RIYL Identity

See Also:

• RIYL LGBTQ

• 
  

Sticks and Stones...

FICTION ABOUT FITTING IN, BEING DIFFERENT AND FINDING YOUR IDENTITY

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

A traumatic event near the end of the summer has a devastating effect of Melinda's freshman year in high school.

Alt Ed by Catherine Atkins

Participating in a special after-school counseling class with other troubled students, including a sensitive gay classmate, helps Susan, an overweight tenth grader, develop a better sense of herself.

Stand tall by Joan Bauer

Tree, a six-foot-three-inch twelve-year-old, copes with his parents' recent divorce and his failure as an athlete by helping his

grandfather, a Vietnam vet and recent amputee, and Sophie, a new girl at school.

Life in the Fat Lane by Cherie Bennett

Sixteen-year-old Lara, winner of beauty pageants and Homecoming Queen, is distressed and bewildered when she starts gaining weight and

becomes a fat girl.

Runt by V.M. Caldwell

Although he tries to make a home with his older sister and her boyfriend after his mother's death, twelve-year-old Runt feels like an

outsider until a young cancer patient and his family show him how life can become more meaningful.

Whale Talk by Chris Cutcher

J.T. Jones is stuck with the task of creating a swim team made up of all the geeks from his high school, including him. Can he make the

team a success?

Geography Club by Brent Hartinger

A group of gay and lesbian teenagers form the “Geography Club” after school, the only place they can be themselves.

Invisible by Pete Hautman

Doug and Andy are unlikely best friends--one a loner obsessed by his model trains, the other a popular student involved in football and

theater--who grew up together and share a bond that nothing can sever.

The Misfits by James Howe

Four students who do not fit in at their small-town middle school decide to create a third party for the student council elections to

represent all students who have ever been called names.

Alice, I Think by Susan Juby

Fifteen-year-old Alice keeps a diary as she struggles to cope with theembarrassments and trials of family, dating, school, work, small town

life, and a serious case of "outcastitis."

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

The experimental operation to increase Charly's intelligence works,and he suddenly understands that people have been laughing at him

instead of with him all along.

Losers’ Club by John Lekich

All the school losers turn to Alex "Savior" Sherwood to protect them from Jerry Whitman and his extortion ring. But what is a loser,

really? This funny, feisty novel delivers some surprises and poses big questions about being true to yourself.

What Happened to Lani Garver by Carol Plum-Ucci

The close-knit residents of Hackett Island have never seen anyone quite like Lani Garver. Everything about this new kid is a mystery: Where does Lani come from? How old is Lani? And most disturbing of all, is Lani a boy or a girl?

The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci

Torey Adams, a high school junior with a seemingly perfect life, struggles with doubts and questions surrounding the mysterious

disappearance of the class outcast.

Project X by Jim Shepard

Two high school loners create a terrible plan for revenge on those who bullied them.

Loser by Jerry Spinelli

Even though his classmates from first grade on have considered him strange and a loser, Daniel Zinkoff's optimism and exuberance and the

support of his loving family do not allow him to feel that way about himself.

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

In this story about the perils of popularity, the courage of nonconformity, and the thrill of first love, an eccentric student

named Stargirl changes Mica High School forever.

Crash by Jerry Spinelli

Seventh-grader John "Crash" Coogan has always been comfortable with his tough, aggressive behavior, until his relationship with an unusual

Quaker boy and his grandfather's stroke make him consider the meaning of friendship and the importance of family.

The Gospel According to Larry by Janet Tashjian

Seventeen-year-old Josh, a loner-philosopher who wants to make a difference in the world, tries to maintain his secret identity as the

author of a web site that is receiving national attention.

When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Holt Willis

During the summer of 1971 in a small Texas town, thirteen-year-old Toby and his best friend Cal meet the star of a sideshow act,

600-pound Zachary, the fattest boy in the world.

Probably Still Nick Swansen by Virginia Euwer Wolff

Sixteen-year-old learning-disabled Nick struggles to endure a life in which the other kids make fun of him, he has to take special classes,

his date for the prom makes an excuse not to go with him, and he is haunted by the memory of his older sister who drowned while he was

watching.

The List: What I'm Reading Now is at http://lexacatslist.blogspot.com/

Lexacat's Guide To Finding A Good Book is at http://lexacatsguidetobooks.blogspot.com/

Lexacat's Booklists is at http://lexacatscovers.blogspot.com/ Posted to YALSA-BK http://lists.ala.org/wws/info/yalsa-bk