New Releases by Diane Tullson

In this high-interest novel for middle readers, fourteen-year-old Taz is dealing with her parents’ divorce and trying to win a cooking competition.

When Daniel falls for the hottest girl in school, he ends up unwittingly running drugs across the border.

How often do you get to see a car tipped or stores looted? Seventeen-year-old Daniel gets caught up in a post-game riot, and then he and his best friend escape police by breaking into a store. They only intend to cut through to the alley, but rioters follow and trash the place. Daniel prevents an arsonist from torching the store; the next day he''s a hero while his friend is outed as a rioter. Can Daniel save face, and will it cost him his friend? This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for teen readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read!

This Teaching Guide provides age-appropriate discussion questions and lessons about literary devices, relevant vocabulary, grammar points and more.

Lucas and his father are not close. In fact they hardly see each other, which is just fine with Lucas. When he travels to the remote fishing lodge his father manages, Lucas is left once again, this time with a lodge worker, a girl named Sumi. She makes it pretty clear that Lucas is on his own. But she does take him fishing and seems to be warming up to him. Then, in a horrible sequence of misjudgments, Sumi is shot in the foot. With no radio and no phone, Lucas and Sumi are truly alone. Fog rolls over the islands and it''s up to Lucas to get Sumi to medical help, a day''s journey by boat up the inlet. This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for teen readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read!

This Teaching Guide provides age-appropriate discussion questions and lessons about literary devices, relevant vocabulary, grammar points and more.

In these novellas, set in Haida Gwaii on British Columbia''s north coast, three young adult narrators explore what home means to them. In the first two novellas, teens come home to Haida Gwaii having never been there. In the third, a teen prepares to leave Haida Gwaii for the first time. The novellas describe three rites of passage, both loosening and strengthening of family ties, and the meaning of place, especially an ancient, relatively unspoiled place, in the lives of three young people. With high-interest story lines and accessible language, the novellas are written for young adults including those reluctant to read because of a low reading level, lack of interest, or insufficient time. Each narrator plays a supporting role in another story. The novellas can be read in any order. FIRST BREATH Sumi is a savvy survivor of street life in Vancouver. When she is sent to live in Haida Gwaii, Sumi learns what family, present and past, means to her. Her younger cousin, Eril, awakens in Sumi a sense of kin, and for the first time since the death of her mother, Sumi realizes the value of caring for a loved one, and herself. SEA CHANGE A fishing trip in Haida Gwaii means Lucas will finally spend some time with his father. Instead, his father leaves Lucas with a lodge worker, Sumi. In a shooting accident, Sumi is injured, and Lucas must navigate treacherous waters to reach medical help. The connection Lucas finds with Sumi reveals the promise of a place for himself in Haida Gwaii, and shows him that he is able to create a sense of family, with or without his father. PEREGRINE SKY Eril has always lived in Haida Gwaii and she can hardly contemplate going away to university. But it seems her boyfriend, Lucas, feels only the pull of Vancouver. Then Eril''s brother and father go missing in a fishing boat, and the crisis casts a new perspective on Eril''s relationship with Lucas, and with Haida Gwaii. For Eril, her journey home begins by leaving the only home she knows.

Seventeen-year-old Corbin plays hockey and is known as a scrapper on and off the ice. Fighting makes him feel strong. Corbin''s friend, Darius, is socially adept and popular, and Darius''s reckless risk-taking makes Corbin feel alive. With Rubee, a girl both boys like, Darius crosses a line, and after a party at Riley Park, Darius and Corbin are attacked. Darius is killed; Corbin is seriously injured. Corbin fights his clouded memory—he can''t identify the assailants. He fights his weakened body—he can no longer play hockey. He fights the loss of his friend. But when he gives up the fight, he finds strength in acceptance. This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for teen readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read! The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

This Teaching Guide provides age-appropriate discussion questions and lessons about literary devices, relevant vocabulary, grammar points and more.

Some days it''s just easier not to go to school at all. Adam has been slacking off lately, but today he stuck around to see his girlfriend. When Josh, who has been bullied mercilessly, brings a gun to school, the building is locked down and Adam is forced to risk everything to save himself and to find Zoe before Josh does. Calling on reserves he didn''t know he had, Adam could end up a hero—or a victim. This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for teen readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read!

This Teaching Guide provides age-appropriate discussion questions and lessons about literary devices, relevant vocabulary, grammar points and more.

Tej and Liam are going snowboarding. When they take a shortcut over a treacherous logging road and have an accident, their adventure becomes more about survival than fresh powder. Tracked by a hungry bear, while trying to outrun the weather without any food, Tej and Liam learn about their friendship and what it will take to survive. When Tej is hurt, Liam decides he has to go for help—alone.

This Teaching Guide provides age-appropriate discussion questions and lessons about literary devices, relevant vocabulary, grammar points and more.

CCBC''s Best Books for Kids & Teens, 2008 Kas fights to conceal her dangerous secret. Kas has everything a teenager could possibly want. Away from home for the first time, and attending a prestigious art school, she makes friends with a model and aspiring actress, Marin, and meets Jacob, a handsome young musician. Her future is bright and promising. But Kas is hiding a secret--a secret so dangerous that it threatens to destroy not only her friendships, but also her own future. Diane Tullson has written a powerful, coming-of-age novel about eating disorders, and of the vulnerable teenager who fights to conceal her secret from her friends. Zero is a realistic portrayal of a very subtle disease that challenges readers to figure out just when they should have recognized thesymptoms of anorexia and bulimia. The novel includes an afterword that outlines the warning signs of anorexia and bulimia, as well as the common misconceptions about the victims of eating disorders.

Fourteen-year-old Libby didn''t want to go on a year long sailing adventure with her mother and her stepfather, Duncan, and she isn''t about to let them forget it. Traveling through the Red Sea, Libby causes them to be late and make a dangerous crossing alone. When modern-day pirates attack, Duncan is killed and Libby''s mother is left seriously injured and unconscious. Libby is left alone on a crippled boat to find safety and help for her mother. Libby must call on all her strength and face some hard truths about herself if she is to survive and reach land. A thrilling tale of one girl''s struggle for survival against the elements and her inner demons, Red Sea is adventure writing at its best.

In this gripping story, the author of the critically acclaimed "Edge" explores teen alcoholism and demonstrates a keen awareness of what drives ordinary teenagers to trouble and what makes them withdraw from the world.

Sometimes a good kid is drawn into a bad crowd. Sometimes a bad crowd goes over the edge. Ever since Marlie started grade nine, she''s been an out cast by the rest of the school--even her own best friend. She finds her place among a group of students, who, like herself, are social misfits and often bullied by their classmates. One of Marlie''s new acquaintances, Mike, is especially serious about getting back at the bullies--dead serious. When Mike plots for the groups revege to take place a a formal school dance, Marlie''s fear that he might seriously hurt people compels her to take mattters into her own hands. If the story seems dark, it is. But Marlie has a wicked sense of humor. And her mentor, the lovable undertaker Chuck, provides a perfect foil for the serious subject material. Imagine learning how to apply make-up from a guy who prepares corpes for their funerals! Edge''s subject is timely, and it''s characters are unusual but believable. The tone is accessible to all young adults, but with enough metaphor and symbolism to interest the sophisicated reader. The pace at times breathless, and the resolution is as satisfying as the subject allows, as Marlie develops the strength she needs to stand alone, if she must. Edge is a great read for today''s teen - tragic and funny, it''s a story too many can relate to.

Confronting his family''s cruelty and his friend''s fear of a deadly disease, Gavin learns that life is often unfair.

Beverly gets into serious trouble when her starvation diet interferes with her scuba diving.