bildungsromans

Isaiah "Ice" Abernathy is excited to spend as much time with his brother, Seth, as he can before Seth goes to college. When Seth announces he is leaving earlier than expected, and misses an important event, Ice gets in a major fight with him. Afterwords, he is filled with regret and plans to apologize. Except he can not, as Seth gets into a major accident he may never recover from. Racked by fear and guilt, Ice chooses to step up and help Seth recover the only way he can--by trusting their bond as brothers.

"Seventeen-year-old aspiring journalist Darren Purchase has been a lifelong fan of country music legend Decklee Cassel, who's as famous for her classic hits as she is for her partnership with songwriter Mickenlee Hooper. The same Mickenlee who mysteriously backed out of the limelight at the height of their careers, never to be heard from again. Now Decklee's televised funeral marks the unveiling of her long-awaited time capsule. But when it's revealed to be empty, a trail of scavenger-hunt clues unfolds, leading to a whopping cash prize for whoever finds the real capsule. Darren knows there's a story there--and she's going to be the one to break it. Even if it means a spontaneous road trip with her coworker Kendall. Flashback to 1963, when a young runaway Decklee has her sights set on fame and glory. As she claws her way to the top over the years that follow, it's Mickenlee's lyrics that help rocket her to stardom. But as their relationship evolves beyond the professional, it threatens everything Decklee has worked for. What else will she sacrifice to hold on to her dreams?"--Provided by publisher.

"An impoverished fifteen-year-old linebacker grapples with ideas about strength and masculinity after the dope-dealing father he idolized goes missing"--Provided by publisher.

"Fifteen-year-old Layla Freeman likes to pretend her life is fine. After all, her mother is about to celebrate thirty days sober, and yeah, they've moved into a homeless shelter, but it's only temporary, right? Her mom will get better, and in the meantime, it's important that no one at school finds out where she's been living for the past month. Layla has worked hard to build her reputation as a girl who doesn't care what others think of her, but the truth is she does care--deeply--and she's tripping over her own lies, especially to her best friend, as she tries to pretend nothing's wrong. With their time at the shelter running out, Layla hatches a plan to get help from her rich aunt and uncle, despite the long-standing feud between their families. When the plan backfires and her mom ends up in the hospital after an overdose, the silver lining is that she's sent to fancy rehab--paid for by Uncle Scott and Aunt Tanya. Layla gets to move into her aunt and uncle's mansion while her mom is gone and begins building a tentative friendship with her snobby cousin--even as her relationship with her best friend deteriorates"--Back cover.

"After having her heart broken, seventeen-year-old Nora Nichols decides to escape her hometown and take a summer job as an arts and crafts counselor at an all-girls' camp in the mountains of West Virginia. There, she meets girls and women from all walks of life with their own heartaches and triumphs. But when a letter from home comes bearing unexpected news, Nora finds inner strength in her devastation with the healing power of female friendship. [This book is] presented as Nora's camp journal, including Nora's sketches of camp life, scraps of letters, and spare poems"--Provided by publisher.

When a microaggression at her wealthy Manhattan high school thrusts her into the spotlight, Alejandra Kim, a daughter of second-generation Korean Argentines who feels like an outcast, must carve out a place for herself while dealing with the loss of her father.

An adolescent boy, knowing he is about to be dropped by his school, spends three days and nights in New York City.

Belly spends the summer she turns sixteen at the beach just like every other summer of her life, but this time things are very different as she finds herself falling for a boy she has known since childhood.

"Yoyo Gold has always played the role of the perfect Jewish daughter. She keeps kosher, looks after her siblings, and volunteers at the local food bank. She respects the decisions of her rabbi father and encourages her friends to observe the rules of their Orthodox faith. But when she sees her best friend cast out of the community over a seemingly innocent transgression, Yoyo's eyes are opened to the truth of her neighbors' hypocrisies for the first time. And what she sees leaves her shocked and unmoored. As Yoyo's frustration builds, so does the pressure to speak out, even if she can only do so anonymously on TikTok, an app that's always been forbidden to her. But when one of her videos goes viral--and her decisions wind up impacting not only her own life but also her relationship with the boy she's falling for--Yoyo's world is thrown into chaos. She is forced to choose which path to take, for her community, for her family, and most importantly, for herself"--Provided by publisher.

"[Shiloh and Cary] were best friends. Allies. They spent entire summers sitting on Shiloh's porch steps, dreaming about the future. They were both going to get out of north Omaha--Shiloh would go to college and become an actress, and Cary would join the Navy. They promised each other that their friendship would never change. Well, Shiloh did go to college, and Cary did join the Navy. And yet, somehow, everything changed. Now Shiloh's thirty-three, and it's been fourteen years since she talked to Cary. She's been married and divorced. She has two kids. And she's back living in the same house she grew up in. . . . When she's invited to an old friend's wedding, all Shiloh can think about is whether Cary will be there--and whether she hopes he will be. Would Cary even want to talk to her? After everything? The answer is yes. And yes. And yes. 'Slow Dance' is the story of two kids who fell in love before they knew enough about love to recognize it. Two friends who lost everything. Two adults who just feel lost. It's the story of Shiloh and Cary, who everyone thought would end up together, trying to find their way back to the start"--Provided by publisher.