Introduction and Expectations for Students
Summer is a time to relax and read. This year we’ve once again provided a wide list of
titles recommended by students, teachers and staff. The titles are organized by genre, and
generally the more challenging titles are listed toward the end of each category. Students
are expected to read at least three titles during the summer, but their selections are not
required to come from this list. The list of websites provided at the end offer another way
for students to search for books they may find interesting.
When students return in the fall, they should be prepared to show evidence of their
reading. A reading guide is provided in this packet for students who might find it helpful.
In general, English teachers will use this reading assignment as a way to get to know their
new students as readers.
Select courses – A.P. Literature, World Literature, British Literature and A.P. Language have required reading and writing assignments. The required reading for each of these
courses is listed below. The writing assignments are available from the English department
or on line at http://www.fpsct.org. Select FHS from the drop down menu at the top, then
library on the left. Once at the library website, select the link to the “Reading Room” on
the left. This link provides the larger reading list as well as the specific writing
assignments for the courses listed above.
Have a wonderful summer and please share your favorite books with us in the fall.
Required Reading for Select Courses
A.P. Literature (Grade 12)
Metamorphosis
Reservation Blues
Animal Dreams
Franz Kafka
Sherman Alexie
Barbara Kingsolver
World Literature H (Grade 12)
Students should select three works written by authors not native to the United States. Choices may include
novels, memoirs, or short story collections. See the resource lists (select public) at the FHS library catalog
for suggestions of appropriate works from different regions of the world.
British Literature H (Grade 12)
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
J.R.R. Tolkien
J.R.R. Tolkien
Students are strongly encouraged to follow their reading of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two
Towers with the third in The Lord of the Ring Trilogy: The Return of the King. However, those students
with a strong preference may select a different novel written by a British author as an alternative.
A.P. Language (Grade 11)
The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Catcher in the Rye
J. D. Salinger
In addition, students should select one work from the A.P. English Language Book List posted on the
FHS library webpage.
These websites are great for finding lists of recommended books:

Best Books for Young Adults
What you’ll find: Lists of award winning books selected for young adults by librarians
around the country.
http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists/bbya

Outstanding Books for the College Bound
What you’ll find: Lists of books by subject area recommended for students planning
to attend college.
http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists/obcb

BookPage: America’s book review
What you’ll find: Interviews with authors, “BookPage Archives,” Advice for Writers,
Book reviews
http://www.bookpage.com

BookSense.com
What you’ll find: “Book sense Picks” and “Bestseller List.”
http://www.booksense.com
Reading Guide
Comprehending and remembering what you’ve read can sometimes be challenging. What follows are
some suggestions that might be helpful to you as you read.
Underline and annotate your text. If you own the books that you’re reading, highlight or underline
important passages. Write notes (annotate) in the margins. Then, review your notes before you return to
school in the fall.
Keep a journal. Journals are used by many readers to assist them in taking notes when they read. Use your
journal to record personal reactions, your thoughts, feelings and connections to what you’ve read. Try
writing in a journal right after you read. This is an opportunity to think on paper without worrying about
the mechanics of writing. It’s also good practice for any writing assignments you’ll be given when you
return to school in the fall.
Questions to consider as you read:
What are the significant events in the book?
What predictions do you have about what will happen in the book?
What problems or conflicts develop in this book? Which problem stands out? Why do you think this
problem is important?
Who are the important characters? What are their prominent qualities? What characters from books, film,
or real life do they remind you of?
What does the book suggest about people in general?
What is the author’s purpose in writing the book? What argument or message was he/she trying to
express? What problem or issue was he/she trying to tackle?
What do you notice about the author’s writing style?
What have you learned about yourself as a reader this summer? What types of books do you enjoy?
What did you enjoy about the books you selected this summer? Who else might enjoy reading them?
FHS SUMMER READING LIST
JUST PLAIN GOOD STORIES - GENERAL FICTION
An Abundance of Katherines (John Green)
Having been recently dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl
named Katherine, recent high school graduate and former child
prodigy Colin sets off on a road trip with his best friend to try to
find some new direction in life while also trying to create a
mathematical formula to explain his relationships.
Paper Town (John Green)
One month before graduating from his Central Florida high
school, Quentin "Q" Jacobsen basks in the predictable boringness
of his life until the beautiful and exciting Margo Roth
Spiegelman, Q's neighbor and classmate, takes him on a midnight
adventure and then mysteriously disappears.
Does My Head Look Big in This? (Abdel-Fattah)
Year Eleven at an exclusive prep school in the suburbs of
Melbourne, Australia, would be tough enough, but it is further
complicated for Amal when she decides to wear the hijab, the
Muslim head scarf, full-time as a badge of her faith--without
losing her identity or sense of style.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky)
Charlie, a freshman in high school, explores the dilemmas of
growing up through a collection of letters he sends to an
unknown receiver.
It’s Not About the Accent (Caridad Ferrer)
Caroline Darcy decides to start college as a new person and takes
her inspiration from her vibrant Cuban great-grandmother,
becoming a half-Cuban aspiring actress, but once she arrives at
school, Caroline realizes she cannot shed her past so easily.
After Tupac & D Foster (Jacquline Woodson)
In the New York City borough of Queens in 1996, three girls
bond over their shared love of Tupac Shakur's music, as together
they try to make sense of the unpredictable world in which they
live.
Rainbow Boys (Alex Sanchez) Three high school seniors - a
jock with a girlfriend and an alcoholic father, a closeted gay, and
a flamboyant gay rights advocate - struggle with family issues,
gay bashers, first sex, and conflicting feelings about each other.
Diva (Alex Flinn) Despite her mother's objections, 16-year-old
Caitlin determines to pursue her dream of becoming an opera
singer by attending a performing arts school in Miami.
The First Part Last (Angela Johnson) Bobby's carefree teenage
life changes forever when he becomes a father and must care for
his adored baby daughter.
Cuba 15 (Nancy Osa) Violet Paz, a Chicago high school
student, reluctantly prepares for her upcoming "quince," a
Spanish nickname for the celebration of an Hispanic girl's
fifteenth birthday.
The New Rules of High School (Blake Nelson) Seventeenyear-old Max Caldwell has been the perfect high school student on the honor roll, captain of the debate team, and soon-to-be
editor of the school newspaper - but during his senior year, he
begins questioning his approach to life and things start to change.
Who Am I Without Him?: Short Stories About Girls and the
Boys in Their Lives (Sharon Flake) Hilarious and anguished,
these 10 short stories about growing up black today speak with
rare truth about family, friends, school, and especially about
finding a boyfriend.
Bottled Up (Jay Murray) A high school boy comes to terms
with his drug addiction, life with an alcoholic father, and a
younger brother who looks up to him.
