NCW Libraries

When a Jake is offered a chance to race in China for a world class BMX team he is not sure that he wants to go--but when one of his friends asks him to smuggle a mysterious drug called Dragonbone that can prolong life to her dying mother in China he feels he has to take the trip, whatever the danger.

Bluford High freshman Harold Davis is trapped. Medical bills for his sick grandmother are piling up, and a social worker has threatened to put him in a foster home. Desperate for money, he reluctantly agrees to work for Londell James, a neighborhood drug dealer. Will Harold escape the violence that surrounds him?

After a fatal car accident that reveals Emory's brother Joey's opioid addiction, Emory struggles to help him on his road to recovery and make herself heard in a town that insists on not listening.

A fifteen-year-old drug user chronicles her daily struggle to escape the pull of the drug world.

Emily Bird is an African American high school senior in Washington D.C., member of a privileged medical family, on the verge of college and the edge of the drug culture, and not really sure which way she will go--then one day she wakes up in the hospital with no memory of what happened.

"Ian Gray isn't supposed to have a dog, but a lot of things that shouldn't happen end up happening anyway. And Gather, Ian's adopted pup, is good company now that Ian has to quit the basketball team, find a job, and take care of his mom as she tries to overcome her opioid addiction. Despite the obstacles thrown their way, Ian is determined to keep his family afloat no matter what it takes. And for a little while, things are looking up: Ian makes friends,...

Seventeen-year-olds Stella and Will, both suffering from cystic fibrosis, realize the only way to stay alive is to stay apart, but their love for each other is slowly pushing the boundaries of physical and emotional safety.

When her mother is injured in a car accident, twelve-year-old Franny tries to keep their fragile world intact by taking over her mom's cleaning jobs.

Cason Martin is the youngest ballerina in the Atlanta Ballet Conservatory; her mother, the conservatory's artistic director, has made all the decisions for her. But Cason has been hiding an injury, and now she's undergoing chemotherapy. Davis Channing survived cancer, but his drug addiction nearly killed him. He's doing community service at the hospital, and has been sober for six months. Then his ex-girlfriend, still battling her addiction, reenters...

Sixteen-year-old Miles' first year at Culver Creek Preparatory School in Alabama includes good friends and great pranks, but is defined by the search for answers about life and death after a fatal car crash.