Showing results by publisher "Recorded Books" in Coming of Age

In the mid-21st century, dogs are all but extinct. An experiment gone awry caused every canine on Earth to become hyperintelligent. When as a species they stopped wagging their tails, hysteria ensued - followed by a program of mass euthanasia. Now the only surviving dogs are relegated to a sanctuary off the coast of Florida: Dog Island. There, they are studied in a wild, feral, and protected state. And there, too, their robot replacements are tested before being sold for mass consumption. Seventeen-year-old Nano Miller was born and bred on Dog Island, as were her two best friends, Jack and Wolf.

The Tech sisters don't date in high school. Not because they're not asked. Not because they're not interested. Not even because no one can pronounce their long, Thai last name - hence the shortened, awkward moniker. But simply because they're not allowed. Until now. In a move that other Asian American girls know all too well, six months after the older Tech twins got to college, their parents asked, Why aren't you engaged yet? The sisters retaliated, vowing that they wont marry for 10 (maybe 20!) years, not until they've had all the dating practice that they didn't get in high school.

A JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD SELECTION "A second-chance love story that glows with real passion and warmth. I loved this book with all my heart."—Becky Albertalli, New York Times–bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda For fans of Lynn Painter, Tillie Cole, Laura Nowlin, and Gossip...

Alix Leclaire has a plan: graduate high school and land her dream job as a feather artist at Mille et une Plume, where her creations will help define high fashion. Her best friend Jeanne will get a record contract and they’ll take over the Paris art scene together. But then Jeanne dies. Alix is lost, until the day she feels Jeanne pushing her to the feather boutique.

Pedro and Daniel are Mexican American brothers growing up in 1970s Ohio. Their mom doesn’t like that Pedro is a spitting image of their darker-skinned father, that Daniel plays with dolls, that neither boy loves sports like the other kids in their neighborhood. Life at home can be rough—but the boys have an unshakable bond that will last their entire lives.

Seventeen-year-old Fatima Tate, aspiring baker (100% against her conservative parents’ wishes), leads a pretty normal life in Albuquerque: long drives with BFF Zaynab, weekly services at the mosque, big family parties, soup kitchen volunteering (the best way to perfect her flaky dough recipe!), stressing about college. But everything changes when she meets a charming university student named Raheem. Knowing the 'rents would FREAK, Fatima keeps their burgeoning relationship a secret... and then, one day, her parents and his parents decide to arrange their marriage.

Three strangers who also happen to be cousins: Matt. Evangelical Christian. Earnest. Film nerd. Carrying a dream to make movies—despite the future his father has planned for him. Ethan. Jewish. Gay. Sci-fi nerd. Carrying a phone that contains his entire relationship with Levi—unless they finally get to meet IRL on this trip. Oscar. Stoner. Smartass. Too cool to be a nerd. Carrying a letter that haunts him—no matter how hard he tries to escape it.

16-year-old Raquel lives in a small town in Portugal, the kind of place where everyone knows everyone else’s business. Her parents are divorced and she’s just been suspended for cursing out a school aide asking about her father’s new marriage. She has two best friends, Luísa and Fred, but wants something more. Then, from afar, she sees Pardalita, a senior and a gifted artist who’s moving to Lisbon to study in the fall. The two girls get to know each other while working on a play. And Raquel falls in love.

Sixteen-year-old Arden Grey is struggling. Her mother has left their family, her father and her younger brother won't talk about it, and a classmate, Tanner, keeps harassing her about her sexuality—which isn't even public. (She knows she likes girls romantically, but she thinks she might be asexual.) At least she's got her love of film photography and her best and only friend, Jamie, to help her cope. Then Jamie, who is trans, starts dating Caroline, and suddenly he isn't so reliable. Arden's insecurity about their friendship grows. 

When Mari jumps in the back of her rideshare to a music festival, the last thing she expects is for the car to pick up a cute guy along the way. Mari doesn’t believe in dating - it can only end with a broken heart. Besides, she’s only staying at her dad’s house in Chicago for the weekend. How close can you get to a guy in three days? T.J. wants to study art in college, but his family’s expectations cast a long shadow over his dreams. When he meets Mari in the back of a rideshare, he feels alive for the first time in a long time.  

