Robin Stevenson

Tom Ryan

Following cousins on a road trip to Pride as they dive into family secrets and friendships, When You Get the Chance is a contemporary YA novel, perfect for fans of David Levithan and Becky Albertalli, and for readers looking for a story of friendship and family. As kids, Mark and his cousin Talia spent many happy summers together at the family cottage in Ontario, but a fight between their parents put an end to the annual event. Living on opposite coasts--Mark in Halifax and Talia in Victoria--they haven't seen each other in years. When their grandfather dies unexpectedly, Mark and Talia find themselves reunited at the cottage once again, cleaning it out while the family decides what to do with it. Mark and Talia are both queer, but they soon realize that's about all they have in common, other than the fact that they'd both prefer to be in Toronto. Talia is desperate to see her high school sweetheart Erin, who's barely been in touch since leaving to spend the summer working at a coffee shop in the gay village. Mark, on the other hand, is just looking for some fun, and Toronto Pride seems like the perfect place to find it. When a series of complications throws everything up in the air, Mark and Talia--with Mark's little sister Paige in tow--decide to hit the road for Toronto. With a bit of luck, and some help from a series of unexpected new friends, they might just make it to the big city and find what they're looking for. That is, if they can figure out how to start seeing things through each other's eyes.

When You Get the Chance

Julie McLaughlin

Pride Puppy!

Sarah N. Harvey

When a group of teens are sent to a wilderness camp on an island to work through their problems, one of the girls vanishes, an ex-cop dies, and the radio has been disrupted, the kids choose to take matters into their own hands and find the executioner.

Blood on the Beach

Follow cousins on a road trip to Pride as they dive into family secrets and friendships in this contemporary novel—perfect for fans of David Levithan and Becky Albertalli. As kids, Mark and his cousin Talia spent many happy summers together at the family cottage in Ontario, but a fight between their parents put an end to the annual event. Living on opposite coasts—Mark in Halifax and Talia in Victoria—they haven't seen each other in years. When their grandfather dies unexpectedly, Mark and Talia find themselves reunited at the cottage once again, cleaning it out while the family decides what to do with it. Mark and Talia are both queer, but they soon realize that's about all they have in common, other than the fact that they'd both prefer to be in Toronto. Talia is desperate to see her high school sweetheart Erin, who's barely been in touch since leaving to spend the summer working at a coffee shop in the Gay Village. Mark, on the other hand, is just looking for some fun, and Toronto Pride seems like the perfect place to find it. When a series of complications throws everything up in the air, Mark and Talia—with Mark's little sister Paige in tow—decide to hit the road for Toronto. With a bit of luck, and some help from a series of unexpected new friends, they might just make it to the big city and find what they're looking for. That is, if they can figure out how to start seeing things through each other's eyes.

Wolf's mother is obsessed with saving the world's honeybees. He gets that. It's another thing entirely when she announces that she's taking her Save the Bees show on the road--family style and complete with mortifying bee costumes. What will it take for Wolf and his sisters to convince her that dragging the family around the province in a beat-up Ford panel van may not be the best idea she ever had?

The Summer We Saved the Bees

This work of nonfiction for middle readers examines what--and why--gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and their supporters celebrate on Pride Day every June.

Celebrating Diversity & Community

Pride

True Tales of Childhood from Champions of Change

Kid Activists

Franny is close to her parents, adores her horse and is head over heels in love with her girlfriend, Leah. But Franny s parents are abortion providers at the local hospital, and an anonymous stranger is prepared to do whatever it takes to stop them. A stranger who phones at all hours. Who knows where they live. Who knows Franny s name. When Leah s older brother, Jake, refers to her parents as baby killers, Franny starts to wonder if perhaps the threats aren t coming from a stranger at all. If she tells the police about her suspicions, she could lose her girlfriend. But if she doesn t--and if she s right--she could lose her parents."

Under Threat

This nonfiction book for teens examines the ongoing fight for abortion rights and reproductive justice.

The Fight for Abortion Rights

My Body My Choice

With the world mourning over President Kennedy's assassination and his family reeling from the death of his baby sister, Jack decides that setting a world record will help his family heal.

Record breaker

In an attempt to escape from his overbearing parents, Theo goes on a spontaneous road trip with his old babysitter, and ends up in an uncomfortable situation.

Damage

A year after the death of her mother, Fiona remains reluctant to move on with her life, especially when her father begins to date a professional psychic that claims to be able to communicate with the dead.

Liars and Fools

Moving, relatable, and totally true childhood biographies of Martin Luther King Jr., Susan B. Anthony, Helen Keller, Malala Yousafzai, and 12 other inspiring activists. Every activist started out as a kid—and in some cases they were kids when their activism began! But even the world’s greatest champions of civil liberties had relatable interests and problems--often in the middle of extraordinary circumstances. Martin Luther King, Jr. loved fashion, and argued with his dad about whether or not dancing was a sin. Harvey Milk had a passion for listening to opera music in different languages. Dolores Huerta was once wrongly accused of plagiarizing in school. Kid Activists tells these childhood stories and more through kid-friendly texts and full-color cartoon illustrations on nearly every page. The diverse and inclusive group encompasses Susan B. Anthony, James Baldwin, Ruby Bridges, Frederick Douglass, Alexander Hamilton, Dolores Huerta, Helen Keller, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Iqbal Masih, Harvey Milk, Janet Mock, Rosa Parks, Autumn Peltier, Emma Watson, and Malala Yousafzai.

A year-long sailing trip to the Bahamas reveals deep wounds in Rachel's family and brings out the worst in Rachel.

A Thousand Shades of Blue

Dante has a hard time adjusting to school and becomes friends with Parker, a school drop-out who lives with her boyfriend, James, but when James and his friends plan something illegal, Dante begins to reexamine her values and priorities.

Inferno

Derek, a gay seventeen-year-old teenager who is overweight, maintains an Internet relationship with Ethan, who is also gay, but when Ethan wants to meet, Derek gets advice from Aaliyah, a young woman who has suffered a stroke.

Big Guy

Dylan has a mother, sister, and best friend, but no father, until he steps back into her life and asks and important favor and Dylan wonders what really makes someone family.

Hummingbird Heart

Moving, funny, and totally true childhood biographies of Bill Gates, Madam C. J. Walker, Hedy Lamarr, Walt Disney, and 12 other international innovators. Throughout history people have experimented, invented, and created new ways of doing things. Kid Innovators tells the stories of a diverse group of brilliant thinkers in fields like technology, education, business, science, art, and entertainment, reminding us that every innovator started out as a kid. Florence Nightingale rescued baby mice. Alan Turing was a daydreamer with terrible handwriting. And Alvin Ailey felt like a failure at sports. Featuring kid-friendly text and full-color illustrations, readers will learn about the young lives of people like Grace Hopper, Steve Jobs, Reshma Saujani, Jacques Cousteau, the Wright Brothers, William Kamkwamba, Elon Musk, Jonas Salk, and Maria Montessori.

True Tales of Childhood from Inventors and Trailblazers

Kid Innovators

Despite his father's opposition, Simon "Spacey" Drake is determined to become a long-distance sailor, so he signs up for a week-long live-aboard sailing course. The trip gets off to a rough start, but the real trouble begins when Simon and Olivia, another student, get curious about a nearby cabin cruiser in an anchorage. They investigate and stumble upon an abalone poaching operation, but the poachers have far too much at stake to let a couple of kids get in their way. Simon has always believed that the only person you can count on is yourself, but when he and Olivia find their lives in danger, he knows they will have to work with the rest of the crew if they are to survive.

Robin Stevenson

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