Books of Special Interest to the Guidance Department
Available at the LCMR H.S. Media Center

Nonfiction

College Planning

The Latino Student’s Guide to College Success (Leonard A. Valerde, ed.) CAR 378.19 LAT

Colleges for Students With Learning Disabilities or ADD (378.73 COL)

Peterson’s Scholarships, Grants, & Prizes 2006 (378.3 PET)

The A’s and B’s of Academic Scholarships: 100,000 Scholarships for Top Students (Anna Leider) 378.3 LEI

African American Student’s College Guide: Your One-Stop Resource for Choosing the Right College, Getting In, and Paying the Bill (Isaac Black) CAR 378.1 BLA

Writing a Winning College Application Essay (Wilma Davidson, Ed.D. and Susan McCloskey, Ph.D.)
CAR 378.1 DAV

Goof-Proof College Admission Essays (Lauren Starkey) 808 STA

Great Careers in 2 Years: The Associate Degree Option (Paul Phifer) CAR 331.7 PHI

Careers

The 100 Best Business to Start When You Don’t Want to Work Hard Anymore (Lisa Rogak) Car 658.1 ROG

World of Work Series. Low reading level career resource:
Banking
Computers
Cosmetology
Hotels, motels, and resorts
Law enforcement
Music
Nutrition
Fishing Industry
Helping Professions
Restaurant Industry
Transportation

Exploring Careers series.
Carpenter
Accountant
Dentistry
Midwifery
National Parks
Video and Digital Video
Cruise Ships

Careers Without College series.
Building
Cars
Computers
Emergencies
Entertainment
Fashion
Fitness
Health Care
Kids
Money
Music
Office
Sports
Travel

Career Opportunities In Series.
Advertising and Publications
Art
Aviation and the Aerospace Industry
Computers and Cyberspace
Radio
Science
Televsion, Cable, Video, and Multimedia
Fashion Industry
Film Industry
Food and Beverage Industry
Music Industry

But What If I Don’t Want to Go to College: A Guide to Success Through Alternative Education (Harlow G. Unger) CAR 370.11 UNG

Teen Dream Jobs: How to Find the Job You REALLY Want Now! (Nora E. Coon) CAR 650.14 COO

Sunshine Jobs: Career Opportunities Working Outdoors (Tom Stienstra) CAR 331.7 STI

Young Person’s Occupational Outlook Handbook (Descriptions for More Than 270 Top Jobs)
CAR 331.702 YOU

So You Want to Be a Pro (Pellom McDaniels) 613.7 McD
Gives advice on how to be a pro athelete.

Life In Prison (Stanley Williams) B WIL

Self-Help

Cool It! Teen Tips to Keep Hot Tempers from Boiling Over (Dr. Michael Hershorn) 152.4 HER

What Do You Really Want? A Guide for Teens (How to Set A Goal and Go For It!) (Beverly K. Bachel)
153.8 BAC

Stick Up for Yourself! Every Kid’s Guide to Personal Power and Positive Self- Esteem
(Gershen Kaufman, Ph.D., Lev Raphael, Ph.d., and Pamela Espeland) 158.083 KAU

Free Yourself from Harmful Stress (Trevor Powell) 155.9 POW

How to Survive the Loss of a Love (Harold H. Bloomfield) 155.9 BLO

Psychology

Yes, Your Parents Are Crazy: A Teen Survival Guide (Michael J. Bradley, Ed.D.) 305.235 BRA

The Primal Teen: What the New Discoveries About the Teenage Brain Tell Us About Our Kids
(Barbara Strauch) 616.89 STR

A Tribe Apart: A Journey Into the Heart of American Adolescence (Patricia Hersch) 305.235 HER

Emotional and Physical Issues

When a Friend Dies: A Book for Teens About Grieving and Healing (Marilyn E. Gootman, Ed.D.) 155.9 GOO

Healing Your Grieving Heart for Teens: 100 Practical Ideas (Alan D. Wolfelt, PH.D.) 155.9 WOL

When Nothing Matters Anymore: A Survival Guide for Depressed Teens (Bev Cobain) 616.85 COB

The Burn Journals (Brent Runyan) 362.28 RUN
The poignant story of the recovery of a young man who tried to commit suicide by setting fire to himself. This is a first person account of his life in therapy – for mature readers.

It Happened to Me series:
Diabetes
Learning Disabilities
Epilepsy

Changing Bodies, Changing Lives (Ruth Bell) 613.9 BEL

Coping With ADD/ADHD (Jaydene Morrison, M.S.) 618.92 MOR

A Bird’s Eye View of Life with ADD and ADHD: Advice from Young Survivors
(Chris A. Ziegler Dendy and Alex Ziegler) 618.92 ZEI Bestseller Section

Teenagers With ADD: A Parent’s Guide (Chris A. Zeigler Dendy, M.S.) 616.85 ZEI

Teaching Teens With ADD and ADHD (Chris A. Zeigler Dendy, M.S.) PRO 371.92 ZEI

Stick Figure: A Diary of My Former Self (Lori Gottlieb) B GOT
The author shares her childhood diaries, chronicling her experiences as an eleven-year-old anorexic.