On one terrible night, 17-year-old Harley Langston's life changes forever. At a party, she discovers her younger sister, Audrey, hooking up with her boyfriend, Mike - and she abandons them both in a rage. When Mike drunkenly attempts to drive Audrey home, he crashes, and Audrey ends up in a coma. Now, Harley is left with guilt, grief, pain, and the undeniable truth that her ex-boyfriend (who is relatively unscathed) has a drinking problem. 

Baby is a teenager in trouble, and her last chance is a foster home with a husband and wife whose idea of fun is dogsledding. Still, it beats going to the juvenile detention center. Baby comes to love the dogs and takes naturally to sledding, but when her old boyfriend, Bobby, shows up, she can't stop herself from running off with him. Life with Bobby goes bad, and Baby has to make some hard decisions.

For Jason, entering the seventh grade is like walking into a dangerous new world. Now that he’s in junior high school, he’s a small fish in a big pond stocked full of ninth-graders. It’s so scary that he won’t even go to the bathroom if there’s a ninth-grader in there - no matter how badly he has to go! But it isn’t all bad. He’s working on a model space station in shop class, and he’s beginning to notice things he never paid attention to before, like body hair - and girls. Especially one girl: The beautiful, hair-flicking cheerleader Debbie Breen.

Growing up Mexican-American in Fresno, California in the 1950’s and 60’s might not have been easy, but it was certainly never boring for young Gary Soto, his brother Rick and sister Debra. As this compilation of 21 short stories and articles illustrates, there is no limit to the amount of fun a child can have, or how much he can terrorize siblings and neighbors if his imagination is active.

They call him the Weirdo. No one knows much about the 17-year-old bear tracker with the horribly scarred face - except that he lives in the eerie swamp where Samantha Sanders found a dead body. But one night Samantha wanders into the dark swamp and meets the Weirdo. She listens to his shocking story, looks into his gentle soul, and becomes his friend. And when she stumbles across another body, Samantha knows that the Weirdo is the only one who can help her.

Wild Canada geese. That’s what 16-year-old Lucy Spencer and her family call the runaway slaves who ocassionally hide in their Ohio home. But when Lucy becomes involved in a daring rescue attempt, she learns the ultimate meaning of sacrifice. Popular young adult novelist and author of The Family Tree , Katherine Ayres takes readers back in time for an adventure of great courage and compassion.

Seventeen-year-old Del is in a hurry to leave Los Angeles. But on the day of her escape, she's stopped short - by a day-long traffic jam. Eight years later, it's opening night of her one woman show about a day spent in gridlock. Could the show reveal that a day wasted in traffic is anything but?

High-school senior Patrick Sheridan has the job of his dreams. He’s left his small Texas town for Los Angeles, where he’s a television reporter on Classroom Direct. As his face is beamed into schools across the country, Patrick becomes a celebrity. The pay is great, his wardrobe is lavish, and soon Patrick’s mailbox overflows with fan mail.

In this authentic, humorous debut novel about privacy, waking up, and speaking up, Senator Anthony Ruiz is running for president. Throughout his successful political career he has always had his daughter's vote, but a presidential campaign brings a whole new level of scrutiny to sheltered 15-year-old Mariana and the rest of her Cuban American family, from a 60 Minutes-style tour of their house to tabloids doctoring photos and inventing scandals. As tensions rise within the Ruiz family, Mari begins to learn about the details of her father's political positions.

Lazarus "Laz" Weathers has always been shy, and his issue with stuttering when he speaks hasn't helped. Stuck in a Seattle trailer park, Laz finds baseball helps him escape from the world of poverty and drugs. When he gets an opportunity to pitch for the rich kids across town, he has a chance to get drafted by the major leagues. But playing for the other team means leaving behind his family, including Antonio, Laz's younger brother, who more and more, seems to be drawn to the dark world of the Jet City's drug ring.