Last Updated: February 9, 2023
Epically Earnest
by Molly Horan
Jane Worthing’s claim to fame is that she was one of the first viral internet sensations…discovered as a one-year-old in an oversized Gucci bag by her adopted father in a Poughkeepsie train station. Now in her senior year of high school, Janey is questioning whether she wants to look for her bio family due to a loving, but deeply misguided push from her best friend Algie, while also navigating an all-consuming crush on his cousin, the beautiful, way-out-of-her-league Gwen Fairfax.
Far From the Tree
by Robin Benway
Three teenagers, biological siblings separated by adoption, explore the meaning of family in all its forms–how to find it, how to keep it, and how to love it.
Full Disclosure
by Camryn Garrett
Simone Garcia-Hampton is starting over at a new school, making real friends, making a name for herself as student director of Rent, and making a play for Miles. The last thing she wants is for word to get out that she’s HIV-positive, because last time things got ugly. As Simone and Miles start going out, as shy kisses escalate into much more, she knows she has to tell him that she’s positive. But she’s terrified of how he’ll react. When she finds an anonymous note in her locker that threatens to expose her, she begins to wonder if the only way to rise above is to face the haters head-on.
How to Be Remy Cameron
by Julian Winters
Everyone on campus knows Remy Cameron: he’s the out-and-proud, super-likable guy who friends, faculty, and fellow students alike admire for his cheerful confidence. Under pressure to write an A+ essay defining who he is and who he wants to be, Remy embarks on an emotional journey toward reconciling the outward labels people attach to him with the real Remy Cameron within.
Little Universes
by Heather Demetrios
Two sisters struggle with the secrets brought to light in the aftermath of their parents’ sudden death.
Love Blind
by C. Desir and Jolene Perry
Shy high schooler Kyle Jamieson forms an unusual friendship with Hailey Bosler, a girl rocker with degenerative blindness; they partner together to tackle a bucket list of greatest fears and in the process discover the painful reality of bad timing.
Meet me in Mumbai
by Sabina Khan
Seventeen-year-old Mira Fuller-Jensen was adopted by her moms at birth. All she knows about her biological mother is that she was a high-school student from India who went back to India after giving birth. Although Mira loves her moms, she’s always felt like a misfit in her mostly white community. That starts to change when Nikhil Verma transfers to her school from Mumbai. They become fast friends and he helps Mira connect to her heritage through his family and their love for Indian cooking and Bollywood. Despite this new connection, Mira still feels left out of the Indian community, and like she will never fully belong anywhere. So when Mira finds an old box with letters addressed to her from her birth mother, she finally sees a way to fully capture that feeling of belonging. Her mother writes that if Mira can forgive her for having to give her up, she should find a way to travel to India for her 18th birthday and meet her mother at a designated place and time. With her birthday approaching, Mira knows she’ll always regret it if she doesn’t go. But is she actually ready for what she will learn? And in unlocking the secrets of her past, is Mira also unlocking her true feelings for Nikhil?
The Beauty That Remains
by Ashley Woodfolk
Music brought Autumn, Shay, and Logan together. Autumn is a talented artist and a loyal friend. Shay was defined by two things: her bond with her twin sister, Sasha, and her love of music. And Logan has always turned to writing love songs when his real love life was a little less than perfect. But death might pull them apart– when tragedy strikes each of them, music is no longer enough.
The Bridge
by Bill Konigsberg
Aaron is a gay misfit struggling with depression and loneliness. Tillie isn’t sure what her problem is, only that she will never be good enough. They arrive at the George Washington Bridge at the same time. There are four things that could happen: Aaron jumps and Tillie doesn’t. Tillie jumps and Aaron doesn’t. They both jump. Neither of them jumps. Or maybe all four things happen. Includes resources about suicide prevention and suicide prevention for LGBTQIA+ youth.
The Inexplicable Logic of my Life
by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
A story set on the American border with Mexico, about family and friendship, life and death, and one teen struggling to understand what his adoption does and doesn’t mean about who he is.