Beloved author Gary D. Schmidt expertly blends comedy and tragedy in the story of Doug Swieteck, an unhappy "teenage thug" first introduced in The Wednesday Wars, who finds consolation and a sense of possibility in friendship and art.

At once heartbreaking and hopeful, this absorbing novel centers on Doug, 14, who has an abusive father, a bully for a brother, a bad reputation, and shameful secrets to keep. Teachers and police and his relatives think he's worthless, and he believes them, holding others at arm's length. Newly arrived in town, he starts out on the same path—antagonizing other kids, mouthing off to teachers, contemptuous of everything intimidating or unfamiliar. Who would have thought that the public library would turn out to be a refuge and an inspiration, that a snooty librarian might be a friend, or that snarky redheaded Lil would like him—really like him?

With more than his share of pain, including the return of his oldest brother from the Vietnam War, shattered and angry, will Doug find anything better than "okay for now"?

These stories showcase disabled characters winning against all odds.

Outsmarting deadly video games, hunting the predatory monster in the woods, rooting out evil within their community, finding love and revenge with their newly turned vampire friend―this anthology upends expectations of the roles disabled people can play in horror. With visibly and invisibly disabled characters whose illnesses include Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Crohn’s disease, diabetes, PTSD, and more, each entry also includes a short essay from the author about the conditions portrayed in their stories to further contextualize their characters’ perspectives. From breaking ancient curses to defying death itself, these 13 horror stories cast disabled characters as heroes we can all root for.

Hulle is in dieselfde skool, maar lewe in twee teenoorgestelde wêrelde.

Sy is vet en vaal; hy is ‘n joller en die skoolhartebreker. Deur ’n simpele insident vang en hou Evie per ongeluk Joshua se aandag. Tyd om haar te bekommer oor die lang lys gebroke harte op Joshua se kerfstok is daar nie, want om soos ‘n voëltjie te eet en terselfdertyd te oefen vir ‘n onmoontlike halfmarathon is blerrie harde werk.

Tog begin die lewe baie interessant lyk. Maar dan daag Joshua se dinamiese, befoeterde ouer broer op om ‘n breek te neem van sy mediese studies en Evie se wêreld draai heeltemal op sy kop.

Hierdie splinternuwe jeugroman is ‘n goed verdoeselde hardloopgids geskryf vir enige tiener wat moed, kennis of motivering nodig het om na ‘n paar tekkies te reik!

AJ's grandfather has always been the one to keep his unusual family together, so when he dies things start to unravel at the edges. AJ is worried about his parents but they don t really seem to notice. In order to deal with his grief and to keep his anxiety at bay, AJ does what he and his grandfather did best: running. Round and round the Olympic Park, aiming for the cross country trials, running to escape, AJ only seems to be heading ever closer to disaster. Running On Empty is a beautiful book about false starts and emotional journeys, with hope as the ultimate finishing line. From the author of Little Bits of Sky. Cover illustration by Rob Biddulph.

Alice doesn't believe in luck, Alice believes in love. Mostly that she's been in love with her best friend, Teddy, for the last three years. When she buys him a lottery ticket for his birthday and he wins 32 million dollars, they are thrown together with the world at their feet. Teddy decides that he will spend his money committing random acts of kindness, and who better to go on that adventure with him than Alice? In the process they get to know themselves and each other better than they ever have before, but money can't buy you love . . . Windfall is a tender and uplifting novel about love, luck, and big life changes, from Jennifer E. Smith.

From award-winning author Kacen Callender comes a revelatory YA novel about a transgender teen grappling with identity and self-discovery while falling in love for the first time.

Felix Love has never been in love - and, yes, he's painfully aware of the irony. He desperately wants to know what it's like and why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. What's worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he's one marginalisation too many - Black, queer and transgender - to ever get his own happily-ever-after.

When an anonymous student begins sending him transphobic messages - after publicly posting Felix's deadname alongside images of him before he transitioned - Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. What he didn't count on: his catfish scenario landing him in a quasi-love triangle . . .

But as he navigates his complicated feelings, Felix begins a journey of questioning and self-discovery that helps redefine his most important relationship: how he feels about himself.

Felix Ever After is an honest and layered story about identity, falling in love, and recognising the love you deserve.

A heartfelt and reassuring children's book about fear from bestselling author Suzy Senior (Octopants, The Hotel for Bugs, Santarella).

Surely NOTHING can spook brave bears, fierce dragons or tough scorpions?

Well, you'd be surprised . . . ! Fierce or tough - we ALL get scared - however big or small, but how we face our fears can be the BRAVEST thing of all!

