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Abdel-fattah, Randa. Does My Head Look Big in This?
Year Eleven at an exclusive prep school in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, would be tough enough, but it is further complicated for Amal when she decides to wear the hijab, the Muslim head scarf, full-time as a badge of her faith--without losing her identity or sense of style.
Aidinoff, Elsie. The Garden
Retells the tale of the Garden of Eden from Eve's point of view, as Serpent teaches her everything from her own name to why she should eat the forbidden fruit, and then leaves her with Adam and the knowledge that her choice has made mankind free.
Anderson,
Laurie Halse. Catalyst
Eighteen-year-old
Kate, who sometimes chafes at being a preacher's daughter, finds herself
losing control in her senior year as she faces difficult neighbors, the
possibility that she may not be accepted by the college of her choice, and
an unexpected death.
Asher, Sandy, ed. With
All My Heart, with All My Mind: 13 Stories about Growing Up Jewish
Original
short stories about Jews coming of age by thirteen well-known Jewish authors.
Baer, Edith. Walk
the Dark Streets.
Continues
the story of Eva, a young Jewish girl living in Nazi Germany where she and
her parents experience increasing tensions in daily life while considering
possibilities of escape.
Beale,
Fleur. I
Am Not Esther.
After
her mother unexpectedly leaves her with her uncle's family, members of a
fanatical Christian cult, Kirby tries to learn what has become of her mother
and struggles to cope with the repressiveness of her new surroundings and
to maintain her own identity.
Brande, Robin. Evolution, Me and Other Freaks of Nature
Following her conscience leads high school freshman Mena to clash with her parents and former friends from their conservative Christian church, but might result in better things when she stands up for a teacher who refuses to include "Intelligent Design" in lessons on evolution.
Brooks,
Bruce. Asylum
for Nightface.
A
deeply spiritual seventeen-year-old takes a radical step to save himself
from the fanaticism of his born-again Christian parents.
Carlson, Melody. It’s a Green Thing
Maya writes in her journal about her new-found Christian faith as she struggles with relationship problems and her friend Marissa's partying and dangerous lifestyle. Each chapter ends with a "go green" tip. Book 2 of the Diary of a Teenage Girl series Carlson has written several series of Christian fiction for teens.
Clinton,
Cathryn. A
Stone in My Hand.
Eleven-year-old
Malaak and her family are touched by the violence in Gaza between Jews and
Palestinians when first her father disappears and then her older brother
is drawn to the Islamic Jihad.
Collins,
Pat Lowery. Signs
and Wonders.
In
a series of letters, a fourteen-year-old convent school student who never
knew her mother and resents her father, grapples with her belief that God
has chosen her to give birth to a prophet.
Coman,
Carolyn. Tell
Me Everything.
After
her mother dies in a rescue mission on a snowy mountain, twelve-year-old
Roz wonders if talking to God, and to the boy for whom her mother died,
can help her understand what happened.
Cooney,
Caroline B. What
Child Is This? A Christmas Story.When
seventeen-year-old Matt tries to find a family for an eight-year-old foster
child, his attempt backfires and both of them need a Christmas miracle.
Cormier,
Robert. Other
Bells for Us to Ring.
When
her father is transferred to an army camp in Massachusetts during the Second
World War, Darcy feels isolated in her French-Canadian neighborhood until
she meets the vivacious Kathleen Mary O'Hara and learns about Catholicism.
Daoust,
Jerry. Waking
Up Bees: Stories of Living Life's Questions.
Ten
short stories portray Christian "coming of age" stories.
Fama, Elizabeth. Overboard
Escaping from a sinking ferry in the waters off Sumatra, fourteen-year-old Emily fights for survival for herself and a young Indonesian boy, who draws courage from his quiet but firm Islamic faith.
Freitas, Donna. The Possibility of Sainthood
While regularly petitioning the Vatican to make her the first living saint, fifteen-year-old Antonia Labella prays to assorted patron saints for everything from help with preparing the family's fig trees for a Rhode Island winter to getting her first kiss from the right boy.
Fraustino, Lisa Rowe. Soul searching: thirteen stories about faith and belief
Thirteen stories about teens in life changing situations.
Gaeddert,
Louann. Friends
and Enemies.