Cruise Control (Terry Trueman) A talented basketball player
struggles to deal with the helplessness and anger that come with
having a brother rendered completely dysfunctional by severe
cerebral palsy and a father who deserted the family.
Thirteen Reasons Why (Jay Asher)
When Clay Jenson plays the cassette tapes he received in a
mysterious package, he's surprised to hear the voice of dead
classmate Hannah Baker. He's one of 13 people who receive
Hannah's story, which details the circumstances that led to her
suicide. Clay spends the rest of the day and long into the night
listening to Hannah's voice and going to the locations she wants
him to visit.
Breathing Underwater (Alex Flinn) Told in the form of a
journal, Nick recounts his violent relationship with Caitlin, while
spending time in a violence class for boys.
The Truth About Forever (Sarah Dessen) Macy plans to work
at the library and wait for her brainy boyfriend to return from
camp, but instead she goes to work at a catering business where
she makes new friends and finally faces her grief.
13 Little Blue Envelopes (Maureen Johnson) When 17-yearold Ginny receives a packet of mysterious envelopes from her
favorite aunt, she leaves New Jersey to criss-cross Europe on a
sort of scavenger hunt that transforms her life.
Blind Faith (Ellen Wittlinger)
While coping with her grandmother's sudden death and her
mother's resulting depression and fascination with a spiritualist
church, whose ministers claim to communicate with the dead,
fifteen-year-old Liz finds herself falling for a new neighbor
whose mother is dying of cancer.
Slam (Nick Hornby)
Sam is a disarmingly ordinary 15-year-old kid who loves to skate
But then he is blindsided: his girlfriend gets pregnant, and Sam
talks about it with his sort-of-imaginary friend: the world's
greatest skater, Tony Hawk, whose poster Sam talks to when he
has problems.
Schooled (Gordon Korman)
Leo, a high school senior and Mr. Republican, has received a
scholarship to Harvard. However, after being accused of helping
another student during a test, he loses the financial assistance
which he must have to enroll. Although he was talking, he was
not giving answers to the other student and stands up for himself.
At about the same time, he learns that his biological father is
really King Maggot, the leader of a popular punk rock band. Leo
manages to get a job as a roadie with the band hoping to get King
to pay his college tuition. That summer, he learns who his real
friends are and much more about himself.
Acceptance (Susan Coll) While following the senior year of
several students agonizing over college acceptance, the novel is a
thinly disguised attack at the U.S. News and World Report
college ranking system. Will AP Harry fulfill his lifelong dream
of getting into Harvard? Oh no, 30 of his classmates are applying
there too!
Waiting For Normal (Leslie Conner)
Addie is used to her mom’s inconsistencies and while she
disappears for days at a time, Addie keeps busy in their trailer
home. Addie concentrates on the things she can control, like her
music, her friends and getting to see her half sister whenever she
can. But as her half sister’s lives get increasingly better Addie
must learn to deal with her not so great life.
Change of Heart (Jodi Picoult) June Nealon's life is shattered
when Shay Bourne murders her husband and daughter, but when
her eleven-year-old daughter, Claire, needs a heart transplant,
Bourne decides that his only chance at redemption is to give
Claire his heart after he is put to death, leaving June to decide if
she wants to let the man who destroyed her life save her
daughter's.
Ragtime (E.L. Doctorow) Presents life in the early 20th Century
when immigration and race were affecting society. This book is
the source of the hit musical by the same name.
Zorro (Isabel Allende) A fictionalized account of the life of
Zorro. Tells the story of how a young boy in Spanish California,
through his adventures and escapades, became the legendary hero
we’ve come to know through television and movies.
Prep (Curtis Sittenfeld)
Midwesterner Lee Fiora is sent by her father to a prestigious
boarding school in Massachusetts where she manages to survive
in spite of the social differences between her and her classmates.
The Namesake (Jhumpa Lahiri) Beautifully written story of a
young man born of Indian parents in America who struggles with
issues of identity from his teens to his thirties.
The Life of Pi (Yann Martel) The compelling story of one
young man’s journey in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger for
company.
Snow in August (Pete Hamill) Eleven-year-old Irish Catholic
Michael Devlin and Rabbi Judah Hirsch form a wonderful, if
unlikely, friendship in Brooklyn in 1947, but the actions of a
group of anti-Semitic thugs soon have them trapped in a spiral of
hate and hoping for a miracle.
drug and alcohol addiction, beginning with his enrollment in a
Minnesota rehabilitation center.
Bel Canto (Anne Patchett) A group of international guests, taken
hostage by terrorists while attending a birthday party at the home
of the vice president of a small South American country, form
bonds with their captors and enter into an almost idyllic lifestyle,
united by the music of Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered
soprano.
Empire Falls (Richard Russo) Miles Roby, called back from
college to the small town of Empire Falls in Dexter County,
Maine, to take care of his ailing mother, falls into a rut that keeps
him trapped until years later when a series of revelations and
tragedies jolts him back into an awareness of his life.
A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini)
Afghan women Mariam and Laila grow close despite their nearly
twenty-year age difference and initial rivalry, as they suffer at the
hands of a common enemy--their abusive, much-older husband,
Rasheed.
Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac (Gabrielle Zevin)
16 year old Naomi conks her head after school one day and she
can't remember anything that happened since sixth grade. As she
is introduced to her present life, she is surprised by everything
from the birth-control pills in her bedside table to her parents'
astonishing, rancorous split. Eventually, the memories return,
leaving Naomi questioning the basis of a new romance, and
wondering which of her two lives, present or former, represents
her most authentic self.
GET OUT OF THAT CHAIR! - ACTION/ADVENTURE
Little Brother (Cory Doctorow) Security in the aftermath of a
major terrorist attack on San Francisco, California, seventeenyear-old Marcus is released into what is now a police state, and
decides to use his expertise in computer hacking to set things
right.
Downriver (Will Hobbs) 15-year-old Jessie and the other
rebellious teenage members of a wilderness survival school team
abandon their adult leader, hijack his boats, and try to run the
dangerous white water at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
Stormbreaker (Anthony Horowitz) After the death of the uncle
who had been his guardian, 14-year-old Alex Rider is coerced to
continue his uncle's dangerous work for Britain's intelligence
agency, MI6.
Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden) Nitta Sayuri, a young
Japanese woman who was taken from her home at the age of nine
and sold into slavery as a geisha, discovers a rare opportunity for
freedom when the outbreak of World War II forces an end to the
only life she has ever known.
Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who
Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World
War II (Robert Kurson) Two rival divers discover a treasure
that is said not to exist – a sunken Nazi submarine! This story
tells how the men eventually become allies in order to find the
downed sub.
The Darling (Russell Banks) The story of Hannah Musgrave, a
political radical, who flees America for Liberia where she marries
a Liberian man and encounters terrorism, political violence and
the clash of cultures.
