National Network for Equitable Library Service

New Hope Academy, or, as seventeen-year-old Jane Learning likes to call it, No Hope, is a Baptist reform school where Jane is currently being held captive. Of course, smart, sarcastic Jane has no interest in reforming, failing to see any benefit to pretending to play well with others. But then Hannah shows up, a gorgeous bad girl with fiery hair and an even stormier disposition. She shows Jane how to live a full and fulfilling life even when the world tells you you're wrong, and how to believe in a future outside the "prison" walls.

At fifteen, Ethan is on the fast track to nowhere. In and out of group homes and constantly in trouble, he is fighting to find a sense of who he is. After breaking into an amusement park and being savaged by a police dog, Ethan is befriended by a paramedic. Offered a choice of court or going on a ride-along in an ambulance, Ethan takes what he thinks is the easy way out. On Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Ethan comes face-to-face with the horrific truth from his past and must learn to deal with where he came from, and where he is going.

Kia is sixteen and pregnant. Her world crumbles as she attempts to come to terms with the life growing inside her and what she must do. Initially convinced that abortion is her only option, Kia comes to understand that for her, the answers are not always black and white. As the pregnancy progresses, Kia discovers who her real friends are and where their loyalties lie. It is through her relationship with the elderly Grace that she learns what it means to take responsibility for one's life and the joy that can come from trusting oneself.

Sixteen-year-old Ani lives in the tiny Quebec town of Ste-Anne-de-Beaupre, where her family runs Saintly Souvenirs, a tourist shop catering to the many pilgrims who come to the town seeking a miracle. The bane of Ani’s existence is her hyperactive, over-sexed younger sister, Colette. Ani and her mother, Therese, are devout Catholics; Colette and her father are not. When Therese is paralyzed after a freak accident, Ani’s faith is tested, but when she is confronted with something shocking in her mother’s past, she has to rethink her whole existence.

Luaine is daughter to the greatest of Irish warriors, the legendary Cuchulainn. Although known throughout Ireland as the most fearsome of killers, to Luaine he is a loving playful father who amuses her with his exciting tales and marvelous feats. When the unthinkable happens -- Cuchulainn returns from war injured nearly to the death -- it is the first intimation of the hero's downfall, and Luaine's first painful step toward an adult life unlike anything she has imagined.

Faye is the "good" adopted Chinese daughter. Bev is the wild child. Mannie is the unambitious stoner. What brings them together--and tears them apart--is a need to move beyond the clichés and commit to something--anything--that will bring meaning and joy to their lives. When Faye's long-lost childhood neighbor, Bev, turns up out of the blue, wanting something from her old friend, Faye goes along with Bev's plan. But Mannie, the joyriding daddy of Bev's baby, has a half-crazed romantic agenda of his own.

Kelly Paddik is locked up. Sent to a secure facility because she is a “danger to herself,” all Kelly wants is to escape. But she has been running from everybody since her father abused her and her mother stood by and let it happen. It is only when she meets Chris that she begins to realize she is running from herself, and that if she wants control over her own life, she will first have to gain some self-respect.

Winner, 2015 Archambault Prize The year is 1996, and small-town life for 14-year-old Catherine is made up of punk rock, skaters, shoplifting, drugs, and the ghost of Kurt Cobain. Her parents are too busy divorcing to pay her headful of unspent angst much attention. But after she tries a PCP variant called mesc for the first time, her budding rebellion begins to spiral out of control.

L’anniversaire conjoint de leurs seize ans approchant, les demi-soeurs Isabelle Scott et Mirabelle Monroe sont prêtes à s’émanciper, peu importe qu’elles soient les filles d’un personnage public important. Ainsi, quand Zoe, la tante qu’Izzie n’a pas connue, débarque en ville à l’improviste, survient peut-être le changement dont a besoin la famille Monroe — ou non, selon la personne interrogée. Heureuse avec son mignon petit ami surfeur et un groupe de très bonnes amies, Izzie ne ressent pas l’intérêt de faire la connaissance d’un autre membre inconnu de sa famille.

Préface de Jean-Luc Brassard May O’Leary, fille d’un millionnaire de Vancouver, Patrick Murphy de la Baie James et Simon Latour un écorché vif de Montréal sont trois adolescents décrochés de la famille, de l’école et de la société. Ils plongent malgré eux dans la petite misère et la délinquance de la rue. Leur rencontre avec Benoît Craig, à la suite d’un cambriolage, va les mettre sur la piste du raccrochage qu’ils vont parcourir au milieu de défis à haut risque et à travers une tragédie en montagne où l’effort et la détermination leur apporteront un idéal de vie.