• Catalog
• My Account

Intriguing True Stories (Teens)

Looking for some inspiration or to just be amazed? Try one of these nonfiction books for young adults.

The cat I never named : a true story of love, war, and survival by Amra Sabic-El-Rayess

In Bihac, Bosnia, in 1992, sixteen-year-old Amra and her family face starvation and the threat of brutal ethnic violence as Serbs and Bosnians clash, while a stray cat, Maci, provides solace.

In good hands : remarkable female politicians from around the world who showed up, spoke out and made change by Stephanie MacKendrick

Presents eighteen stories about women politicians, as well as a step-by-step guide to running a political campaign and becoming more involved in politics.

She represents : 44 women who are changing politics...and the world by Caitlin Donohue

"Each of the forty women profiled in this illustrated YA book demonstrates how women are capable of political and community leadership and activism. Readers will be inspired to pursue their own goals of social change."--

We should hang out sometime : embarrassingly, a true story by Josh Sundquist

The Paralympic ski racer, YouTube star, and motivational speaker documents his coming of age as an amputee cancer survivor and his efforts to investigate past dates gone wrong to discover why he was still single.

Generation brave : the Gen Z kids who are changing the world by Kate Alexander

An illustrated celebration of Gen Z activists fighting to make our world a better place. Gen Z is populated--and defined--by activists. They are bold and original thinkers and not afraid to stand up to authority and conventional wisdom. From the March for Our Lives to the fight for human rights and climate change awareness, this generation is leading the way toward truth and hope like no generation before. Generation Brave showcases Gen Z activists who are fighting for change on many fronts: climate change, LGBTQ rights, awareness and treatment of mental illness, gun control, gender equality, and corruption in business and government at the highest levels. Illustrated throughout, this book will offer a celebration of what might be the most influential generation of the century

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson

A memoir in verse shares the author's life, covering her rape at thirteen, her difficult early childhood, and her experiences surrounding her publication of "Speak."

Shoe dog : a memoir by the creator of Nike. Young readers edition by Philip H Knight

"In this young readers edition of the New York Times bestseller, Nike founder and board chairman Phil Knight "offers a rare and revealing look at the notoriously media-shy man behind the swoosh" (Booklist, starred review), opening up about how he went from being a track star at an Oregon high school to the founder of a brand and company that changed everything. You must forget your limits. It was only when Nike founder Phil Knight got cut from the baseball team as a high school freshman that his mothersuggested he try out for track instead. Knight made the track team and he found he could run fast and even more he liked it. Ten years later, young and searching, Knight borrowed fifty dollars from his father and launched a company with one simple mission: import high quality running shoes from Japan. Selling the shoes from the trunk of his car to start, he and his gang of friends and runners built one of the most successful brands ever. Phil Knight encountered risks and setbacks along the way, but always followed his own advice. Just keep going. Don't stop. Whatever comes up, don't stop. Filled with wisdom, humanity, humor, and heart, the young readers edition of the bestselling Shoe Dog is a story of determination that inspires all who read it. The Young Reader's Edition is an abridged version of the internationally bestselling adult book and it features original front matter and back matter, including a new introduction and "A Letter to the Young Reader" containing advice from Phil Knight for budding entrepreneurs"--

Wild : from lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

Traces the personal crisis the author endured after the death of her mother and a painful divorce, which prompted her ambition to undertake a dangerous 1,100-mile solo hike that both drove her to rock bottom and helped her to heal

Walk toward the rising sun : from child soldier to ambassador of peace by Ger Duany

The UN Goodwill Ambassador and former "lost boy" survivor of Sudan's tragic North-South civil war traces the inspiring story of his journey from a child soldier and struggling refugee to a Hollywood performer and international peace activist.

The #MeToo movement by Peggy J Parks

"Although sexual harassment has been a known problem for a very long time, the prevalence was mostly based on educated guesses, rather than actual research. But #MeToo helped change that, serving as a catalyst for more groups to start collecting information. Along with the fear of losing their jobs, the likelihood of co-worker retaliation often stops people from reporting sexual harassment"--

Unsinkable : from russian orphan to paralympic swimming world champion by Jessica Tatiana Long

The champion Paralympic swimmer, born in Russia with a condition that would result in the amputation of both legs below her knee, presents a photographic memoir of the life-changing moments that helped shape who she is today

Ordinary hazards : a memoir by Nikki Grimes

"Growing up with a mother suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and a mostly absent father, Nikki Grimes found herself terrorized by babysitters, shunted from foster family to foster family, and preyed upon by those she trusted. At the age of six, she poured her pain onto a piece of paper late one night - and discovered the magic and impact of writing. For many years, Nikki's notebooks were her most enduing companions. In this accessible and inspiring memoir that will resonate with young readers and adults alike, Nikki shows how the power of those words helped her conquer the hazards - ordinary and extraordinary - of her life"--Amazon.

Unbroken : an Olympian's journey from airman to castaway to captive by Laura Hillenbrand

A young adult edition of the bestseller documents the story of how Louis Zamperini, a juvenile delinquent-turned-Olympic athlete and World War II pilot, crashed into the ocean and survived for weeks on a life raft only to become a prisoner of war.

