Special Collections
High Interest Y. A. Novels
Description: High Interest, Low Vocabulary books are for teenagers looking to advance their reading capabilities. Perfect for emerging teen readers. #teens
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Curve Ball
by John DanakasTom Poulos is sure his baseball team, the Jarvis Badgers, will make the Toronto playoffs this year.He' s looking forward to a summer of playing little league and watching big league ball, until he' s sent to Winnipeg to stay with relatives he hasn't even met. Winnipeg doesn't have a major league team and his Uncle Nick, a first-generation migrant from Greece, is strange in an old-world kind of way. Tom soon finds, however, that a smaller field still offers plenty of challenges--to play and to learn. "Curve Ball" shows how unexpected changes--in sport and in life--offer opportunities to learn and to grow.
Hockey Night in Transcona
by John DanakasCody Powell has graduated from playing pick-up hockey on the streets of Winnipeg to skating with his community club team, the Transcona Sharks. Coach Brackett is impressed with Cody's speed and stick handling ability, and promotes him to the team's first line.Unfortunately, Cody takes Stu, Coach Brackett's son's, spot. Cody is worried that coach is too hard on Stu, and that Stu has as much right to play on the first line as he does. As the pressure to win games mounts, Cody is torn between loyalty to his coach and loyalty to his friend.Hockey Night in Transcona is a story about the conflicting pressures young hockey players face in their quest to succeed.
Lizzie's Soccer Showdown
by John DanakasLizzie has just been named captain of the soccer team - the boys' soccer team, that is. For a shy twelve year old, that's a problem. Lizzie never dreamed anything like this would happen when she asked if the boys and girls could play on the same team. Now that the principal knows her name and the editor of the school newspaper wants an interview, Lizzie wishes she could disappear.Worse still, the boys are treating the team as a big joke, and Lizzie just knows they have something planned to get even.Find out what it is in this interesting new novel from John Danakas.
Impact (Orca Soundings)
by James C. DekkerAfter the brutal murder of their son and brother, a family reads their victim impact statements in court.
Scum (Orca Soundings)
by James C. DekkerFifteen-year-old Megan's brother is dead, apparently a random victim of violence. As Megan digs deeper, she finds that Danny was "known to police" and that nobody wants to solve the crime.
White Sand Blues
by Vicki DelanyWhen paramedic Ashley Grant finds her boyfriend in bed with another woman, she moves out of her house (okay, his house), quits her job and takes a new one in a tiny Caribbean country, the Victoria and Albert Islands. Ashley is thrown into the deep end when she arrives. Her new colleague picks her up at the airport in the island's only ambulance, which is called to the discovery of a body floating off the beach at the exclusive Club Louisa. The body is that of a man vacationing with his daughter and glamorous new wife. Coincidentally, Sally, the daughter of the dead man, recognizes Ashley from high school. She is convinced that her stepmother killed her father and begs Ashley to help her prove it. Before she can even unpack her bags or enjoy the view from her ocean-side apartment, Ashley is unwittingly dragged into a murder investigation. First in a new series from award-winning author Vicki Delany.
Me, Myself and Ike
by K. L. DenmanSeventeen-year-old Kit is paranoid, confused and alone, but neither he nor his family and friends understand what is happening to him.
Mirror Image
by K. L. DenmanSable wears only black and has always felt that doom is near. Lacey wears pink and seeks beauty everywhere. A sadistic art teacher pairs Sable and Lacey together for their final project. The girls have to get to know one another and select a suitable poem for the back of each other's decorative mirror. Sable is less than thrilled at having to spend time with Lacey, who she believes to be nothing more than a brainless doll. As the project progresses, and Sable gets past her resentment, she learns some surprising truths about who Lacey really is. All of Sable's images begin to change, including the one she holds of herself.
Rebel's Tag
by K. L. DenmanSam's grandfather vanished from his life the day Sam's father was buried. Now, ten years later, Grandpa Max wants to make amends. He sends letters that lead Sam on a scavenger hunt. Sam follows his grandfather's bizarre instructions though he's still not ready to forgive. To alleviate his anger at his grandfather, Sam turns to his favorite stress release: climbing onto roofs and leaving his tag, a spray painted symbol for Aquarius. When he gets caught by an elderly couple, Sam learns a valuable lesson about forgiveness. He's ready to forgive his grandfather, but is he too late?
The Shade
by K. L. DenmanSafira doesn't believe in ghosts, but the girl in her cabin at camp was not a living person, so what was she? Her friend Trinity is convinced Safira's seen a ghost and sets out to discover who the ghost girl is. Safira is too busy dealing with her family to help solve the mystery. Safira has never gotten along with her sister, Mya, and now that Mya's pending marriage dominates the family there seems to be no hope for friendship between them. But when Trinity discovers the death of a girl named Myra, Safira starts to wonder if the ghost-girl has an important message about her own sister.
Battle of the Bands
by K.L. DenmanJay, Kelvin and Cia are The Lunar Ticks, a dedicated band who are convinced they are on their way up. They hope to win an upcoming battle of the bands where the first prize is a full day in a recording studio. Jay is struggling to write new material but finds he lacks the experience to come up with a truly original song. Going up against Indigo Daze, a band from another school, Jay finds himself falling for Rowan, the leader of the other band. When Rowan's guitar is trashed right before the contest The Lunar Ticks are the prime suspects. Also available in Spanish.
