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List: 2023 Teen Reading Challenge: Unlikely Friendships


A photo of We, the Wildflowers

We, the Wildflowers

Genesis. Adam. Chloe. Lukas. No one loves them, no one cares about them, no one even sees them until they end up in Mary Rodriguez's home, an outpost for Sacred Heart's troubled youth program. It is within these walls that the four teens forge unlikely friendships. Through the intensity of first loves, secrets, and losses they vow to make the world a better place in spite of their personal battles with addiction, depression, loneliness, and abuse. When those friendships are tested, will they find strength enough to survive or will their bonds be too fractured to heal them yet again? --

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A photo of Six Crimson Cranes

Six Crimson Cranes

Shiori, princess of Kiata, has a secret. Forbidden magic runs through her veins. On the morning of her betrothal ceremony she loses control, and it forestalls the wedding she never wanted-- but it also catches the attention of Raikama, her stepmother. Using a dark magic of her own, Raikama banishes the princess, turns her brothers into cranes, and warns Shiori that for with every word that escapes her lips, one of her brothers will die. Peniless, voiceless, and alone, Shiori searches for her brothers-- and uncovers a conspiracy to overtake the throne. Now she must embrace the magic she's been taught all her life to contain. --

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A photo of Bad Girls Never Say Die

Bad Girls Never Say Die

1964. Houston, Texas. Evie Barnes and all her friends are the sort who wear bold makeup, laugh too loud, and run around with boys. Most of all, they protect their own against the world. They're the bad girls. When Evie is saved from a sinister encounter by a good girl from the "right" side of the tracks, every rule she has always lived by is called into question. Now she must redefine what it means to be a bad girl-- and rethink everything she knew about loyalty. -- adapted from jacket

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A photo of The Next New Syrian Girl

The Next New Syrian Girl

The unlikely friendship between Syrian American boxer Khadija and Syrian refugee Leene reveals the pressures and expectations of the perfect Syrian daughter and the repercussions of the Syrian Revolution both at home and abroad. Khadija Shami is a Syrian American high school senior raised on boxing and football. Saddled with a monstrous ego and a fierce mother to test it, she dreams of escaping her sheltered life to travel the world with her best friend. Leene Tahir is a Syrian refugee, doing her best to adjust to the wildly unfamiliar society of a suburban Detroit high school while battling panic attacks and family pressures. When their worlds collide the result is catastrophic. To Khadija, Leene embodies the tame, dutiful Syrian ideal she's long rebelled against. And to Leene, Khadija is the strong-willed, closed-off American who makes her doubt her place in the world. But as Khadija digs up Leene's past, a startling and life-changing discovery forces the two of them closer together. As the girls secretly race to unravel the truth, a friendship slowly and hesitantly begins blooming. Doubts are cast aside as they realize they have more in common than they each expected. What they find takes them on a journey all the way to Jordan, challenging what each knows about the other and herself.

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A photo of Miss Meteor

Miss Meteor

A teen who secretly arrived with the meteor that gave her small hometown its name discovers that she is turning back into stardust and teams up with her best friend in an effort to secure her human existence by entering a local beauty pageant that has always been won by thin, blonde, white girls.

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A photo of I will Always Write Back : How One Letter Changed Two Lives

I will Always Write Back : How One Letter Changed Two Lives

It started as an assignment. Everyone in Caitlin's class wrote to an unknown student somewhere in a distant place. All the other kids picked countries like France or Germany, but when Caitlin saw Zimbabwe written on the board, it sounded like the most exotic place she had ever heard of -- so she chose it. Martin was lucky to even receive a pen pal letter. There were only ten letters, and forty kids in his class. But he was the top student, so he got the first one. That letter was the beginning of a correspondence that spanned six years and changed two lives.

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A photo of Take Three Girls

Take Three Girls

Ady, Kate, and Clem don't operate in the same spheres at school, but a class project brings them together. It seems like the bullying from a gossip website called PSST may test their newfound bond, but instead they use their different influences to work together and uncover the culprits. The question remains, however, if fighting back will even make a difference.

