Frank Carlson Library

The struggle of three brothers to stay together after their parent's death and their quest for identity among the conflicting values of their adolescent society. When it was first published in 1967, The Outsiders defied convention with its immediate, deeply sympathetic portrayal of Ponyboy and his struggle to find a place for himself in a difficult world. Thirty years later, it speaks to teenagers as powerfully as ever. Puffin is proud to publish...

"Beans Curry owns this town. He and his gang of barefoot buddies know everyone in Key West, and they know how to get things done -- and get paid. Most of the time, anyway. But it's the middle of the Great Depression, and times are tough. there are no jobs and everyone is out for themselves, which means it's hard for a kid to make a cent. Luckily, Beans isnt' like other kids. And when his first scheme doesn't work out, he realizes he has to think...

When he returns to Illinois and the gang culture on the south side of Fairfield after six years in Colorado, high school senior Luis Fuentes, who dreams of becoming an astronaut, falls for a girl and enters a dark world after learning some disturbing news about his family.

"Sixteen year old Nalah leads the fiercest all-girl crew in Mega City, but when she sets her sights on giving this life up for a prestigious home in Mega Towers, she must decide if she's willing to do the unspeakable to get what she wants"-- "At night, Las Mal Criadas own these streets. They're the fiercest all-girl crew in Mega City, and Nalah is their leader. She's getting weary of the violent throw downs and the boydega clubs; her dream is to...

"10 years. 3 gangs. 1 girl's epic quest...Valerie Simons knows the Wars are dangerous -- her little brother was killed by the Boars two years ago. But nothing will sway Valerie from joining the elite and beautiful Herons to avenge his death - a death she feels she is responsible for. When Valerie is instead recruited by the mysterious Stags, their charismatic leader, Jax, promises to help her get revenge. Torn between old love and new loyalty, Valerie...

In the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, fifteen-year-old Shorty, a poor gang member from the slums of Site Soleil, is trapped in the rubble of a ruined hospital, and as he grows weaker he has visions and memories of his life of violence, his lost twin sister, and of Toussaint L'Ouverture, who liberated Haiti from French rule in the 1804.

With insight and a light touch, best-selling, Newbery Honor-winning author Gary D. Schmidt tells two poignant, linked stories: that of a grieving girl and a boy trying to escape his violent past. Following the death of her closest friend in summer 1968, Meryl Lee Kowalski goes off to St. Elene's Preparatory Academy for Girls, where she struggles to navigate the venerable boarding school's traditions and a social structure heavily weighted toward students...

"In order to stop the destructive forces of gentrification, three best friends use social media to create a fake gang and get justice for their South L.A. community"-- Rhea and her friends Zeke and Malachi are South L.A. born and raised. The old neighborhood is fading away, and more white people are flocking to this little urban paradise for its cheap rent, transforming the place they call home. When an eviction notice from a greedy landlord threatens...

"Though secrets and lies keep Juliette and Roma apart, a monster still prowls the city of Shanghai, and the two are going to have to put aside their differences to end this threat to once and for all"--

In 1926 Shanghai, eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, heir of the Scarlet Gang, and her first love-turned-rival Roma Montagov, leader of the White Flowers, must work together when mysterious deaths threaten their city.--