The end of the school year can leave everyone feeling a little tired and a little roughed up.  Recover with these books about people who learn, lots of times the hard way, to like themselves a little bit more. 

Fat Cat by Robin Brande

YA REAL Brande

Smart, hardworking, Snickers-loving Cat decides to become her own science fair project. She’ll forgo TV, cars, and processed foods to live like prehistoric humans. She loses weight and produces a killer science project, but all her research didn’t prepare for the attention she gets with her hot new body.  Is she still the same old Cat, or has she evolved into someone new?

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

YA REAL Bray

Fifty teenage beauty queens.  One plane crash on a desert island.  All their combined pageant “talents” didn’t prepare them for this scenario.  They’re not in danger of being winnowed out for makeup flaws or imperfect bodies anymore; but the lack of food and water might do it instead.  

The Skin I'm In by Sharon G. Flake

YA REAL Flake

Maleeka doesn’t have the right clothes, the right friends, or even the right skin.  But neither does her teacher, Miss Saunders, who has a huge birthmark across her face--and doesn’t seem to mind it.  Trying to keep her grieving mother afloat, and her own social life intact, Maleeka may not even have the time to learn to love herself the way she is.  

Hole In My Life by Jack Gantos

YA BIO Gantos

YA author Jack Gantos writes about his harrowing year spent in prison, during which he learned to replace his risky adventures with the far more fulfilling effort and focus required to become a successful writer.

King of the Screwups by K.L. Going

YA REAL Going

Liam is a talented athlete and a popular kid, but his so-so grades aren’t enough for his dad; he moves out of his parents’ house and in with his cross-dressing uncle, Aunt Pete, where he learns to meet his own expectations, and not everyone else’s.

Last Night I Sang to the Monster by Benjamin Alire Saenz

YA REAL Saenz

Living in a residential treatment center for his drinking and post-traumatic stress disorder, Zach slowly discovers how to reclaim his life, his happiness, and his sense of self.

The Boldness of Boys edited by Susan Strong

YA 305.235 Strong

Photographers, writers, athletes, politicians and more all contribute their essays on boys facing challenges in life and coming out stronger.

The Greatness of Girls edited by Susan Strong

YA 305.235 Strong

A collection of stories about how a variety of talented, driven, and sometimes frightened girls transformed themselves into remarkable women—like Eleanor Roosevelt and Maya Angelou—who have helped change the world.  

Rae: My True Story of Fear, Anxiety, and Social Phobia by Chelsea Rae Swiggett

YA BIO Swiggett

Real-life teenager Rae describes her panic attacks and social anxiety like this: 'It's a game of catch-22 I constantly play with myself. If I keep acting normal, I hope one day I will be, but every time I try, I just let myself down. I'm so entirely sick of this game.'

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

YA GN Yang

In three intertwining stories, a mythical monkey wants desperately to become a more powerful god, while all-American teenager, Danny, cringes at the presence of his cousin, a walking Chinese stereotype and Taiwanese-American Jin tries to balance his background and his urge to blend in. 

I Am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak

YA REAL Zusak

At 19 years old, Ed has basically led a pointless life, until the night he stops a bank robbery and starts receiving anonymous notes that lead him to help others in need and turn his life into one of meaningful action.