arrival of Maddie’s mother threatens to derail the entire adventure.

Jeremy’s band is hot, really hot. Thunderbowl is on the way up and they have had their first big break, a long-term gig at a local bar. The only problem is that while Jeremy should be doing his homework and keeping up in school, he is spending most of his nights in a rowdy club, trying to keep the band together while his life is falling apart. Trying to balance his dreams of success with the hard realities of the music business, Jeremy is forced to make some tough choices.

After watching a tv program about Otzi, a 5,000-year-old Ice Man, Kit's friend Ike becomes convinced that Kit's destiny is to become the next ice man -- a source of information for future generations. Together they obtain artifacts they think will accurately reflect life in the early twenty-first century and plan their journey to a nearby mountain. Kit gets tattoos similar to Otzi's, writes a manifesto and tries to come to terms with making the ultimate sacrifice.