Insatiable: The Compelling Story of Four Teens, Food, and its Power by Eve Eliot

Samantha, Hannah, Jessica, and Phoebe all have problems with food and eating. The stories are written as fiction, but the girls' situations are all too real? Why is it that the main characters are all girls? Don't guys have problems with eating disorders, too?
I found a link online to an interview of the author, Eve Eliot, that might add some background to a discussion of the book.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad for Teens: The Secrets about Money That You Don't Learn in School! by Robert T. Kiyosaki & Sharon L. Lechter

The original Rich Dad, Poor Dad... book is longer and goes into more detail. The version on our summer reading list, "for teens" is shorter and more to the point. Is your Dad (or Mom) rich? Do your parents give you good financial advice? Do you listen to them?
The author, Robert T. Kiyosaki, has his own Web site. Of course, he thinks his ideas are great. Check this article in Slate for another point of view.

Crank by Ellen Hopkins

The author writes that this work is fiction, but it is loosely based on her own daughter's story. Please read the "author's notes" before you begin. The whole story is told with poems so it is easy and short to read. The hard part is following Kristina's path to self destruction. Crank, also know as crystal meth, is called The Monster in this book. Kristina starts using The Monster on a visit to her absentee father. The slide from there is all downhill. Is there a point in the book when Kristina could have turned back and prevent what happened?

American Born Chinese

Reading this graphic novel is easy. What makes it a good book for discussion are the issues it presents in the three intertwining stories. Jin Wang finds that he is the only Chinese-American at his new school and all he wants to do is fit in. The Monkey King, ruler of all monkeys and kung-fu master, wants to be a god. This is a retelling of an old Chinese fable. In the third aspect of the novel, Danny's life is being ruined by his cousin Chin-Kee, the ultimate negative American stereotype of the Chinese. Why do you think this modern fable earned the
prestigious Printz Award for Young Adult literature?