The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Sherman Alexie
Born on the rez but going to school where he's the only Indian, Arnold has an oversized head and thick glasses and a brain full of ideas and confusion. With supportive family, a seriously resentful friend, some hostile people on the rez and surprising new friends, Arnold needs to work out who he is and why he's different.
Born Confused
Tanuja Desai Hidier
Her parents want her to meet a nice, Indian boy. Her friend wants to explore her own Indian-ness and she's not even Indian. Dimple just wants to take photographs of things, and not the nice smiley portraits her parents want, but things she sees on her secret trips to New York clubs. She tries to navigate her own life, her parents traditions, and work out which she wants and which she doesn't. She's a smart and funny narrator feeling out of her depth in the way everyone is at some time in their lives. At least once.
Divergent
Veronica Roth
Beatrice lives in a dystopian version of Chicago. In her world, there are five factions to which people are assigned to. Sixteen year olds must decided on a designated day which faction they are to be a part of for the rest of their lives. But Beatrice is a divergent. She does not fit solely in any single faction and must make a choice. Will she choose the faction of her parents or will she strike out on her own?
Will Grayson, Will Grayson
John Green & David Levithan
Two boys, both named Will Grayson, lead separate lives until one fateful night brings them together. Will Grayson is the "the world's largest person who is really, really gay", while will grayson's only current attachment to anyone is Issac, whom he met online. The Will Grayson's meet and have a profound impact on one another. How will this fateful meeting change who they are?
The Girl Who Fell From The Sky
Heidi W. Durrow
Half-Danish, half-American. Half-black, half-white. Daughter, orphan. The world wants to see Rachel one way. She wants to see herself any number of other ways. Forced to live in a new place, with new people, after a terrible tragedy, she is forced to define herself while others try to define her, all the while figuring out the puzzle of her terrible family history.
being different, being the same, being one person and then another ... stories about working it out
Geography Club
Brent Hartinger
Russel is a sophomore at Goodkind High School in a small town that would shun him if anyone found out he was gay. But when Russel develops a crush on jock star Kevin and finds out that Kevin is also gay, they develop a special club for themselves and few other friends to have a safe place to talk and be open. Unfortunately, things become complicated when events threaten to out Kevin to the rest of the community, and all of the characters must deal with who they are, who they are becoming, and who everyone else expects them to be.
Singularity
William Sleator
Barry and Harry Krasner are twins house-sitting their great-uncle's Midwest farm. The twins could not be more different, with Barry being outgoing and athletic and Harry being a math whiz and a bit awkward. Their differences make them extremely competitive, and when they discover that the playhouse on their uncle's farm is actually a type of portal, Harry makes a decision that defines who he is and surprises everyone around him.
Can I See Your I.D.? True Stories of False Identities
Chris Barton
Have you ever wanted to be somebody else? Chris Barton presents ten stories about people who went to great lengths to conceal their true identities, sometimes breaking the law, to convince the world that they were someone else. From pretending to be an Asian princess to "stealing" a subway, these stories combined with graphic panels will have you on the edge of your seat.
The Devil's Arithmetic
Jane Yolen
At age 12, Hannah Stern has no interest in going to her family’s Passover Seder. She is bored with Jewish customs and she is especially tired of hearing her elders retell their experiences as Holocaust survivors – after all, it happened in the past. But when Hannah is chosen to symbolically open the door for the prophet Elijah as part of Passover rites, she is transported back into the past and becomes Chaya Abramowicz, a Jewish girl living in 1942 Poland. Soon after her arrival, all the inhabitants of Chaya’s village are rounded up by Nazis and sent to a concentration camp, with only Hannah/Chaya aware of the horrors to come.
books
Baby Girl
Lenora Adams
Pregnant again at 16, a runaway, tired of being pushed around by her family and no-good friends, Sheree needs to decide what kind of person she is and how to not let others make her what they want her to be. This isn't easy, and when her mom asks her to come back Sheree has to juggle her needs for her and her new baby, and her determination to be take seriously as a person by those around her.
putting
it
together