When Something Feels Wrong: A Survival Guide About Abuse for Young People (Deanna S. Pledge, Ph.D.) 616.85 PLE

Wayne: An Abused Child’s Story of Courage, Survival, and Hope (Wayne Theodore) B THE Bestseller Section

Everything You Need to Know About Self-Mutilation: A Helping Book for Teens Who Hurt Themselves (Gina Ng) 616.85 NG

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: A Guide for Families and Communities (Ann Streissguth) 618.3 STR

Displaced Teens

Close-Up (Szabinka Dudevszky) 362.7 DUD
Fifteen teenagers tell their stories about living away from their families, either in foster care of after having run away.

They Cage the Animals at Night (Richard Jennings Burch) 362.7 Bur
In 1949 the author's mother, unable to care for him, left him at a Brooklyn orphanage, and for the next three years he lived in institutions and foster homes. Finally, he found caring people.

Remix: Conversations With Immigrant Teenagers (920 BUD)
Profiles of teenagers from countries around the world, revealing their struggles to fit into American society and their personal triumphs.

Miscellaneous

Chicken Soup for the Surviving Soul (Jack Canfield, et. al.) 362.1 CHI

Hole In My Life (Jack Gantos) B GAN
This biography of an author who served time in prison for drug- running is for mature readers who may be making some poor life choices. Grades 11+.

Helping Teens Cope (Jami Biles Jones, Ph.D.) PRO 028.5 JON
Contains listings of books (by subject) suitable for bibliotherapy.

How to Write Powerful Letters of Recommendation (Susan Whalley, M.Ed.)
PRO 808.6 HOW

Fiction

Anger Management

Breathing Underwater (Alex Flynn) F FLY Bestseller Section
Sent to counseling for hitting his girlfriend, Caitlin, and ordered to keep a journal, sixteen-year-old Nick recounts his relationship with Caitlin, examines his controlling behavior and anger, and describes living with his abusive father.

Touching Spirit Bear (Ben Mikaelsen) F MIK
After his anger erupts into violence, fifteen year-old Cole, in order to avoid going to prison, agrees to participate in a sentencing alternative based on the Native American Circle Justice, and he is sent to a remote Alaskan Island where an encounter with a huge Spirit Bear changes his life.

Physical Abuse and Other Family Problems

Breathing Underwater (Alex Flynn) F FLY Bestseller Section
Sent to counseling for hitting his girlfriend, Caitlin, and ordered to keep a journal, sixteen-year-old Nick recounts his relationship with Caitlin, examines his controlling behavior and anger, and describes living with his abusive father. Extremely popular with grades 10+

Touching Spirit Bear (Ben Mikaelsen) F MIK
After his anger erupts into violence, fifteen year-old Cole, in order to avoid going to prison, agrees to participate in a sentencing alternative based on the Native American Circle Justice, and he is sent to a remote Alaskan Island where an encounter with a huge Spirit Bear changes his life. Grades 9-10.

Factory Ride (Carolee Tyson) F TYS Bestseller Section
Austin is afraid that he will turn out to be like his alcoholic father, and believes that hisonly chance for success in life is to win a seat on KTM’s Motocross team. Grades 9-12.

Something Girl (Beth Goobie) F GOO Bestseller Section
Sophie’s father beats her and tells her that she is “nothing.” This is a short book with a powerful message that is very easy-to-read. Grades 9-12.

Bottled Up (Jaye Murray) F MUR
Pip is desperate to escape his life (which includes an abusive and alcoholic father). He spends most of his days skipping classes, drinking, and getting high. This is a book for mature readers. There is no clear resolution of Pip’s problems at the end of the book, but he is beginning to make progress. Grades 11-12.

A Door Near Here (Heather Quarles) F QUA Bestseller Section
Four siblings struggle to maintain a seminormal home life when their single mother's lcoholism becomes debilitating. Grades 9-12.

Don’t You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dumphrey (Margaret Peterson Haddix) F HAD Bestseller Section
In the journal she is keeping for English class, sixteen-year-old Tish chronicles the changes in her life when her abusive father abandons her and her brother, and her mother follows him. Grades 9-11.

The Boy From the Basement (Susan Shaw) F SHA Bestseller Section
A twelve-year-old boy is confined to his basement without food or clothing. After wandering away from his home one night, he is found and taken to a hospital. He ends up with a loving foster mom who helps to rehabilitate him.
Grades 9-10.

Pregnancy/Unwed Teenage Parents

Annie’s Baby: the Diary of a Pregnant Teenager (Beatrice Sparks, ed.) 306.874 ANO
The diary of a pregnant fourteen-year-old girl, recounts her struggle to cope with her situation and includes a list of resources for girls and a question-and-answer section. Grades 9-12.