In
1941 in Kansas, as America enters World War II, fourteen-year-old William
finds himself alienated from his friend Jim, a Mennonite who does not believe
in fighting for any reason, as they argue about the war.
Greene,
Bette. Summer
of My German Soldier.
Sheltering
an escaped German prisoner of war is the beginning of some shattering experiences
for a 12-year-old Jewish girl in Arkansas.
Gunn, Robin
Jones. Christy Miller series.
The
continuing story of teenage Christy Miller, missionary.
Gunn, Robin
Jones. Sierra Jensen series.
The
trials and tribulations of 16 year-old Sierra Jensen.
Haddix,
Margaret Peterson. Leaving
Fishers.
After
joining her new friends in the religious group called Fishers of Men, Dorry
finds herself immersed in a cult from which she must struggle to extricate
herself.
Heynen,
Jim. Cosmos
Coyote and William the Nice.
When
sent to live on a farm in Iowa as an alternative to juvenile detention,
seventeen-year-old Cosmos falls in love with a religious girl and reconsiders
his values and beliefs.
Howell, Simmone. Everything Beautiful
When sixteen-year-old Riley unwillingly attends a religious summer camp, she forms a deep bond with another camper who happens to be wheelchair bound.
Hrdlitschka, Shelley. Sister Wife
In a remote polygamist community, Celeste struggles to accept her destiny while longing to be free to live her life her way.
Koja, Kathy. Buddha Boy
Justin spends time with Jinsen, the unusual and artistic new student whom the school bullies torment and call Buddha Boy, and ends up making choices that impact Jinsen, himself, and the entire school.
L'Engle,
Madeleine. A
Ring of Endless Light.
During
the summer her grandfather is dying of leukemia and death seems all around,
15-year-old Vicky finds comfort with the pod of dolphins with whom she has
been doing research.
Lester, Julius. Pharaoh’s Daughter
This book is a fictionalized account of the Biblical story in which an Egyptian princess rescues a Hebrew infant, the prophet of his people while his sister finds her true self as a priestess to the Egyptian gods.
Levitin,
Sonia. The
Cure.
A
sixteen-year-old boy living in 2407 collides with the past when he finds
himself in Strasbourg in 1348 confronting the anti-Semitism that sweeps
through Europe during the Black Plague.
Levitin,
Sonia. Silver
Days.
Escaping
from Hitler's Germany, a prosperous Jewish family lives in a New York City
tenement until Papa decides to move the family to California.
Levitin, Sonia. Strange Relations
Fifteen-year-old Marne is excited to be able to spend her summer vacation in Hawaii, not realizing the change in her lifestyle it would bring staying with her aunt, seven cousins, and uncle who is a Chasidic rabbi.
Littman, Sarah. Confessions of a Closet Catholic
To be more like her best friend, eleven-year-old Justine decides to give up Judaism to become Catholic, but after her beloved, religious grandmother dies, she realizes that she needs to seek her own way of being Jewish.
Ly, Many. Roots and Wings
While in St. Petersburg, Florida, to give her grandmother a Cambodian funeral, fourteen-year-old Grace, who was raised in Pennsylvania, finally gets some answers about the father she never met, her mother's and grandmother's youth, and her Asian-American heritage.
Mazer,
Norma Fox. Good
Night, Maman.
After
spending years fleeing from the Nazis in war-torn Europe, twelve-year-old
Karin Levi and her older brother Marc find a new home in a refugee camp
in Oswego, New York.
Napoli,
Donna Jo. Song
of the Magdalene.
Tells
the story of Miriam, a young girl being raised by her widowed father in
ancient Israel, who grows up to be Mary Magdalene.
Orlev,
Uri. The
Man from the Other Side.
Living
on the outskirts of the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II, fourteen-year-old
Marek and his grandparents shelter a Jewish man in the days before the Jewish
uprising.
Pausewang,
Gudrun. The
Final Journey.
During
World War II, eleven-year-old Alice, whose life has been sheltered and comfortable,
discovers some important things about herself and the people she meets when
she and her grandfather board a train and begin an increasingly intolerable
journey to an unknown destination.
Peck, Richard. The
Last Safe Place on Earth.
When
his sister Marnie's babysitter gives her nightmares involving evil and the
fires of hell, then joins a local church group that wants certain books
removed from his school, Todd examines his views on religion and censorship.
Rallison,
Janette. Deep
Blue Eyes & Other Lies.
