Feel like an outsider? You're not alone. Check out these great reads about teens who dance to their own beat.

Bad ~Jean Ferris
Dallas is sent to a juvenile detention facility after she is caught in a convenience store hold-up with a gun.

The Blue Lawn ~William Taylor
David and Theo are rugby teammates who at first deny, then acknowledge their attraction to each other.

Boys Lie ~John Neufeld
When Gina's new friends find out she was sexually assaulted in her old town, she gets the reputation of being easy.

Breaking Rank ~Kristen D. Randle
In this modern-day Romeo & Juliet, Casey agrees to tutor Thomas, a member of the notorious Clan.

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen ~Dyan Sheldon
Mary Elizabeth, who prefers to be called Lola, moves from exciting Manhattan to a small town and goes head-to-head with the popular Carla.

Dancer ~Lori Hewett
All Stephanie wants to do is be a ballerina, but how many professional black ballerinas does she know?

Dare Truth or Promise ~Paula Boock
Louie is rich and cultured and Willa lives above a pub but when they meet sparks fly in this girl-meets-girl romance.

A Face in Every Window ~Han Nolan
J.P.'s whole life changes when his mother wins an old farmhouse in an essay contest and moves her family and various characters into it.

Hard Love ~Ellen Wittlinger
John is an unhappy loner and then he falls in love with Marisol, a self-proclaimed "rich spoiled lesbian private-school gifted-and-talented writer virgin" of her own zine.

Hate You ~Graham McNee
Alice writes songs but can't sing them due to the abuse she suffered at the hands of her father when she was ten.

Looking for Alibrandi ~Melina Marchetta
Josephine is treated like an outsider in her Catholic school and is torn between wealthy good boy John and working class bad boy Jacob.

Losing Louisa ~Judith Caseley
Lacey is devastated by her parent's divorce and her mother's new life and then, her smart pretty and perfect older sister winds up pregnant.

Necking with Louise ~Rick Book
Seven related stories recall the pain and joy of Eric's adolescence in 1965.

The Other Ones ~Jean Thesman
Bridget has spent the last ten years of her life denying she is a witch, but when a new girl at school needs her help can she accept her true nature?

Stop Pretending: What Happened when my Big Sister went Crazy ~Sonya Sones
Written in verse, this is a poignant straight-on telling of what happens when the author's sister winds up in a mental institution.

Tribes of Palos Verdes ~Joy Nicholson
Twins Medina and Jim move from Michigan to the California coast-all Jim wants to do is escape and all Medina wants to do is learn to surf.

Violet and Claire ~Francesca Lia Block
Set in Block's magical world of L.A., this is the story of aspiring screenwriter Violet and gossamer-winged poet Claire.

When Jeff Comes Home ~Catherine Atkins
Jeff returns home after being held three years by a kidnapper and must deal with the guilt over the sexual abuse he suffered and the twisted loyalty he feels towards his abductor.

Compiled by L. Baldwin, Librarian
Brick & Upper Shores
December 2000