Expecting


Book Description

Themes: teen pregnancy, single mothers, drug abuse, responsibility Three very different girls. But all of them alone. Isolated. And pregnant. They meet at the county’s education program for expecting teens. No way will they go to their town’s only high school with their growing bellies. Too humiliating. Each girl just hopes to get through the drama. And graduate on time.




FatherSonFather


Book Description

THEMES: Fathers and Sons, Transgender, Prejudice, Death of a Parent. Jeff knew his dad wouldn’t live forever. But he had already lost his mom. It would be too unfair. The 9-1-1 call was shocking. The hospital, impersonal. When his dad improved, he was transferred to a rehabilitation facility. There, a transgender nurse took over his care. Jeff was appalled. But slowly, his admiration for her grew.




The Space Between


Book Description

Themes: Realistic Fiction, Gender Identity, Prejudice, Mixed Martial Arts, Teen, Young Adult, Chapter Book, Hi-Lo, Hi-Lo Books, Hi-Lo Solutions, High-Low Books, Hi-Low Books, ELL, EL, ESL, Struggling Learner, Struggling Reader, Special Education, SPED, Newcomers, Reading, Learning, Education, Educational, Educational Books. What if everything you believed in was a lie? EricÍs old girlfriend moves back to town. Even before he sees her, old feelings stir inside him. Danielle has kept a secret, though. She has never been comfortable in her own skin. Now she identifies as male and goes by Dan. What does it mean to live your truth, and what happens when others are cruelly ignorant? EricÍs honesty and integrity are questioned. Will he let prejudice destroy what was once a deep friendship? Hard-hitting, contemporary young adult fiction is not trendy--it's not dystopia. There are no vampires, no werewolves, no castles. It's real life. It's unflinching. Gravel Road highlights the talent of YA authors committed to creating realistic fiction with emotional authenticity. No topic is off-limits: suicide, homosexuality, drugs, rape, gangs, bullying. Teens live with this reality each day. And they find a way to survive. Each paperback book is 116 to 275 pages.







Otherwise


Book Description

A law has been passed. There will be no more genders. Everyone must appear gender neutral. No more boys. No more girls. Just ... Otherwise. Same bland clothes. Same fuzzy heads. “Spark” dreads the countdown leading up to the finality of the new law’s passage. Her parents are for it. They’re tired of conforming to society’s standards. But they allow her to take off for a quick camping trip to gather her thoughts. At the campsite, she meets “Whistler.” And the attraction is instant and mutual. But who is Whistler? And what is Whistler? Boy? Or girl? This gender-bending story in verse will make readers question everything they thought they knew about love, chemistry, and cultural norms. Just like prose, a novel in verse tells a story. But verse is unique because readers access the text through short “chapters,” or poems. The varying lengths of the chapters are ideal for a struggling reader, giving them breaks to collect their thoughts, to imagine the characters in their mind’s eye, and to set the scene—like a frame in a movie. The structure of poetry makes the books appear less intimidating, with plenty of airy white space. Moreover, the depth and substance conveyed in verse is every bit as deep and real as in a Gravel Road prose novel.




Varsity's Soldiers


Book Description

The role of Canadian universities in selecting and training officers for the armed forces is an important yet overlooked chapter in the history of higher education in Canada. For more than fifty years, the University of Toronto supported the largest and most active contingent of the Canadian Officers' Training Corps (COTC), which sent thousands of officer candidates into the regular and reserve forces. Based on the rich fund of documents housed in the university archives, Varsity's Soldiers offers the first full-length history of military training in Toronto. Beginning with the formation of a student rifle company in 1861, and focusing on the story of the COTC from 1914 to 1968, author Eric McGeer seeks to enlarge appreciation of the university's remarkable contribution to the defence of Canada, the place of military education in an academic setting, and the experience of the students who embodied the ideal of service to alma mater and to country.




Sticks and Stones


Book Description

Themes: Realistic Fiction, Rural, Rape, Peer Pressure, Bullying, Intimidation, Shame, Teen, Young Adult, Chapter Book, Hi-Lo, Hi-Lo Books, Hi-Lo Solutions, High-Low Books, Hi-Low Books, ELL, EL, ESL, Struggling Learner, Struggling Reader, Special Education, SPED, Newcomers, Reading, Learning, Education, Educational, Educational Books. After the rape, sixteen-year-old Peyton feels dirty. Lost. She could have fought harder. Screamed. Been more aggressive. Gotten him to stop. She knows Brad will get away with it. Heês gotten away with it before. The football team protects him. The school does too. It seems like everyone in town is on his side. Girls start to call her a skank. But Peyton is determined to get justice. Only she doesnêt know how. The dominoes begin to fall when the truth comes out. First to her best friend. Then to a pastor. Who leads her to a soft-spoken police detective ... From the Great Plains to the borderlands to the Mississippi Delta, rural America is struggling. The population is shrinking. And the economy is shifting away from agriculture. Without a safety net, rural families struggle with depression, drug abuse, alcoholism, and other problems. Gravel Road Rural addresses the contemporary issues affecting rural America in an unflinching way.




Roadside Attraction


Book Description

Themes: Responsibility, Mental Illness, Divorce, Teen Runaways. Logan’s grandparents own a store in the middle of nowhere. He’s devoted to them, even to the point of giving up his own dreams. Until one hitchhiker changes it all. Brooke. She’s young. Too young to be alone. As Logan watches, she shoplifts. After chasing her down, he realizes hitchhiking is the least of Brooke’s issues. Not knowing why, Logan is drawn to her. He insists on driving the young teen to her grandmother’s in Oklahoma. What begins as a road trip ends with life-altering realizations. About family. Obligations. Forgiveness. From the Great Plains to the borderlands to the Mississippi Delta, rural America is struggling. The population is shrinking. And the economy is shifting away from agriculture. Without a safety net, rural families struggle with depression, drug abuse, alcoholism, and other problems. Gravel Road Rural addresses the contemporary issues affecting rural America in an unflinching way.




Self. Destructed.


Book Description

Gravel Road, award-winning realistic teen fiction, highlights the talents of our urban street lit authors. Each book is approximately 200 pages, and is written at a 3.0 reading level. Michael Ellis...typical American boy. A little on the geeky side. A good student. An athlete. But something is not quite right. "I like you because you’re different." That’s what Ashley had said to him. Different is better than being normal. Michael liked different. It was more interesting than following the crowd. But Ashley wasn’t different. And she wasn’t interested in dating Michael any longer. That’s when Michael Ellis became unhinged. With Ashley’s rejection, he does something shocking, and finds himself headed to juvenile detention.




Varsity 170


Book Description

Never in his wildest dreams could he imagine his best day turning into his worst. Chad and Marcus ruled the school. Smart. Athletic. Popular. A looming wrestle off for their weight class made Chad jumpy. Marcus told him to chill. But with one slam to the mat, Marcus would be dead. Hard-hitting, contemporary young adult fiction is not trendy--it’s not dystopia. There are no vampires, no werewolves, no castles. It’s real life. It’s unflinching. Gravel Road highlights the talent of YA authors committed to creating realistic fiction with emotional authenticity. No topic is off-limits: suicide, homosexuality, drugs, rape, gangs, bullying. Teens live with this reality each day. And they find a way to survive. Each paperback book is 200 to 275 pages.