Between a Rock and a Hard Place (Aron Ralston) The true
story of the avid rock-climber and outdoorsman who became
trapped in a Utah mountain canyon when an 800-pound boulder
pinned his right arm.
A Million Little Pieces (James Frey) Frey drew controversy with
this dramatic and partially fictionalized tale of his recovery from
Maiden Voyage (Tania Aebi) The story of Tania Aebi, the
youngest person to sail around the world by herself.
Flash Fire (Caroline Cooney) As fire sweeps through a
canyon near Los Angeles, a group of children must work together
to save themselves.
The Hungry Ocean: A Swordboat Captain’s Journey (Linda
Greenlaw) The story of a grueling 30-day, sword-fishing
voyage during which the fishermen face savage weather,
equipment failure, and sharks.
The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea
(Sebastian Junger) The incredible true account of the most
extraordinary storm of the 20th Century. This is the story of a
rare combination of factors deemed "perfect" and of the doomed
fishing boat with her crew of six that was helpless in the midst of
a force beyond comprehension.
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest
Disaster (Jon Krakauer) The true account of the disastrous
1996 ascent of Mt. Everest. The author was one of the climbers.
A heart-wrenching, breathtaking adventure about people, glory
and tragedy.
Doublebind (Chris Bohjalian)
After surviving an attack while biking, Vermont college student
Laurel Estabrook decides to volunteer at a homeless shelter
where she meets Bobbie Cocker, a mentally ill man who claims
to have been an established photographer and whose life she
becomes infatuated with.
Alive (Paul Read Piers)
In 1972 an airplane crashed in the Andes wilderness. This is the
true story of those who survived. Gripping!
All the Pretty Horses (Cormac McCarthy) John Grady Cole is
too young to be given charge of the family ranch and is cut off
from the only life he has ever imagined wanting.
TELLING OUR STORIES –
MEMOIR/AUTOBIOGRAPHY/BIOGRAPHY
The Year We Disappeared: a father-daughter memoir
(Cylin Busby and John Busby)
Father and daughter, Cylin and John Busby, share their memories
of the challenges they faced after their family was forced to go
into hiding in order to protect themselves from a killer who had
already shot John, a police officer, once and was determined to
finish the job.
Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an
Autistic Savant (Daniel Tammet) Daniel Tammet, an autistic
savant, describes how his rare condition, which gives him
incredible mental powers and a compulsive need for order and
routine, has influenced every aspect of his life and what
challenges he has faced while trying to be independent.
The Burn Journals (Brent Runyon) When Brent Runyon was
14 years old, he set himself on fire in a suicide attempt. This is
the story of his recovery and his re-entry into his old life.
Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood
(Jennifer Traig)
In this 1970s memoir, Traig describes how, from the age of 12
until her freshman year at Brandeis, she suffered from various
forms of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), including
anorexia and a rarer, "hyper-religious form" of OCD called
scrupulosity, in which sanctified rituals such as hand washing and
daily prayer are repeated in endless loops. The daughter of a
Jewish father and a Catholic mother, Traig becomes obsessed
with Jewish ritual, inventing her own prayers since her Jewish
education is limited. Initially, Traig's family is amused;
eventually, they try to help.
Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Wartime Sarajevo (Zlata
Filipovic) Zlata, a 13-year-old girl living in Sarajevo, kept a
diary during the war which devastated so many lives. The diary
begins just before her eleventh birthday when there was still
peace in her homeland and traces the devastation through Zlata’s
own words.
My Forbidden Face: Growing Up Under the Taliban: A Young
Woman’s Story (Latifa) Latifa was a 16-year-old aspiring
journalist when the Taliban took over Afghanistan. Suddenly,
she was confined to her apartment, unable to venture out
uncovered by the hated burka.
Hole in My Life (Jack Gantos) In this autobiographical sketch
of his restless final years of high school, the popular young adult
novelist Gantos reveals his short-lived career as a drug smuggler
and his harrowing time in prison.
Death Be Not Proud (John Gunther) This deeply moving book
is a father’s memoir of his brave, intelligent, and spirited son who
was 17-years-old when he died of a brain tumor.
In the Company of Men: A Woman at the Citadel (Nancy
Mace) Nancy Mace chronicles the experiences she had as one
of the first women allowed to attend The Citadel and discusses
how the male students reacted to her presence.
Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode The Internet Out of Idaho
(Jon Katz) Tells the true story of Jesse and Eric, 19-year-old
roommates in the small town in Idaho, who changed their lives
and built a new future for themselves with the power of the
Internet.
The Glass Castle: A Memoir (Jeannette Walls) Walls
chronicles her upbringing at the hands of eccentric, nomadic
parents. She describes in fascinating detail what it was to be a
child in this family.
I Have Lived a Thousand Years (Livia E. Bitton-Jackson)
A memoir of Elli Friedmann who tells about her experiences at
Auschwitz, a concentration camp where she was taken in 1944
when the Nazis invaded her native Hungary.
The Radioactive Boy Scout: The True Story of a Boy and His
Backyard Nuclear Reactor (Ken Silverstein) The story of
David Hahn who built a nuclear breeder reactor in his backyard,
endangering the residents of his Michigan hometown and raising
the ire of the federal government.
Autobiography of Malcolm X The Black Muslim leader,
firebrand, and anti-integrationist, tells his life story to veteran
writer and journalist, Alex Haley. Powerful!
Thura's Diary: My Life in Wartime Iraq (Thura al-Windawi)
The author, now a scholarship student at an American university,
writes of her daily life in war-besieged Baghdad.
Jarhead: A Marine’s Chronicle of the Gulf War and other
Battles (Anthony Swofford)
In 1990, Swofford, a young Marine sniper, went to Saudi Arabia
with dreams of vaporizing Iraqi skulls into clouds of "pink mist."
As he recounts in this aggressively uninspiring Gulf War memoir,
his youthful bloodlust was never satisfied. After spending months
cleaning sand out of his rifle—so feverish with murderous
anticipation that he almost blows a buddy's head off after an
argument—Swofford ends up merely a spectator of a lopsided
battle waged with bombs, not bullets.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Robert Pirsig)
A father and his eleven-year-old son take a motorcycle trip across
the country, and together, the two learn about life, love, and
identity.
King of the World: Muhammad Ali and the rise of an American
hero (David Remnick) Biography of heavyweight boxing
champion Muhammad Ali.
Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt) The author chronicles his
impoverished childhood in Limerick, Ireland, in the 1930s and
1940s, describing his father's alcoholism and talent for
storytelling and his early experiences in the Catholic church; he
balances painful memories with humor.
A Long Way Gone (Ishmael Beah)
Ishmael Beah describes his experiences after he was driven from
his home by war in Sierra Leone and picked up by the
government army at the age of thirteen, serving as a soldier for
three years before being removed from fighting by UNICEF and
eventually moving to the United States.
