Search Results: 2,256 books from 19 publishers. Learn more

Grave Message

Mary Jennifer Payne (author)

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers ISBN: 9781459828650

Jaylin is studying for a stressful English exam when she receives a message from her best friend, Fatima. The thing is, Fatima died a year ago in a terrible traffic accident. At first, Jaylin thinks someone is playing a horrible prank, but as the texts become more detailed, containing secrets that just the two of them shared, Jaylin realizes she’s either going mad or Fatima is actually reaching out to her from beyond the grave. Then Fatima shares one last secret and asks Jaylin to set the record straight around the circumstances of her death. Jaylin is torn. Is she strong enough to relive losing her best friend all over again? This high-interest Orca Anchor title is written specifically for teens reading below a grade 2.0 level.

Hey Jude

Star Spider (author)

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers ISBN: 9781459826366

Seventeen-year-old Penny is struggling to balance caring for Jude, her sister with mental health challenges, working part-time to help her mother with money issues and facing her final year of high school. She does not need any distractions. But then she meets Jack. The two of them click immediately. But as quickly as things heat up, they then cool down, and Penny isn’t sure why. Does she have room for her feelings for Jack alongside her worries that her sister is crashing into suicidal depression again?

Heart Sister

Michael F. Stewart (author)

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers ISBN: 9781459824881

After his twin sister, Minnie, dies in an accident, Emmitt's world goes sideways. He’s lost his best friend and it feels like the family is falling apart without her. But Minnie was an organ donor and Emmitt soon receives an anonymous thank you letter from one of the transplant recipients. Inspiration strikes, and he decides to try and put his sister back together, in spirit. He’s going to track down each organ recipient and film them to show his parents the results of Minnie’s selfless act and help them move on. But when each recipient falls short of his expectations and the star of his film, the girl who received his sister’s heart, refuses to meet him, Emmitt has to turn to extreme measures to find her. What he doesn’t know is that his "heart sister" is hiding an agonizing secret, one that could push Emmitt to the breaking point.

Heads Up

Melanie Siebert (author) Belle Wuthrich (illustrator)

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers ISBN: 9781459819122

Featuring real-life stories of people who have found hope and meaning in the midst of life’s struggles, Heads Up: Changing Minds on Mental Health is the go-to guide for teenagers who want to know about mental health, mental illness, trauma and recovery. This book shines a light on the troubled history of thinking about and treating mental illness and tells the stories of courageous pioneers in the field of psychiatry who fought for more compassionate, respectful and effective treatments. It provides a helpful guide to the major mental health diagnoses along with ideas and resources to support those who are suffering. The book also explores how mental health is more than just “in our heads” and includes the voices of Indigenous people who share a more holistic way of thinking about wellness, balancing mind, body, heart and spirit. Highlighting innovative approaches such as trauma-informed activities like yoga and hip-hop, police mental health teams, and peer support for youth,

Easy Street

Jeff Ross (author)

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers ISBN: 9781459824027

Three years ago Rob’s brother, Adam, was sent to jail for his part in the death of a girl who overdosed at a rave. But now that he has been released, Rob hopes that things can go back to the way they used to be. He soon realizes this is impossible. His brother has changed, the times have changed, and Rob has changed. Adam tells his mom and brother that he is planning to apply to a college in Toronto. He has already discovered how difficult it can be for someone with a criminal record to land a job and thinks he needs to get some education under his belt. He invites Rob to go on a road trip to the city to check out the college. However, Rob suspects that Adam hasn’t asked him along just for company. Adam still believes that there’s an easy way to get to where he wants to be. And if Rob can’t find a way to save Adam from himself, he just might go down with him.

