When sixteen-year-old Tracey runs away she finds that making ends meet in New York City for a young girl with few real skills is nearly impossible. That s when Tracey becomes Amanda, a topless dancer. On her first day of work, another dancer gives Amanda this advice: Never mix this place with the real world, but already Tracey s and Amanda s worlds seem like one big blur...

I ve discovered that if you wear a big enough hat, no one worries much about what s going on inside your head, says Cary. And no one, not even her boyfriend, Danny, knows about the things inside Cary s head. Especially the feelings she has for Wendy, a girl with bright green hair and hard-candy sadness in her eyes.

An ALA Best Book for Young Adults, an ALA Quick Pick, and an ALA Recommended Book for Reluctant Young Readers Nancy and Katie are best friends with one big thing in common-they both cut themselves: "Not by accident, we do it purposely-and regularly-because physical pain is comforting, and because now it has become a habit." Crosses was the first novel for young adults to deal with an increasingly widespread disorder, and "graphically describes the cry for help of many adolescents and how far they have to fall before they are even noticed" (Voice of Young Adults).

Izzy and bff Seven (whose name was supposed to have been "Steven," but the "t" was left off his birth certificate) set out to rescue a dog, Bone, from its abusive owner. Although they fail repeatedly, they cannot stop trying-though Izzy wonders why not. What's so important that they have to risk "life and limb" to save this dog? But then Izzy learns a truth about Seven, a reality that is so horrible, that she realizes it isn't only Bone who needs saving-it is Seven.