The Art of Being Normal

Author:  Lisa Williamson

Recommended Age: Young Adult
Publisher:  David Fickling Books
ISBN:  978-1-910200-32-2
Year Published:  2015
No. Pages:  353
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Main Character Gender: Transgender
Read & Reviewed by: Anwyn


“As the chorus kicks in I feel people looking at me. Essie immediately begins to dance, flinging her arms in the air and singing along. But I’m rooted to the spot, too afraid to make any sudden movements. Even though Leo has paved the way at school in some respects, I’m still a boy in a dress to most people; David Piper in drag.”
  
This is a novel about being your true self. This is a story of being transgender.

My Beating Teenage Heart

Author: C.K. Kelly Martin

Recommended Age:  Young Adult

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
ISBN:  978-0-385-67042-5

Year Published:  2011

No. Pages:  272
Genre:  Fantasy/ Realistic Fiction
Main Character Gender: Mixed
Read & Reviewed by: Zabrina

 "The first moment is utter darkness. The absence of thought, the absence of everything. An absence that stretches infinitely backwards and threatens to smother your sanity-if there was a you, that is. But there's not. I am nothing and no one. I never was. I must not have been because otherwise, wouldn't I remember?"

Fifteen-year-old Ashlyn Baptiste doesn't know where she is or what's happened to her. She doesn't seem to have a body but she has thoughts and feelings. She watches over seventeen-year-old Breckon's life without him knowing. She knows Breckon more than she knows herself. Every little thing he does brings back little details of Ashlyn's childhood. As Breckon’s life is falling apart piece by piece. He grieves his little sister. This novel is the story of two unexpected deaths and how they become intertwined.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Author: Stephen Chbosky
Recommended Age: Young Adult
Publisher: MTV Books
ISBN-10: 0671027334 
ISBN-13: 978-0671027346
Year Published: 1999
No. Pages: 224
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Main Character Gender: Male
Read & Reviewed by: Ben



Charlie is an fifteen year old boy who is about start his freshmen year of high school-without any friends, as his best and only friend, Michael, had just recently committed suicide, and everyone else he knows labeled him a freak long ago. Charlie starts writing letters to an anonymous person to share his thoughts and feelings. His luck soon changes when he meets Sam and Patrick, two high school seniors and siblings. They introduce him to there interesting and wild friends. He finally feels accepted in a group. Charlie also starts a friendship with his English teacher Bill, who assigns him extra books to read and plays a large role in his life. Charlie doesn't think his life can get better. But a horrific repressed memory appears out of nowhere and threatens to destroy everything.

Because I Am Furniture

Author:Thalia Chaltas
Recommended Age: Young Adult
Publisher: Penguin Group
ISBN: 978-0-14-241510-8 
Year Published: 2010
No. Pages: 352
Genre: Realistic Fiction/ Free Verse
Main Character Gender: Female
Read & Reviewed by: Lisa

I don't get hit

I don't get fondled

I don't get love

because I am furniture.

Suits me fine.

  

Anke is a young girl who lives with her older siblings, and their abusive father. Her bother and sister have each suffered as a result of their father's abuse, while Anke remains untouched by him. In a strange way, she feels as though her siblings get a certain kind of attention that she will never receive. She feels unnoticed and invisible, like she is furniture. Her family doesn't like to talk about what is happening behind bedroom doors; her mother pretends nothing happens while her brother and sister never say a word. Anke copes with a newfound sport, volleyball. Volleyball gives her the opportunity to learn to use her voice. Will Anke's voice lead her to assert herself and possibly change her family's fate?

Breaking Point

Author: Alex Flinn
Recommended Age: Young Adult
Publisher: Harper Teen

ISBN:  0-06-623847-1

Year Published: 2003
No. Pages: 239
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Main Character Gender: Male
Read & Reviewed by: Kyle

“We may need to plant a bomb in Old Lady Zaller’s room.”

Paul Richmond is new to town. He attends a fancy private school for free because his mom is the school’s counselor. This does not go unnoticed by the rich kids who push him into lockers, and pour cola into his locker. Then he meets Charlie Good who invites him to play mailbox baseball with his two sidekicks Meat and St. John. Soon, Paul is stealing and vandalizing. Realizing Charlie is a bad influence, Paul tries to avoid him but he gets sucked back into the group. When another kid at school kills himself because of Charlie, Paul ignores it. Charlie is like a ticking time bomb, will Paul ever rise against him?

