Tough teen authors write about tough guys making tough decisions

Babylon Boyz ~Jess Mowry
Dante, Pook and Wyatt find a suitcase full of cocaine and must decide whether to sell it and take the opportunities the money would provide or to destroy it to keep the drug from poisoning their community.

The Buffalo Tree ~Adam Rapp
While serving a six-month sentence at a juvenile detention center, Sura struggles to survive the experience with his spirit intact, something his bunkmate is not able to do.

Buried Onions ~Gary Soto
When Eddie drops out of college, he struggles to find a place for himself as a Mexican American living in a violence-infested neighborhood of Fresno, California.

Chinese Handcuffs ~Chris Crutcher
Still troubled by his older brother's violent suicide, Dillon becomes deeply involved in the terrible secret of his friend Jennifer, who feels she can tell no one what her stepfather is doing to her.

Dakota Dream ~James Bennett
Floyd, or Charly Black Crow as he prefers to be called, runs away from his group home to seek his destiny as a member of the Dakota tribe.

Heroes ~Robert Cormier
After joining the army at fifteen and having his face blown away by a grenade in a battle in France, Francis returns home to Frenchtown hoping to find-and kill-the former childhood hero he feels betrayed him.

Mick (Blue Eyed Son, #1) ~Chris Lynch
His friendship with two Hispanic students offers Mick an alternative to the drunken savagery of his brother and the narrow thinking of his Irish-American neighborhood in Boston. First in a trilogy, continuing with Blood Relations and Dog Eat Dog.

Missing the Piano ~Adam Rapp
Enrolled in St. Matthew's Military Academy by his father and new stepmother, Mike must learn to survive in the face of brutality and ignorance.

Rats Saw God ~Rob Thomas
To make up the credit for an English class he failed, Steve produces a journal that reveals how he has gone from a National Merit scholar to an underachieving stoner.

Smack ~Melvin Burgess
After running away from their troubled homes, two English teenagers move in with a group of squatters in the port city of Bristol and try to find ways to support their growing addiction to heroin.

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes ~Chris Crutcher
Because of their "terminal uglies," Eric, who is overweight, and Sarah, who was badly burned as a young child, become fast friends. When Sarah learns the truth of her accident, Eric has to answer a dramatic cry for help.

Tenderness ~Robert Cormier
Eric has just been released from juvenile detention for murdering his mother and stepfather. Now he's looking for tenderness-tenderness he finds in caressing and killing beautiful girls.

Tomorrow When the War Began ~John Marsden
Seven Australian teenagers return from a camping trip in the bush to discover that their country has been invaded and they must hide to stay alive. The story continues in The Dead of the Night, A Killing Frost, Darkness Be My Friend and Burning for Revenge.

Who Killed Mr. Chippendale? ~Mel Glenn
Free verse poems describe the reactions of students, colleagues and others when a high school teacher is shot to death as the school day begins.