My Heartbeat by Garret Freymann-Weyr

Posted by Gwen Bartlett

This is a story of three teenagers who are struggling with their sexual identity: Link, Ellen's older brother; James, his friend; Ellen, who loves them both. Link doesn't want to be gay, but may be. James thinks he is gay, but may not be. Ellen thinks Link and James are gay, but doesn't want them to be. She is in love with James and wants him to love her in return. Ellen and James end up as lovers, and Link ends up with a girl-friend, but none of them are sure how they really feel. This would be a good story for teenagers struggling with their own sexual identity or facing a similar problem with a friend or relative.

Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

Three teenagers meet at a treatment center called Aspen Springs in Reno, Nevada. Each of them has attempted suicide. Vanessa cuts herself whenever she is stressed. Her mother is Bipolar and she has inherited her disease. She finds her mother on the floor after her mother has committed suicide. She cuts her wrist severely and almost dies. Connor is a preppie. His mother and father are wealthy, but his father has always been gone and his mother has never loved him. They have always pushed him to be the brightest, and the best. He has had an affair with his English teacher. When she confesses, he tries to shoot himself and is sent to Aspen Springs. Tony is a street kid. He thinks he is gay. He has been forced to have sex with his mother's lover and killed him. After six years in juvenile detention, he is taken in by Phillip, a gay man who is dying from AIDS. After Phillips death, Tony is devastated. He takes a half bottle of Valium. The three meet at Aspen Springs and become good friends. Vanessa and Tony fall in love. Connor ends up committing suicide.