Alice, I Think by Susan Juby
Harper Tempest, 2003
Fifteen-year-old Alice keeps a diary as she struggles to cope with the embarrassments and trials of family, dating, school, work, small town life, and a serious case of "outcastitis." Sequels: Miss Smithers and Alice MacLeod, Realist at Last
YA FICTION JUB
Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison
HarperCollins, 2000
Presents the humorous journal of a year in the life of a fourteen-year-old British girl who tries to reduce the size of her nose, stop her mad cat from terrorizing the neighborhood animals, and win the love of handsome hunk Robbie. Many sequels follow.
YA FICTION REN
The Au Pairs by Melissa de la Cruz
Simon & Schuster, 2004
Three teenage girls from different backgrounds work for a summer in the Hamptons as au pairs for a wealthy family, and in spite of many ups and downs, all three end up changing for the better. Sequel: Skinny Dipping
YA FICTION DEL
Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier
Scholastic Press, 2002
Seventeen-year-old Dimple, whose family is from India, discovers that she is not Indian enough for the Indians and not American enough for the Americans, as she sees her hypnotically beautiful, manipulative best friend taking possession of both her heritage and the boy she likes.
YA FICTION DES
The Cannibals: Starring Tiffany Spratt by Cynthia D. Grant
Roaring Brook Press, 2002
In her journal, the relentlessly superficial Tiffany, head of the cheerleading group called the Cannibals, describes the excitement and turmoil of her senior year in high school.
YA FICTION GRA
Confessions of a Not It Girl by Melissa Kantor
Hyperion, 2004
High school senior Jan Miller is convinced she's destined for the world's least fabulous life because she doesn't have IT. But, maybe, just maybe, being a Not It Girl will turn out to have some major rewards.
YA FICTION KAN
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things by Carolyn Macker
Candlewick Press, 2003
Feeling like she does not fit in with the other members of her family, who are all thin, brilliant, and good-looking, fifteen-year-old Virginia tries to deal with her self-image, her first physical relationship, and her disillusionment with some of the people closest to her.
YA FICTION MAC
Girl, 15, Charming But Insane by Sue Limb
Delacorte Press, 2004
Fifteen-year-old Jess, living with her mum, separated from her father in Cornwall, and with a best friend who seems to do everything perfectly, finds her own assets through humor. Sequel: Girl, (Nearly) 16, Absolute Torture
YA FICTION LIM
Girls in Love by Jacqueline Wilson
Dell Laurel Leaf, 2002
Ellie's starting ninth grade and she's got some very definite goals. She'll stay best friends with Magda and Nadine. She'll go on a diet and stick to it. She'll get a glamorous hairstyle. And she'll get a boyfriend. Even if she has to settle for one who likes her more than she likes him. Any guy will do, right? Sequels: Girls under Pressure, and others
PB YT FICTION WIL
Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn
Simon & Schuster, 2002
After being expelled from a fancy boarding school, Cyd Charisse's problems with her mother escalate after Cyd falls in love with a sensitive surfer and is subsequently sent from San Francisco to New York City to spend time with her biological father. Sequel: Shrimp
YA FICTION COH
Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar
Little, Brown, 2002
This novel presents a world of jealousy and betrayal at an exclusive private school in Manhattan.
PB YA FICTION VON
LuLu Dark Can See Through Walls by Bennett Madison
Razorbill, 2005
When someone steals her purse and her identity, high-school junior and reluctant girl sleuth Lulu Dark investigates. Sequel: LuLu Dark and the Summer of the Fox
YA FICTION MAD
Mates, Dates and Inflatable Bras by Cathy Hopkins
Simon Pulse, 2001
Everything is changing around Lucy, and suddenly she has to make all sorts of decisions. Everyone else knows who and what she wants to be except her. Her friends Nesta and Izzie look sixteen, but Lucy, at fourteen, can still pass for a twelve-year-old. But then one day Lucy sees the most wonderful boy crossing the street, and things do start to change.... Many sequels follow.
PB YA FICTION HOP
The Queen of Everything by Deb Caletti
Simon Pulse, 2002
High school junior Jordan McKenzie's life was pretty typical: fractured family, new boyfriend, dead-end job. Enter Gayle D'Angelo. Jordan knew her father was dating Gayle and that Gayle was married. Jordan knew it was wrong and that her father was changing for the worse, but what could she do about it?
PB YA FICTION CAL
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
Delacorte Press, 2001
During their first summer apart, four teenage girls, best friends since earliest childhood, stay in touch through a shared pair of secondhand jeans that magically adapts to each of their figures and affects their attitudes to their different summer experiences. Several sequels follow.
YT FICTION BRA
Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty
Crown Publishers, 2001
Sixteen-year-old Jessica Darling is devastated when her best friend moves away and leaves Jessica to face the trials of high school on her own. Sequels: Second Helpings and Charmed Thirds
YA FICTION MCC
This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen
Viking, 2002
Raised by a mother who's had five husbands, eighteen-year-old Remy believes in short-term, no-commitment relationships until she meets Dexter, a rock band musician.
YA FICTION DES
What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones
Simon & Schuster, 2001
Sophie describes her relationships with a series of boys as she searches for Mr. Right.
YA FICTION SON
The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty
Arthur A. Levin, 2004
Three female students from Ashbury High write to three male students from rival Brookfield High as part of a pen pal program, leading to romance, humiliation, revenge plots, and war between the schools.
YA FICTION MOR
