CATALOGUES - Children's Bookshop - Teens

Arguing that adolescence is an unnecessary period of life that people are better off without, this groundbreaking study shows that teen confusion and hardships are caused by outmoded systems that were designed to destroy the continuum between childhood and adulthood. Documenting how teens are isolated from adults and are forced to look to their media-dominated peers for knowledge, this discussion contends that by infantilising young people, society does irrevocable harm to their development and well-being. Instead, parents, teacher... read more

When summer arrives for thirteen-year-old Tobey Freeman, he looks forward to long days of laser tag and adventures on the bayou. However, an unexpected invitation into the world of espionage interrupts his plans. Soon secrecy and suspense replace his carefree days, and he must make some difficult decisions in order to protect his friends and family.
 
One day while playing video games, an undercover agent from the Central Intelligence Adolescent Agency offers Tobey the chance to compete for an opening. Tobey accept... read more

This book is suitable for ages 9 to 12 years. In this quirky collection, award-winning author for young people Kathy Stinson offers characters and plotlines that reflect the many ways teens learn about lust and love. From the first stirrings of same-sex desire on a lakeside beach to troubling paternity questions around a teen pregnancy, "101 Ways to Dance" reflects the spectrum of teen sexuality from the very sweet to the very scary. These stories offer many opportunities for important and engaged discussions, while content and wri... read more

Cabin boy David Young travels aboard the ill-fated vessel the HMS 'Erebus' from London, England, en route to Canada's frozen and uncharted north, and his adventures comes to a modern-day Dave Young in Humboldt, Saskatchewan.

Addiction, the Brain Disease is a young adult guide to the physical, emotional, social, psychological disease of addiction. Addiction to substances, behaviours, and addiction to the self are explored. Self-tests, personal stories, treatment, recovery, dictionary of addictions, terms, and meanings are included. It also includes lists of resources, help sources, a bibliography, illustrations, and personal stories.

"Challenges readers to make them think."
- Voice of Youth Advocates

"Addiction: The Brain Disease breaks down the stigma regarding the nature of addiction. The raw truth regarding the physical, social, emotional, and psychological aspects of addiction, as well as help and recovery, are presented medically and through personal stories. This book unlocks the door of hope to any suffering from the disease of addiction to substances and/or behaviors. Carlson covers every base from medical neuroscientific information to self-tests to solutions in recovery."
- Jason DeFrancesco, Young Adult Editor, Yale-New Haven

15 year old Nicole travels from small-town Nova Scotia to Japan, to learn why her mother did leave her and her father. In Japan she experiences the natural beauty and cultural wonders of this ancient land and nerve-wracking but powerful reconnection with her mother. Ages 12 plus.

Twelve-year-old Jonah and his mother, a well-known photographer, are on a self-healing mission, exploring the natural beauty of the Queen Charlotte Islands. They are each trying in their own way to get over the tragic loss of father and husband who died in a rock climbing accident months before. One day, a mysterious girl appears wading in the waters near their floathouse, and an even more mysterious mist saves Jonah from his own plunge off a clifftop, Jonah is plunged into a time travel adventure that takes him back 14,000 years... read more

Wherever he goes he hears rumours of his missing father and prophetic myths about his kasyapa bird, Navina. He struggles to understand how these stories of the past will affect the future. Age 10+.

A fascinating novel that picks up age-old questions of laoyalty and looks at them in a contemporary setting

The spirits were moaning, a low sound that seemed to be calling the storm toward the beach where Adrien came to a halt, pushing to stay erect in the wind. She was sure the spirits were calling something specific—a short phrase, several words, repeated like the lightning that snaked in the sky. Another sheer burst of white and Adrien stepped forward into the wild lake, the call of the spirit girls, the energy of their brains dying across the sky. Into some understood sameness. Having barely survived a brain aneurysm two year... read more

A motley crew of orphans hides inventor Ben Franklin from the British Redcoats during the American War of Independence. After his "wonderful airship" crashes near St. Francis of Assisi's Home for Foundlings in Quebec City, Franklin is thrown slightly off course in his plan to coax Canada into joining the Americans in their fight against England's rule. Fourteen-year-old Michael Flynn is deaf and was abandoned by his parents who were convinced that demons "seized his tongue and prevented him from speaking." He leads his best friends... read more

