COUNTING BY 7S BY HOLLY GOLDBERG SLOAN
Willow Chance is a twelve-year-old genius, obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions, who finds it comforting to count by 7s. It has never been easy for her to connect with anyone other than her adoptive parents, but that hasn’t kept her from leading a quietly happy life until now.
FAR FROM THE TREE BY ROBIN BENWAY
Being the middle child has its ups and downs. But for Grace, an only child who was adopted at birth, discovering that she is a middle child is a different ride altogether.
FOREVER OR A LONG, LONG TIME BY CAELA CARTER
Flora and her brother, Julian, don’t believe they were born. They’ve lived in so many foster homes, they can’t remember where they came from. And even now that they’ve been adopted, Flora still struggles to believe that they’ve found their forever home.
THE LEAVERS: A NOVEL BY LISA KO
One morning, Deming Guo’s mother, Polly, an undocumented Chinese immigrant, goes to her job at a nail salon—and never comes home. No one can find any trace of her.
THE INEXPLICABLE LOGIC OF MY LIFE BY BENJAMIN ALIRE SAENZ
Sal used to know his place with his adoptive gay father, their loving Mexican American family, and his best friend, Samantha. But it's senior year, and suddenly Sal is throwing punches, questioning everything, and realizing he no longer knows himself. If Sal's not who he thought he was, who is he?
THE HOW AND THE WHY BY CYNTHIA HAND
Cassandra McMurtrey has the best parents a girl could ask for; they’ve given Cass a life she wouldn’t trade for the world. She has everything she needs - but she has questions, too.
GHOST BY JASON REYNOLDS
Ghost. Lu. Patina. Sunny. Four kids from wildly different backgrounds with personalities that are explosive when they clash. But there are also four kids chosen for an elite middle school track team - a team that could qualify them for the Junior Olympics if they can get their acts together.
NEW KID BY JERRY GRAFT
Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade.
A CHANCE IN THE WORLD BY STEVE PEMBERTON
Taken from his mother at age three, Steve Klakowicz lives a terrifying existence. Caught in the clutches of a cruel foster family and subjected to constant abuse, Steve finds his only refuge in a box of books given to him by a kind stranger.
HOW TO SAVE A LIFE BY SARA ZARR
Jill MacSweeny just wishes everything could go back to normal. But ever since her dad died, she's been isolating herself from her boyfriend, her best friends -- everyone who wants to support her.
JUST AS YOU ARE: A TEENS GUIDE TO SELF-ACCEPTANCE AND LASTING SELF-ESTEEM BY MICHELLE AND KELLY SKEEN
If you’re like many teens, you probably feel pressured to live up to the impossible standards set by our culture, the media, and even by your peers. After all, everyone wants perfect hair, a perfect body, cool friends, and good grades.
WE’RE ADOPTED, SO WHAT? BY GAYLE SWIFT AND CASEY SWIFT
Being a teenager is tough. When you factor in the complexities and challenges of being adopted, it is exponentially harder. The graphic-style book, We're Adopted. So What? features five teen girls who share a huge thing in common: each of them was adopted.
THE DOLLAR KIDS BY JENNIFER RICHARD JACOBSON
Twelve-year-old Lowen Grover, a budding comic-book artist, is still reeling from the shooting death of his friend Abe when he stumbles across an article about a former mill town giving away homes for just one dollar.
FOR BLACK GIRLS LIKE ME BY MARIAMA J LOCKINGTON
Makeda June Kirkland is eleven years old, adopted, and black. Her parents and big sister are white, and even though she loves her family very much, Makeda often feels left out.
PROBABLY RUBY BY LISA BIRD-WILSON
Given up for adoption as an infant, Ruby is raised by a white couple who understand little of her Indigenous heritage. This is the great mystery that hovers over Ruby’s life—who her people are and how to reconcile what is missing.
BRIEF CHAPTER IN MY IMPOSSIBLE LIFE BY DANA REINHARDT
You can tell what really makes Simone different just by looking at her: she doesn't resemble anyone in her family. She's adopted. She's always known it, but she's never wanted to know anything about where she came from.
KIMCHI AND CALAMARI BY ROSE KENT
Joseph Calderaro has a serious problem. His social studies teacher has given him an impossible assignment: an essay about ancestors. Ancestors, as in dead people you're related to. Joseph was adopted, but the only sure thing he knows about his birth family is that they shipped his diapered butt on a plane from Korea and he landed in New Jersey.
