Crisis at Home

These three award-winning novels explore the feelings and reactions that teenagers have when their lives are disrupted by a crisis at home that is way beyond their control.

In Skin Deep, by BC writer Sandra Diersch, Corinne has big plans for the summer between grades nine and ten — she and her best friend, Romi, are planning makeovers that will put them on the popularity list next year. But Corinne's world falls to pieces when she discovers that her mom has breast cancer. Instead of shopping malls and spas, Corinne's summer is filled with doctor's visits and chemo treatments. This novel examines the range of emotions a teenager feels when faced with the realization that her parents are all too mortal.

Skin Deep is a Canadian Children's Book Centre Best Books for Kids and Teens selection. It was "Highly Recommended" by CM Magazine. Follow the link to read the full review: http://umanitoba.ca/outreach/cm/vol17/no2/skindeep.html

In Best Laid Plans, Robyn has big plans to get as far away from her family as she can. She's tired of living in poverty at the family's struggling farm in the Okanagan. Robyn's got her sights set on university in Ontario. But then her younger sister reveals that she's pregnant. Suddenly there's pressure for Robyn to put her future on hold to stay and help her family. Robyn has to decide whether to put herself or her family first.

Best Laid Plans is a Canadian Children's Book Centre Best Books for Kids and Teens selection.

In Lori Weber's Split, eighteen-year-old Sandra doesn't go to her high school graduation ceremony: there's no one to cheer for her since her mother walked out on her and her alcoholic father a few months ago. Now Sandra feels lost and abandoned, with no one to relate to or to give her any direction or guidance. 

Split is a Canadian Children's Book Centre Best Books for Kids and Teens selection. For a full review of this "Highly Recommended" novel, click on the link: http://umanitoba.ca/outreach/cm/vol12/no5/split.html