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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Long Shot
by Eric WaltersWhen Nick and Kia arrive for try-outs for the basketball team they played on the previous year, they are surprised to meet their new coach. Coach Barkley is a former college star known for his fierce desire to win. Though the coach has been away from the game for many years, his competitive instincts are as strong as ever and his aggressive coaching techniques are a new experience for these kids. Suddenly making the rep team no longer seems the sure thing that Nick and Kia expected when they came to try-outs. This is hard on Nick and Kia, but especially difficult for the coach's son, L.B., who is also trying out for the team. When the coach matches them up against a team of older players and then refuses to accept their loss, the kids begin to wonder if they even want to make this team. Nick, Kia and L.B. finally have to decide whether to play for a tyrant or to take a stand on principle and face the consequences.
Off Season
by Eric WaltersReaders of Hoop Crazy will remember Ned as the bug-loving beanpole who lives in an isolated national park out West, three hours from the nearest basketball court. But Ned's participation in the three-on-three tournament when he visited Nick has sparked his interest in the game and now he and his father have built their own basketball court in the wilderness. And Ned's hoop skills have improved considerably. Nick and Kia are just beginning to get the hang of life in the wilderness when disaster strikes. A raging forest fire threatens to destroy Ned's home and cut off their escape.
Overdrive
by Eric WaltersA street race ends in a tragic accident. Jake's friends tell him to run, but he doesn't know if he can—or should—run from the truth. Jake has finally got his driver's license, and tonight he has his brother's car as well. He and his friend Mickey take the car out and cruise the strip. When they challenge another driver to a street race, a disastrous chain reaction causes an accident. Jake and Mickey leave the scene, trying to convince themselves they were not involved. Jake finds he cannot pretend it didn't happen and struggles with deciding on the right thing to do. Should he pretend he was not involved? Or should he go to the police? The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.
Road Trip
by Eric WaltersNick, Kia and their Mississauga Magic teammates are on the road, heading off to an elite hoop tournament in the Midwest. Feeling outmatched by many of the high-profile teams, the kids are still looking forward to a good time. However, Coach Barkley, who played college ball in the area and is still regarded as a hero, has other ideas. As usual, nothing but winning will be good enough for Coach. As the tournament progresses, the Magic players learn to believe in themselves and come to realize that they can hold their own against the opposing teams.
Special Edward
by Eric WaltersEdward is a classic slacker. He's got better ways to spend his time than toiling over homework, and as long as he gets passing grades he's happy. When his fifty percent average is threatened he has to find a way to pull up his grades without applying himself. Edward discovers that special education students get more time to complete tests, and he thinks he's found the perfect scam. Little does he know that manipulating everyone around him will take more work than he ever imagined. Also available in French.
Splat! (Orca Currents)
by Eric WaltersKeegan and Alex decide to add some excitement to the town's tomato festival.
Stuffed
by Eric WaltersCan Ian stand up for what he believes in? When Ian and his classmates watch a documentary about the health concerns of eating fast food, Ian decides to start a boycott and stop everyone he can from eating at Frankie's, a huge fast-food chain with a questionable menu. The boycott takes off and Frankie's gets concerned. The company's lawyers threaten Ian and his friends and try to force them to stop the boycott. Ian must convince others that the boycott is a good idea, but can he do it? The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.
Three on Three
by Eric WaltersNick and Kia get excited when their school gym teacher announces a "three-on-three" basketball tournament. The two most dedicated players in grade three, they know they'll be tough to beat. But when Nick finds out they'll be up against teams in grade four and five, he is ready to throw in the towel before they start. How can shrimps like them ever hope to beat the older kids? Easy, get the best player in the school to be your third player. Marcus is bigger, tougher and in grade five. But it's not as easy to convince Marcus to join their team. The older boy is often uneasy around them, but worse, Kia and Nick find themselves making enemies of some of the kids in the upper grade. Nick realizes it's going to take more than skill at basketball to win this tournament and make friends with Marcus without becoming targets for the older kids off the court.
