Body Image and Wrestling With Weight Control

THE CAT ATE MY GYMSUIT
by Paula Danziger
Marcy is 13, overweight and feels like she has no friends. But when her favorite teacher gets fired, she decides it's time to take some control over her life.

THE EARTH, MY BUTT, AND OTHER BIG ROUND THINGS
by Carolyn Mackler 
Feeling like she does not fit in with the other members of her family, who are all thin, brilliant and good-looking, fifteen-year-old Virginia tries to deal with her self-image, her first physical relationship and her disillusionment with some of the people closest to her.

NO BODY'S PERFECT: STORIES BY TEENS ABOUT BODY IMAGE, SELF-ACCEPTANCE, AND THE SEARCH FOR IDENTITY
by Kimberly Kirberger
Lift your spirits with stories and words of wisdom from the co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.

PERFECT
by Natasha Friend
Following the death of her father, a thirteen-year-old uses bulimia as a way to avoid her mother's and ten-year-old sister's grief, as well as her own.

SLOT MACHINE
by Chris Lynch
An overweight teen gets sent to a summer camp and has to find the sport where he "fits." Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be one.

WHEN ZACHARY BEAVER CAME TO TOWN
by Kimberly Willis Holt
This National Book Award-winning novel explores what happens when an obese 13-year-old moves into town and changes the community forever.

Cliques, Bullies and the Friends that Help You Through It All

FRIENDS: STORIES ABOUT NEW FRIENDS, OLD FRIENDS, AND UNEXPECTEDLY TRUE FRIENDS
edited by Ann M. Martin and David Levithan
This collection of essays by several notable authors shows how important - and how much work - friendships can be.

THE MISFITS
by James Howe
Four unpopular 7th graders, cruelly taunted by classmates, band together to confront the bullies.

P.S. LONGER LETTER LATER and SNAIL MAIL NO MORE
by Ann M. Martin and Paula Danziger
Tara and Elizabeth use snail mail and then email to "talk" about everything that is occuring in their lives and to try to maintain their closeness as they face big changes.

TANGERINE
by Edward Bloor
Twelve-year-old Paul, who lives in the shadow of his football hero brother Erik, fights for the right to play soccer despite his near blindness and slowly begins to remember the incident that damaged his eyesight.

STANDING AGAINST THE WIND
by Traci L. Jones
As she tries to escape her poor Chicago neighborhood by winning a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school, shy and studious eighth-grader Patrice discovers that she has more options in life than she previously realized.

JUMPED
by Rita Williams-Garcia
The lives of Leticia, Dominique and Trina are irrevocably intertwined through the course of one day in an urban high school after Leticia overhears Dominique's plans to beat up Trina and must decide whether or not to get involved.

DARK DUDE
by Oscar Hijuelos
In the 1960s, Rico Fuentes, a pale-skinned Cuban American teenager, abandons drug-infested New York City for the picket fence and apple pie world of Wisconsin, only to discover that he still feels like an outsider and that violent and judgmental people can be found even in the wholesome Midwest.

THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART TIME INDIAN
by Sherman Alexie
Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

THE SKIN I’M IN
by Sharon Flake
Maleeka’s new teacher has a huge disfiguring birthmark on her face; and she helps Maleeka learn to wear her own distinctive skin with pride.

IF A TREE FALLS AT LUNCH PERIOD
by Gennifer Choldenko
Kirsten and Walk, seventh-graders at an elite private school, alternate telling how race, wealth, weight, and other issues shape their relationships as they and other misfits stand up to a mean but influential classmate, even as they are uncovering a long-kept secret about themselves.

Life Changes and Dealing With Family

BECOMING NAOMI LEÓN
by Pam Muñoz Ryan
This touching story shows a girl discovering who she really is when her absent mother reappears in her life.

A CORNER OF THE UNIVERSE
by Ann M. Martin
Hattie's routine summer takes a turn when her mentally disabled uncle moves in with her family.

AMALEE
by Dar Williams
Amalee is being raised by her single father and his group of eccentric friends, and when he becomes seriously ill everyone pitches in to try to cope with the ensuing fear and chaos.

SAM I AM
by Ilene Cooper
It's not easy living with two different faiths and until his parents figure it out, Sam Goodman is doing just that. 

BLISTER
by Susan Shreve
When it feels like her family's falling apart, Alyssa reinvents her wardrobe and attitude. But can her new exterior shield her from what's truly wrong?

DRUMS, GIRLS, & DANGEROUS PIE
by Jordan Sonnenblick
Things are going great for Steven - until his 5-year-old brother is diagnosed with leukemia and the family is changed forever.

Prejudice, Difference and Making Peace With Yourself

FREAK THE MIGHTY
by W.R. Philbrick
Two opposites join forces to create a strong and unusual friendship.

PLAIN CITY
by Virginia Hamilton
A mixed-race 12-year-old struggles to make peace with herself and her family when the truth about her long-missing father catches up with her.

PROJECT MULBERRY
by Linda Sue Park
A Korean-American girl comes to terms with her heritage and her new town through a science project.

SAHARA SPECIAL
by Esmé Raji Codell
When a special-needs student joins a mainstream classroom, she discovers her own extraordinary talents with the help of an inspiring teacher.

SAMIR AND YONATAN
by Daniella Carmi
Encourage tolerance with this tale of two boys - Israeli and Palestinian - who find themselves sharing a hospital ward, learning they're not the enemies they thought they were.

THE SKIN I’M IN
by Sharon Flake
Maleeka’s new teacher has a huge disfiguring birthmark on her face; and she helps Maleeka learn to wear her own distinctive skin with pride.

Struggling With Schoolwork, Sports and Making Your Mark

OUT STANDING IN MY FIELD
by Patrick Jennings
Will Ty Cutter ever be able to live up to his namesake on the baseball field? Or even his sister in the classroom?

MY THIRTEENTH WINTER
by Samantha Abeel
Abeel tells her own story of living with and overcoming dyscalculia, a math-related learning disability. She describes how her life was affected by her learning disability before and after she was diagnosed, and the way her peers, her family and her teachers treated her.

NOBODY WAS HERE: SEVENTH GRADE IN THE LIFE OF ME, PENELOPE
by Alison Pollet
Life in New York in the 1980s is made more difficult for a middle school girl by problems at home and at school.

TAKING SIDES
by Gary Soto
Fourteen-year-old Lincoln Mendoza, an aspiring basketball player, must come to terms with his divided loyalties when he moves from the Hispanic inner city to a white suburban neighborhood.

THE VIEW FROM SATURDAY
by E. L. Konigsburg
Told from the viewpoints of five characters, this Newbery Award-winning novel shows what happens when a diverse group of middle-schoolers form an academic Olympic team.

Source: Scholastic Books and Color Online