I Am a Feminist

Monique Polak (author)

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers ISBN: 9781459818934

What is feminism? Why does it still matter? What exactly does intersectionality mean? In order to answer these (and many other) questions, I Am a Feminist first examines the history of feminism and then addresses the issues girls and women continue to face today. The book also looks at the ways in which people, especially young people, are working together to create a world where gender equality is a reality, not a dream. The author shares stories about the courageous individuals who have made a difference in the lives of women and girls worldwide. From suffragists to the #MeToo movement, I Am a Feminist encourages readers to stand up and speak out for equality and justice.

Girls Like Me

Kristin Butcher (author)

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers ISBN: 9781459820562

After accepting a ride home, sixteen-year-old Emma Kennedy is raped by a boy from school. But handsome, popular Ross Schroeder tells everyone the sex was consensual, and Emma is immediately branded as a slut. Even Emma's best friend, Jen, doesn't believe Emma's version of events. In fact, she is angry with Emma because she feels betrayed. After all, she liked Ross first. But when Ross starts showing interest in Jen, Emma knows she will have to find a way to get Jen to believe that she really is in grave danger. Before it's too late.

Jammer Star

Kate Hargreaves (author)

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers ISBN: 9781459817197

Sixteen-year-old Robin Ellis (aka Robin CookieJars) wants to be the best jammer on her roller-derby team and maybe one day play for the Creek City Roller Derby All-Stars like her idol, Annie Mossity. But star junior player April Reid (aka April Powers) always seems to be one lap ahead. Until recently, that is. Robin has noticed that April has been losing a lot of weight, and her game is suffering. This may be Robin's chance to finally grab the MVP title. But her success may come at a very heavy cost.

Hot New Thing

Laura Langston (author)

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers ISBN: 9781459804326

Lily is discovered by a big-name director when she’s auditioning for a role in a toothpaste commercial. He wants her for his new movie, which is great except for the fact that it’s shooting in Los Angeles and Lily lives in Vancouver. With the help of her Chinese grandmother, she convinces her parents to let her go to LA with her agent as a chaperone. But when she gets there, she finds out that if she wants to be more than the flavor of the week, she’s going to have to pay a price that may be way too high.

In the Buff

Vicki Grant (author)

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers ISBN: 9781459818835

After a big fight with his wife, Rupert's grandfather, known to everyone as Gump, packs up and moves into Gentle Breezes Nudist Community for Active Seniors. Thirteen-year-old Rupert is sent in to talk some sense into him. While he's there, Rupert accidentally lets Gump's dog, Wayne, escape. Gump is frantic. Wayne is blind and tends to panic. Rupert and his grandfather set out to search the woods, and soon they are lost too. Aside from an apron, Gump is butt naked, and without his phone, Rupert feels naked too. The only way they are going to get out of this mess is by working together.

From the Dead

Norah McClintock (author)

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers ISBN: 9781459805385

Rennie is in Uruguay when his cousins discover a secret cache at their dead grandfather’s cottage - thousands of dollars in foreign currencies, a mystifying notebook, multiple passports (some obviously fake), a gun, a disguise, and a photo of some Nazis. Rennie’s mission: to find out whether there was more to the old man than anyone knew. Was he a spy? If he was, what did he do? And for whom? Did he help a Nazi war criminal escape justice? Rennie’s quest leads him to Argentina and then to Detroit, where he finds more questions than answers and more than one gun pointed—and fired—in his direction. From the Dead is the sequel to both Slide, part of The Seven Prequels and Close to the Heel, part of Seven (The Series).

Honeycomb

Patricia McCowan (author)

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers ISBN: 9781459805804

When Nat, her best friend Jess and singing-star wannabe Harper sing together, their harmonies bring down the house. For Nat, the experience sparks a driving new desire to perform. But when the girls form a trio and enter a contest for a chance to play at the Tall Grass Music Festival, Nat finds that harmony - musical and otherwise - is hard to maintain. Her bandmates almost never agree, her new boyfriend starts behaving more like a non-boyfriend, and the trio’s famous-musician mentor doesn’t even like the way Nat breathes. Every day, Nat’s dream of performing at Tall Grass seems farther away, and she questions whether she has what it takes to get there.

