Black and White by Paul Volponi

Kids who are different colors don't get to be all that tight in my neighborhood. But we get past all that racial crap," says Marcus, an African American senior whose best friend, Eddie, is white. Together, the boys are known at school as Black and White. Both are basketball stars entertaining scholarship offers from local New York City colleges, but they risk everything for more spending money. Considering fast-food jobs too demeaning, they turn to armed stickups, and during their third robbery, they shoot and wound their victim. In alternating chapters, Marcus and Eddie recount the terrifying days after the event as they wait for the police to find and arrest them.

The Boy From The Basement by Susan Shaw

For Charlie, the basement is home. He's being punished. He doesn't mean to leave--Father wouldn't allow it--but when Charlie is accidentally thrust outside, he awakens to the alien surroundings of a world to which he's never been exposed. Though haunted by fear of the basement and his father's rage, Charlie embarks on a journey toward healing and blossoms when he becomes an unconditionally loved and loving member of the right foster family.

Stained by Jennifer R. Jacobson

During the summer of 1975 in small-town New Hampshire, love, sex, religion, and family shape a charged and confusing environment in which to come of age. Jocelyn's boyfriend is pulling away from her, and her lifelong friend and neighbor suddenly goes missing. Jacobson deftly builds suspense and traces complex issues (homosexuality, sexual abuse by a priest) with appropriate subtlety.