New Releases by Liane Shaw

Jack Pedersen is finding life complicated ever since he came out to his mom. Even though she’s been doing her best to understand, it’s obvious to Jack that his mom still wants to cry every time she says the word gay. Complications go into overdrive when a new student named Benjamin arrives at his high school, and Jack starts experiencing feelings he’s never allowed himself before. When a near tragedy turns life upside down, Jack realizes that it’s time to stop hiding and to stand up—for Pride, for Benjamin, and for himself. Read more of Jack's story in Liane Shaw's book Caterpillars Can't Swim.

Ryan finds his freedom in the water, where he is not bound by gravity and his wheelchair. When he rescues his schoolmate, Jack, from the water their lives become connected, whether they like it or not. Ryan keeps Jack's secret about that day in the water, but he knows that Jack needs help. The school is full of rumors about Jack's sexuality, and he has few friends. Almost against his better judgement, Ryan decides to invite Jack on a trip to Comic Con he's planned with his best friend Cody, the captain of the school's swim team. The three boys make an unlikely combination, but they will each have the chance to show whether they are brave enough to go against the stereotypes the world wants to define them by.

Sixteen-year-old Frederick has a lot of rules for himself. Like if someone calls him Freddy he doesn't have to respond; he only wears shirts with buttons and he hates getting dirty. His odd behavior makes him an easy target for the "Despisers" at school, but he's gotten used to eating lunch alone in the Reject Room. Angel, in tenth grade but already at her sixth school, has always had a hard time making friends because her family moves around so much. Frederick is different from the other kids she's met - he's annoyingly smart, but refreshingly honest - and since he's never had a real friend before, she decides to teach him all her rules of friendship. But after Angel makes a rash decision and disappears, Frederick is called in for questioning by the police and is torn between telling the truth and keeping his friend's secret. Her warning to him - don't tell, don't tell, don't tell - might have done more harm than good.

Before she began writing books for teens, Liane Shaw was an elementary teacher. She brings her gifts for storytelling and humor to this account of her journey into the lives of emotionally challenged students. With little in the way of experience or resources, she found herself thrust into the most challenging kind of teaching imaginable. From the moment Shaw meets her first two boys, as they sit teetering precariously on top of a bookshelf while swearing at the principal, she is both fascinated and terrified. Funny yet sad, strong yet vulnerable, these boys are both the bullies and the bullied. All from different backgrounds, the one thing they have in common is that the odds are against them and that the myriad efforts of the adults involved in their lives often do more harm than good. Shaw moves from frustration to determination. Readers will root for her to succeed, as invested in the success of these kids as she is. Students and teachers continue to face the same challenges, and our education system is still struggling to cope with its most vulnerable students. Shaw's wish in sharing her story is clear -- that as adults we can help children with mental health issues heal and succeed, and that stories like hers can be moved to the history shelf.

At seventeen, Alex feels as if her life is over. She will never recover from the trauma of the car accident that took the life of her best friend, Cali. All joy left when Cali died, including their shared love of singing. Why even bother speaking? Alex blames herself for the accident, and no one would want to hear what she has to say anyway. Ordered by a judge to do community service, she must spend time at a hospital with a girl named Joanie, who has minimal control of her body and no speech. Never having known another way of being, Joanie has an extraordinary internal life. She has been listening and watching as the world goes on around her, but Joanie is so full of words, thoughts and images that if she could ever figure out a way to let them loose, they would come swirling out in a torrent of syllables. She would fill every room with the colors of her dreams until the whole world became a rainbow of her making. Brought together by accident, Alex and Joanie have experienced the helplessness of silence. Their growing connection may lead them both to find the power of their voices.

Her name is Sadie, but she might as well be called Fostergirl. Grouphomegirl. That's how everyone thinks of her. Sadie doesn't care. In fact, she'd be happier if they didn't think of her at all. Her goal is to go unnoticed, to disappear. After living in twelve different foster homes, Sadie's learned that nothing good comes from being noticed. Now here she is again, this time in a small town. There's a new high school, another new group home to get used to -- lucky number 13. But Sadie's not finding it easy to stay beneath the radar. In fact, she's learning that it's impossible to be invisible in a small town. She can't seem to get people to stay out of her life, whether it's the endlessly chatty Rhiannon, who for some reason wants to be her friend; Jackson, the do-good guidance counsellor who thinks she can make Sadie into a student; or the other girls in the group home whose problems keep intruding on her solitude. Little by little, Sadie starts to wonder if there might be a different course for her life, one that lets a few other people along for the ride. Liane Shaw, author of thinandbeautiful.com, once again brings us a vivid and compelling portrait of a young woman at odds with the world around her.

Seventeen-year-old Maddie has always felt a hole in her life, but she has finally found a way to fill it with her quest to mold her body into her ideal, thinnest shape. When she comes across the world of "thinspiration" websites, where young people encourage each other in their mission to lose weight, she quickly becomes addicted. Finally, she has found a place where she is understood and where she can belong. Maddie becomes a part of a group of friends who call themselves the GWS, "Girls Without Shadows", on the pro-anorexia website thinandbeautiful.com. Here she finds the respect and support she feels she doesn't get from her family and friends in the so-called real world. Now in a rehab facility where they are trying to fix a problem she doesn't think she has, Maddie is forced to keep a diary tracing how she arrived at this point. Angry that she is barred from accessing her online friends, Maddie refuses to believe she needs help. Will a tragedy change her mind?