This funny rhyming story is paired with super stylish illustrations from debut illustrator Eleonora De Pieri that will appeal to fans of Jon Klassen, Jory John and Pete Oswald. Brave Bears Don't Get Scared is the perfect book to help children tackle their phobias, and leaves kids with the encouraging message that while we all get scared, the bravest thing of all is facing our fears.

From the author of the unforgettable bestseller TIME TRAVELLING WITH A HAMSTER comes another surprising, beautiful and funny novel about a child who, by disappearing, will write herself into your heart forever…

Turning invisible at will: it’s one way of curing your acne. But far more drastic than 13 year-old Ethel Leatherhead intended when she tried a combination of untested medicines and a sunbed.

It’s fun at first, being invisible. And aided by her friend Boydy, she manages to keep her extraordinary ability secret. Or does she…?

When one day the invisibility fails to wear off, Ethel is thrown into a nightmare of lies and deception as she struggles to keep herself safe, to find the remedy that will make her seen again – and solve the mystery of her own birth…

In Ways to Die Right, Joel's life is steeped in loss, with his mom’s battle with cancer not the first time his family has faced death. When he discovers the environmental harm of traditional burials, he decides to champion 'green burials' through a science presentation. Joel’s mom is diagnosed with cancer, again, sending him into a spiral. He is already feeling the burden of caring for his sister’s grave, how could he possibly care for his mom’s grave as well? Then, at the cemetery, his most sacred space, he is confronted by his arch-nemesis, Trent. While Joel is striving to understand how family members can ‘forget’ their loved one by abandoning their graves, Trent wants everyone to know that graves are an important part of our human community. When Joel is given the opportunity, he champions green burials in a science presentation. The public opposition from Trent is almost more than he can take. Joel is forced to fight for himself and his beliefs, while trying to hide his biggest secret. New and old friends support him in his quest to protect the environment and find peace, while his parents see his struggles and make changes to support him.

Acclaimed and award-winning author Erin Entrada Kelly's Hello, Universe is a funny and poignant neighborhood story about unexpected friendships.

Told from four intertwining points of view--two boys and two girls--the novel celebrates bravery, being different, and finding your inner bayani (hero). "Readers will be instantly engrossed in this relatable neighborhood adventure and its eclectic cast of misfits."--Booklist

In one day, four lives weave together in unexpected ways. Virgil Salinas is shy and kindhearted and feels out of place in his crazy-about-sports family. Valencia Somerset, who is deaf, is smart, brave, and secretly lonely, and she loves everything about nature. Kaori Tanaka is a self-proclaimed psychic, whose little sister, Gen, is always following her around. And Chet Bullens wishes the weird kids would just stop being so different so he can concentrate on basketball.

They aren't friends, at least not until Chet pulls a prank that traps Virgil and his pet guinea pig at the bottom of a well. This disaster leads Kaori, Gen, and Valencia on an epic quest to find missing Virgil. Through luck, smarts, bravery, and a little help from the universe, a rescue is performed, a bully is put in his place, and friendship blooms.

The acclaimed author of Blackbird Fly and The Land of Forgotten Girls writes with an authentic, humorous, and irresistible tween voice that will appeal to fans of Thanhha Lai and Rita Williams-Garcia.

"Powerful, lovely, heart-wrenching, and so absorbing I devoured it in one sitting." (Jennifer Niven, author of All the Bright Places). If you loved Hazel and Augustus, Violet and Finch, and Mia and Adam, get ready to fall again for Maddy and Olly - the girl who lives in a bubble, and the boy next door...Soon to be a major motion picture! This is the story of the thrill and heartbreak that ensues when we break out of our shell to do crazy, sometimes death-defying things for love. Madeline Whittier is allergic to the outside world. So allergic, in fact, that she has never left the house in all of her seventeen years. But when Olly moves in next door, and wants to talk to Maddy, tiny holes start to appear in the protective bubble her mother has built around her. Olly writes his IM address on a piece of paper, shows it at her window, and suddenly, a door opens. Maddy is certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It's almost certainly going to be a disaster.

This funny yet heartbreaking teen and YA novel movingly explores what happens when Lily dies in a car accident. The trouble is, Lily is really not sure at all if she wants to 'move on' . . .

For fans of John Green and The Lovely Bones

Lily wakes up one crisp Sunday morning on the side of the road. She has no idea how she got there. It is all very peaceful. and very beautiful. It is only when the police car, and then the ambulance arrive, and she sees her own body, that she realises that she is in fact . . . dead. But what is she supposed do now? Lily has no option but to follow her body and see her family - her parents and her twin brother start falling apart. And then her twin brother Ben gives her a once in a deathtime opportunity - to use his own body for a while. But will Lily give Ben his body back? She is beginning to have a rather good time . . .

