Books like Traffick by Ellen Hopkins

The Hate U Give tracks 16‑year‑old Starr Carter, a Black teenager from a poor Bronx neighborhood who attends an elite private school, as she confronts police violence, social media battles, and community turmoil after witnessing her friend’s shooting.

Raina Telgemeier’s graphic novel follows middle‑school theater enthusiast Callie as she designs a blue‑grass‑tired set for a school play, grappling with teamwork, budgets, and the drama of friendship and family.

Reporter Camille Preaker returns to her hometown after a brief stay in a psychiatric hospital to cover the murders of two preteen girls, and must confront the trauma of her own past to uncover the truth.

High school junior Kristina’s life spirals when an illicit drug called crank enters her world, forcing her to confront addiction, family turmoil, and the threat of pregnancy in a harsh teenage reality.

Senior Lara Jean helps at her father’s wedding while juggling college choices and uncertain feelings for her boyfriend Peter.

Josh and his twin brother Jordan navigate high school, basketball, and the changing bond between them through verses of rhyme and the thrill of the game.

Thirteen‑year‑old Lakshmi leaves her impoverished Himalayan home for India, only to discover she has been sold into prostitution. With fierce resilience and new friendships, she fights her captivity and seeks a way back to freedom.

A powerful verse novel follows five teenagers who, after being forced into sexual slavery, confront the abuse and scars that threaten to destroy their lives and their families.

A young mother struggles to preserve her freedom and protect her child while battling the relentless grip of drug addiction.

Three siblings in separate homes grapple with addiction, longing, and a distant mother, in this lyrical YA novel that follows the tragic fallout of a family torn apart by drugs.

Two identical twins, Kaeleigh and Raeanne, grow up in a seemingly perfect California family; each harbors painful secrets that threaten to tear their bond apart as they struggle with favoritism, substance use, and hidden trauma.

In Harlem, Xiomara Batista learns to use her voice and verse to fight for herself and her dreams, turning lyrical poetry into her most powerful tool.

Jude, a young Syrian immigrant in America, navigates the challenges of family, culture, and hope while caring for her pregnant mother and wondering about friends Issa and Babi.

Penny lives a double life as the popular blog "GirlOnline," sharing her highs and panic attacks. A family move to New York and a love interest with a hidden secret threaten her online identity and friendships.

After her parents die in a bombing, teenage Hannah from Moldova is hired as a nanny in Los Angeles, only to discover she is trapped as a modern‑day slave in a Russian family’s household.

In the glittering world of 1920s New York, the tragic death of Elizabeth Holland throws her family and friends into a web of scandal and intrigue as secrets, rivalries, and whispered rumors threaten to unravel the lives of those who loved her.

P.S. I Loathe You follows a group of teenage girls navigating friendships, crushes, and school cliques in a realistic high‑school setting.

Monster, a pest‑control specialist with a haunted girlfriend, teams up with night‑shift cashier Judy to battle dragons, trolls, and other monsters when a Yeti invades their grocery aisle.

When Sophie Hayes met the mysterious and charming stranger Bledi, she knew he would change her life - but she had no idea how much. At first, it was a typical whirlwind romance. But one day Bledi told Sophie that love always comes at a price. Bledi tricked Sophie into travelling to Italy, where he forced her into selling her body on the streets to help him pay off a large debt. When she refused, he beat her, stole her passport and locked the doors. Terrified and ashamed, Sophie worked the dangerous Italian streets without rest, seeing as many as 30 clients in a night. She was completely at Bledi's mercy for food, for clothes and for shelter. With no money, no friends and no family, she was trapped. But Sophie found the strength to keep going, clinging to life by a single thread of hope: that somehow she'd find a way to escape.

Seventeen‑year‑old Blade wrestles with his past, his rockstar father's addiction, tabloid rumors, and a secret that could destroy his identity.

Seventeen-year-old Noah faces his third consecutive team cut and a love interest that may never go beyond friendship as he navigates high‑school life, baseball, and self‑discovery.

Twelve‑year‑old Chuck Bell spends a summer in 1988 with his grandparents in Washington, D.C., where he discovers the rhythms of jazz and the thrill of basketball while uncovering his family’s hidden history.

Video gamer Tom Raines is recruited to the Pentagon Spire, an elite military academy preparing officers for the inter‑solar forces. At Spire, he faces a world where every decision matters and the cost of success is high.

On her seventeenth birthday, Callie receives a future vision that shows her murdering her younger sister. Arrested and locked in a prison for those destined to break the law, she escapes to alter her fate and protect her sibling.