Books published by publisher Carolrhoda Lab ®

A 2017 National Book Award for Young People's Literature FinalistWhen Nina Faye was fourteen, her mother told her there was no such thing as unconditional love. Nina believed her. Now she'll do anything for the boy she loves, to prove she's worthy of him. But when he breaks up with her, Nina is lost. What is she if not a girlfriend? What is she made of? Broken-hearted, Nina tries to figure out what the conditions of love are."Finally, finally, a book that is fully girl, with all of the gore and grace of growing up female exposed." —Carrie Mesrobian, author of the William C. Morris finalist, Sex & Violence

A 2017 National Book Award for Young People's Literature Finalist When Nina Faye was fourteen, her mother told her there was no such thing as unconditional love. Nina believed her. Now she'll do anything for the boy she loves, to prove she's worthy of him. But when he breaks up with her, Nina is lost. What is she if not a girlfriend? What is she made of? Broken-hearted, Nina tries to figure out what the conditions of love are. "Finally, finally, a book that is fully girl, with all of the gore and grace of growing up female exposed." ―Carrie Mesrobian, author of the William C. Morris finalist, Sex & Violence

A dramatic page-turner that captures the devastating toll of war and the impact of women's struggles and solidarity, through the lens of a little-known slice of history.In 1917, Russia is losing the war with Germany, soldiers are deserting in droves, and food shortages on the home front are pushing people to the brink of revolution. Seventeen-year-old Katya is politically conflicted, but she wants Russia to win the war. Working at a munitions factory seems like the most she can do to serve her country—until the government begins recruiting an all-female army battalion. Inspired, Katya enlists. Training with other brave women, she finds camaraderie and a deep sense of purpose. But when the women's battalion heads to the front, Katya has to confront the horrifying realities of war. Faced with heartbreak and disillusionment, she must reevaluate her commitment and decide where she stands.

After a marijuana-addled brawl with a rival gang, 16-year-old Azael wakes up to find himself surrounded by a familiar set of concrete walls and a locked door. Juvie again, he thinks. But he can't really remember what happened or how he got picked up. He knows his MS13 boys faced off with some punks from Crazy Crew. There were bats, bricks, chains. A knife. But he can't remember anything between that moment and when he woke behind bars. Azael knows prison, and something isn't right about this lockup. No phone call. No lawyer. No news about his brother or his homies. The only thing they make him do is watch some white girl in some cell. Watch her and try to remember. Lexi Allen would love to forget the brawl, would love for it to disappear back into the Xanax fog it came from. And her mother and her lawyer hope she chooses not to remember too much about the brawl―at least when it's time to testify. Lexi knows there's more at stake in her trial than her life alone, though. She's connected to him, and he needs the truth. The knife cut, but somehow it also connected.

On odd days, Tripp uses a school practice room to let loose on a borrowed guitar. Eyes closed, strumming that beat-up instrument, Tripp escapes to a world where only the music matters.On even days, Lyla Marks uses the same practice room. To Tripp, she's trying to become even more perfect—she's already a straight-A student and an award-winning cellist. But when Lyla begins leaving notes for him in between the strings of the guitar, his life intersects with hers in a way he never expected.What starts as a series of snippy notes quickly blossoms into the sharing of interests and secrets and dreams, and the forging of a very unlikely friendship.Challenging each other to write songs, they begin to connect, even though circumstances threaten to tear them apart.From beloved author Mary Amato comes a YA novel of wit and wisdom, both heartfelt and heart­breaking, about the power of music and the unexpected chords that draw us together.

Readers of The Maze Runner and Divergent will devour this dark survival series that's Lord of the Flies in a 21st-century high school setting.In the third Quarantine book, David and Will are alive...but on the outside of McKinley High. Lucy is the last of the trinity left inside, where Hilary will exact a deadly revenge before taking over McKinley and bringing one final reign of terror to the school before the doors open for good. But the outside world is just as dangerous for carriers of the virus.

Most people want to save the world; seventeen-year-old Tora just wants to get off of it. One of the last survivors in Earth's final years, Tora yearns to escape the wasteland her planet has become, but discovers her fellow survivors are even more deadly than the hostile environment. Holed up in an underground shelter, Tora is alone. All Tora has left is Trigger, one of the bio-energetic weapons her father created for the government before his conscience kicked in. When mercenaries take Tora's weapons by force, fury turns to fear. Tora must choose between saving herself or honoring her father's request to save humanity from the most lethal weapons in existence.

