Teen Fiction Outside the Margins

To gear up for our Teens Outside the Margins conference on October 20, check out some of this year's outstanding novels featuring at-risk teens.

When Dime gets kicked out of her foster home, she finds a makeshift family with Daddy, Brandy and L.A. Despite her determination to stay in school, Daddy slowly manipulates her with his charms and convinces her to work for him as a prosititute. Can her love of books save her from a life on the streets?

Dime is available in other formats.

Another troubled teen flees her home in Mosquitoland. To discover the truth about her mother's mental health, Mim takes off on a road trip to reunite with her. Along the way she befriends colorful characters including a homeless young man with Down's Syndrome. Will Mim resolve her own issues during the journey?

Mosquitoland is available in other formats.

Aaron also struggles with mental health and his father's suicide in More Happy Than Not. He develops feelings for Thomas, a straight guy who lives in a nearby project in the Bronx. Should he undergo a new medical procedure that will erase his tragic memories and make him forget he's gay?

One of The Alex Crow's multiple plotlines also involves controversial medical practices. But the central story features Ariel, a refugee from a war-torn Middle Eastern country. Once he's adopted by a family in Virginia, he attends Camp Merrie-Seymour for Boys with his new brother, Max. Were they really sent there to overcome their electronic addictions, or is someone performing twisted genetic experiments on them?

The Alex Crow is available in other formats.

Explore even more titles about at-risk teens!