Running With Scissors (Augusten Burroughs)
The author chronicles his life from age twelve to sixteen, living
in the bizarre home of his mother's psychiatrist, where he was
sexually abused by the doctor's thirty-three-year-old adopted son.
GRAPHICALLY SPEAKING – GRAPHIC NOVELS &
MANGAS
Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E., Vol. 1: This Is What They Want
(Warren Ellis) The Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort, or H.A.T.E. (a
subsidiary of the Beyond Corporation) put Nextwave together to
fight Bizarre Weapons of Mass Destruction. When Nextwave
discovers that H.A.T.E. and Beyond are terrorist cells
themselves, and that the BWMDs were intended to kill them,
they are less than pleased. In fact, they are rather angry. So they
make things explode. Lots of things.
Sloth (Gilbert Hernandez)
“The story is of young people too creative, too smart and too
passionate for the constraints of suburbia. Miguel Serra wakes up
from a yearlong coma, slower physically but not mentally. He is
literally out of step with the rest of the world, a perfectly
disaffected youth” (Publisher’s Weekly).
Castle Waiting (Linda Medley)
A long time ago in the happy kingdom of Putney, a king and a
queen accidentally snub the local wicked witch. The result is the
standard curse: a 100-year sleep brought on, you guessed it, when
the princess pricks her finger on a needle. But what happens after
the princess awakes and goes off with her charming prince?
There's nothing left for a castle full of characters to do except to
wait. Thus the stage is set for a surprising, quite wonderful story
True Believers: Runaways (Brian K. Vaughn) A group of six
young friends, having discovered their parents are all secretly
super-powered villains, run away from home and embark on a
series of adventures, fueled by their desire to thwart their legacy
of evil.
Death Note (Tsugumi Ohba ) Light Yagami comes across a
death note dropped by a Shinigami death god and vows to use
this power to rid the world of evil; but when criminals start
dropping dead, the great detective is sent to track down the killer.
Laika (Nick Abadzis)
Classic dog-story themes such as loyalty serve as a backdrop for
this fictionalized account of Laika, the first living creature
launched into outer space. A charming and scruffy little dog,
Laika survives an uncaring master and life as a stray before
becoming part of the Russian space program circa 1956, just as
the Soviet Union had achieved a huge victory over American
competition.
The Plain Janes (Cecil Castelluci)
Jane's parents relocate to the suburbs when she's caught in a
bomb attack in Metro City. Bored and lonely in her new town
and school, the teen is thrilled when she meets three other girls
named Jane, all of them as out of place as she is. They form a
secret club, the Plain Janes, and decide to liven up the town with
art. Some people like their work, but most are frightened, and the
local police call the Plain Janes' work "art attacks."
Notes for a War Story (Gipi)
A bleak tale of three young drifters making their way across the
war-torn landscape of an unnamed Balkan country is told from
the point of view of protagonist Giuliano. The narrative traces
his path as he is forced to go through the peripheral results of war
as a deadening day-to-day struggle to find food and shelter while
avoiding the occasional stray bullet.
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (Frank Miller) Ten years
after his retirement, a troubled Batman returns to the streets
evening the score with criminals in an increasingly violent
manner, which brings trouble from the police and a gang called
the Mutants and a conflict with Superman.
Firestorm: Nuclear Man (Stuart Moore) Jason Rusch is an
ordinary college student. Lorraine Kelly is a respected United
States Senator. Merged together, they wield the atomic forces of
the universe as Firestorm, the Nuclear Man. Firestorm must stop
a deadly nuclear accident and a threat to his very existence.
Girl Stories (Lauren Weinstein) The author recounts her early
teen years in which she was obsessively concerned with her
social standing and weight, annoyed by being Jewish at
Christmas, tormented by a navel piercing gone awry and
perplexed by the mystery of boys and why they like her or don't.
American Born Chinese (Gene Luen Yang) “As alienated kids
go, Jin Wang is fairly run-of-the-mill: he eats lunch by himself in
a corner of the schoolyard, gets picked on by bullies and jocks
and develops a sweat-inducing crush on a pretty classmate. And,
oh, yes, his parents are from Taiwan.” (Publishers Weekly)
LOVES ME, LOVES ME NOT – ROMANCE
THIS IS FOR REAL! – NON-FICTION
Just Listen (Sarah Dessen) Isolated from friends who believe
the worst because she has not been truthful with them, 16-yearold Annabel finds an ally in classmate Owen, whose honesty and
passion for music help her to face and share what really happened
at the end-of-the-year party that changed her life.
Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916 (Mike
Capuzzo) Details the first documented cases in American
history of sharks attacking swimmers which occurred along the
Atlantic coast of New Jersey in 1916.
Romiette and Julio (Sharon M. Draper) Romiette, an AfricanAmerican girl, and Julio, a Hispanic boy, discover that they
attend the same high school after falling in love on the Internet
but are harassed by a gang whose members object to their
interracial dating.
How To Ruin a Summer Vacation (Simone Elkeles) When 16year-old Amy, a spoiled American, goes to Israel for a threemonth summer vacation with a father she barely knows, she is
not prepared for his Jewish family and the changes they bring
about in her life.
Veil of Roses (Laura Fitzgerald) Tamila Saroush, a 27-year-old
Iranian woman, is in the U.S. courtesy of a 90-day visa. If she
doesn’t find a husband with American citizenship in that time,
she’ll be forced back under the veil of repression.
The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things (Carolyn
Mackler) Feeling like she does not fit in with the other
members of her family who are all thin, brilliant, and goodlooking, 15-year-old Virginia tries to deal with her self-image,
her first physical relationship, and her disillusionment with some
of the people closest to her.
Wait for Me (An Na) As her senior year in high school
approaches, Mina yearns to find her own path in life but working
at the family business, taking care of her little sister, and dealing
with her Korean mother's impossible expectations are as stifling
as the southern California heat until she falls in love with a man
who offers a way out.
Crazy in Love (Dandi Mackay)
High school senior Mary Jane Ettermeyer has always been the
good girl, but when she falls hard for Jackson, the cutest guy in
school, she finds herself questioning her desire to stay pure until
marriage and wondering if she even ha a chance with Jackson.
If You Come Softly (Jacqueline Woodson) After meeting at
their private school in New York, 15-year-old Jeremiah, who is
black and whose parents are separated, and Ellie, who is white
and whose mother has twice abandoned her, fall in love and then
try to cope with people's reactions.
Rebecca (Daphne Du Maurier) This riveting tale of fear,
suspicion, and love opens as the unnamed narrator reminisces
about her former home, the grand English estate, Manderley. She
had been young and shy, a lady's companion, when she met the
wealthy recent widow, Maxim de Winter, fell in love with him,
and married him in a matter of weeks. They return to his home,
but her new husband is strangely distant until a horrible secret is
revealed that changes their lives.