Daphne Raines knew it was risky to enter the underworld to save the love of her life, Haden, who had sacrificed his own honor as an Underlord for her sake. But she could never have predicted that she'd end up betrothed to Haden's conniving half-brother, Garrick, new King of the Underrealm—and bound to his dark world. Even worse, Haden is banished to the mortal realm, and has just days to live as poison takes over his body and mind. Only Daphne's kiss can save him, but how can she escape Garrick and reach Haden in time? Surprises lurk around every corner in the final chapter of this epic romance story, as Haden and Daphne fight to fulfill their destinies.

"Transracial adoption is never oversimplified, airbrushed, or sentimentalized, but instead, it's portrayed with bracing honesty as the messy institution it is: rearranging families, blending cultural and biological DNA, loss and joy. An exceptionally accomplished debut." ― Kirkus, starred review For as long as she can remember, sixteen-year-old Alex Kirtridge has known two things about herself: She's a stellar baseball player. She's adopted. Alex has had a comfortable childhood in Madison, Wisconsin. Despite some teasing, being a biracial girl in a wealthy white family hasn't been that big a deal. What mattered was that she was a star on the diamond, where her father, a former Major Leaguer, coached her hard and counted on her to make him proud. But now, things are changing: she meets Reggie, the first black guy who's wanted to get to know her; she discovers the letters from her biological father that her adoptive parents have kept from her; and her changing body starts to affect her game. Suddenly, Alex begins to question who she really is. She's always dreamed of playing pro baseball just like her father, but can she really do it? Does she truly fit in with her white family? Who were her biological parents? What does it mean to be black? If she's going to find answers, Alex has to come to terms with her adoption, her race, and the dreams she thought would always guide her. • Winner of the Minnesota Book Award • A Kirkus Reviews Best Teen book of the Year • A Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year

Ruby dreams of escaping the Congregation. Escape from slaver Darwin West and his cruel Overseers. Escape from the backbreaking work of gathering Water. Escape from living as if it is still 1812, the year they were all enslaved. When Ruby meets Ford--an irresistible, kind, forbidden new Overseer--she longs to run away with him to the modern world, where she could live a normal teenage live. Escape with Ford would be so simple.But if Ruby leaves, her community is condemned to certain death. She, alone, possess the secret ingredient that makes the Water so special--her blood--and it's the one thing that the Congregation cannot live without.Drought is the haunting story of one community's thirst for life, and the dangerous struggle of the only girl who can grant it.

Fan-favorite author Bree Despain continues her modern-day romance trilogy inspired by the Greek myth of Persephone and Hades with this second book in her Into the Dark series.Haden Lord, the disgraced Prince of the Underrealm, has chosen love over honor and will do everything in his power to protect Daphne Raines, the human girl he was supposed to bring to the Underrealm. Haden's choice is put to the test as the Skylords and a figure from his past arrive in Olympus Hills with a plan that could destroy all of the realms. Embracing her destiny as the Cypher, Daphne begins to understand the immense power of her musical ability to control the elements, but she must come to terms with her feelings for Haden and what she must sacrifice in order to protect him and her friends. Believing the Key of Hades is the only thing that can stop the Underrealm Court from releasing the monstrous Keres on the mortal world, Haden, Daphne, and their friends set out to find the Key before Persephone's Gate opens again on the spring equinox.

From acclaimed and New York Times best-selling YA authors Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton, and Brenna Yovanoff comes The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories. • A vampire locked in a cage in the basement, for good luck. • Bad guys, clever girls, and the various reasons why the guys have to stop breathing. • A world where fires never go out (with references to vanilla ice cream). These are but a few of the curiosities collected in this volume of short stories by three acclaimed practitioners of paranormal fiction. But The Curiosities is more than the stories. Since 2008, Maggie, Tessa, and Brenna have posted more than 250 works of short fiction to their website www.merryfates.com. Their goal was simple: create a space for experimentation and improvisation in their writing—all in public and without a backspace key. In that spirit, The Curiosities includes the stories and each author's comments, critiques, and kudos in the margins. Think of it as a guided tour of the creative processes of three acclaimed authors.