Forcing the Ace

Erin Thomas (author)

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers ISBN: 9781459806467

Alex wants to enter the Silver Stage magic competition, but he needs a sponsor. Jack, a veteran card wizard, is willing to take on the role, but only if Alex agrees to team up with Zoe, another young magician - and Alex’s rival. Working with Jack and sharing the spotlight with Zoe, Alex comes to see that there are other ways to be a magician besides competing, and that magic is about entertaining people, not fooling them.

Impossible

Jocelyn Shipley (author)

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers ISBN: 9781459815575

Seventeen-year-old Jemma's older brother took her in when she needed to get away from her abusive ex-boyfriend, Razor. All Jemma wants now is to be a good mom to her baby daughter, Violet. But one night she needs to go out, just for a few minutes, to get diapers and ice cream. On her way back, she witnesses the drive-by shooting of a kid, Kwame, who lives in the same building. The driver is Razor. Jemma is terrified. If she tells anyone what she saw, they'll know she left her baby alone and she might lose custody. But if she doesn't, Kwame's killer will go free. Razor convinces Jemma to make a deal to save her life, but Jemma isn't sure she can live with the consequences.

Firewall

Sean Rodman (author)

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers ISBN: 9781459814547

Josh is a gamer. After his parents' divorce and his move from Chicago to a small town where he doesn't know anybody, he copes by staying up way too late playing Killswitch online. Then he discovers a "mod" version of the game that is an exact reproduction of his new town. Strange things start to happen in the game, and they are somehow connected with events in the real world.

Heavy Freight

Sigmund Brouwer (author)

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers ISBN: 9781459814769

Fifteen-year-old Maxwell Stone has been surviving and thriving in the tough part of East Vancouver by being smart and fast. But when a drug deal goes wrong, Max suddenly finds himself on the run from both the bad guys and the cops. Desperate to escape, Max impulsively decides to hop on a moving freight train. His first attempt to climb aboard fails, but at the last second a hand reaches down and pulls him in. Joseph has been riding the rails for years, and his tales inspire Max to take a journey to the last place he ever expected to go.

Hit the Ground Running

Alison Hughes (author)

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers ISBN: 9781459815452

Sixteen-year-old Dee and her seven-year-old brother, Eddie, have been on their own for six weeks. Their father has seemingly vanished into the baking Arizona desert. Their money is drying up and the rent is coming due, but it's a visit from a social worker and the prospect of being separated from Eddie that scares Dee enough to flee. She dupes her brother into packing up and embarking on the long road trip to Canada, their birthplace and former home. Lacking a driver's license and facing a looming interrogation at the border, Dee rations their money and food as they burn down the interstate in their ancient, decrepit car.

Getting the Brush Off

Mere Joyce (author)

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers ISBN: 9781459813595

Two years ago, sixteen-year-old Sydney Hart was kicked out of the prestigious Burke Academy when her mother could no longer afford the tuition. She lost a promising future in the arts, as well as her best friend, who didn't want to be seen with an art-academy reject. But now, without Burke's rigid structure, Sydney has found her true passion in performance painting and is busking on Halifax's boardwalk to earn enough money to go to art camp. After the police shut her down, Sydney learns her old school is hosting a "brush-off" speed-painting contest with a cash prize. Entering would mean facing her painful past, not to mention her former friend, who's also competing.

Enough

Mary Jennifer Payne (author)

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers ISBN: 9781459813311

Life hasn't been easy for fifteen-year-old Lizzie Jackson since her father's sudden death four years ago. Shortly after he died, her mother, Lydia, began dating and drinking herself into oblivion, leaving Lizzie to parent her younger brother, Charlie. Things go from bad to worse when Lydia marries Dean. To protect Charlie from Dean's rage, Lizzie makes herself the target of his abuse. But when Dean sexually assaults Lizzie, things change forever. Can she continue to ensure her brother's safety after she flees their home?