Jenna & Jonah's Fauxmance

Author: Brendan Halpin & Emily Franklin
Recommended Age: 12 +
Publisher:  Bloomsbury Juvenile US
ISBN-10:  080272342X
ISBN-13:   978-0802723440  
Year Published: 2011
No. Pages: 288
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Main Character Gender: Mixed
Read & Reviewed by: Peyton



Jenna and Jonah's Fauxmance is about two teenagers that have been starring in a show called, Jenna and Jonah's How to Be a Rock Star which is coming to it's fifth season, but that might not happen when a rumor starts that could ruin their careers.

Charlie Tracker and Fielding Withers, have been on the their hit TV series for about four years. In their show they play neighbors who fall in love with each other and start a band. It’s their off-screen relationship that has brought them the most fame as fans follow their PDA. Every week, their photos grace the covers of every magazine and they have chapters of their fan club across the country. The only problem is their romance is a fauxmance – a publicity stunt, but how fun would it be to date someone because you have to? Well they can’t stand each other. When the paparazzi blow their cover, Charlie and Fielding have to disappear to avoid the media circus. On their “vacation” they realize they know nothing about each other, will they discover something beyond their shiny hair and famous smiles?                                                                                                       

My Sister's Keeper

Author: Jodi Picoult
Recommended Age: Young Adult/ Adult
Publisher: Washington Square Press  
ISBN-10: 0743454537
ISBN-13: 978-0743454537
Year Published: 2004
No. Pages: 423
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Main Character Gender: Mixed
Read & Reviewed by: Natalie



"You know how most little kids think they're like cartoon characters- if an anvil drops on their head they can peel themselves off the sidewalk and keep going? Well, I never once believed that. How could I, when we practically set a place for Death at the dinner table?"

In the realistic fiction novel, My Sister's Keeper, thirteen-year-old Andromeda Fitzgerald (Anna, for short) is suing her parents for the rights to her own body. She has been an involuntary donor to her older sister, Kate, who has a rare form of leukemia, her entire life. After many failed attempts at finding a suitable donor for Kate, Anna’s parents, decide to have a specially designed child whose genes were made so that he/she could donate whatever Kate needed. Anna wants to free herself of the burden of Kate's health, so she decides to file a lawsuit to be medically emancipated. She is suing her parents for the rights to her own body, but she also wants to have a sister she can still talk to and play with without being yelled at for almost hurting her.

Word Nerd

Author: Susin Nielsen
Recommended Age: 10 +
Publisher: Tundra Books
ISBN: 978-0-88776-875-0
Year Published: 2008 
No. Pages: 246
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Main Character Gender: Male
Read & Reviewed by: Niall



Fourteen-year-old Ambrose has been allergic to peanuts ever since he could remember, but after a prank at school, involving peanuts, sends him to the hospital, Ambrose gets pulled out of school by his over-protective single mother. Having been bullied most of his life at school, his mother decides he must be home schooled. Lonely, he befriends Cosmos, the twenty-five-year old son of his Greek landlords. They play Scrabble together and one day, Ambrose sees a notice on a billboard for a local Scrabble club. Ambrose is excited but doesn't dare tell his mother. Soon, he discovers that being accepted in the Scrabble world has nothing to do with bullies, wearing the right clothes or pretending to be someone he's not.

Bystander

Author: James Preller
Recommended Age: 10 +
Publisher: Square Fish
ISBN:  978-0-312-54796-7
Year Published: 2011
No. Pages: 256
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Main Character Gender: Male
Read & Reviewed by: Kyle



“A bystander or the bully's next target?”

Eric is new to town, and is starting seventh grade. He meets Griffin, a popular kid who befriends Eric making him less lonely. Soon, he discovers that although Griffin seems cool, he is a bully who rules the school and has adults fooled. Eric decides to avoid Griffin and do the right thing, but instead, he becomes Griffin's next target.

Call the Shots

Author: Don Calame
Recommended Age: Young Adult

Publisher: Candlewick

ISBN-10: 0763655562
ISBN-13: 978-0763655563  
Year Published: 2012
No. Pages: 352
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Main Character Gender: Male
Read & Reviewed by: Ben



Sean Hance doesn’t think his year can get any worse, from disastrous luck with girls to his sinister Goth twin Cathy trying to convince everyone (including Sean) that he's gay. It seems that his life can't get any more unbearable until his mom drops the news that she's pregnant, and Sean will have to share a room with Cathy to make room for the baby. Coop comes up with another one of his hair-brained schemes that he thinks will fix everything. He wants to film, write, and direct a very low-budget horror movie and sell it for tons of money. Then Sean can then use the money to add an addition to his house. What can go wrong? Since none of them have very much money, Sean has to borrow cash from his stoner uncle Doug, who will only give them the money if he can star in the movie. Overnight, Sean goes from getting no attention from girls, to more than he can handle, including a psych girlfriend. When the situation gets out of control, will Sean be able to step up and call the shots?