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) In early nineteenth-century
England, a spirited young woman copes with the courtship of a
snobbish gentleman as well as the romantic entanglements of her
four sisters.
Teen Ink: What Matters (Stephanie H. Meyer, ed.) A
collection of stories and poems by teenage writers about what's
really important to today's teens. In "Locked Up," a young man
incarcerated for murder writes about turning his life around.
We Beat the Street: How a Friendship Pact Led to Success
(Sampson Davis; George Jenkins; Rameck Hunt) “What
started out as three boys skipping class turned out to be the most
significant experience of our lives,” says George Jenkins, who,
together with Sampson Davis and Rameck Hunt, made a teenage
pact to leave their impoverished New Jersey neighborhood,
attend medical school, and become doctors.
The Everything College Survival Book: From Social Life To
Study Skills - All You Need To Fit Right In (Michael S.
Malone) What to bring with you, how to manage money, social
life, classes, friends.
Chew on This: Everything You Don’t Want to Know About Fast
Food (Eric Schlosser) From the best-selling author of Fast
Food Nation, a more teen-friendly look at the fast food industry’s
growth, practices and effect on public health. According to
School Library Journal, the author lays out the gruesome details
behind the tasty burgers and sandwiches.
10,000 Days of Thunder: A History of the Vietnam War (Philip
Caputo) A look at the Vietnam War by a prize-winning
journalist. Photographs and personal anecdotes of soldiers and
civilians bring to life what is perhaps the most unpopular war in
American history to date. *** Also read other titles by this
author.*****
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America (Barbara
Ehrenreich) Writer and cultural critic Ehrenreich hides her real
identity and attempts to make a life on a salary of just over $300
per week after taxes. She is often forced to work at two jobs,
leaving her time and energy for little else than sleeping and
working.
Freedom Writers: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to
Change Themselves and the World Around Them (Freedom
Writers/Erin Gruwell) This collective journal brings together the
work of a group of students, the Freedom Writers, from an English
class at an "at risk" public high school. Compare it to the movie!
Marley and Me: Life and Love With The World’s Worst Dog
(John Grogan) The story of a family in the making and the
wondrously neurotic dog who taught them what really matters in
life. Is it possible for humans to discover the key to happiness
through a bigger-than-life, bad-boy dog? Just ask the Grogans.
Hurricane Katrina: The Storm That Changed America (Time
Magazine) An account of the devastation that was Hurricane
Katrina, complete with dozens of amazing photographs.
Being Digital (Nicholas Negreponte) The founder of the media
lab at MIT makes predictions about the technological future of
the world. Wearable computers? The end of the nation state?
PLAY BALL! (AND OTHER SPORTS)
Rash (Pete Hautman) In a future society that has decided it
would "rather be safe than free," 16-year-old Bo's anger
management problems land him in a tundra jail where he survives
with the help of his running skills and an artificial intelligence
program named Bork.
Bad Girls, Bad Girls, Whatcha Gonna Do? (Cynthia Voight)
As new ninth-graders eager only to survive high school, Mikey
and Margalo must deal creatively with stolen money and cheating
on the tennis courts.
How I Fell In Love and Learned to Shoot Free Throws (Jon
Ripslinger) Seventeen-year-old Danny Henderson, an
indifferent basketball player, has his eye on Angel McPherson,
star of the girls' team in their Iowa high school. But Angel is a
loner and she’s hiding a secret about her unconventional family.
Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long Distance Swimmer
(Lynne Cox) Distance swimmer Lynne Cox describes her
emotional and spiritual need to swim and chronicles some of her
more memorable swims.
Black and White (Paul Volponi) Two star high school
basketball players, one black and one white, experience the
justice system differently after committing a crime together and
getting caught.
Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to
Get Back on the Board (Bethany Hamilton) Bethany Hamilton
shares the story of her lifelong love of surfing, and tells how she
was able to recover and return to competition with the help of her
family, friends, and faith, after losing her arm in a shark attack at
the age of thirteen.
Crackback (John Coy) Miles barely recalls when football was
fun after being sidelined by a new coach, constantly criticized by
his father, and pressured by his best friend to take performanceenhancing drugs.
Baseball: The Perfect Game: An All-Star Anthology
Celebrating The Game’s Greatest Players, Teams, and
Moments (Josh Leventhal, ed.) Baseball is the ultimate
American game. This anthology brings together the greatest
writing and images chronicling the game’s heroes and heroics from its earliest moments to present day.
Damage (A.M. Jenkins) Seventeen-year-old football hero
Austin, trying to understand the inexplicable depression that has
drained his interest in life, thinks that he has found relief in a girl
who seems very special.
In These Girls, Hope is a Muscle (Madeline Blais) Chronicles
one basketball season of a girls' high school team in Amherst,
Massachusetts.
Wrestling Sturbridge (Rich Wallace) Stuck in a small town
where no one ever leaves and relegated by his wrestling coach to
sit on the bench while his best friend becomes state champion,
Ben decides he can't let his last high school wrestling season slip
by without challenging his friend and the future.
Offsides (Erik Esckilsen) Tom Gray, a Mohawk Indian and
star soccer player, moves to a new high school and refuses to
play for the Warriors with their insulting mascot.
Beckham: Both Feet on The Ground: An Autobiography
(David Beckham) British soccer legend David Beckham on his
life as an internationally famous soccer star. He talks candidly
about the perils of life as a superstar and the difficulties juggling
his family life and travel.
Roberto Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last
Hero (Jeff Manariss) A great sports biography about one of the
most charitable figures in sports history.
Also try books by these authors: Chris Crutcher, Carl Deuker,
Thomas Dygard, Robert Lipsyte, John Feinstein.
I COULD USE A GOOD LAUGH!
Dunk (David Lubar) Chad, hoping to work out his frustrations
and his anger by taking a summer job as a dunk tank Bozo on the
boardwalk at the New Jersey shore, comes to a better
understanding of himself and the uses of humor as he undergoes
training in the fine art of insults.
Absolutely, Positively Not (David LaRochelle) A teenage boy's
humorous attempts to fit in at his Minnesota high school by
becoming a macho, girl-loving heterosexual.
All American Girl (Meg Cabot) Sophomore Samantha Madison
stops a presidential assassination attempt, is appointed teen
ambassador to the United Nations, and catches the eye of the very
cute First Son. Laugh out loud narration.
Angus, Thongs and Full-frontal Snogging: Confessions of
Georgia Nicolson (Louise Rennison) The humorous journal of
a year in the life of a 14-year-old British girl who tries to reduce
the size of her nose, stop her mad cat from terrorizing the
neighborhood animals, and win the love of handsome hunk
Robbie.
Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World
Today Or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door
(Lynne Truss) Hilarious rant on the abysmal state of manners in
the world today.
Boomsday (Christopher Buckley)
Angry after hearing her father paid for her brother to attend Yale
University, an opportunity she missed because he made a bad
investment at the same time she was applying, Washington spin
doctor Cassandra Devine suggests baby boomers euthanize
themselves by the age of seventy-five for an incentive, an idea
that catches the nation's attention.
The Absolutely True Story of a Part Time Indian (Sherman
Alexie)
Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the
Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town
school where the only other Native American is the school
mascot.
Rat Boys: a Dating Experiment (Thom Eberhardt) Marci and
Summer, two somewhat geeky ninth graders, have to come up
with the dates they boasted about for the end-of-school dance. A
magic ring at a junk shop and a pair of pet rats do the job, but the
girls have to keep the rat boys from gnawing everything in sight.
Three Clams and an Oyster (Randy Powell) During their
humorous search to find a fourth player for their flag football
team, three high school juniors are forced to examine their long
friendship, their individual flaws, and their inability to try new
experiences.
A Fate Totally Worse than Death (Paul Fleischman)
This takeoff on teen-horror novels is funny, mocking, and a
surefire hit. Cliffs, murder, ghosts, and revenge form the core of
the plot as three teen girls at Cliffside High draw a bead on
Helga, the ravishing Norwegian exchange student who has
captivated Drew, a boy whose father is a millionaire.
Blood Sucking Fiends (Christopher Moore)
Office worker, Jodi, wakes up one morning under a dumpster and
the sun burns her and she has super human strength. She has
never watched vampire movies or read the books, so she doesn't
know what to do or how to do it.
Born to Rock (Gordon Korman) Leo Caraway thinks he has
his life planned out until he gets falsely accused of cheating on an
exam, loses his scholarship to Harvard and discovers his bio-dad
is a legendary punk rocker, King Maggot of Purge.
Fairest (Gail Carson Levine) In the Kingdom of Ayortha,
Aza, an unattractive woman with a magical voice, learns to
balance her appearance with her talent. Meanwhile, her singing
attracts both Prince Ijori, who cannot resist it, and Queen Ivi, who
plots to use it to benefit herself.
Eragon (Christopher Paolini)* In Aagaesia, a 15-year-old boy
of unknown lineage called Eragon finds a mysterious stone that
weaves his life into an intricate tapestry of destiny, magic, and
power, peopled with dragons, elves, and monsters.
Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment* (James Patterson)
After the mutant Erasers abduct the youngest member of their
group, the "birdkids," who are the result of genetic
experimentation, take off in pursuit and find themselves
struggling to understand their own origins and purpose.
Life As We Knew It (Susan Beth Pfeffer) Through journal
entries 16-year-old Miranda describes her family's struggle to
survive after a meteor hits the moon, causing worldwide
tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.
OUT OF THIS WORLD – SCIENCE FICTION FANTASY
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
When Dashti, a maid, and Lady Saren, her mistress, are shut in a
tower for seven years for Saren’s refusal to marry a man she
despises, the two prepare for a very long and dark imprisonment.
As food runs low and the days go from broiling hot to freezing
cold, it is all Dashti can do to keep them fed and comfortable. But
the arrival outside the tower of Saren’s two suitors—one
welcome, and the other decidedly less so—brings both hope and
great danger, and Dashti must make the desperate choices of a
girl whose life is worth more than she knows.
The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen accidentally becomes a
contender in the annual Hunger Games, a grave competition
hosted by the Capitol where young boys and girls are pitted
against one another in a televised fight to the death.
Endymion Spring* (Matthew Skelton) Having reluctantly
accompanied his academic mother and pesky younger sister to
Oxford, 12-year-old Blake Winters is at loose ends until he
stumbles across an ancient and magical book and which now
draws Blake into a dangerous and life-threatening quest.
Flight (Sherman Alexie)
Follows the life of a troubled teen as he is transported back and
forth in time in a search for his true identity.
The Thief* (Megan Whalen Turner) Gen flaunts his ingenuity
as a thief and relishes the adventure which takes him to a remote
temple of the gods where he will attempt to steal a precious
stone.
I’m a Stranger Here Myself (Bill Bryson) Bryson’s hilarious and
poignant account of his return to America after twenty years in
England.
Me Talk Pretty One Day (David Sedaris) Another uproarious
collection of essays on life’s weirdness from a man who seems to
have lived more of that weirdness than most.
Graceling (Kristin Cashore)
In a world where some people are born with extreme and oftenfeared skills called Graces, Katsa struggles for redemption from
her own horrifying Grace of killing and teams up with another
young fighter to save their land from a corrupt king.
Bonechiller (Graham McNamee)
Four high school students face off against a soul-stealing beast
that has been making young people disappear in their small
Ontario, Canada, town for centuries.
Ender’s Game* (Orson Scott Card) Ender, who is the result of
genetic experimentation, may be the military genius Earth needs
in its war against an alien enemy.
Lord of the Rings* (J.R.R. Tolkien) Epic story of MiddleEarth and the battle to save mankind. A great read for those who
enjoy interesting characters and fantasy fiction adventure!
A Wizard of Earthsea (Ursula K. Le Guin) A boy grows to
manhood while attempting to subdue the evil he unleashed on the
world as an apprentice to the master wizard.
Uglies* (Scott Westerfeld) Tally is faced with a difficult
choice when her new friend Shay decides to risk life on the
outside rather than submit to the forced operation that turns 16year-old girls into gorgeous beauties.
Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley) The “King Arthur”
story from the point of view of the women, especially Morgan le
Fey.
Wicked (Gregory Maguire) Elphaba, born with emerald green
skin, comes of age in the land of Oz, rooms with debutante
Glinda at the university, and follows a path in life that earns her
the label of Wicked.
On a Pale Horse (Piers Anthony)
Zane belongs to a world in which the scientific revolution has
been followed by the revolution of magic, and he is thrust into
the role of Death.
The Hitcherhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
The story of a young man who is rescued by an alien friend
seconds before Earth is demolished to make room for a galactic
freeway.
Other authors to look for: Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke,
Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, Gary Paulsen, Lemony Snicket,
and Sheri S. Tepper
*Indicates this book is part of a series
IT’S A MYSTERY TO ME
The Body of Christopher Creed (Carol Plum-Ucci) When
class misfit Chris Creed suddenly disappears, his fellow students
are not so much worried but abuzz with speculation: Is he a
runaway, a suicide, or a crime victim?
The Killer’s Cousin (Nancy Werlin) After being acquitted of
murder, 17-year-old David goes to stay with relatives in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he finds himself forced to face
his past as he learns more about his strange young cousin, Lily.