From Above

Norah McClintock (author)

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers ISBN: 9781459809345

When a football player from Riley Donovan's school falls to his death from the top of a recreation center, a hunch makes her wonder if he was pushed. But who would do such a thing, and why? Riley’s detective aunt tells Riley to leave it alone, but that's not in Riley’s nature. When her friend Charlie is accused of the murder, Riley is determined to clear his name, even if it means confronting vicious junkyard dogs, forming an alliance with an old enemy, and putting her own life in danger.

Wingman

Jean Mills (author)

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers ISBN: 9781459834330

The other night, Trace Brewster, Max’s best friend and star hockey player for the Hawks, scored on his own net and put the team’s chances of qualifying for an upcoming tournament in jeopardy. Since then Trace has gone silent and is shutting everyone out. But Max thinks there’s more going on with his friend than what happened on the ice. For one thing, there are bruises on Trace's face that he refuses to explain. Can Max find a way to get Trace to open up and help him in time for the big game?

What World is Left

Monique Polak (author)

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers ISBN: 9781459833043

A pampered child used to having her own way, Anneke Van Raalte lives outside Amsterdam, where her father is a cartoonist for an Amsterdam newspaper. Though Anneke's family is Jewish, her religion means little to her. Anneke's life changes in 1942 when the Nazis invade Holland and she and her family are deported to Theresienstadt, a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. Not only are conditions in the camp appalling, but the camp is the site of an elaborate hoax: the Nazis are determined to convince the world that Theresienstadt is an idyllic place, and that European Jews are thriving under the Nazi regime. Because he is an artist, Anneke's father is compelled to help in the propaganda campaign, and Anneke finds herself torn between her loyalty to her family and her sense of what is right. What World is Left was inspired by the experiences of the author's mother, who was imprisoned in Theresienstadt during World War II.

Urgent Message from a Hot Planet

Ann Eriksson (author)

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers ISBN: 9781459826335

The climate crisis is the issue of our time. Scientists have warned for over 100 years that burning fossil fuels and destroying nature will warm the earth's atmosphere and affect the climate in adverse ways: more severe and intense storms, prolonged heat waves, drought, flooding, wildfires, rising sea levels and ocean acidification. Urgent Message from a Hot Planet: Navigating the Climate Crisis outlines the science behind global heating and its root causes, provides ways to take action and honors the efforts of the millions of youth and adult allies from around the world working tirelessly to make a difference. Their powerful message: do something now!

Depth of Field

Natasha Deen (author)

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers ISBN: 9781459832213

When Josh Biswas found out his girlfriend, Lian, was cheating on him, it didn’t only break his heart, it threatened his GPA. Lian calls him boring and turns in their joint photography project in as her own, leaving Josh to come up with something alone or risk a failing grade. Determined to prove her wrong, Josh decides to head to the foothills of the Canadian Rockies to capture some daring photos of a family of bears that were recently spotted there. But he wasn’t expecting the bad cell service that makes the maps on his phone useless. Lost and wandering around, Josh stumbles onto something he was never meant to see. Suddenly, a group of men are chasing him through the wilderness. Josh has no fighting abilities and no survival skills. Will he ever make it out?

Careful What You Wish For

Mahtab Narsimhan (author)

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers ISBN: 9781459834019

A lonely teen discovers a website that grants wishes. Eshana is a bit of a social misfit. She feels more comfortable talking to people online than in person. One day she discovers a website that claims to be a safe space where young people can support each other in making their dreams come true. She starts talking with someone called Wise One. They hit it off immediately. Eshana admits to the Wise One how hard it is for her to make friends. The next day she goes to school and suddenly everyone wants to talk to her. Eshana is thrilled. But then, after telling Wise One about a girl who has been bullying her, she hears that the girl has been injured in a car accident. Are Eshana’s wishes really coming true? If so, is having the life she’s always wanted worth the costs?