Tough Stuff for Teens
* Conversation Starters
* Curiosity Quenchers
* Empathy Builders
* Interest Sparkers
Tough Stuff for Teens was created for readers in grades 6 and up. Not every subject or book is appropriate for every reader so consider, read, share and discuss!
Tough Stuff categories are broken up into 3 categories based on content (not reading level):
* Tough — the tamest category is appropriate for *most* middle school readers.
* Tougher — this category is slightly more challenging and is geared toward young high school readers.
* Toughest — this category is probably best suited for mature high school students and adults.
*These categories are completely subjective. If you have questions or concerns,
please email Sharon.*
Tough Stuff Purple contains recommendations for books on Family, Sex & Pregnancy, Body Image, Religion, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender issues, Illness & Therapy and Disabilities.
Tough Stuff Green contains recommendations for books on War, Bullying, Violence, Abuse, Rape, Suicide and Death.
Family
Tough
My Most Excellent Year by S. Kluger
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
Small Acts of Amazing Courage by Gloria Whelan
Tougher
Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer
Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott
Seth Baumgartner’s Love Manifesto by Eric Luper
Honey, Baby, Sweetheart by Deb Caletti
Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor
Afrika by Colleen Craig
Born Confused by T.D. Hidier
Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata
Heat by Mike Lupica
Monsoon Summer by M. Perkins
A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life by Dana Reinhart
The Indigo Notebook by Laura Resau
Keeping Corner by K. Sheth
Peak by Roland Smith
Notes from the Midnight Driverby Jordan Sonnenblick
Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan
What I Call Life by Jill Wolfson
Without Tess by Marcella Pixley
How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr
Small as an Elephant by Jennifer Richard Jacobson
Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
Miles From Ordinary by Carol Lynch Williams
Stay by Deb Caletti
Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler
Shine Coconut Moon by Neesha Meminger
Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel
Pop by Gordon Korman
Blue Plate Special by Michelle Kwasney
Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach
Pearl by Jo Knowles
Toughest
Solace of the Road by S. Dowd
Dead to You by Lisa McMann
Rotters by Daniel Kraus
Bitter Melon by Cara Chow
Sex & Pregnancy
Tough
Ready or Not by Meg Cabot
Vegan Virgin Valentine by Carolyn Mackler
Bloom by Elizabeth Scott
Not That Kind of Girl by Siobhan Vivian
Tougher
Someone Like You by S. Dessen
Before I Die by Jenny Downham
November Blues by S. Draper
Planet Pregnancy by Linda Oatman High
Easy by Kerry Cohen Hoffmann
Slam by Nick Hornby
The First Part Last by Angela Johnson
My Life as a Rhombusby Varian Johnson
Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
Harmless by Dana Reinhardt
A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl by Tanya Lee Stone
Exposed by Susan Vaught
Impossible by Nancy Werlin
Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr
How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr
Kendra by Coe Booth
Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn
Every Little Thing in the World by Nina deGramont
Toughest
After by Amy Efaw
Body Image
Tough
Fat Cat by Robin Brande
Huge by Sasha Paley
Models Don’t Eat Chocolate Cookies by Erin Dionne
Artichoke’s Heart by S. Supplee
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Firegirl by Tony Abbott
Tougher
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher
Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
Perfect by Natasha Friend
North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley
Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going
Outside Beauty by Cynthia Kadohata
Purge by Sarah Littman
The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler
Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins
Sweethearts by Sara Zarr
Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler
Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can’t Have by Allen Zadoff
Toughest
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
religion
Tough
The Red Blazer Girls by Michael D. Beil
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
Zen and the Art of Faking it by Jordan Sonnenblick
Tougher
Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah
Scrambled Eggs at Midnight by Brad Barkley
Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature by Robin Brande
Alphabet of Dreams by Susan Fletcher
Strange Relations by S. Levitin
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
The God Box by Alex Sanchez
Bloom by Elizabeth Scott
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams
Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr
Shine Coconut Moon by Neesha Meminger
Godless by Pete Hautman
Toughest
Saint Iggy by K.L. Going
Madapple by C. Meldrum
LGBT
Tough
Annie on My Mind by N. Garden
Geography Club by B. Hartinger
Boy Meets Boy by D. Levithan
So Hard to Say by Alex Sanchez
Pearl by Jo Knowles
Tougher
Boyfriends with Girlfriends by Alex Sanchez
She Loves You She Loves You Not by Julie Anne Peters
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green
Totally Joe by James Howe
The Bermudez Triangleby Maureen Johnson
Luna by Julie Anne Peters
Rage by Julie Anne Peters
Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez
7 Days at the Hot Corner by Terry Trueman
Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger
Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger
Shine by Lauren Myracle
Say the Word by Jeannine Garsee
A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend by Emily Horner
I am J by Cris Beam
Sister Mischief by Laura Goode
Toughest
Freaks and Revelations by Davida Wills Hurwin
Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher
Illness & therapy
Tough
The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart
Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick
Tougher
Going Bovine by Libba Bray
Hate List by Jennifer Brown
Ironman by Chris Crutcher
Invisible by Pete Hautman
Cut by Patricia McCormack
The Off Season by C. Murdock
Get Well Soon by Julie Halpern
Invisible by Pete Hautman
Define “Normal” by J. A. Peters
Chloe Doe by Suzanne Phillips
Scars by Cheryl Rainfield
Love You Hate You Miss You by Elizabeth Scott
Trigger by Susan Vaught
Cold Hands, Warm Heart by Jill Wolfson
Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin
Without Tess by Marcella Pixley
Recovery Road by Blake Nelson
Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott
Miles From Ordinary by Carol Lynch Williams
The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen
Tales of the Madman Underground by John Barnes
Pop by Gordon Korman
It’s kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
Toughest
Before I Die by Jenny Downham
Tweak by Nic Sheff
Disabilities
Tough
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
Things Not Seen by A. Clements
Kissing Doorknobs by Terry Spencer Hesser
Chicks with Sticks by E. Lenhard
A Mango Shaped Space by Wendy Mass
Close to Famous by Joan Bauer
Tougher
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Stoner & Spaz by Ron Koertge
Throat by R.A. Nelson
Accidents of Nature by Harriet McBryde Johnson
A Small White Scar by K.A. Nuzum
After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco Stork
So B. It by Sarah Weeks
Rules by Cynthia Lord
Blindsided by Priscilla Cummings
Jerk, California by Jonathan Friesen
Toughest
Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman
Rape
Tough
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Safe by Susan Shaw
Tougher
Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
Copper Sun by Sharon Draper
After the Momentby Garrett Freymann-Weyr
Sold by Patricia McCormick
Madapple by Christina Meldrum
Wait for Me by An Na
Impossible by Nancy Werlin
Sandpiper by Ellen Wittlinger
The Marbury Lens by Andrew Smith
Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney
Toughest
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Leverage by Joshua C. Cohen
Suicide
Tough
Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar
Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going
Cracked by K.M. Walton
Tougher
The Burn Journals by Runyon (362.28 RUN)
Hate List by Jennifer Brown
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Tears of a Tiger by Sharon Draper
Whirligig by Paul Fleischman
Looking for Alaska by J. Green
Get Well Soon by Julie Halpern
What Happened to Cass McBride? by Gail Giles
Tangled by Carolyn Mackler
Trigger by Susan Vaught
Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams
Leverage by Joshua C. Cohen
The Death of Jayson Porter by Jaime Adoff
It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
Toughest
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Impulse by Ellen Hopkins
By the Time You Read This I’ll be Dead by Julie Ann Peters
Death
Tough
Jane in Bloom by D. Lytton
The Leanin’ Dog by K.A. Nuzum