Underdog
by Eric WaltersIt's a new season for Nick and Kia and once again they have to prove they've got what it takes to make the Mississauga Magic rep team. There is no free ride on Coach Barkley's team. The tryouts are tough but fair and it looks like the nucleus of last yearís team will be together once again. But there is one new player who seems to have the skills to impress the coach. Though Ashton has great skills, he's not much of a team player. On top of that he's not even sure he wants to make the team. Unable to imagine that anyone wouldn't want to play for the Magic, Nick and Kia set out to solve this dilemma and learn some tough lessons along the way.
War of the Eagles
by Eric WaltersDuring WWII, Jed’s English father serves as a fighter pilot overseas, while Jed and his mother move back to her Tsimshian community on Canada's west coast. When the military sets up a naval base in town, Jed is hired to help out, honored it seems, for both his father's bravery and his own native skills as a hunter. Presented with a military jacket, Jed finds an allegiance to his country and a pride in his mixed heritage that he's never felt before. But one day Jed's world is shattered. His best friend Tadashi, along with the other members of the nearby Japanese village, are declared enemy aliens and told to prepare to leave their homes. Now Jed must ask himself where his allegiance really belongs…to his country's rigid code, or to the truth that is buried in his Tsimshian soul. War of the Eagles is the first of two books in a series. Book two is Caged Eagles.
Klepto
by Lori WeberKat's sister Hannah is about to return from a home for troubled teens. Her parents can't wait for the big day, and everyone is determined to find out what went wrong with Hannah and make things right -- everyone except Kat, that is. Kat dreads going back to a life dominated by here sister's tantrums and wild escapades. The only place she feels in control is at the mall, where everything she wants is at her fingertips and no one is better at the art of stealing. As Hannah's return nears, Kat's shoplifting escalates into a full-blown addiction -- with dangerous consequences.
Split (SideStreets)
by Lori WeberAfter her mother suddenly leaves her family for good, Sandra is left behind with her alcoholic father -- and a lot of anger. At first, Sandra is more concerned with getting a job and getting on with her life, but then the people around her start pushing Sandra to at least try to find her missing mother. What will Sandra say to her mother if they are reunited? And how do you find a person who may not want to be found?
Strange Beauty (SideStreets)
by Lori WeberPenny gets a reading assignment and chooses to interview her grandma, who tells her all about the Queen of Sheba and her celebrated beauty. Then grandma dies and the eccentric lady next door comes to pay her respects. That's when Penny begins to realize that there is a "Strange Beauty" in all of us and that beauty is sometimes fleeting.
Shadow Ride
by Tamara L. WilliamsBronwen Smith trains hard with Olympus, her Hanoveriean-cross gelding, preparing for the most grueling of equestrian events: three-day eventing, including dressage, stadium and cross-country jumping. A member of the Ontario Young Riders' Team, she aims to excel at the North American Young Riders' Championships upcoming in Illinois. She trains so hard, in fact, that she hasn't time to make friends, and recently her secret demon--bulimia--has returned to plague her. A chance encounter with a poet and his wife, however, forces Bronwen to reassess her priorities. Soon she's moving towards the balance needed to truly succeed, in the show ring and in life. Shadow Ride shows how hard it can be for a young woman to set high standards for herself and at the same time accept who she is.
Death on the River
by John WilsonSurviving prison camp is one thing, but can Jake survive his trip home?
Gold
by John WilsonSam and Annabel are on vacation with Annabel's parents in Italy. While visiting the small hilltop town of Civita, they hear rumors of looted gold from World War II buried somewhere in the town's network of underground tunnels and caves. Once again the two friends cross paths with their old nemesis, Humphrey Battleford, but he is not the only one in pursuit of the gold. An intimidating man named Kurt, the grandson of a ruthless Nazi, is also snooping around. After Annabel is kidnapped, Sam must solve the mystery of the hidden treasure to save his friend. This is the fourth mystery featuring Sam and Annabel, after Stolen, Bones and Lost. This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read!
Written in Blood
by John WilsonSet in the harsh desert world of the Arizona Territory and northern Mexico during the 1870s, Written in Blood follows young Jim Doolen as he attempts to find some trace of the father who abandoned his family ten years earlier. As he travels through a scorched landscape very different from the lush West Coast forests of his home, Jim crosses paths with an assortment of intriguing characters, including an Apache warrior, a cave-dwelling mystic, an old Mexican revolutionary and a mysterious cowboy. And with each encounter he learns something more of the strange world he has entered and adds one more link in a chain that leads back to his father-and back to a dark, violent past. As his story approaches its thrilling conclusion in a ruined Mexican hacienda, Jim comes to realize that his father's life was much more complex than he had imagined, and that, in discovering his past, he has opened the way to his future.
