Horizon (North Star Editions)

High school junior Alia is good at sports but struggles with schoolwork, hindered by her learning disabilities. The latest history assignment on genocide is just more homework to be endured. That's until a troubling conversation with her beloved grandmother reluctantly jolts Alia into action. Between the country's shifting mood toward the elderly and new government programs championed as practical ways to deal with a burgeoning elderly population, Alia fears that senior citizens are being targeted for something more ominous. To rally others and challenge the growing oppression, Alia will need to step up and speak out. But people tend to doubt Alia due to her learning difficulties. Can she get people to listen to her? More importantly, can she believe in herself? Characterized by exciting, fast-paced plots and themes that are relevant for high school students, Horizon's Hi-Lo books are both engaging and easy to read. Short chapters, simple sentence structures, and an accessible format make these books perfect for teen reluctant readers. Horizon books are written at a 2nd- to 3rd-grade reading level with an interest level of ages 14 and up.

Between her parents' divorce and being dragged to rural Arizona to help clean her grandpa's house, fifteen-year-old Stella Shaw knows she's in for a miserable summer break. But when her grandpa takes her to watch a roller derby bout, she can't help but be amazed by the hard-hitting sport. And when her mom agrees to let her join the junior boot camp, Stella is eager to start. Even though roller derby is harder than she thought it would be, Stella is determined to succeed. With the help of her new crush, Quinn, Stella prepares to try out for the scrimmage at the end of boot camp. The more she practices, the better she gets–and the closer she grows to Quinn. But when tryouts go disastrously wrong, will Stella be brave enough to confront her fears both on and off the track? Characterized by exciting, fast-paced plots and themes that are relevant for high school students, Horizon's Hi-Lo books are both engaging and easy to read. Short chapters, simple sentence structures, and an accessible format make these books perfect for teen reluctant readers. Horizon books are written at a 2nd- to 3rd-grade reading level with an interest level of ages 14 and up.

Locked In Escape Rooms has a new owner. He's offering prize money for whoever can successfully escape the room. Four very different teenagers answer the call. Tony is a star athlete and honor-roll student. Bea has social anxiety and uses puzzles to tune out the noise. Anna is concerned about the rise in anti-Semitic attacks in her community. And Devin wants to hide that he's homeless and living in the mall. The four teens agree to work together, all seeking the prize money for their own reasons. But as the game begins, the escape room turns out to be stranger than expected, and they suspect someone might have ulterior motives in coming here. Can the teens overcome their prejudices and differences and trust one another in order to escape in time? Characterized by exciting, fast-paced plots and themes that are relevant for high school students, Horizon's Hi-Lo books are both engaging and easy to read. Short chapters, simple sentence structures, and an accessible format make these books perfect for teen reluctant readers. Horizon books are written at a 2nd- to 3rd-grade reading level with an interest level of ages 14 and up.

With her best friends off enjoying Paris and her mom expressing disapproval at every turn, Tamika Warren knows her summer can't get any worse. Then her family gets the news that her great-aunt has fallen into a coma. Tamika is stuck joining her mom in Virginia to prepare Aunt Lati's old farmhouse for when she wakes up. As if that weren't bad enough, a friendly neighbor describes the farmhouse as "haunted." Tamika is stunned from the moment she steps into the farmhouse–but from the beautiful landscape paintings covering every wall, all of them done by Aunt Lati. A developing artist herself, Tamika is eager to know the great-aunt who created these amazing paintings. But Aunt Lati still hasn't woken up from her coma. And the longer Tamika and her mom stay in the farmhouse, the stranger things become. The paintings within the farmhouse seem to react to Tamika's presence, hinting at disturbing secrets, until it seems like the paintings themselves long to ooze out into the real world. But that's not possible, is it? Characterized by exciting, fast-paced plots and themes that are relevant for high school students, Horizon's Hi-Lo books are both engaging and easy to read. Short chapters, simple sentence structures, and an accessible format make these books perfect for teen reluctant readers. Horizon books are written at a 2nd- to 3rd-grade reading level with an interest level of ages 14 and up.

Sixteen-year-old junior Macy was the starting setter on the varsity volleyball team last year. Now she's the backup for new girl Alliyah, who is a standout both on and off the court. With her conflict-averse personality, this new role suits Macy just fine

Ashley didn't mean to get pregnant her senior year in high school. She didn't mean to scare her hardworking and financially struggling mom, or to hide the truth from her awkward ex, Danny. She also didn't mean to illegally take her well-off friend Madi's prescription Xanax to cope with the stress-and she definitely didn't mean to do it more than once. When a doctor reports Ashley to the State of Wisconsin as a drug-addicted threat to her own unborn child, she is forcibly detained under the obscure and secretive Act 292 civil detention system for pregnant women, stranded in the county juvenile shelter home, and stigmatized by authorities who assign her fetus a lawyer but not her. It's a struggle for Ashley just to get medical care for the pregnancy supposedly being protected-never mind fighting for her own freedom and making sure her baby isn't taken away by social services after birth. Who's going to protect Ashley herself? But Ashley is stronger than anyone knows, and she has allies on the outside who believe in her. This is a fight Ashley can win-but only if she stops drifting passively, starts believing in herself, and chooses not to give in to despair. Characterized by exciting, fast-paced plots and themes that are relevant for high school students, Horizon's Hi-Lo books are both engaging and easy to read. Short chapters, simple sentence structures, and an accessible format make these books perfect for teen reluctant readers. Horizon books are written at a 2nd- to 3rd-grade reading level with an interest level of ages 14 and up.

After a first episode of psychosis lands him a stay in a psychiatric hospital, all sixteen-year-old Kai Lum wants to do is reclaim his life. But now that he's back home, everything is different. He has medications to take, his dad is always hovering, and