Chasing Lincoln's killer by James L Swanson

Based on his bestselling book Manhunt, James L. Swanson culls archival material, trial manuscripts, and interviews together to present a youth-appropriate account of the manhunt for John Wilkes Booth following his assassination of President Lincoln. The chaotic chase, which ran from Washington D.C. to the backcountry forests of Virginia, spanned twelve exhausting and turbulent days

Chasing King's killer : the hunt for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassin by James L Swanson

"James Earl Ray and Martin Luther King, Jr. had two very different life journeys -- but their paths fatally collide when Ray assassinates the world-renown civil rights leader. This book provides an inside look into both of their lives, the history of thetime, and a blow-by-blow examination of the assassination and its aftermath."--Provided by publisher.

P.K. Subban : fighting racism to become a hockey superstar and a role model for athletes of colour by Catherine Rondina

"Born in Canada to parents who emigrated from the Caribbean, P.K. Subban is a remarkable athlete and role model. A talent on the ice, playing for some of the best teams in the NHL, P.K. has set records and won the Norris Trophy, the highest honour in hockey for a defenceman. Often the centre of controversy, at one time named one of the most hated hockey players in the NHL for his outspoken attitude, he is the pride of many fans across Canada and a hero to young athletes of colour. His stand against racism relies more on actions to support others than on relating his own experiences. He is known to have made the largest donation to charity by a Canadian athlete in history, and works to build an understanding between at-risk youth and law enforcement across North America. P.K.'s story has evolved into an incredible family story of three first-generation-born-in-Canada brothers who, starting with P.K., all were drafted into the NHL. P.K. and his siblings were brought up to work hard to make their dreams come true by a father who taught in one of the toughest neighbourhoods in Toronto. A philanthropic thinker, a media favourite and force to be reckoned with on the ice -- this is P.K. Subban."--

Spies : the secret showdown between America and Russia by Marc Favreau

"An account of the Cold War spies whose survival depended on carefully orchestrated deceptions as they fought in the shadows to help avert global nuclear war and, in so doing, changed the global landscape in ways that are still felt today"--

Games of deception : the true story of the first U.S. Olympic basketball team at the 1936 Olympics in Hitler's Germany by Andrew Maraniss

"The true story of the birth of Olympic basketball at the 1936 Summer Games in Hitler's Germany"--

Separate no more : the long road to Brown v. Board of Education by Lawrence Goldstone

An evocative chronicle of the battle that led to America's landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling shares insights into the abuses of the "separate but equal" system and how such courageous activists as Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois helpedend legal segregation.

Ghosts of war : the true story of a 19-year-old GI by Ryan Smithson

Ryan Smithson joined the Army Reserve when he was seventeen. Two years later, he was deployed to Iraq as an Army engineer. In this extraordinary and harrowing memoir, readers march along one GI's tour of duty. Smithson avoids writing either prowar propaganda or an antimilitary polemic, providing instead a fascinating, often humorous-and occasionally devastating-account of the motivations and life of a contemporary soldier

1789 : twelve authors explore a year of rebellion, revolution, and change

The creators of 1968 examine the important historical events and people of 1789 and their significance on modern perspectives about human equality, in a nonfiction anthology that includes coverage of the U.S. Bill of Rights, the French Revolution and thedigits of pi. Simultaneous eBook.

Surviving the Angel of Death : the true story of a Mengele twin in Auschwitz by Eva Mozes Kor

Eva Mozes Kor and her twin Miriam were ten years old when they were subjected to the medical experiments of the Auschwitz Angel of Death, Dr. Josef Mengele. The story of their fight for survival, recovery, and forgiveness are told again and updated here in this new edition with interesting details and important context in a new afterword. Eva turned her triumph over pain and suffering into a life-long work for peace, human rights, and Holocaust education

Lifting as we climb : black women's battle for the ballot box by Evette Dionne

Describes a history of the role of African American women as a significant force in the suffrage movement and their efforts to be accepted as equal partners by their fellow activists.

Claiming my place : coming of age in the shadow of the Holocaust by Planaria J Price

Martin and Bobby : a journey toward justice by Claire Rudolf Murphy

"Martin and Bobby follows the lives and final days of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy, showing how and where their work intersected and how their initially wary relationship evolved from challenging and testing one another to finally "arrivingin the same place" as allies fighting poverty and racism"--

Turning 15 on the road to freedom : my story of the 1965 Selma voting rights march by Lynda Blackmon Lowery

Shares the story of the youngest person to complete the Selma to Montgomery March, describing her frequent imprisonments for her participation in nonviolent demonstrations and how she felt about her involvement in Civil Rights events.

How I resist : activism and hope for a new generation

A long way gone : memoirs of a boy soldier by Ishmael Beah

A human rights activist offers a firsthand account of war from the perspective of a former child soldier, detailing the violent civil war that wracked his native Sierra Leone and the government forces that transformed a gentle young boy into a killer as a member of the army

We are here to stay : voices of undocumented young adults by Susan Kuklin

Documents the stories of nine undocumented immigrants to the United States, fleeing violence and seeking freedom, detailing how each youth left their homelands to start a new life in America.

Because I was a girl : true stories for girls of all ages

Collects accounts by women and girls about the obstacles, challenges, and opportunities they faced due to their gender, including anecdotes by Trish McEvoy, Libba Bray, and Katie Button.

Recipient of the National Medal, the nation's highest honor for libraries.