Books published by publisher West 44 Books

It's the first day of middle school. Amy Price knows that's the most important day for making an impression on people. With her stutter, Amy has a hard time making friends. She has one dream, to be the class president. If only people could see her as a leader. Amy might be stuck sitting alone at lunch the first day. That is, until she find the Weirdo Table. They are all very different, but Amy finds a friendship in this unlikely place, and perhaps, the courage to launch her presidential campaign.

Project Apogee had one mission: to create biologically engineered perfect teenagers. The teenagers were supposed to be expressions of a perfect genetic mapping of traits, an example of the New Human. But when the teens go before the project committee, they are found to be utterly normal and unremarkable, a disappointment. Then there's Alex, the lost teen who failed years ago, who might just be the most remarkable of them all.

The women in Skyler Wise's family have a weakness for bad boys, but not Skyler. She has one thing on her mind, leaving her run-down neighborhood and going to college. When Skyler's normally strict mom starts dating again, she feels abandoned. Skyler meets Cole, a boy who makes her question everything she thought she knew about herself and her future. Even though he has a dangerous reputation, Skyler believes she knows the real Cole, the sweet, caring boyfriend who makes her feel seen for once in her life. When Cole starts to change, Skyler realizes that she'll do anything to keep him around, even if it means giving up her dream and losing the people closest to her.

Zeke would love to be invisible. His mother is struggling to make ends meet and stuck with a no-good boyfriend. Zeke knows he and his mom will be stuck forever if he doesn't find some money fast. When Zeke starts working at a local pizza place, he meets labor activists who want to give him a voice--and the living wage he deserves for his work. Zeke has to decide between living the quiet life he's carved for himself and raising his voice for justice.

Originally published in 1936, and long out of print, Black Range Tales gives a glimpse of the rugged adventure that was the old time prospectors and pioneers daily life. From the hilarious tale of Christmas in Kingston to tales of Indian fighting and looking for gold "Uncle Jimmie" is sure to please a whole new generation of readers. McKenna went to the southwest in his youth and his life over a period of nearly sixty years was a varied and adventurous one, with danger and the sudden death of comrades often a part of the day's work. He followed many calling during a half century , but most of the time he was a prospector, lucky and luckless by turns, who's search for gold ranged from old Mexico to the Arctic Circle. Taking place mostly in the rugged corner of New Mexico called the Black Range, Black Range tales combines 16 tales of adventure and humor set forth in the delightful, natural speech of a survivor.

Heather Wright is always all right. That's what people say. But if she's always all right, then why is life so hard? Heather starts cutting as a way to deal with the difficult emotions she locks inside. What starts out as casual cutting turns into a dangerous addiction. When Heather goes away to summer theater camp, she meets Josie. Josie is a tough, sassy diva who is more than just a cutter, but a cutting advocate online. Heather looks up to Josie until the darkness of Josie's inner world threatens to spill out over the side and drown both of them. Until Josie does the unthinkable.

Clare and Zari are best friends. They write music together, go everywhere together, and they know everything about the other. At least they did before Zari started dating Dion. The more Zari falls for Dion, the less she has time for anything else. At first, Clare chalks it up to a new and exciting relationship, and she tries to be happy for her friend despite her loneliness. When Zari starts to show up to school with half-hidden bruises, Clare knows there's something darker about this relationship that has to be stopped.

Justice knows how it can go down for African American young men, and it isn't always fair. Still, he's pretty sure living on the straight and narrow will keep him safe. Pining over his crush Ebony, writing rap lyrics, and looking forward to chess games in the park, Justice never imagines he could be labeled a criminal. Then his teacher's phone and wallet are stolen, and Justice finds himself at the center of the investigation. Can Justice prove he's innocent, or will he be wrongly convicted of a crime he never committed?

Dave Lee's friends like having adventures. Dave himself, however, isn't so sure about that. Still, he's curious enough about his friend Matt's special VR headset that he'll give it a try just to see the world of Minecraft. But survival is more than defeating monsters and building houses, and Dave knows that. He'll teach his friends too, and along the way, he might just have an adventure!

Christmas is coming. Victor and Isaac want to spend the holidays together. But they're stuck in their new foster homes and their mom is stuck in jail. Victor and Isaac struggle to adjust to the unfamiliar customs of their foster families. They worry that their own traditions will be lost. Does accepting their present lives mean they've rejected their past?

Seventeen-year-old Charlotte Navarro never asked to be anyone's hero. If you're a hero, your sister isn't supposed to hate you. And you're definitely not supposed to get hooked on Gramma's painkillers. Even so, Charlotte's sister's friend Mia looks at her like she's some sort of hero. As Charlotte starts taking pills more and more, she has to question how it could hurt herself and others, even Mia. Is it a harmless habit or a dangerous addiction?