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A photo of I'm Not Dying With You Tonight

I'm Not Dying With You Tonight

Over the course of one night, two girls with two very different backgrounds must rely on each other to get through the violent race riot that has enveloped their city. Lena has her killer style, her awesome boyfriend, and a plan. She knows she's going to make it big. Campbell, on the other hand, is just trying to keep her head down and get through the year at her new school. When both girls attend the Friday-night football game, what neither expects is for everything to descend into sudden mass chaos. Chaos born from violence and hate. Chaos that unexpectedly throws them together. They aren't friends. They hardly understand the other's point of view. But none of that matters when the city is up in flames, and they only have each other to rely on if they're going to survive the night.

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A photo of The Chandler Legacies

The Chandler Legacies

"Beth Kramer is a "townie" who returns to her sophomore year after having endured a year of tension with her roommate, Sarah. But Sarah Brunson knows there's more to that story. Amanda Priya "Spence" Spencer is the privileged daughter of NYC elites, who is reeling from the realization that her family name shielded her from the same fate as Sarah. Ramin Golafshar arrives at Chandler as a transfer student to escape the dangers of being gay in Iran, only to suffer brutal hazing under the guise of tradition in the boys' dorms. And Freddy Bello is the senior who's no longer sure of his future but knows he has to stand up to his friends after what happened to Ramin. At Chandler, the elite boarding school, these five teens are brought together in the Circle, a coveted writing group where life-changing friendships are born--and secrets are revealed. Their professor tells them to write their truths. But is the truth enough to change the long-standing culture of abuse at Chandler? And can their friendship survive the fallout?"--

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A photo of The Girl From the Other Side : Siúil, a Rún. 1,

The Girl From the Other Side : Siúil, a Rún. 1,

"In a land far away, there were two kingdoms: the Outside, where twisted beasts roamed that could curse with a touch, and the Inside, where humans lived in safety and peace. The girl and the beast should never have met, but when they do, a quiet fairytale begins"--Provided by publisher.

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A photo of We Can Be Heroes

We Can Be Heroes

"After a girl is killed by her ex-boyfriend in a school shooting, her two best friends attempt to memorialize her in a town economically dependent on the shooter's family"--

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A photo of Hello Girls

Hello Girls

Best friends are forged by fire. For Winona Olsen and Lucille Pryce, that fire happened the night they met outside the police station, both deciding whether to turn their families in for abuse and mistreatment. They realize they can't wait until graduation to start their new lives. They need out. Now. All they need is three grand, fast. And really, a stolen convertible to take them from Michigan to Las Vegas can't hurt.

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A photo of Not My Problem

Not My Problem

Aideen's best (and only) friend is pulling away. Her mother's drinking problem is a constant concern. She's running out of diseases to fake so she can skip PE. When she sees her nemesis, overachiever Meabh Kowalski, in the midst of a full-blown meltdown, she sees a problem that-- unlike her own disaster of a life-- seems refreshingly easy to solve. She volunteers to help Meabh escape her crushing pile of extracurriculars... by pushing Meabh down the stairs. When another student learns about their little scheme and brings Aideen another "client" who needs her "help" it kicks off a semester of traded favors, ill-advised hijinks, and an unexpected chance at love. --

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A photo of Does My Body Offend You?

Does My Body Offend You?

Neither Malena nor Ruby expected to be leaders of their high school's dress code rebellion. Meanwhile, the girls have to face their own insecurities and biases, as well as the ups and downs of their newfound friendship.

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A photo of Chlorine Sky

Chlorine Sky

Picked on at home, criticized for talking trash while beating boys at basketball, and always seen as less than her best friend, a girl struggles to like and accept herself.

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A photo of The Nowhere Girls

The Nowhere Girls

After Grace learns of a girl who was run out of town for accusing the popular guys at school of gang rape, she convinces her friends Rosina and Erin to help her form an anonymous group of girls, called The Nowhere Girls, to resist the sexist culture at Prescott High. As their group grows in number their movement becomes about more than sex, and transforms the lives of its members, their school, and the entire community.

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A photo of Komi Can't Communicate. Volume 1

Komi Can't Communicate. Volume 1

"Socially anxious high school student Shoko Komi would love to make friends, but her shyness is interpreted as reserve, and the other students keep her at a distance. Only timid Tadano realizes the truth, and despite his own desire to blend in, he decides to help her achieve her goal of making 100 friends."--

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A photo of Piecing Me Together

Piecing Me Together

Tired of being singled out at her mostly-white private school as someone who needs support, high school junior Jade would rather participate in the school's amazing Study Abroad program than join Women to Women, a mentorship program for at-risk girls.