Antsy Does Time by Neal Shusterman
Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
The Summer I learned to Fly by Dana Reinhardt
Tougher
Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King
Without Tess by Marcella Pixley
Freefall by Ariela Anhalt
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
The Sledding Hill by C. Crutcher
The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
A Northern Light by J. Donnelly
Ostrich Boys by Keith Gray
Love, Aubrey by S. LaFleur
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Cures for a Heartbreak by Margo Rabb
A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Moonglass by Jessi Kirby
The Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco X. Stork
The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard
Mockingbird by Katherine Erskine
Willow by Julia Hoban
Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
Rotters by Daniel Kraus
Toughest
Deadline by Chris Crutcher
` If I Stay by Gail Forman
War
Tough
Inside Out and Back again by Thanhha Lai
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
When My Name was Keoko by Linda Sue Park
Okay For Now by Gary Schmidt
Tougher
Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez
Chains by L. Halse Anderson
Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Boy Who Dared by S. Campbell Bartoletti
Revolution is Not a Dinner Party by Ying Chang Compestine
Blood Red Horse by K.M. Grant
Cracker by Cynthia Kadohata
Weedflower by C. Kadohata
Purple Heart by Patricia McCormick
Tree Girl by Ben Mikaelsen
Sunrise Over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers
Child of Dandelions by Shenaaz Nanji
Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins
Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith
Between Shades of Gray by Ruth Sepetys
The Things a Brother Knows by Dana Reinhardt
All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg
Black Radishes by Susan Lynn Meyer
Annexed by Sharon Dogar
Toughest
A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah (B Beah)
Bullying
Tough
The Girls by A. Goldman Koss
Freak by Marcella Pixley
Schooled by Gordon Korman
Tougher
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Twisted by L. Halse Anderson
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher
Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher
Battle of Jericho by Sharon Draper
Shattering Glass by Gail Giles
Poison Ivy by Amy Goldman Koss
The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl by Barry Lyga
Hero Type by Barry Lyga
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen
The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci
Cruise Control by Terry Trueman
The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin by Josh Berk
Borderline by Allan Stratton
The Skin I’m in by Sharon Flake
Not That Kind of Girl by Siobhan Vivian
Bystander by James Preller
Toughest
Endgame by Nancy Garden
Leverage by Joshua C. Cohen
Violence
Tough
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Monster by Walter Dean Myers
Escape Under the Forever Sky by Eve Yohalem
Tougher
Tangerine by Edward Bloor
Hunger Games by S. Collins
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
The Christopher Killer by Alane Ferguson
Bang by Sharon Flake
Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn
Right Behind You by Gail Giles
Lord of the Flies by W. Golding
Acceleration by G. McNamee
Autobiography of My Dead Brother by Walter Dean Myers
Shooter by Walter Dean Myers
Borderline by Allan Stratton
Grace by Elizabeth Scott
Stolen by Lucy Christopher
Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick
Toughest
I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
Hate List by Jennifer Brown
Freaks and Revelations by Davida Wills Hurwin
The Monstrumologist by Richard Yancey
I am the Messenger by M. Zusak
Abuse
Tough
Because I am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas
Touching Snow by M. Sindy Felin
Tougher
Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Ma (B MAH)
Where People Like Us Live by Patricia Cumbie
Lock & Key by Sarah Dessen
Burned by Ellen Hopkins
Lessons from a Dead Girl by Jo Knowles
My Tiki Girl by J. McMahon
Rage by Julie Ann Peters
Chloe Doe by Suzanne Phillips
Scars by Cheryl Rainfield
The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin
Sweethearts by Sara Zarr
Bitter End by Jennifer Brown
Stolen by Lucy Christopher
Split by Swati Avasthi
Toughest
A Child Called “It” by David Pelzer (362.7 PEL)
Tenderness by Robert Cormier
Boy Toy by Barry Lyga
Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
