Books in Lorimer SideStreets series

Raine has a family, good grades, best friends, and a boyfriend who loves her. But then anorexia takes over, and her life spirals out of control. Her efforts to hide her condition are finished when she collapses at a school dance. Although she's whisked away to treatment, Raine isn't ready to accept who she really is and get the help she desperately needs. For Raine, coming-of-age means coming closer to death.

Martin's been diagnosed with ADHD, but he feels something about his diagnosis isn't right. The Ritalin he's prescribed doesn't seem to make a difference. When Martin's grades continue to sink no matter how hard he tries, his father writes him off as lazy and just plain stupid. His dad is convinced that Martin just needs to focus more on his studies and less on making movies. One night while out pursuing his passion on the city streets with his camera, Martin meets Stick and is introduced to the energetic and exciting pastime of parkour―free-running. While filming Stick's flips and tricks, Martin begins to see a connection between how his brain interprets the world, all jumbled and fast-moving and out of order, and what the free-runners see. Camera in hand, Martin sets out to make a video that will show his dad what he sees, and hopefully get him to understand that Martin's real learning disability, dyslexia, has never been properly diagnosed.

It seems like Kat's parents have done little but prepare for her sister Hannah's return since she was sent away to a home for troubled teens. Everyone is determined to find out what went wrong with Hannah and make things right again―everyone except Kat, that is. Kat dreads going back to a life dominated by her sister's tantrums and rule-breaking. The only place she feels in control these days is at the mall, where everything she wants is at her fingertips and no one is better at the art of stealing. As the time of Hannah's return approaches, Kat's shoplifting escalates into a full-blown addiction. Klepto is a powerful story from a talented new writer for teens.

Tyler Josten has never caught a break. Abandoned by his mother, physically and emotionally abused by his father, he grows up with a wild temper, fighting anyone he sees as a bully―including the police. When he gets into trouble with the law, his grandmother gives up on him, and he is placed in foster care to wait for his court date. The Conways welcome Tyler into the kind of home he never imagined, one full of comfort and compassion. When Wayne Conway starts teaching him how to box, Tyler's uneasiness with people caring about him begins to disappear. With a controlled outlet for the violence instilled in him, Tyler starts taking responsibility for his life and his actions. But he still has to be able to trust other people―and himself.

When he was fifteen, Kevin took a car for a joyride and got in an accident that seriously injured a pedestrian. Now known as "Strider" in juvie, he has spent more than two years incarcerated, learning the hard way how to survive on the inside. Strider keeps his head down and in exchange for protection from another inmate, Strider provides "loans" of money and helps him cheat on schoolwork. But when his parole officer suggests that he apply for early parole, Strider realizes it would be hard for him to survive on the outside. Is there anything waiting for him back home, or should he stay where he thinks he belongs?

When 15-year-old Kanika falls for Danny, an older guy she has always had a crush on, she becomes his "ride or die chick". Soon after establishing that she will do anything for him, Danny sells her into the sex trade. Kanika is drugged and taken to Toronto where she finds her friend has also been a victim of the sex trafficking plot. With the help of an older sex worker, Kanika manages to survive and escape the people abusing her. Based on true events, Ride or Die tells the story of how a young black girl from a small town is lured into the sex trade by an older boy.

Epic Fail tells the story of Kenzie, a 16-year-old half Native American girl, and her two best friends, who have grown up in a multiracial, mixed-income suburb. Two years after a party where Kenzie was raped, she is still dealing with the trauma. When photos of the incident appear on social media there are serious consequences for everyone involved. This book tells a tough but realistic story about teen relationships and sexual assault and how social media plays a role in magnifying its impact.

When Sasha moves from Russia with her mother, she's eager to start a new life. At her new school she joins CREW (Confident, Remarkable, Excellent, Welcoming), a girls' volunteer group. But she quickly learns that the group is a front for a girl gang and their true philosophy is to Con, Rip Off, Exploit, and Weaken the people they claim to help. Their leader is eager to exploit Sasha's computer skills for a more lucrative level of crime: stealing identities and blackmailing men online. This story plays out against the backdrop of peer pressure and digital media, showing readers that fitting in with a group isn't worth sacrificing your safety and integrity.

Ever since Logan found out that his uncle was involved in the accident that killed Logan's dad, he's been full of resentment. He cuts his uncle out of his life and finds that being reckless is the only way to feel anything. Looking for a place to drink, underaged and undisturbed, Logan and his friends break into a house they think is abandoned. What they find there gets them into trouble with the law and causes Logan's girlfriend to break up with him. But it also makes Logan face up to his anger and his need to forgive and be forgiven.

Adopted by Caucasian parents, biracial teen Lizzie feels like she never belonged. After the death of her father, Lizzie starts acting out — dating, staying away from home for days and giving up her plans to continue her education. When Lizzie discovers she is pregnant, she is faced with the difficult choice of having a child or getting an abortion. This leads Lizzie to want to find her own birth mother. After running away from home, Lizzie ends up in Kingston, where she tracks down an older woman named Ruth who sheds light on the circumstances surrounding Lizzie's birth.

In the middle of the night, five teens break into a small-town high school to protest the decision to close the school and move them to a big city school. Led by Bilan, whose experience with the Arab Spring fired a passion to peacefully fight against injustice, the Gang of Five occupy their old school. The local police chief and the town quietly cheer them on. When the school board calls in a security firm to break up their occupation using any means necessary, including force, the Five have to decide how far they will go to show their outrage at having no control over decisions that affect their lives.

Vienna, a mixed-race teen and her mother experience racism and domestic violence while living with her stepfather. They try to escape the situation by moving to a big city where they begin to start new lives. But staying under the radar is tough, and when her stepfather shows up threatening her at her new high school's grad party, Vienna has to find a way to keep herself, her mother, and her friends out of harm's way. Saving Grad illustrates the very real circumstances victims of domestic abuse face and one family's struggle to escape a violent situation.