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A photo of The Secret Recipe For Moving On

The Secret Recipe For Moving On

Ellie Agresti's not sure anything could be worse than being dumped by her boyfriend, Hunter, the first day of senior year. But sharing a "life skills" class with him and his new girlfriend, Brynn? AND getting partnered with a "family" of misfits (A.J., the loudmouth; Isaiah, the horse-racing obsessive; and Luke, the tattooed stunt-biker)? It's a recipe for certain disaster...until an in-class competition allows Ellie to channel her angst into beating Hunter and Brynn's team, and she unexpectedly bonds with her own group--especially Luke--in the process. But as Ellie soon discovers, it will take more than classroom triumphs to heal her broken heart and find herself again.

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A photo of When the Ground is Hard

When the Ground is Hard

Swaziland. Adele Joubert is one of the popular girls at Keziah Christian Academy... until Delia dumps her for a new girl with more money. Forced to share a room with Lottie, the school pariah, the two eventually bond over a copy of Jane Eyre. Together they take on bullies and protect each other from the vindictive and prejudiced teachers. Then a boy goes missing on campus and Adele and Lottie must rely on each other to solve the mystery... and maybe learn the true meaning of friendship. --

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A photo of The Camino Club

The Camino Club

"After getting in trouble with the law, a group of wayward teens are given an ultimatum: serve time in juvenile detention for their crimes or walk the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage across Spain over the summer holidays with a pair of court-appointed counselors. Although they come from diverse backgrounds, the unlikely friends try to make the best of their situation. The pilgrims grow closer on their journey, but they may not make it to their destination--the Cathedral in Santiago. If they do, will they each find what they're looking for, and will their newfound friendships endure?"--

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A photo of Late to the Party

Late to the Party

"Seventeen is nothing like Codi Teller imagined. She's never crashed a party, never stayed out too late. She's never even been kissed. And it's not just because she's gay. It's because she and her two best friends, Maritza and JaKory, spend more time in her basement watching Netflix than engaging with the outside world. So when Maritza and JaKory suggest crashing a party, Codi is highly skeptical. Those parties aren't for kids like them. They're for cool kids. Straight kids. But then Codi stumbles upon one of those cool kids, Ricky, kissing another boy in the dark, and an unexpected friendship is formed. In return for never talking about that kiss, Ricky takes Codi under his wing and draws her into a wild summer filled with late nights, new experiences, and one really cute girl named Lydia. The only problem? Codi never tells Maritza or JaKory about any of it. From author Kelly Quindlen comes a poignant and deeply relatable story about friendship, self-acceptance, what it means to be a Real Teenager. Late to the Party is an ode to late bloomers and wallflowers everywhere" --

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A photo of Fat Angie

Fat Angie

Fat Angie's sister was captured in Iraq, she's the resident laughingstock at school, and her therapist tells her to count instead of eat. Can a daring new girl in her life really change anything?

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A photo of The Boy and Girl Who Broke the World

The Boy and Girl Who Broke the World

Billy Sloat and Lydia Lemon don't have much in common, unless you count growing up on the same (wrong) side of the tracks, the lack of a mother, and a persistent loneliness that has inspired creative coping mechanisms. When their high schools are consolidated, Lydia's cynicism is met with Billy's sincere optimism, and both begin to question their own outlook on life. As the two grow closer and confront truths about their pasts, they must also deal with such inconveniences as a narcissistic rock star, a war between unicorns and dragons, and eventually, of course, the apocalypse. --

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A photo of We All Looked Up

We All Looked Up

They always say that high school is the best time of your life. Peter, the star basketball player at his school, is worried "they" might actually be right. Meanwhile Eliza can't wait to escape Seattle -- and her reputation -- and perfect-on-paper Anita wonders if admission to Princeton is worth the price of abandoning her real dreams. Andy, for his part, doesn't understand all the fuss about college and career -- the future can wait. Or can it? Because it turns out the future is hurtling through space with the potential to wipe out life on Earth. As these four seniors -- along with the rest of the planet -- wait to see what damage an asteroid will cause, they must abandon all thoughts of the future and decide how they're going to spend what remains of the present.

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