Hanging On To Max (Margaret Bechard) F BEC Bestseller Section
When his girlfriend decides to give their baby away, seventeen-year- old Sam is determined to keep him and raise him alone. Grades 9-12.

The First Part Last (Angela Johnson) F JOH Bestseller Section
Bobby's carefree teenage life changes forever when he becomes a father and must care for his adored baby daughter. Grades 9-12.

Physical, Emotional, and Psychological Problems

Self-Esteem:

Something Girl (Beth Goobie) F GOO Bestseller Section
Sophie’s father beats her and tells her that she is “nothing.” This is a
short book with a powerful message that is very easy-to-read. Grades 9-12.

Letting Go Of Bobby James, or How I Found My Self of Steam
(Valerie Hobbs) F HOB Bestseller Section
After being left by her husband at a gas station in Florida, sixteen-year-old Sally Jo Walker, also known as Jody, makes some difficult decisions and a better life for herself. Grades 10-12)

Where the Heart Is (Billie Letts) F LET Bestseller Section
Novalee Nation is left at a Wallmart in a small town in Oklahoma by her boyfriend 7-months pregnant, alone, and with only $7.77 to her name. The story of how she survives (and later her baby) is the story of a young woman who comes to believe in herself. Some mature content. Grades 11-12.

Aftereffects of Rape:

Speak (Laurie Halse Anderson) F AND Bestseller Section
Melinda is struggling with the secret of a rape, along with the shunning of her classmates, who don’t know why she called the police on the wild party the summer before. This is extremely popular, particularly with 9th-10th grade girls.

It Happened to Nancy (Beatrice Sparks) B ANO
This is Nancy's own story, taken from her diary. It reveals her personal feelings -- from the wonderful romantic fantasies of first love to the nightmare of AIDS. Grades 9-12.

Anorexia:

Breathless (Pam Withers) F WIT Bestseller Section
Beverly gets into serious trouble when her starvation diet interferes with her scuba diving. Grades 9-12 (Very short and easy-to-read)

Kim: Empty Inside (Beatrice Sparks) F SPA
Seventeen-year-old Kim, feeling the pressure of maintaining an A average to stay on her college gymnastics team, becomes obsessive about her weight and develops anorexia. Grades 9-12.

Emotionally Disturbed:

The Last Chance Texaco (Brent Hartinger) F HAR
Troubled teen Lucy Pitt struggles to fit in as a new tenant at a last- chance foster home. Grades 10-12.

Self-Mutilation:

Cut (Patricia McCormick) F McC Bestseller Section
While confined to a mental hospital, thirteen-year-old Callie slowly comes to understand some of the reasons behind her self-mutilation, and gradually starts to get better. Grades 10-12.

The Luckiest Girl in the World (Steven Levenkron) F LEV Bestseller Section
Figure-skating star Katie Roskova, unable to express her feelings of panic and anger, develops a habit of cutting herself with scissors and hiding her scars beneath long-sleeved shirts. Grades 9-12.

Drugs:

Go Ask Alice (Beatrice Sparks, ed.) 301.47 GO Bestseller Section
A fifteen-year-old drug user chronicles her daily struggle to escape the pull of the drug world.

Bottled Up (Jaye Murray) F MUR
Pip is desperate to escape his life (which includes an abusive and alcoholic father). He spends most of his days skipping classes, drinking, and getting high. This is a book for mature readers. There is no clear resolution of Pip’s problems at the end of the book, but he is beginning to make progress. Grades 11-12.

Kleptomania:

Klepto (Lori Weber) F WEB Bestseller Section
Kat dreads the return of her sister, Hannah, from a home for troubled teens and turns to shoplifting, which escalates the closer Hannah gets to coming home. Grades 9-12.

Mental Illness:

Lisa, Bright and Dark (John Neufeld) F NEU Bestseller Section.
The story of a young girl's journey toward madness, and the three teenage friends who help her.

Ceiling Stars (Sandra Diersch) F DIE Bestseller Section.
Christine and Danelle have been best friends forever, but lately Danelle's quirky moods have turned into wild and reckless acts driving the girls apart. Grades 9-12.

Inside Out (Terry Trueman) F TRU Bestseller Section
A sixteen-year-old with schizophrenia is caught up in the events surrounding an attempted robbery by two other teens who eventually hold him hostage. Grades 9-12.

Other Disabilities:

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Mark Haddon) F HAD
Despite his overwhelming fear of interacting with people, Christopher, a mathematically-gifted, autistic fifteen-year-old boy, decides to investigate the murder of a neighbor's dog and uncovers secret information about his mother. Grades 10+.

Sweetblood (Pete Hautman) F HAU
After a lifetime of being a model student, sixteen-year-old Lucy Szabo is suddenly in trouble at school, at home, with the so-called vampires she has met online and in person, and most of all with her uncontrolled diabetes. Grades 9-12.