Handling drama by yourself is never fun. New seventh grade student Carson Roberts learns the hard way not to cross the school bully, beautiful Jessa McCain. And it’s only her first day! She’s also made two friends in quiet Emma Swanson and shy Mai Pham. But if there’s one thing Carson learns, it’s that baggage follows you. Middle school is the perfect storm of BFFs, frenemies, and mean girls. If you haven’t been frozen out, dumped, or betrayed, then you are lucky. Handing drama is never fun, especially when you’re alone. But some bonds of friendship are forever. The Summit Middle School series tackles the challenging years before high school. The newly forged friendship between Carson Roberts, Emma Swanson, and Mai Pham seems unbreakable. The girls have found a kindred spirit in each other. Together, they turn the tables on the most beautiful bully in Texsun City, Jessa McCain. There are no power struggles between these three besties.

Handling drama by yourself is never fun. New seventh grade student Carson Roberts learns the hard way not to cross the school bully, beautiful Jessa McCain. And it is only her first day! She has also made two friends in quiet Emma Swanson and shy Mai Pham. But if there is one thing Carson learns, it is that baggage follows you. Middle school is the perfect storm of BFFs, frenemies, and mean girls. If you have not been frozen out, dumped, or betrayed, then you are lucky. Handling drama is never fun, especially when you are alone. But some bonds of friendship are forever. The Summit Middle School series tackles the challenging years before high school.-- Provided by publisher.

What wouldn’t a guy do to get the girl? How will garage band front man Duncan ever get the attention of his goddess like classmate Carly, who’s so busy trying to save the world that she won’t even look in his direction? An idea hits him, literally: when Duncan accidentally bruises himself, Carly wants to know who punched him, and vows to take care of “poor widdle Dunky.” But as his black eye fades, so does Carly’s devotion. Duncan needs a plan. He needs impending danger. He needs a BULLY. The search is on. This hilarious novel plays with the certainty that teenage boys will do just about anything to get a girl’s attention.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER Being a teenager has never been easy, but in recent years, with the rise of the Internet and social media, it has become exponentially more challenging. Bullying, once thought of as the province of queen bees and goons, has taken on new, complex, and insidious forms, as parents and educators know all too well. No writer is better poised to explore this territory than Emily Bazelon, who has established herself as a leading voice on the social and legal aspects of teenage drama. In Sticks and Stones, she brings readers on a deeply researched, clear-eyed journey into the ever-shifting landscape of teenage meanness and its sometimes devastating consequences. The result is an indispensable book that takes us from school cafeterias to courtrooms to the offices of Facebook, the website where so much teenage life, good and bad, now unfolds. Along the way, Bazelon defines what bullying is and, just as important, what it is not. She explores when intervention is essential and when kids should be given the freedom to fend for themselves. She also dispels persistent myths: that girls bully more than boys, that online and in-person bullying are entirely distinct, that bullying is a common cause of suicide, and that harsh criminal penalties are an effective deterrent. Above all, she believes that to deal with the problem, we must first understand it. Blending keen journalistic and narrative skills, Bazelon explores different facets of bullying through the stories of three young people who found themselves caught in the thick of it. Thirteen-year-old Monique endured months of harassment and exclusion before her mother finally pulled her out of school. Jacob was threatened and physically attacked over his sexuality in eighth grade—and then sued to protect himself and change the culture of his school. Flannery was one of six teens who faced criminal charges after a fellow student’s suicide was blamed on bullying and made international headlines. With grace and authority, Bazelon chronicles how these kids’ predicaments escalated, to no one’s benefit, into community-wide wars. Cutting through the noise, misinformation, and sensationalism, she takes us into schools that have succeeded in reducing bullying and examines their successful strategies. The result is a groundbreaking book that will help parents, educators, and teens themselves better understand what kids are going through today and what can be done to help them through it. Contains a new discussion guide for classroom use and book groups.

Self-Esteem expert Jack Canfield and noted educational speaker Miriam Laundry reveal that the biggest bully in a child's world is not lurking around the corner but living inside her head. Words have power. The words others say to us can either lift us as high as the clouds, or drop us down like a crashing plane. But what about the words we tell ourselves? What about that constantly running inner voice? In truth, what we say to ourselves impacts us even more than what others say to us. "Pigtails are for babies!" she snarled at me. Her words hurt more than the time I broke my arm. I quickly untied my hair. I wore my hair down for the rest of the school year. That was the first time I met the Big Bad Bully. . . . She called me names like "fatty," "piglet" and "ugly." Things are worse now that I am in the 6th grade. Even when I don't see her, I can always hear the whispers, the giggles, and the growls. So goes the mesmerizing story of a young girl who grows up with a voice that ridicules and demeans her. In the end, we discover that her tormentor is staring back at her every day in the mirror. Featuring stunning artwork, this small yet profound book is a tool for engaging children, young adolescents, parents, and caring adults about the impressions they make on themselves with their thoughts and self-talk. Included are powerful workbook exercises and resources for implementing healthy self-esteem habits that can last a lifetime.

This is a picture book featuring the enormously successful anti-bullying poem 'To This Day'. In February 2013 a video of Shane Koyczan reading the poem was put up on YouTube and almost immediately the video went viral. Within two days it had received 1.4 million hits. Shane introduces the book with a letter in which he talks about why he wrote the poem and about the impact that bullying has on people. The book concludes with information about the 'To This Day' Project and what young people, schools and families are doing to combat bullying. It ends with the message that young people can bring about change if they stand up for themselves, support each other and speak out against bullying in all its forms.

Themes: Realistic Fiction, Rural, Teen Pregnancy, Single Mothers, Drug Abuse, Responsibility, Teen, Young Adult, Chapter Book, Hi-Lo, Hi-Lo Books, Hi-Lo Solutions, High-Low Books, Hi-Low Books, ELL, EL, ESL, Struggling Learner, Struggling Reader, Special Education, SPED, Newcomers, Reading, Learning, Education, Educational, Educational Books. Three very different girls. But all of them alone. Isolated. And pregnant. They meet at the countyês education program for expecting teens. No way will they go to their townês only high school with their growing bellies. Too humiliating. Each girl just hopes to get through the drama. And graduate on time. From the Great Plains to the borderlands to the Mississippi Delta, rural America is struggling. The population is shrinking. And the economy is shifting away from agriculture. Without a safety net, rural families struggle with depression, drug abuse, alcoholism, and other problems. Gravel Road Rural addresses the contemporary issues affecting rural America in an unflinching way.