What to read if you love… Tearjerkers, Gritty and Thought Provoking novels

When Macy’s father dies it’s almost as though she stops living herself. To cope with her grief Macy makes an effort to keep everything in control, her life is strictly ordered, her activities carefully planned and everything is as it should be. Then she gets a summer job at Wish Catering and meets Wes, who couldn’t be more different from her if he tried. Wes’s chaotic lifestyle and Macy’s well planned life collide and she finds herself opening up to him. Macy thought her life ended when her father died, Wes is helping her realize that forever is all about beginnings.

17 year old Noreen arrives in the tiny town of Pembina Lake in a stolen truck, stolen money in her pockets and a baby growing in her belly. Noreen has made mistakes in her life, so many mistakes she thinks that running from the people she loves is the only way to solve them. Soon, she finds that running away doesn’t solve your problems, and learns that she’s not the only person with troubles in Pembina Lake. When Noreen starts to make mistakes in her new home town she has to make a decision… will she run again?

Out on the streets a group of homeless teens become a family – Maybe’s family. They try and look after each other but there isn’t always food, or money and finding a warm, dry place to sleep is always a challenge. It’s dangerous on the street, but for Maybe it’s a better life than what she had before. Maybe describes her life with her street family Tears, 2Moro, Jewel, Rainbow and Maggot. Life is no walk in the park but as Maybe finds out, sometimes you get offered that little bit of sunshine and hope.

Senior year at high school is tough. Not only does Sam have girl troubles and worries about homework but he’s got Max to think about too. Max is Sam’s eleven month old son and Sam’s raising him on his own. Sam goes to alternate school where class is split with time spent in the daycare, looking after Max. Imagine his surprise when he finds Clare there, his old high-school crush, caring for a baby of her own. It all seems perfect when Sam and Clare become a couple and Sam knows that Clare pictures the future of the four of them together, as a family. But is that the best choice for Max – or Sam?

Melinda’s freshman year is a nightmare. No one sits next to her on the bus, her best friends from junior high have new cliques and the other students call her names and harass her. But that’s not the worst of it. There’s something wrong with Melinda’s voice. It’s getting harder and harder for her to speak out loud, and she’s not sure why. It all started at the party over summer, the one where she called the cops, the one that ended with several of the kids getting arrested. That’s when everyone started to hate her, but that’s not the worst of Melinda’s problems.

They call him a monster. Steve is 16 and on trial for murder. The prosecutor says he was the lookout for the convenience store robbery that ended with the owner dead. Steve’s lawyer says he was just unlucky – the wrong person, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. They call Steve a monster; all he ever wanted to do was make movies. And so Steve tells his story as though it’s a movie, putting his life, his trial and his time in prison into the script. Now he’s just waiting to find out what the final scene will be.