Exposed

Author: Kimberly Marcus
Recommended Age: Young Adult
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 978-0-375-86693-7
Year Published: 2011
No. Pages: 261
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Main Character Gender: Female
Read & Reviewed by: Lisa



What if something so horrible happened that you were forced to choose between your best friend or your brother? Whom would you choose?

This is a novel about sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Grayson, also known as Liz. Liz and her best friend Kate, have always been inseparable, and they couldn't imagine it any other way. At one of their regular, monthly sleepovers, the two of them have a fight which causes them to sleep in different rooms. The fight also caused some distance between the two of them. Kate avoids Liz, leaving her frustrated and confused. When Kate finally tells her that Liz's brother raped her, Liz is shocked and is forced to decide whom to trust. Her decision can either ruin her relationship with her brother, or her relationship with Kate.

What My Mother Doesn't Know

Author: Sonya Sones
Recommended Age: Young Adult
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
ISBN-10: 0689855532
ISBN-13: 978-0689855535
Year Published: 2003
No. Pages: 259
Genre: Realistic Fiction/ Free Verse
Main Character Gender: Female
Read & Reviewed by: Zabrina


What My Mother Doesn't Know is a free verse novel about a fifteen-year-old girl named Sophie. She struggles like every young women with the idea of love. She falls in love with Dylan, the boy of her dreams. Soon, Sophie realizes that he isn't who she thought him to be and that she was in love with his good looks. Since his actions speak louder than words, Sophie starts an online romance in an attempt to find something else. Then she moves on to Murphy, the schools outcast. Sophie spends every minute with him but how can she tell her friends that she likes the biggest dork in the school? If she doesn't tell them, she is just like those who make fun of him. What will she do?

Sorta Like a Rock Star

Author: Matthew Quick
Recommended Age: Young Adult
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN-10: 0316043532
ISBN-13: 978-0316043533
Year Published: 2011
No. Pages: 384
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Main Character Gender: Female
Read & Reviewed by: Natalie


“Maybe I am a freak- but I'm one hopeful misfit, and you could be worse things in this world. True? True.”

In the realistic fiction novel, Sorta Like A Rock Star, Amber Appleton lives with her mom, her catholic dog and her mom's boyfriend. That is, until he kicks them out. Now, Amber lives on Hello Yellow, the school bus her alcoholic mother drives, not a fancy hotel. Despite all of this, Amber stays optimistic. She is the self-proclaimed princess of hope and therefore refuses to give up.

Amber has many great people in her life, helping her keep going through her difficult situation. One of these people is Donna. Donna is like Amber's second mom. She buys Amber's make-up, takes care of Amber's dog and even gave Amber her own key to her house. In return, Amber makes breakfast every morning for Donna and her autistic son, Ricky- who wants to take Amber to the prom. So even though Amber's life doesn’t exactly rock, she is still loved. This proves to be a good thing when something terrible happens and Amber isn't sure that she can find the up-side to anything anymore. When depression threatens to dethrone the princess of hope, can she find a way to pick herself up and continue to be sorta like a rock star?

Pink

Author: Lili Wilkinson
Recommended Age: Young Adult
Publisher: Tegen Other
ISBN: 987-0-06-192653-2
Year Published: 2010
No. Pages: 310
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Main Character Gender: Female
Read & Reviewed by: Robyn



Ava has one goal this year: to wear pink. She is tired of her black hair, black clothes and ultra cool attitude. Ava's mom has told her since she was little, that being a girl isn't about wearing make-up, high heels and wearing pink. Her parents want her to stay the way she is but she wants to fit in and be popular.

To reinvent herself and become someone new, she transfers to Billy Hugh's School of Academic Excellence. On her first day she meets Alexis. Someone, Ava wants to be. Wearing her new pink sweater, she feels like a new version herself. But she has to keep this version from her parents and her girlfriend, Chole, because they wouldn't understand. But secrets are hard to keep. What will happen when her worlds collide? Will she discover who her friends are and ultimately, who she really is?

Purple Heart

Author: Patricia McCormick
Recommended Age: Young Adults
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 978-0-06-173092-4 
Year Published: 2009
No. Pages: 199
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Main Character Gender: Male
Read & Reviewed by: Brandon 




“You don't remember?”
Matt shook his head. Even that tiny gesture sent pain shooting through his skull.
“It was yesterday,” Justin said. “Remember yesterday?”
Matt tried to remember. Nothing.