Queen of the Toilet Bowl
by Frieda WishinskyWhen Renata is chosen to play the lead role in the school musical, students who used to ignore her start saying hello and congratulating her in the hall. She enjoys her newfound acceptance at school until she realizes that Karin, a wealthy girl who expected to get the lead role, will go to great lengths to punish Renata for her success. Renata is not going to give up the role, but how much tormenting will she have to take?
Breathless
by Pam WithersBeverly is in Hawaii, helping her uncle at his dive shop, learning how to dive and trying to lose weight and get a boyfriend. When Garth, an accomplished diver, shows an interest in her, Beverly is ecstatic, until it turns out Garth is only interested in one thing. Struggling with failing strength from her self-imposed starvation diet, Beverly finds herself in deep trouble when she has to fight Garth off underwater. Also available in Spanish.
Camp Wild
by Pam WithersWilf is convinced his parents want nothing to do with him. When he isn't in school, he is left to his own devices or shipped away to camp. But at fifteen, Wilf is adamant that he is too old for summer camp. When his parents ignore his protests and ship him off anyway, he knows how he will get their attention: He will escape from camp by canoe and spend the rest of his vacation alone in the woods, proving to his parents he deserves his independence. His plan begins to unravel when his cabin mate forces Wilf to take him along. Things go from bad to worse when a younger camper follows them and they all end up in a fight for their lives against the unforgiving river. This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read! The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.
Daredevil Club
by Pam WithersKip's only friends are the members of the Daredevil Club, a club whose mission is to complete seven dangerous dares before their rivals, the Wildmen, complete their list of dares. Before the cliff-diving accident in which he lost the use of his leg, Kip had been the leader of the Daredevil Club. Now he has difficulty completing the dares and suspects that his membership is threatened. As the daredevils plan their final stunt, a dangerous climb along a narrow steel shelf beneath a bridge, they try to convince Kip that he may not be up to the task. Kip refuses to back down even though he suspects his friends might be right. This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read! The epub edition of this title is fully accessible. Also available in French.
First Descent
by Pam WithersMontana-born Rex loves nothing more than to take his kayak out on a river, the faster and more powerful the better. When he gets the opportunity to tackle the well-named El Furioso in southwest Colombia, he is thrilled. He anticipates the river's challenges, but finds himself in a situation where the real danger is human. In Colombia, he meets Myriam Calambás, an indígena, who has lived along the El Furioso all her life. Though she loves its rushing waters, she dreams of leaving to get an education so that she can help her people. Her dreams, and her very survival, are in the balance when she and Rex are caught up in the clash between paramilitaries, working for rich landowners, and guerillas, who are supposed to be protecting the poor.Pam Withers' skill at writing about extreme adventures combines with a compelling story about an endangered world and a people struggling for their very right to exist.From the Hardcover edition.
Pale
by Chris WoodingThe Lazarus Serum can bring you back from the dead - but when you come back you've changed - you're a Pale, an outcast. It's the last thing Jed wants, but an accident changes everything and Jed's forced to discover the true cost of living forever.
Learning to Fly
by Paul YeeJason is an outsider. A recent immigrant from China, he lives in a close-minded town with his mother and younger brother. Falling in with the wrong crowd, trying to fit in, Jason takes chances and ends up in trouble with the police. Holding on to his friendship with an Indigenous boy, also an outsider, Jason finds he needs to fight to belong and to find a new home.
See No Evil
by Diane YoungWhen Shawn and Daniel witness a gang beating behind the local mall they flee the scene, terrified that they've been seen. They recognize one of the attackers as a locally infamous gang member. When they learn that the kid who was attacked is in critical condition, Shawn wants to go to the police, but Daniel convinces him that they are in more danger if they speak up. The threats they receive from other members of the gang reinforce the boys' fears. When the gang attacks Daniel, Shawn has to put his own safety at risk to help his friend. This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read!