Acceleration (Graham McNamee) Stuck working in the Lost
and Found of the Toronto Transit Authority for the summer, 17year-old Duncan finds the diary of a serial killer and sets out to
stop him.
Missing Persons: The Rose Queen ( M.E. Rabb)
After their father dies, Sam, 17, and Sophie, 15, are forced to
leave their home in Queens, NY, and begin a new life on the lam.
Afraid that their evil stepmother will separate them and force
Sophie to attend a boarding school in Canada, they take their
father's funds and make a run for it. With the help of a
schoolmate with criminal connections, the sisters establish new
identities as Sam and Fiona Scott and take up residence in the
small town of Venice, IN. There, they meet many new people,
including Noelle McBride, the 16-year-old Rose Queen of
Venice and a stuck-up snob. When she disappears after Sam and
Sophie drop her off one evening, they become the prime suspects
because they were the last people to see her. With the police on
their trail, the sisters become amateur sleuths to crack the case
and clear their own names
Shattering Glass (Gail Giles) When Rob, the charismatic
leader of the senior class, turns the school nerd into Prince
Charming, his actions lead to unexpected violence.
The Grounding of Group 6 (Julian F. Thompson) Arriving at
what they believe is an exclusive school, five 16-year olds are
unaware that they have been sent there to be exterminated and
that their teacher is a murderer for hire.
As Simple As Snow (Gregory Gallaway) An unnamed teenage
boy is struggling through a lonely adolescence until a new girl in
his school's Goth crowd, Anna, becomes interested in him
romantically. When she suddenly goes missing and is presumed
dead, her heartsick boyfriend ponders her fate. An accident,
surely – or was it?
The Rag and Bone Shop (Robert Cormier) Trent, an ace
interrogator from Vermont, works to procure a confession from
an introverted 12-year-old accused of murdering his 7-year-old
friend in Monument, Massachusetts.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (Mark
Haddon) Despite his overwhelming fear of interacting with
people, Christopher, a mathematically-gifted, autistic 15-year-old
boy, decides to investigate the murder of a neighbor's dog and
uncovers secret information about his mother.
Dance Hall of the Dead (Tony Hillerman) No one is seriously
alarmed by the disappearance of two Native American boys until
Lt. Joe Leaphorn finds the splattered trail of blood which leads to
a ritually slaughtered victim.
Angels and Demons (Dan Brown) World-renowned Harvard
symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research
facility to analyze a mysterious symbol seared into the chest of a
murder victim. Here he discovers evidence of the resurgence of
an ancient brotherhood with a vendetta against the Catholic
Church.
Where are you now? (Mary Higgins Clark) Twenty-six-yearold Carolyn MacKenzie, having suffered from the September 11,
2001, death of her father and finished her clerkship in Manhattan,
decide to track down her brother who disappeared ten years
earlier, and uncovers a web of lies and deceit involving her
family and wealthy, powerful people who want to keep a secret
quiet.
Also read books by Agatha Christie and P.D. James and James
Patterson
VISITING THE PAST – HISTORY & HISTORICAL
FICTION
What I Saw and How I Lied (Judy Blundell)
In 1947, with her jovial stepfather Joe back from the war and
family life returning to normal, teenage Evie, smitten by the
handsome young ex-GI who seems to have a secret hold on Joe,
finds herself caught in a complicated web of lies whose
devastating outcome change her life and that of her family
forever.
Private Peaceful (Michael Morpurgo) When Thomas
Peaceful's older brother is forced to join the British Army,
Thomas decides to sign up as well, although he is only 14 years
old, to prove himself to his country, his family, his childhood
love and himself.
The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi (Arthur Japin) Fascinating
story of the African slave trade and Dutch colonialism as seen
through the eyes of two young African princes.
Sky: A Novel in Three Sets and an Encore (Rod Townley) In
New York City in 1959, 15-year-old Alec Schuyler, at odds with
his widowed father over his love of music, finds a mentor and
friend in a blind, black jazz musician.
Dance of the Assassins (Herve Jubert) A sorceress and a police
detective track a reborn Jack the Ripper through historically
recreated cities, from Victorian London to Montezuma's Mexico
City.
The Thief Lord (Cornelia Funke) Two brothers, having run
away from the aunt who plans to adopt the younger one, are
sought by a detective hired by their aunt, but they have found
shelter with - and protection from - Venice's "Thief Lord.”
The Luxe by Anna Godberson
The story opens in 1899 with the funeral of Elizabeth Holland, a
well-bred beauty said to have plunged to her death in the Hudson
River. The narrative then travels back several weeks, tracing the
relationships and events that have led to the somber assembly.
This tangled web includes not one but two sets of star-crossed
lovers; an upstairs/downstairs romance; a scheming social
climber; a bitter servant girl; and oodles of money, all set in a
Edith Wharton via Hollywood vision of Old New York.
A Great and Terrible Beauty (Libba Bray) After the
suspicious death of her mother in 1895, 16-year-old Gemma
returns to England, after many years in India, to attend a finishing
school where she becomes aware of her magical powers and
ability to see into the spirit world.
More Than Petticoats: Remarkable Connecticut Women
(Antonia Petrash) The lives of thirteen strong and determined
women, all of whom broke through social, cultural, and political
barriers to advance women's roles in the arts, on the battlefield,
and in education, exploration, and commerce.
The Book Thief (Markus Zusak) Trying to make sense of the
horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel, a
young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents
help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding as
well as their neighbors.
In Johnstown, In A Beautiful Garden (Kathleen Cambor) Set
against the backdrop of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, flood of
1889. The South Fork Dam separates two very different worlds:
above it lies the exclusive South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club;
below it are scattered several working-class towns. When James
Talbot, a lawyer hired to secure the club's charter, alerts the
members to the earthen dam's structural problems, his warnings
go unheeded.
The Black Flower: A Novel of the Civil War (Howard Bahr) A
vivid retelling of the November 1864 Battle of Franklin,
Tennessee. A haunting portrayal of suffering and death. (See
also sequels The Year of Jubilo and The Judas Field)
Mississippi Trial 1955 (Christopher Crowe) In Mississippi in
1955, a 16-year-old finds himself at odds with his grandfather
over issues surrounding the kidnapping and murder of a 14-yearold African American from Chicago.
Finding Moon (Tony Hillerman) Set mostly in Vietnam
during the fall of Saigon in 1975, this is the story of Moon
Mathias. When his younger brother dies in Southeast Asia,
Moon discovers that there is a baby daughter missing somewhere
in Vietnam. He leads a motley group of culturally varied misfits
in his quest.
Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett) The story of medieval France
and the building of the gothic and Roman cathedrals told through
the life of a family.
King Leopold’s Ghost (Adam Hochschold) The history behind
Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. The story of the Belgian
Congo and human rights during the late 19th Century.
