Below is a list of books recommended for Teenagers.
Included is a brief description of the book’s content and potential uses.
Some of these books will have a book icon in the Title Box. These books are available to
be borrowed through the NJ ARCH Library, free of charge. Simply click on the book icon to
go to the online book request form. Books can be borrowed for up to 14 days.
(Special Note: Books valued at $50.00 or more will require submission of a credit card number.
Charges will only be made to the account in the event a book is not returned by the due date.)

Title	Subtitle	Author	Year
Adopted From Asia	How it Feels to Grow Up in America	Koh, Frances	1993
Notes
Moving, insightful accounts of the issues facing Korean adoptees, especially during adolescence. Issues include: racial prejudice, friends, dates, racial and ethnic identity, self-esteem, relationship with adoptive parents, and concerns about birth parents.

Title	Subtitle	Author	Year
After the Morning Calm	Reflections of Korean Adoptees	Wilkinson, S. and Nancy Fox	2002
Notes

Title	Subtitle	Author	Year
A Mother’s Search for the Son She Gave Up for Adoption		Hancock, Marianne	2003
Notes
This novel provides hope for those affected by adoption.

Title	Subtitle	Author	Year
Diary: On Taking My Adopted Daughter Back to Her Hometown in China		Prager, Emily, W.	2003
Notes
Daughter travels back to China and encounters a culture that is both modern and ancient.

Title	Subtitle	Author	Year
Family of Adoption, The		Pavao, Joyce M.	1998
Notes
Shows the child’s adaptation at each stage of adoption. Appears highly technical at first, but is actually a gem of a book.

Title	Subtitle	Author	Year
Find a Stranger, Say Goodbye: Who is Natalie’s Real Mother		Lowrie, Lois	1990
Notes
Main character longs to find her birth parents; her adoptive parents give her a special graduation gift that will help her in her search.

Title	Subtitle	Author	Year
Finding Isabella		Garroto, A.J.	2000
Notes
Feeling lost and bewildered, she returns to her native land to search for her birth mother and siblings.

Title	Subtitle	Author	Year
House in the Woods, The		Holland, Isabelle	1991
Notes
A novel: Fourteen-year-old Bridget has an exciting and meaningful summer vacation as she struggles with feeling unloved by adoptive father. She thinks about her birth parents and imagines who they might be. As the summer unfolds, she gains new understandings.

Title	Subtitle	Author	Year
In Their Own Voices	Transracial Adoptees Tell Their Stories	Simon, Rita J. and Rhonda M. Roorda	2000
Notes
Personal stories of Black and biracial young adults adopted as children by White parents. Tells how being adopted has affected their lives through childhood into adulthood. Also shares how adoption influenced their racial and social identities, friends, marital partners and lifestyle.

Title	Subtitle	Author	Year
I Wish for You a Beautiful Life	Letters from the Korean Birth Mothers of Aeron	Won Dorrow, Sara	1998
Notes
Parents express sorrow, guilt, and regret but also express their best wishes children and the adoptive parents. Very emotional book.

Title	Subtitle	Author	Year
Loving River, The	A Journey in Prose and Poetry	Sandness, Grace	1983
Notes
A remarkable book of loving prose and poetry celebrating life and the special children who are members of the author’s large multicultural adoptive family. Very inspirational.

Title	Subtitle	Author	Year
Lucky Gourd Shop, The		Scott, Joanna C.	2000
Notes
Story of a mother and how she lost her children. Tender story of hardship and poverty, as well as enduring love and hope.

Title	Subtitle	Author	Year
Most Precious Blood		Pfeiffer, Susan	1991
Notes
At age 16, Val’s world falls apart as she learns the truth of her adopted origin. She searches for her birth parents. An easy to read novel that is full of typical high school allegiances and intrigues.

Title	Subtitle	Author	Year
My Foster Care Journey		O’Malley, Beth	2000
Notes
Fill-in-the-blank pages to record information about birth parents, foster care (including multiple placements), adoption or reunification memories, and “All About Me.” Book contains a simple explanation of the whys and hows of foster care.

Title	Subtitle	Author	Year
Perspectives on a Grafted Tree of Thoughts for Those Touched By Adoption		Johnston, Patricia I.	1983
Notes
Describes the blend of gain, loss, happiness, and pain that are all part of the adoption experience.

Title	Subtitle	Author	Year
Real Me, The	A Teen Life Book for Young Adults in Foster Care or Adoption	McCoy, Theresa L. and Donna Barnes	2002
Notes
Includes exercises and topics that are inviting, thought provoking, and therapeutic. This book helps teens to explore and document the many sides of their personality, their past connections, present status and feelings, strengths, weaknesses, hopes and plans.

Title	Subtitle	Author	Year
To Whom it May Concern	A Search for Truth	Cervetti, Kay	2000
Notes
True account of one woman’s emotional search and reunion with her biological parents. The author grew up in the 1950’s thinking that her adoptive parents hated her birth mother; only through discovering her origins did she realize that it was fear of losing her, not hate.

Title	Subtitle	Author	Year
Twenty Life Transforming Choices Adoptees Need to Make		Eldridge, Sherry	2003
Notes
Many adopted people reach adulthood without ever having dealt adequately with the adoption relinquishment that continues to color their entire relationship to the world. The author, an adoptee, identifies many common characteristics and gives practical help.

Title	Subtitle	Author	Year
Whale Talk		Crutcher, Chris	2001
Notes
Dynamic, compelling, adventurous novel about TJ; a smart, talented, multi-racial adopted teen who faces the subtle and not so subtle racial discriminations of his world.

Title	Subtitle	Author	Year
Who Am I?	And Other Questions of Adopted Kids	Gianetti, Charlene	1999
Notes
Book speaks in a very personal tone to pre-teens and teens about the adoption questions they may not have courage to bring up: Reasons birth parents choose adoption, feeling different, researching roots, not wanting to hurt adoptive parents. Very reassuring and wise.

Title	Subtitle	Author	Year
Who is David	The Story of an Adopted Adolescent	Nerlove, Evelyn	1985
Notes
David learns he is not alone in the world. He matures in high school and eventually meets his biological mother, and realizes he has many blessings in his life.

Title	Subtitle	Author	Year
	Great Books for African American Children	Toussaint, Pamela	1999
Notes
Provides creative ways for parents to get children interested in reading. Includes book recommendations for the following: very young children, children 4 to 8, children 8 to 11, preteens and young adults, as well as additional types of media such as videos, games, and magazines to help build youth self-esteem and development.

Have you borrowed a book you really like? Perhaps you want a copy for your own library. If so, please use our link to Tapestry Books.
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