A student arrested on suspicions of terrorism. A high school torn apart by racism. Two boys from two different sets of circumstances forced to choose sides. These are the issues at the heart of "Bifocal," a groundbreaking new novel for young-adults. The story is told from two different points of view. Haroon is a serious student devoted to his family. His grandparents emigrated from Afghanistan. Jay is a football star devoted to his team. He is white. One day their high school is put on lockdown, and the police arrest a Musli... read more

"This is a powerful and important book, one that will speak to modern teen readers in a way that they will undoubtedly hear and respond to. . . Without falling into didacticism, Ellis and Walters thoughtfully depict a full range of reactions and widely-held beliefs and offer readers the opportunity to see not only the vastly different experiences that shape Jay and Haroon's understanding of events, but also how so many others feel and respond ..read more

A student arrested on suspicions of terrorism. A high school torn apart by racism. Two boys from two different sets of circumstances forced to choose sides. These are the issues at the heart of "Bifocal," a groundbreaking new novel for young-adults. The story is told from two different points of view. Haroon is a serious student devoted to his family. His grandparents emigrated from Afghanistan. Jay is a football star devoted to his team. He is white. One day their high school is put on lockdown, and the police arrest a Musli... read more

"This is a powerful and important book, one that will speak to modern teen readers in a way that they will undoubtedly hear and respond to. . . Without falling into didacticism, Ellis and Walters thoughtfully depict a full range of reactions and widely-held beliefs and offer readers the opportunity to see not only the vastly different experiences that shape Jay and Haroon's understanding of events, but also how so many others feel and respond ..read more

Rustle is a young scout in a tight-knit female warrior group of five. They're trained to be aggressive, quick thinking, obedient-though for what exact purpose they couldn't quite tell you. But somehow the group is falling apart now. The leader Shona turns out to be a traitor to them. Roku has disappeared. Rustle has failed to show her killing skills in a crucial test of courage, and is feeling quite separate from the others. Loo is a true warrior, ready and able for action of the most extreme kind, though Rustle's private yen for h... read more

"What a great story. Most of the time I couldn't put it down."
-- "Resource Links"

"The ..read more

All his life, Blaine has dreamed of being somewhere else. Growing up on a farm during the lean years of the depression, he must be content to watch the trains thunder past his home, count the cars, and pray that one day he will escape his life of poverty. It isn't until World War Two that Blaine sees his chance. He lies about his age, volunteers, and is shipped off to England. A brilliant coming-ofage novel by a master storyteller.

"Monica Hughes has written a brilliant historical novel that recreates life in rural Ontario from 1930 to 1942." -- CM Magazine

It feels like Steve Garrett has been on the run forever. And for a young man, who started out planning to be a cowboy, he has come a long way in the wrong direction. Wanted by the law, he is also laying low to avoid some thugs bent on revenge. Montana is a big place, and Steve figures he can hide out for a good while. But one day everything changes. Steve learns that his little brother Beau has leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant. If Steve's bone marrow is a match, it'll be Beau's only real chance at survival. Steve has no ... read more

In this gripping story, the author of the critically acclaimed "Edge" explores teen alcoholism and demonstrates a keen awareness of what drives ordinary teenagers to trouble and what makes them withdraw from the world.

Michael Grove was sixteen years old when he was convicted for the murder of Lisa Conroy, the girlfriend he loved very much. The circumstances surrounding her final hours attract considerable media attention, especially because Michael and Lisa had sex just prior to her death. A public outcry against light penalties for young offenders ensures Michael is tried as an adult; he receives a harsh and severe penalty. Six months into his imprisonment, the true murderer confesses. Michael is released but quickly finds that the stigma of im... read more

"Examining redemption and re-assimilation, Choyce's sober style rewards readers."
-- "School Library Journal"

"(Choyce's) prose is sparse, uncluttered, and thoughtful. Choyce could have taken an easy way out, but opts instead for an ending that challenges the ..read more

This work is intended for ages 12+. In this story about the horrors of acquaintance rape, a high school senior learns about the harsh realities of alcoholism.

The year is 1870, the place Barkerville, British Columbia, where dreams glitter with gold. Racial tensions run high when a Chinese man is found stabbed to death on the steps outside his restaurant. The accused is a French Canadian man named Henri Tremblay, and the main witness is a Chinese immigrant called Ah Ohn.In By the Skin of His Teeth, seventeen-year-old Ted MacIntosh, whom author Ann Walsh showcased earlier in Moses, Me, and Murder and The Doctor's Apprentice, befriends a young Chinese boy despite the intense prejudice seeth... read more