Perfect Revenge
by K.L. DenmanLizzie Lane is used to life at the top of the food chain. Her near-perfect life is ruined when Rachel, a girl she socially destroyed, exacts her revenge by getting Lizzie in trouble for cheating on a test. Friendless and facing detention, Lizzie obsesses over finding the perfect revenge. When Stella, Lizzie's strange new neighbor, teaches Lizzie about magick, Lizzie can't resist creating a revenge spell. But she forgets the "rule of three," that whatever spell you cast comes back on you three-fold, and her zit spell backfires with dramatic results. When she asks for help from Stella's Baba, the only advice she gets is to "write the lesson of the zit on her heart." Can Lizzie find a way to teach Rachel a lesson without causing permanent disfigurement to herself? Also available in French.
Spiral
by K.L. DenmanWhen fifteen-year-old Abby is seriously injured, her wounds go far deeper than her broken back. Rehabilitation therapy teaches her to cope with her new physical reality but once she's home with her family, she refuses to participate in life and withdraws into a world of drugs. Abby's family discovers her addiction, and she is sent to a farm that specializes in Equine Assisted Therapy. She must still do battle with her cravings, but when she witnesses the connection between another young patient and a pony, she decides that if this girl can heal, she too can learn to be present in life again.
Gym Candy
by Carl DeukerMick Johnson is determined not to make the same mistakes his father, a failed football hero, made. But after being tackled just short of the end zone in a big game, Mick begins using "gym candy," or steroids. His performances become record-breaking, but the side effects are terrible: Mick suffers 'roid rage, depression, and body acne. Gym Candy's subject matter is just as hard-hitting as its football scenes. You'll find yourself unable to look away as Mick goes down a road that even he knows is the wrong one to travel.
Chance and the Butterfly
by Maggie De VriesEvery time Chance turns around, he gets in trouble. In school, he can't sit still. Reading is hard and math is harder, but anything to do with science fascinates him. When his class starts raising butterflies from caterpillars, Chance is hooked. School is suddenly fun again, but when he decides to take his caterpillar home, he learns that loving something often means letting it go.
Somebody's Girl
by Maggie De VriesMartha knows she is adopted, but she's well-loved and popular, at least until her mother gets pregnant and she feels her parents' attention start to shift. Upset and confused, Martha lashes out at—and loses—her friends. She also makes no secret about her annoyance at being forced to do a school project about sturgeon with Chance, a difficult boy whose foster parents are family friends. To add insult to injury, Martha's birth mother announces that she is getting married and moving away. Now Martha isn't number one in anybody's life. When her mom goes into labor prematurely, Martha realizes that she needs to figure out a way to be a better friend and daughter, and a great sister.
A Christmas Carol (Adapted)
by Charles Dickens and Emily HutchinsonAdapted from the classic by Emily Hutchinson. This 88-page book includes described drawings and an 8-page study guide at the end.
A Tale Of Two Cities (An Adapted Classic)
by Charles Dickens"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. . . " With these famous words, Charles Dickens plunges the reader into the French Revolution. From the storming of the Bastille to the relentless drop of the guillotine, Dickens vividly captures the terror and upheaval of that tumultuous period. At the center is the novel's hero, Sydney Carton, a lazy, alcoholic attorney who, inspired by a woman, makes the supreme sacrifice. One of Dickens's most exciting novels. A Tale of Two Cities is a stirring classic of love, revenge, and redemption. Note: The classic novel has been adapted to utilize shorter sentences and simpler vocabulary. Unusual words are footnoted and defined at the bottom of the pages. There are study questions at the end of the book. Illustrations have been described.
Alecia's Challenge
by Sandra DierschAlecia's soccer team, the Vancouver Burrards, is the one stable thing in her life. Everything else is new or changing: a new school, a new stepfather. When Anne, Alecia's friend and the Burrards' best player, decides to quit playing, Alecia decides to fight to keep the team together. She soon learns, however, that life's hardest matches are fought off the soccer pitch. Alecia's Challenge shows how the struggles and joys of life and sport are intertwined.
Ceiling Stars
by Sandra Diersch"Ceiling Stars" is a moving story about the strength and limits of friendship in the presence of mental illness.
False Start
by Sandra DierschCaitlynn is no fan of the water, but after breaking her ankle playing soccer, swimming is the safest sport for her. She makes a deal with her grandfather to join a swim team if he'll stay and watch all of her practices. But after Grandpa has a stroke and can no longer tag along, Caitlynn doesn't want to keep up her end of the deal. In False Start, overcoming obstacles requires more than hard work -- it takes a positive attitude.
Great Lengths
by Sandra DierschTroy Aitken has just joined the Vancouver club where Jessie Cameron has been swimming for half her life. At first Jessie and her friends are in awe of Troy, who is one of the best athletes they've ever seen. Then the rumors begin to surface...
Home Court Advantage
by Sandra DierschWhen Debbie is on the basketball court she feels free and alive. But while she's a good player she's also an aggressive one, and rough tactics get her in trouble more than once. Off the court she's different from other girls, a foster child without "real" parents of her own. When Debbie learns she's going to be adopted, her world is turned upside down. Until, that is, she's accused of stealing from a teammate. From then on, it's an uphill battle to prove herself to her new parents and her team. "Home Court Advantage" shows how young players' behavior on the court and their lives off it are inextricably linked.
No Contact
by Sandra DierschIf only Debbie's adoptive mother, Angie, could be more like Debbie's hockey coach. Coach Steph loves hockey, while Debbie's mother plays the piano and does yoga, two things that Debbie definitely doesn't understand.
Offside!
by Sandra DierschAlecia' s Vancouver soccer team, the Burrards, are a good, hard-fighting squad--her teammates are her friends and her coach is her loving step-dad.When Lexi, a new kid, joins the team, her bad attitude makes things fall apart fast. Alecia decides to find out what makes Lexi so difficult, and to hold the team together, on the field and off."Offside! shows how embracing unexpected change can make teams, and players, stronger.