Matt woke to find himself surrounded by wounded soldiers. Matt is a private in the U.S. Army serving in the Iraq War. He experiences flashbacks leaving him to wonder how he got there. The only thing he remembers is an Iraqi child dying and getting hit by an rocket propelled grenade. He is awarded the Purple Heart, an award for bravery for wounds sustained in battle. Matt has to relearn to think and walk. He is medicated for his constant headaches. He sees an army psychologist and yet, he still only remembers bits and pieces. He is eventually sent back to his squad but to him, things seem different. Will Matt be able to piece this puzzle together and will he or his squad get blamed for the death of a civilian?

Catching Jordan

Author: Miranda Kenneally
Recommended Age: Young Adults
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
ISBN: 1402262272
Year Published: 2011
No. Pages: 288
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Main Character Gender: Female
Read & Reviewed by: Joyce




So what the hell is Dad's problem with my playing ball? I'm a girl.

Jordan Woods isn't just one of the guys, she is the captain and starring quarterback of her high school. She's also the top rated quarterback in the state of Tennessee. She wants to earn a scholarship to the University of Alabama but when quarterback Ty Green moves to town, she worries he might not only steal her starring role, but also her heart.

The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green
Recommended Age: Young Adults
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN-10: 987-0-525-47881-2
Year Published: 2012
No. Pages: 318
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Main Character Gender: Female
Read & Reviewed by: Jack



The Fault In Our Stars is a novel that deals with life and death. The main character, Hazel, has cancer but this book is not a depressing cancer book. Hazel sees herself living on borrowed time and she is cajoled by her mom to join a support group. There, she meets Isaac, a boy who loses his eyes to cancer and a boy named Augustus Waters, who lost his leg to cancer but is now cancer free.

Only after meeting Augustus, does she begin to live her life again. Augustus provides Hazel with friendship and humour and encourages her to not let cancer consume her. She is eager to pursue her hopes and dreams, love Augustus and be loved in return. Hazel tells Augustus about her favourite novel and after reading it, he ends up loving it as much as she does. Hazel’s dream is to meet the author of An Imperial Affliction, Peter Van Houten, who ends his novel with a cliffhanger. Hazel is desperate to know its conclusion, so the two begin a journey to discover how the novel ended and more about themselves in the process.

Brutal

Author: Micheal Harmon
Recommended Age: Young Adult
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0375840990
Year Published: 2009
No. Pages: 240
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Main Character Gender: Female
Read & Reviewed by: Joyce




“If I'd known I'd be living in Benders Hollow, California, when I was sixteen, I would have traded back every complaint I had about my life for a bus ticket out of this place. No can do, though. I'm stuck here for a year. Then I'll be gone back to Los Angeles, and on my own.”

When sixteen-year-old Poe Holly's doctor mother leaves to go save lives in South America, Poe is dumped at her father's doorstep in the small town of Benders, Hollow. A counselor at the local high school, Benders High, he is a man she has never really known. She misses her friends and Los Angeles but Poe makes a few friends including Theo, the mayor's son and Velveeta, her neighbour. Velveeta is the butt of every prank at Benders High. When the pranks turn deadly, Poe refuses to sit by and do nothing. She decides to put herself in the path of danger and fight for justice. Will she succeed?

Also Known as Rowan Pohi

Author: Ralph Fletcher
Recommended Age: 10 +
Publisher: Clarion Books
ISBN-10: 0547572085
ISBN-13: 978-0547572086
Year Published: 2011
No. Pages: 208
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Main Character Gender: Male
Read & Reviewed by: Morgan



Bobby Steele and his friends, Big Poobs and Marcus are all public school kids who are waiting for tenth grade. Sitting in a IHOP restaurant with an application to a private school in their area, the boys decide to create a fictitious person to see if they can get him accepted. Rowan Pohi is born. When the acceptance letter lands on Bobby's doorstep it seems like it's a harmless joke. Now Bobby wonders if he can pull off being Rowan Pohi and see just how far he can take this joke. Will Bobby get caught?

Finding Somewhere

Author: Joseph Monninger
Recommended Age: 12 and up
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ISBN-10: 0385739427
ISBN-13: 978-0385739429
Year Published: 2011
No. Pages: 240
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Main Character Gender: Female
Read & Reviewed by: Kestrel 


Hattie is a 16 year old girl with a love of horses. She loves an old horse named Speed whom she takes care of for another family. Speed has worked his whole life hauling young children around over boring everyday trails- the only thing he has ever known how to do. Hattie knows that Speed's time on earth is limited and the night before he's scheduled to be shot she steels him. With the help of her friend Delores, they run away from home with hopes of giving speed a chance at being a free horse. They explore the west in search of a sutible rangeland for Speed. Speed is not the only one being set free, as Hattie and Delores weave there way through the west, they explore new ways to work out complications of their past and gain insights on their future.