This is How We Change the Ending

By: Vikki Wakefield
Location: FIC WAK
Genre: Young Adult, Coming of Age

"When I picked up this book, I thought it sounded interesting, but what I got was a terrific surprise. I was laughing out loud nearly every other paragraph, despite the dreary circumstances in which the protagonist existed. The story was terrific, the banter was entertaining and the protagonists inner commentary was priceless."

I have questions I’ve never asked. Worries I’ve never shared. Thoughts that circle and collide and die screaming because they never make it outside my head. Stuff like that, if you let it go—it’s a survival risk.

Sixteen-year-old Nate McKee is doing his best to be invisible. He’s worried about a lot of things—how his dad treats Nance and his twin half-brothers; the hydro crop in his bedroom; his reckless friend, Merrick.

Nate hangs out at the local youth centre and fills his notebooks with things he can’t say. But when some of his pages are stolen, and his words are graffitied at the centre, Nate realises he has allies. He might be able to make a difference, change his life, and claim his future. Or can he?

This Is How We Change the Ending is raw and real, funny and heartbreaking—a story about what it takes to fight back when you’re not a hero

Million Pieces of Nenna Gill

By: Emma Smith-Barton
Location: FIC BAR
Genre: Young Adult Mental Health

I have now had the very sad experience of watching someone unfold with a psychotic episode, I did not know what was unfolding before my eyes, perhaps if I had read this book, I could have been so much helpful and aware, it is so good these subjects are being written about with frank honesty.

How can I hold myself together, when everything around me is falling apart?

Neena's always been a good girl - great grades, parent-approved friends and absolutely no boyfriends. But ever since her brother Akash left her, she's been slowly falling apart - and uncovering a new version of herself who is freer, but altogether more dangerous.

As her wild behaviour spirals more and more out of control, Neena's grip on her sanity begins to weaken too. And when her parents announce not one but two life-changing bombshells, she finally reaches breaking point.

But as Neena is about to discover, when your life falls apart, only love can piece you back together

"As someone who has suffered mental illness throughout my 38 years on this earth, I have found The Million Pieces of Neena Gill inspiring. Had I read this book 25 years ago, I think it would of helped me so much.
I saw alot of me in Neena and I can't help but love the amazing character that she is.
I think this book should be read by every teenager to highlight that things can be an uphill battle, the struggle is real but you are not alone. Mental illnesses are alot more common then most people realise and there is help out this.
Thank you Emma for such a wonderful book." Adele -Goodreads

Hooper

By: Geoff Herbach

Location: FIC HER
Genre: Sport

THE GAME CAN ONLY TAKE YOU SO FAR

"Fresh, funny, thoughtful, subversive and totally absorbing" Robert Lipstyle

From Geoff Herbach, the critically acclaimed author of the Stupid Fast series, comes a compelling new YA novel about basketball, prejudice, privilege, and family, perfect for fans of Jordan Sonnenblick, Andrew Smith, and Matt de la Peña.

For Adam Reed, basketball is a passport. Adam’s basketball skills have taken him from an orphanage in Poland to a loving adoptive mother in Minnesota. When he’s tapped to play on a select AAU team along with some of the best players in the state, it just confirms that basketball is his ticket to the good life: to new friendships, to the girl of his dreams, to a better future.

But life is more complicated off the court. When an incident with the police threatens to break apart the bonds Adam’s finally formed after a lifetime of struggle, he must make an impossible choice between his new family and the sport that’s given him everything.

"Timely issues such as bullying, immigration, adoption, racism, friendship, domestic abuse, etc. are covered here with aplomb! As a result, "Hooper" is much more than a sports or basketball novel! The characters are realistic, flawed, and multi-dimensional - even the antagonists! The reader can easily empathize and believe these individuals. My true test of a good book is whether or not it moves me, makes me feel something. I cried both with joy and sadness several times throughout the book." Terri

Darius The Great Is Not Okay

By: Adib Khorram
Location: FIC 
Genre: Youth Fiction

“How could I be a tourist in my own past?”

Darius doesn't think he'll ever be enough, in America or in Iran. Hilarious and heartbreaking, this unforgettable debut introduces a brilliant new voice in contemporary YA.

Winner of the William C. Morris Debut Award

"Heartfelt, tender, and so utterly real. I'd live in this book forever if I could."
--Becky Albertalli, award-winning author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He's a Fractional Persian--half, his mom's side--and his first-ever trip to Iran is about to change his life.

Darius has never really fit in at home, and he's sure things are going to be the same in Iran. His clinical depression doesn't exactly help matters, and trying to explain his medication to his grandparents only makes things harder. Then Darius meets Sohrab, the boy next door, and everything changes. Soon, they're spending their days together, playing soccer, eating faludeh, and talking for hours on a secret rooftop overlooking the city's skyline. Sohrab calls him Darioush--the original Persian version of his name--and Darius has never felt more like himself than he does now that he's Darioush to Sohrab.

Adib Khorram's brilliant debut is for anyone who's ever felt not good enough--then met a friend who makes them feel so much better than okay.

"Darius the Great Is Not Okay is a book about feeling like you don't fit in, and how good it feels when you finally click with someone who helps you realize your self-worth. It's about the assumptions we make which cause us emotional pain, and how if we only expressed our feelings, we'd save ourselves so much anxiety. It's also a book about what it's like to live with depression, and how it can impact everything we do and feel, as well as our relationships.

This is such a special book. It is so full of heart and the characters are so memorable. I was utterly hooked on this book from start to finish, and unbelievably, read the entire book in one day (and I worked, too). Adib Khorram does such a fantastic job telling a simple yet poignant, rich story, and he makes you feel the same emotions the characters do. I enjoyed this book so much I am willing to overlook my one pet peeve, which is that nearly every sentence Darius said started with, "Um." I know this is probably accurate for teenage boys, but it got a little monotonous after a while.

I love books that leave me with a smile on my face. Darius the Great Is Not Okay is definitely one of those. I can't wait to see what's next for Khorram—if this is what he did in his debut, the sky's the limit!"  Larry- Goodreads.com reviewer