A moving, startlingly funny yet achingly sad debut novel from a stunning new talent.

In this laugh-out-loud funny sequel to the graphic novel Huda F Are You?, the Fahmys are off to Disney World, but self-conscious Huda worries her family will stand out too much.

Huda and her sisters can’t believe it when her parents announce that they’re actually taking a vacation this summer . . . to DISNEY WORLD! But it’s not quite as perfect as it seems. First Huda has to survive a 24-hour road trip from Michigan to Florida, with her sisters annoying her all the way. And then she can’t help but notice the people staring at her and her family when they pray in public. Back home in Deerborn she and her family blend right in because there are so many other Muslim families, but not so much in Florida and along the way.

It's a vacation of forced (but unexpectly successful?) sisterly bonding, a complicated new friendship, a bit more independence, and some mixed feelings about her family's public prayers. Huda is proud of her religion and who she is, but she still sure wishes she didn’t care so much what other people thought.

On stage, Fin is Thor. Angry and invincible. Yet for all his potential, people always leave him. Kayla is the only girl he's ever met who’s worth loving. The only one he's ever wanted to be worth something for. Kayla knows she's weird and unlovable. But she wants to believe there is no reason to be sad anymore. In each other Fin and Kayla find the only place they've ever belonged. Until the ghosts from the past come to break them apart.

Jackson Wilder is having a rough time. It's bad enough that he and his dad had to move to a new apartment and leave their old home behind, but Jackson also gets his first loose tooth - he doesn't want his teeth to fall out! That sounds super scary! With the help of his imaginary friend Irwin the Thylacine, Jackson journeys across deep oceans and rainforest jungles to learn about animals. There's one that loses thousands of teeth, which helps him feel better about losing just one. And when Jackson can't fall asleep in his unfamiliar bedroom, his only hope is that Irwin can introduce him to the best sleepers in the animal kingdom so that Jackson will get good and sleepy, too.

Velile, bullied at school because of being much older than the other children in his grade, hates school. Instead, he goes to the forest to hunt for birds and other animals. After his mother dies, her sister takes him in, but Emihle, his cousin, remains unaccepting of him.

Velile becomes one of the top students in their district, but unfortunately bad choices and friends involving him in illegal mining and gambling result in suspension from high school. After being spat on by a snake (meant to make him successful and wealthy) Velile is hospitalised, where he bumps into one of his old friends, now a priest. He convinces Velile to return to school and attend ABET classes.

When he meets ex-classmate Lawukazi, who had gone to Cuba to study medicine, Velile is inspired to change his ways.

In his twisty, gritty, profoundly moving New York Times bestselling-debut, Adam Silvera brings to life a charged, dangerous near-future summer in the Bronx.

In the months after his father's suicide, it's been tough for sixteen-year-old Aaron Soto to find happiness but with the support of his girlfriend Genevieve, he's slowly remembering what that might feel like. When Genevieve leaves for a couple of weeks, Aaron starts hanging out with a new guy, Thomas. Aaron's friends notices, and they're not exactly thrilled. But Aaron can't deny the happiness Thomas brings or how Thomas makes him feel safe from himself.

Since Aaron can't stay away from Thomas or turn off his newfound feelings for him, he considers turning to the Leteo Institute's revolutionary memory-alteration procedure to straighten himself out, even if it means forgetting who he truly is...

They Both Die at the End
On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They’re going to die today. Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they’re both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There’s an app for that. Through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure—to live a lifetime in a single day.

The First to Die at the End
Adam Silvera revisits the world of Death-Cast 7 years before the events of They Both Die at the End in this story about the lasting impact that people have on each other. It’s the night before Death-Cast goes live, and there’s one question on everyone’s mind: Can Death-Cast actually predict when someone will die, or is it just an elaborate hoax? Orion Pagan has waited years for someone to tell him that he’s going to die, but Valentino Prince only just registered for Death-Cast, prompted in part because his twin sister nearly died. When the first round of End Day calls goes out their lives are forever changed—and, through one unforgettable day together, they learn how life is always worth living to the fullest.

Nishat and Flávia are rivals at school, but Nishat can't help the secret crush burning in her heart - even though her parents disapprove of the fact she likes girls. Can she possibly find her happy ever after? A gorgeous, heart-warming, queer YA love story for fans of Becky Albertalli.

When Nishat comes out to her parents, they say she can be anyone she wants - as long as she isn't herself. Because Muslim girls aren't lesbians. Nishat doesn't want to lose her family, but she also doesn't want to hide who she is, which only gets harder once Flávia walks into her life.

Beautiful and charismatic, Flávia takes Nishat's breath away. But as their lives become tangled, they're caught up in a rivalry that gets in the way of any feelings they might have for each other.

