Desperate Freedom by Melinda Cochrane
Summary: Life in Grey Bay, Newfoundland is harsh and unyielding, but Rachel is determined to save up her money, get a scholarship and go away to school to become a teacher. Rachel and her friends Rick, Johnny and Patty all have different reasons to feel the future is bleak, but Rachel’s friends try to hide their hopelessness in drugs and sex. When Johnny, the leader of their group, suggests a suicide pact and Rachel’s careful plans for her future unravel, Rachel desperately looks for hope and a way to save all of her friends from the pact. Number of Pages: 82 Age Range: 16-18...
Read MoreGood for Nothing by Michel Noel
Summary: Fifteen year-old Nipishish comes home to life on the reserve from residential school with a lot of anger. Unsure of his place and his future, he is directed by the Canadian government to attend high school in another town and live with a foster family, but while the abuse has ended, Nipishish continually comes up against blatant racism. Caught between the world of the white man and the world of the Natives as a Métis, Nipishish has to work twice as hard to figure out who he is and how he fits in. A mystery involving his father’s death helps him clarify his own identity, and...
Read MoreSplit by Lori Weber
Summary: Living with her reclusive father after her mother walks out on them both, Sandra is trying to sort out what direction her life should take upon her graduation from high school. Sandra feels abandoned by her mother who left no contact information, but at the same time feels she can hardly blame her for wanting to get away from Sandra’s father and his dark memories of living in Germany before and during World War II. Aided at first by her boyfriend Danny, Sandra begins a search for her mother, finding clues to where she went in unexpected places. Sandra intends to tell her...
Read MoreLily and Taylor by Elise Moser
Summary: Taylor and her nephew Mason move in with Taylor’s grandmother after her sister is killed by her partner Bracken. In an abusive relationship herself, Taylor is anxious about moving away from her boyfriend Devon and how upset he will be over their now limited contact. Taylor makes friends with a girl named Lily at school, and that friendship gives her a glimpse into what it is like to be loved and appreciated. When Devon shows up unexpectedly with a friend to take Taylor out, Lily can sense the danger behind his intentions and insists on going with them. They wind up in an...
Read MoreThe Town That Drowned by Riel Nason
Summary: Ruby Carson is a teenager living in the 1960s with some unique challenges. Her brother, Percy, is highly sensitive, a near-drowning at a skating party gave her a vision that seems to be coming true, and the town she grew up in is about to be under water. Her best friend Sarah has recently moved away, so Ruby is left to deal with everything on her own. Things are further complicated by the fact that the townspeople are angry about having to sell their land to the government, and Ruby finds herself coming of age during a very uncertain time. Number of Pages: 270 Age Range: 16-18...
Read MoreAbout Amy
Amy Mathers has been passionate about reading from a very young age, and hopes others will share her enthusiasm for funding a teen book award. Read more Follow Amy
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