FOUND BY MARGARET PETERSON HADDIX
One night a plane appeared out of nowhere, the only passengers aboard: thirty-six babies. As soon as they were taken off the plane, it vanished. Now, thirteen years later, two of those children are receiving sinister messages, and they begin to investigate their past.
ADOPTED TEENS ONLY: A SURVIVAL GUIDE TO ACCEPTANCE
All adopted teens have questions-questions about their adoptive family, about their birth parents, and about how adoption has affected and will continue to affect their lives.
WAITING TO FORGET BY SHEILA KELLY WELCH
T.J. has always looked out for his little sister, Angela. When Momma used to go out and leave them home alone, he'd lock the door so they'd be safe, keep Angela entertained, and get out the cereal and milk for her. When Momma's boyfriend got angry at them, he'd try to protect Angela.
THREE LITTLE WORDS: A MEMOIR BY ASHLEY RHODES-COURTER
"Sunshine, you're my baby and I'm your only mother. You must mind the one taking care of you, but she's not your mama." Ashley Rhodes-Courter spent nine years of her life in fourteen different foster homes, living by those words.
THE WAR I FINALLY WON BY KIMBERLY BRUBAKER BRADLEY
When Ada awakes from surgery on her clubfoot, the news that greets her will change the course of her life. Doors that her mother had shut tightly are swinging open. But World War II rages on. Ada and her brother, Jamie, are forced to move into a cottage with the iron-faced Lady Thorton and her daughter, Maggie. Life in the crowded home is tense.
THE ADOPTEE SURVIVAL GUIDE: ADOPTEES SHARE THEIR WISDOM AND TOOLS BY LYNN GRUBB
30 adoptee authors provide support, encouragement and understanding to other adoptees in facing the complexities of being adopted, embarking on search and reunion, fighting for equal access to identifying information, navigating complex family relationships with the latest technology, and surviving it all with a sense of humor.
MOLLY BY ANY OTHER NAME BY JEAN DAVIES OKIMOTO
Where did she come from? Molly Jane Fletcher was adopted. She’s known it for as long as she can remember. It’s not something that usually bothers her, but lately, its all she can think about.
LOST IN THE SYSTEM BY CHARLOTTE LOPEZ AND SUSAN DWORKIN
A foster child from the age of 2, Charlotte Lopez bounced around foster homes until she went to live in a home that she expected to be permanent. But her foster parents wouldn’t adopt her, and after eleven years of waiting, Charlotte moved to an emergency shelter for children in crisis.
GINNY MOON BY BENJAMIN LUDWIG
Ginny Moon is exceptional. Everyone knows it—her friends at school, teammates on the basketball team, and especially her new adoptive parents. They all love her, even if they don’t quite understand her. They want her to feel like she belongs.
HALF A WORLD AWAY BY CYNTHIA KADOHATA
Eleven-year-old Jaden is adopted, and he knows he’s an “epic fail.’ That’s why his family is traveling to Kazakhstan to adopt a new baby—to replace him, he’s sure. And he gets it. He is incapable of stopping his stealing, hoarding, lighting fires, aggressive running, and obsession with electricity.
ONE FOR THE MURPHYS BY LYNDA MULLALY HUNT
Carley uses humor and street smarts to keep her emotional walls high and thick. But the day she becomes a foster child, and moves in with the Murphys, she's blindsided. This loving, bustling family shows Carley the stable family life she never thought existed, and she feels like an alien in their cookie-cutter-perfect household.
WE ARE OKAY BY NINA LACOUR
You go through life thinking there’s so much you need. . .. Until you leave with only your phone, your wallet, and a picture of your mother. Marin hasn’t spoken to anyone from her old life since the day she left everything behind. No one knows the truth about those final weeks. Not even her best friend Mabel.
WE’VE BEEN THERE BY SUSAN TEBOS
The teen years are full of uncomfortable self-discovery for everyone. But adopted teens grapple with issues that make the coming-of-age journey immensely more difficult. Many don't have words for what they're feeling, sensing, or believing about themselves.
PICTURES OF HOLLIS WOODS BY PATRICIA REILLY GIFF
When Hollis is sent to Josie, an elderly artist who is quirky and affectionate, she wants to stay. But Josie is growing more forgetful every day. If Social Services finds out, they’ll take Hollis away and move Josie into a home.
THE MISADVENTURES OF THE FAMILY FLETCHER
The start of the school year is not going as the Fletcher brothers hoped. Each boy finds his plans for success veering off in unexpected and sometimes disastrous directions.