Can Nishat find a way to be true to herself... and find love too?

Adiba Jaigirdar is a stunning new voice in young adult fiction, writing uplifting, authentic stories from a Bengali-Irish perspective.

This is a night for endings. A night for stuffing your copy of The Catcher in the Rye into your backpack and saying goodbye to your house where your dad spends every night drinking too much whiskey, reminiscing about his army days and beating the crap out of you and your brother. A night for checking the list of names of all the kids at school who have always irritated you and called you a freak and a weirdo. A night for paying tribute to all the cult movies and cult figures who gave you a voice when you were struggling to find your own. A night for prowling the dark street with their grave-cold pavements; meeting the clowns, phantoms, gargoyles and helpless ones who come crawling out of their hiding places at night. A night for discovering the dark thing inside you, getting to know him intimately, feeling him stretch his wings and ball his angry fists. This is the final night. Tomorrow I’m taking a gun to school.

This book tackles the serious matter of sexual abuse and serves to inform and empower children. It highlights the warning signs of sexual abuse and teaches children how to react in such a situation. Kevin loves stories about the fierce prince of Arabia who can even fight dragons. But his older sister, Abby, don’t believe in fairy tales anymore. Abby says there is a dragon in their own home – one that fears nothing and no one. But who could it be?

From acclaimed author Phil Stamper (The Gravity of Us and As Far as You’ll Take Me) comes a poignant coming-of-age, contemporary middle grade debut novel about finding your place, using your voice, and the true meaning of pride. Perfect for fans of Rick by Alex Gino and The Best at It by Maulik Pancholy.

Jake is just starting to enjoy life as his school’s first openly gay kid. While his family and friends are accepting and supportive, the same can’t be said about everyone in their small town of Barton Springs, Ohio.

When Jake’s dad hangs a comically large pride flag in their front yard in an overblown show of love, the mayor begins to receive complaints. A few people are even concerned the flag will lead to something truly outlandish: a pride parade.

Except Jake doesn’t think that’s a ridiculous idea. Why can’t they hold a pride festival in Barton Springs? The problem is, Jake knows he’ll have to get approval from the town council, and the mayor won’t be on his side. And as Jake and his friends try to find a way to bring Pride to Barton Springs, it seems suspicious that the mayor’s son, Brett, suddenly wants to spend time with Jake.

But someone that cute couldn’t possibly be in league with his mayoral mother, could he?

Thirteen-year-old Jasper Robinson-Woods is not okay — his name is too long, he never sees his dad, he can't sleep, and his goldfish is dying. Things go from bad to worse when his mother announces her annoying boyfriend is moving in. When his mostly absent father arrives on the doorstep to take him on a road trip Jasper begrudgingly finds himself away with his father. In terrible timing, it is while he is away that his goldfish dies and Jasper is forced to face yet again one of his greatest fears, death. His nightmare even comes to visit Jasper in the night, coming to life and destroying the house they are staying in. Furious, his father takes him home, to the safety of his tree. But Jasper is mortified when the girl from school he likes comes over and he is too embarrassed to get down from the tree. Jasper lashes out at school and destroys a precious piece of art owned by his mother's boyfriend.

After being suspended from school, he finally realises things must change. He goes to see the school counsellor and starts understanding his nightmare, and what it truly represents. This is the story of a young man who learns that even when you hit rock bottom, you just don't know what, and who, is around the corner.

The Hate U Give meets All American Boys in this striking and heartbreaking debut novel, commenting on current race relations in America.

When Marvin Johnson's twin, Tyler, goes to a party, Marvin decides to tag along to keep an eye on his brother. But what starts as harmless fun turns into a shooting, followed by a police raid. The next day, Tyler has gone missing, and it's up to Marvin to find him. But when Tyler is found dead, a video leaked online tells an even more chilling story: Tyler has been shot and killed by a police officer. Terrified as his mother unravels and mourning a brother who is now a hashtag, Marvin must learn what justice and freedom really mean.

Tyler Johnson Was Here is a stunning account of police brutality in modern America.

Cover2Cover Books is delighted to announce the publication of an anthology of short stories written in isiXhosa, Akusayi Kuphind, by emerging author Sonwabiso Ngcowa.

The stories in Akusayi Kuphind are written in language that comes straight from the daily lives of young people from urban and rural communities all over South Africa. The characters respond to the kinds of challenges faced by many South African youth.

These include families where one of the parents had to work far from home; poverty; being a single parent; abuse of women and girls; bullying in schools and loss of self-esteem; arranged marriages; HIV and AIDS; as well as same sex relationships and the way they are looked at in the communities.