National Network for Equitable Library Service

Behind each tightly locked apartment door at rundown 64 Wilnut Street lie the hidden stories of the inhabitants. There is David, who tries to talk to his father's ghost, and Jennifer, who flirts with men she does not want. Asim, who faces hatred directed against his Muslim family, and Allie, who spends the night on suicide watch over her depressed mother. These intimate stories reveal the troubles and hopes of thirteen teenagers as they struggle to turn obstacles into opportunities and make their way in the larger world.

Kat is alone with a secret she doesn?t want to keep, but can?t risk telling. A victim of longtime sexual abuse at the hands of her family?s trusted friend, Kat is torn between trying to protect herself and safeguarding her little sister, whom she fears might be next. With no one to turn to, Kat keeps a secret journal where she writes the truth about everything that has been going on since she was a little girl. But now the journal is missing, and Kat?s secret is about to unravel.

Faith Emily Hansen just wants to be loved and to live without the weight of addiction. But the relief that she gets from being wrapped up in the cozy little cotton ball of heroin is impossible to ignore. Faith’s story starts in her earliest days, before drugs, before her family falls apart. She eventually becomes consumed by the need to “chase the dragon," the heroin addiction that seems to keep the Darkness at bay, but leads her to live on the street.

Peggy is starting to outgrow Notherland, the imaginary world she created as a child, and wants to cut her ties - not knowing it will destroy Notherland completely.

It is the end of the First World War, and thirteen-year-old Meredith yearns to become a teacher. But she must leave school to help support her family, moving to the city to work as a maid in a wealthy doctor's home. As the deadly Spanish Flu sweeps across the city, members of the household fall ill one by one. With the doctor working night and day at the hospital, only Meredith and the doctor's children, Maggie and Jack, are left to care for them. Every day the newspapers’ lists of “Yesterday’s Dead” add to Meredith’s growing fears.

This hilarious sequel to Jeremy and the Aunties will entertain readers as they follow the antics of the aunties -- weird and wonderful old lady mannequins who come to life and take over the air waves of the local television station.

The fifth book in a highly successful series, The Butterfly Effect takes detective Helen Keremos to Japan. There she becomes involved in a complex series of crimes that have ramifications from the Far East to Europe and North America.

A quirky collection of stories about teens in lust and in love. From the first stirrings of same-sex desire to paternity questions around a teen pregnancy, 101 Ways to Dance reflects the spectrum of teen sexuality from the sweet to the scary.

Meryl's mother was a great bard—a storyteller and musician who sang of life and the world around her. Meet Meryl, already an orphan, who wants to follow in her mother's footsteps. Highly spirited and curious, she has broken a sacred rule and has been suspended from her studies. Undaunted, Meryl decides to achieve her goal in a different way—she undertakes a special quest in search of the mythical Avalon. Her great adventure leads her to find her own true voice through music and song.

For ages 8+. The heroine, Gabi, recounts how as a young Jewish girl she lived on a family farm in Eastern Europe during the Second World War. She describes her community before the Nazi occupation and the events that unfolded afterwards. When the Nazis conducted house searches for Jewish children, Gabi successfully hid in the dining-room dresser. The only thing retrieved from the home after the war was the dresser that saved Gabi's life. It now sits in author Kathy Kacer's home in Toronto. Kacer is Gabi's daughter, and has based the story on her mother's experiences.