My So Called Family

Leah Hoffman-Ross just moved to New York and she wants her new friends to think she's a typical thirteen-year-old. But Leah has a secret: She doesn't have a father; she has a donor. Before Leah was born, her mother went to Lyon's Reproductive Services and picked Donor 730. Now Leah has a stepfather and a little brother, and her mom thinks that they should be all the family Leah needs. Despite her attempts to fit in and be normal, Leah can't help but feel like something is missing. When she finds the link to the Lyon's Sibling Registry, Leah has to see if she has any half siblings. And when she discovers that one of the other kids from Donor 730 is a girl her age, Leah will do anything to meet her -- even if she has to hide it from everybody else. Debut author Courtney Sheinmel puts a contemporary spin on a timeless question in this heartfelt novel about what makes a family.

A vital and triumphant story of perseverance and recovery by one of Canada’s foremost advocates for mental health When Mark Henick was a teenager in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, he was overwhelmed by depression and anxiety that led to a series of increasingly dangerous suicide attempts. One night, he climbed onto a bridge over an overpass and stood in the wind, clinging to a girder. Someone shouted, “Jump, you coward!” Another man, a stranger in a brown coat, talked to him quietly, calmly and with deep empathy. Just as Henick’s feet touched open air, the man in the brown coat encircled his chest and pulled him to safety. This near-death experience changed Henick’s life forever. So-Called Normal is Henick’s memoir about growing up in a broken home and the events that led to that fateful night on the bridge. It is a vivid and personal account of the mental health challenges he experienced in childhood and his subsequent journey toward healing and recovery.

When a teen girl is left alone without any friends, it's like nothing else matters.It's August and 15-year-old Lizzie Stein has returned from camp to start ninth grade. The moment she steps foot onto her pink plush rug in her bedroom and tries to reconnect with her three best friends, she begins to realize that they suddenly don't seem like the friends she used to know. Then there's math class that makes her all dizzy while keeping her stomach turned into the perfect knot! One night at a party, Lizzie meets the guy of her dreams but ends up being ridiculed by her so-called friends, and they won't let her get away with what she has done--and to whom. How far will Lizzie's so-called friends go to punish her? How much can she take? Who will show up during all of this turmoil to help her get back on her feet?

The word “millennial,” like antecedent “boomer,” evokes crisp images in our collective consciousness, from skinny jeans and side parts to social media and student loans. This collection of columns by Cassie McClure is an insightful window into millennial adulthood and the lessons learned by a generation born for a new millennium.

After her father is accused of murdering her mother, Tate McCoy is convinced he is innocent and tries to prove her life isn't ruined by spending time with her best friend and pursuing her summer crush, until she discovers the truth.

After dying in a cheerleading accident, high school freshman Karen turns into a zombie and enrolls at a boarding school for the undead where she uncovers a murder mystery.

The romance of Stephanie Perkins meets the quirk of Maureen Johnson, then gets a Bollywood twist in this fate-filled debut that takes the future into its own hands. Winnie Mehta was never really convinced that Raj was her soul mate, but their love was written in the stars. Literally, a pandit predicted Winnie would find the love of her life before her eighteenth birthday, and Raj meets all the qualifications. Which is why Winnie is shocked when she returns from her summer at film camp to find her boyfriend of three years hooking up with Jenny Dickens. As a self-proclaimed Bollywood expert, Winnie knows this is not how her perfect ending is scripted. Then there's Dev, a fellow film geek and one of the few people Winnie can count on. Dev is smart and charming, and he challenges Winnie to look beyond her horoscope and find someone she'd pick for herself. But does falling for Dev mean giving up on her prophecy and her chance to live happily ever after? To find her perfect ending, Winnie will need a little bit of help from fate, family, and of course, a Bollywood movie star. AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR "A delightful and humorous debut."--Kirkus Reviews, Starred review "The perfect timepass for both the Bollywood-obsessed and filmi (melodrama) novices."-Teen Vogue

Author Sara Horn always admired the Proverbs 31 wife, but when she became a busy writer and mother, she deemed this model to be dated and impossible. Or is it? Join Sara as she heads into a one-year domestic experiment and offers full access to see if this biblical model can be embraced by a modern woman—even one who can’t sew. With humility and humor, Sara sets out to pursue the Proverbs 31 characteristics through immersing herself in all things domestic, but when her family's situation changes and she must return to a full-time job, she's forced to look at the Proverbs 31 woman with a whole new viewpoint. Through it all, she and readers discover: what it means to be a godly woman and a wife how investing in family and faith refines priorities as a spouse and a parent how mistakes are opportunities for growth This thought-provoking, surprising, and entertaining personal account will inspire women to try their own experiments in living out God’s purpose for their lives.