Fallen Angels (Walter Dean Myers) Seventeen-year-old Richie
Perry, just out of his Harlem high school, enlists in the Army in
the summer of 1967 and spends a devastating year on active duty
in Vietnam.
The Killer Angels (Michael Shaara) Historical fiction about the
battle of Gettysburg. Excellent storytelling combined with an
accurate depiction of historical events.
A Farewell to Arms (Ernest Hemingway) An American
ambulance officer serving on the Austro-Italian front deserts to
join an English nurse after the retreat of Caporetto.
WAXING POETIC
Good Poems for Hard Times (Garrison Keillor) Garrison
Keillor has compiled a collection of poetry that he calls
“memorable, recitable, and accessible.”
Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems
(Billy Collins) A collection by Billy Collins, former U.S. Poet
Laureate. Collins will tackle any topic: his subject matter varies
from snow days to Aristotle to forgetfulness.
Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went
Crazy (Sonya Sones) In a series of short, intense poems, a
younger sister has a difficult time adjusting to life after her older
sister has a mental breakdown.
Crank (Ellen Hopkins) Kristina Georgia Snow is the perfect
daughter, gifted high school junior, quiet, never any trouble. But
on a trip to visit her absentee father, Kristina meets crystal meth,
“crank.” Soon, her grades plummet, her relationships with family
and friends deteriorate, and she needs more and more of the
monster just to get through the day. ”Hypnotic and jagged free
verse wrenchingly chronicles 16-year-old Kristina's addiction to
crank” (Kirkus Review).
Food (Ogden Nash) America’s funniest poet discourses on the
topics of food and the perils of eating in the modern world.
The 100 Best Love Poems of All Time (Leslie Pockell, ed.)
Timeless verses of passion and romance, from old favorites to
modern classics.
Cool Salsa (Lori Carlson)
Whether discussing the immigrant's frustration at not being able
to speak English, the violence suffered both within and outside of
the ethnic community, the familiar adolescent desire to belong, or
celebrating the simple joys of life, these fine poems are incisive
and photographic in their depiction of a moment.
Red Hot Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Being Young and Latino in
the United States (Lori Marie Carlson, ed.) Latino poets tell us,
in English and in Spanish, who they are, where they are, and
what their hopes are for the future.
Poems From Homeroom: A Writer’s Place to Start (Kathi
Appelt) A collection of poems about the experiences of young
people and a section with information about how each poem was
written to enable readers to create their own original poems.
Paint Me Like I Am: Teen Poems (WritersCorps) A collection
of poems by teens who have taken part in writing programs run
by a national nonprofit organization called WritersCorps. To read
the words of these young people is to hear the diverse voices of
teenagers everywhere.
Everlost (Neal Shusterman) When Nick and Allie are killed in
a car crash, they end up in Everlost, or limbo for lost souls, where
although Nick is satisfied, Allie will stop at nothing--even
skinjacking--to break free.
Being Dead (Vivian Vande Velde) Seven supernatural stories,
all having something to do with death.
NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED
(HORROR/SUPERNATURAL)
The Host (Stephanie Meyer) Melanie, whose mind has been
almost completely taken over by an alien named Wanderer,
convinces the alien to search for her lost lover, who fled the
extraterrestrial invasion, and tries to find a way in which she and
Wanderer can coexist.
Cirque du Freak (Darren Shan) Two boys who are best friends
visit an illegal freak show where an encounter with a vampire and
a deadly spider forces them to make life-changing choices.
Vampire Kisses (Ellen Schreiber) Sixteen-year-old Raven, an
outcast who always wears black and hopes to become a vampire
some day, falls in love with the mysterious new boy in town who
is eager to find out if he can make her dreams come true.
Twilight (Stephanie Meyer)
When seventeen-year-old Bella leaves Phoenix to live with her
father in Forks, Washington, she meets an exquisitely handsome
boy at school for whom she feels an overwhelming attraction and
who she comes to realize is not wholly human. The story
continues in Eclipse, New Moon and Breaking Dawn .
A Fate Totally Worse Than Death (Paul Fleischman) In this
horror novel parody, three self-centered members of Cliffside
High School's ruling clique, who are beginning to age rapidly,
become convinced that the beautiful new exchange student is the
ghost of the girl whose death they caused the year before.
Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid: The Book of Scary Urban Legends
(Jan Harold Brunvand) More than 90 frightening urban legends.
Shattered Mirror (Amelia Atwater-Rhodes) As 17-year-old
Sarah, daughter of a powerful line of vampire-hunting witches,
continues to pursue the ancient bloodsucker Nikolas, she finds
herself in a dangerous friendship with two vampire siblings in her
high school.
Watchers (Dean Koontz) The adventures of two creatures
which have escaped from a secret, sinister government laboratory
where experiments in genetic engineering are conducted.
for an annual hunting trip in Maine and find themselves in the
middle of an alien invasion.
Paranoid Park (Blake Nelson) A 16-year-old Portland,
Oregon, skateboarder, whose parents are going through a difficult
divorce, is engulfed by guilt and confusion when he accidentally
kills a security guard at a train yard.
Dreamcatcher (Stephen King) Four friends’ association with a
mentally handicapped boy with supernatural abilities leaves them
with special gifts that come in handy when they unite as adults
Dracula (Bram Stoker) After discovering the double identity of
the wealthy Transylvanian nobleman, Count Dracula, a small
group of people vow to rid the world of the evil vampire.
Edgar Allen Poe (Edgar Allen Poe) A collection of five of
Poe's unsettling short stories, including “The Fall of the House of
Usher,” “The Masque of the Red Death,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,”
“The Cask of Amontillado,” and “The Oval Portrait.”
Coraline ( Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean)
After Coraline and her parents move into an old house, Coraline
asks her mother about a mysterious locked door. Her mother
unlocks it to reveal that it leads nowhere: "When they turned the
house into flats, they simply bricked it up," her mother explains.
But something about the door attracts the girl, and when she later
unlocks it herself, the bricks have disappeared. Through the door,
she travels a dark corridor into a world that eerily mimics her
own, but with sinister differences.
Prom Dates from Hell (Rosemary Clement-Moore)
Under normal circumstances, Maggie Quinn would want nothing
to do with the vicious, elite clique at her high school. But when
the jocks and their girlfriends start falling prey to a series of
situations ranging from embarrassing to potentially fatal, not to
mention reeking of sulfur, the school newspaper reporter can't
ignore the story. In addition to being a Nancy Drew wannabe,
Maggie has inherited her grandmother's sixth sense, as evidenced
by the demon appearing in her dreams. Although she is initially
reluctant to believe that anything supernatural is going on, her
partnership with a paranormal-studies college student who is in
one of her father's classes eventually leads her to a salt-throwing
showdown with the demon and his minions at her senior prom.
*Summaries adapted from Amazon.com & Titlewave.com