Sixteen
year-old Holly pines for the popular football player Chad, but finds the
only boys interested in her are nerds.
Rinaldi,
Ann. The
Staircase.
In
1878, after her mother's death on the way West, thirteen-year-old Lizzy
Enders is left by her father at a convent school in Sante Fe, where she
must deal with being the only non-Catholic student and where she plays a
part in what some consider a miracle.
Rosen,
Sybil. Speed
of Light.
An
eleven-year-old Jewish girl living in the South during the 1950s struggles
with the antisemitism and racism which pervade her small community.
Rylant,
Cynthia. A
Fine White Dust.
The
visit of the traveling Preacher Man to his small North Carolina town gives
new impetus to thirteen-year-old Peter's struggle to reconcile his own deeply
felt religious belief with the beliefs and non-beliefs of his family and
friends.
Rylant,
Cynthia. The
Heavenly Village.
Undecided
souls who have died while they are not quite ready to go to heaven find
themselves in the halfway place known as the Heavenly Village.
Shusterman,
Neal. What
Daddy Did.
A
fourteen-year-old living with his grandparents learns his father is to be
released from prison after killing his mother and feels apprehensive about
renewing the relationship. Based on true events.
Siegal,
Aranka. Grace
in the Wilderness: After the Liberation, 1945-1948.
Liberated
from a German concentration camp at the end of World War II, but haunted
by the memory of her ordeal, fifteen-year-old Piri starts a strange new
life as a Jew in Sweden.
Singer,
Marilyn. I
Believe in Water.
An
anthology of stories for teenagers exploring the topics of religion, belief,
and spirituality by award-winning authors, including M.E. Kerr, Kyoko Mori,
and Virginia Euwer Wolff.
Snelling,
Lauraine. High Hurdles series.
DJ
trusts her faith in God for her horses and competitions.
Stark,
Lynette. Escape
from Heart.
Fourteen-year-old
Sarah Heart describes how her self-absorbed, hypocritical uncle nearly destroys
the Mennonite community over which he has become leader.
Turnbull, Ann. No Shame, No Fear
In England in 1662, a time of religious persecution, fifteen-year-old Susanna, a poor country girl and a Quaker, and seventeen-year-old William, a wealthy Anglican, meet and fall in love against all odds.
Viguié, Debbie. The Summer of Cotton Candy
Sixteen-year-old Candace thinks her vacation is ruined when her father forces her to apply for a job at the local amusement park, She learns the value of faith and friendship despite problems at her job. 1st in a series
Wittlinger, Ellen. Blind Faith
While coping with her grandmother's sudden death and her mother's resulting depression and fascination with a spiritualist church, whose ministers claim to communicate with the dead, fifteen-year-old Liz finds herself falling for a new neighbor whose mother is dying of cancer.
Yolen,
Jane and Bruce Coville. Armageddon
Summer.
Fourteen-year-old
Marina and sixteen-year-old Jed accompany their parents' religious cult,
the Believers, to await the end of the world atop a remote mountain, where
they try to decide what they themselves believe.
Non Fiction
Chopra, Deepak. Fire in the Heart: A Spiritual Guide for Teens
Fire in the Heart is Dr. Chopra's first book for young adults. Its aim is to pass on this soul training to young readers.
Fuller, Sheri. When Teens Pray
Stories from a Christian perspective of God's powerful answers to teens' prayers and how to impact the world by seeking God in prayer.
Metcalf, Franz Aubrey. Buddha in Your Backpack: Everyday Buddhism for Teens
Buddha’s life story is presented in a way teens will relate to. This guide describes Buddha as a young rebel not satisfied with the answers of his elders. Also presented are Buddha's core teachings and spiritual insights.
Feinstein, Edward. Tough Questions Jews Ask: A Young Adult’s Guide to Building a Jewish Life
Rabbi Edward Feinstein tackles many diverse topics.
Siddiqui, Haroon. Being Muslim: A Groundwork Guide
An analysis of the varying branches of Islam addressing political, cultural, and religious issues while sharing historical information about how the faith and some of its more controversial aspects evolved.
Weigel, George. Letters to a Young Catholic
A statement of belief and a remarkable tour of the global church written for young Catholics and non Catholics.
Questions or Comments? Contact Cathy Lichtman, Teen Librarian
