Acceleration McNamee, Graham

Stuck working in the Lost and Found of the Toronto Transit Authority for the summer, seventeen-year-old Duncan finds the diary of a serial killer and sets out to stop him.

Al Capone Does My Shirts Choldenko, Gennifer

A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards’ families were housed there and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister.

Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging: Rennison, Louise

Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (and sequels)

The humorous journal of a fourteen-year-old British girl.

Anne Frank and Me Bennett, Cherie

After suffering a concussion while on a class trip to a Holocaust exhibit, Nicole finds herself living the life of a Jewish teenager in Paris during the Nazi occupation.

Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident Colfer, Eoin

Artemis is at boarding school in Ireland, when he suddenly receives an urgent video e-mail from Russia.

B for Buster Lawrence, Iain

In the spring of 1943, sixteen-year-old Kak, desperate to escape his abusive parents, lies about his age to enlist in the Canadian Air Force and soon finds himself based in England as part of a crew flying bombing raids over Germany.

Big Mouth & Ugly Girl Oates, Joyce Carol

When sixteen-year-old Matt is falsely accused of threatening to blow up his high school and his friends turn against him, an unlikely classmate comes to his aid.

Blood Trail Springer, Nancy

After his best friend is murdered, seventeen-year-old Booger realizes he is the only one who has any idea who might have committed the crime – but he doesn’t dare tell anyone.

The Boat Who Wouldn’t Float Mowatt, Farley

Humorous true story of a schooner that leaked like a sieve, and sank eight times.

The Body of Christopher Creed Plum-Ucci, Carol

A high school junior with a seemingly perfect life, struggles with doubts and questions surrounding the mysterious disappearance of the class outcast.

Born Too Short: The Confessions of an Eighth Grade Basket Case Elish, Dan

Thirteen-year-old Matt is so envious of his best friend Keith that he wishes things would go badly for him, and when Keith’s fortune changes while at the same time Matt finds his first true girlfriend, Matt is overcome with guilt.

A Boy at War: A Novel of Pearl Harbor (and sequels) Mazer, Harry

While fishing with his friends off Honolulu on December 7, 1941, teenaged Adam is caught in the midst of the Japanese attack and realizes his father is serving on the USS Arizona.

The Boy Who Saved Baseball Ritter, John H.

The fate of a small California town rests on the outcome of one baseball game, and Tom Gallagher hopes to lead his team to victory with the secrets of the now disgraced player, Dante Del Gato.

Bronx Masquerade Grimes, Nikki

While studying the Harlem Renaissance, students at a Bronx high school read aloud poems they’ve written, (open mike) revealing their innermost thoughts and fears to their formerly clueless classmates.

Burning Up: A Novel Cooney, Caroline B.

When a girl she had met at an inner-city church is murdered, fifteen-year-old Macey channels her grief into a school project that leads her to uncover prejudice in her family and community.

The Chocolate War Cormier, Robert

A high school student refuses to join in the school’s annual fund raising drive and learns about intimidation and peer pressure first hand.

World War Two Bruchac, Joseph

After being taught in a boarding school run by whites that Navajo is a useless language, Ned Begay and other Navajo men are recruited by the Marines to become Code Talkers, sending messages during World War II in their native tongue.

*The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Haddon, Mark

Despite his overwhelming fear of interacting with people, Christopher, a mathematically-gifted, autistic fifteen-year-old boy, decides to investigate the murder of a neighbor’s dog and uncovers secret information about his mother.

Dead Girls Don’t Write Letters Dead Girls Don’t Write Letters Giles, Gail

Fourteen-year-old Sunny is stunned when a total stranger shows up at her house posing as her older sister, Jazz, who supposedly died out of town in a fire months earlier.

Deathwatch White, Robb

When Ben agrees to guide a man through bighorn country, he realizes the man is a ruthless killer.

A Door Near Here Quarles, Heather

Four siblings struggle to maintain a semi-normal home life when their single mother’s alcoholism becomes debilitating.

Dust Slade, Arthur G.

Eleven-year-old Robert is the only one who can help when a mysterious stranger arrives, performing tricks and promising to bring rain, at the same time children begin to disappear from a dust bowl farm town in Saskatchewan in the 1930s.

*Ender’s Game Card, Orson Scott

Ender, who is the result of genetic experimentation, may be the military genius Earth needs in its war against an alien enemy.

*Eragon Paolini, Christopher

In Aagaesia, a fifteen-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.

Fake ID: a Novel Sorrells, Walter

Sixteen-year-old Chass begins to piece together the disturbing past that haunts her and her mother and which involves a mysterious tape, a deceased popular singer, and the secrets of several people in a small Alabama town.

Gathering Blue Lowry, Lois

Lame and suddenly orphaned, Kira is mysteriously removed from her squalid village to live in the palatial Council Edifice, where she is expected to use her gifts as a weaver to do the bidding of the all-powerful Guardians.

Girl 15, Charming But Insane Limb, Sue

Fifteen-year-old Jess, living with her mum, separated from her father in Cornwall, and with a best friend who seems to do everything perfectly, finds her own assets through humor.

The Golden Compass (and sequels) Pullman, Philip

Accompanied by her daemon, Lyra Belacqua sets out to prevent her best friend and other kidnapped children from becoming the subject of gruesome experiments in the Far North.

Green Angel Hoffman, Alice

Haunted by grief and her past after losing her family in a fire, fifteen-year-old Green retreats into her ruined garden as she struggles to survive emotionally and physically on her own.

High Heat Deuker, Carl

When sophomore Shane Hunter’s father is arrested for money laundering at his Lexus dealership, the star pitcher’s life of affluence begins to fall apart.

Homeless Bird Whelan, Gloria

When thirteen-year-old Koly enters into an ill-fated arranged marriage, she must either suffer a destiny dictated by India’s tradition or find the courage to oppose it.

*The House of the Scorpion Farmer, Nancy

In a future where humans despise clones, Matt enjoys special status as the young clone of El Patron, the 142-year-old leader of a corrupt drug empire nestled between Mexico and the United States.

Keeping the Moon Dessen, Sarah

Colie, a former fat girl, with several body piercings spends the summer with her eccentric aunt, two wacky waitresses and Norma. Self realization is the theme.

Kidnapped Stevenson, Robert Louis

A sixteen-year-old orphan is kidnapped by his villainous uncle, but later escapes and becomes involved in the struggle of the Scottish highlanders against English rule.

The Killer’s Cousin Werlin, Nancy

After being acquitted of murder, seventeen-year-old David goes to stay with relatives, where he finds himself forced to face his past as he learns more about his strange young cousin Lily.

Kira-kira Kadohata, Cynthia

Chronicles the close friendship between two Japanese-American sisters growing up in rural Georgia during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and the despair when one sister becomes terminally ill.

*The Land Taylor, Mildred D.

After the Civil War Paul, the son of a white father and a black mother, finds himself caught between two worlds as he pursues his dream of owning land of his own.

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy Schmidt, Gary D.

In 1911, Turner Buckminster hates his new home of Phippsburg, Maine, but things improve when he meets Lizzie Bright Griffin, a girl from a poor, nearby island community founded by former slaves that the town fathers – and Turner’s – want to change into a tourist spot.

Lord of the Nutcracker Men Lawrence, Iain

An English boy during World War I comes to believe that the battles he enacts with his toy soldiers control the war his father is fighting on the front.

Milkweed Spinelli, Jerry

A young Polish orphan, called names for being Jewish, dreams of the day when he too could become a Nazi in shining boots, until the day he witnesses something that changes his mind forever.

Mortal Engines: A Novel (and sequel) Reeve, Philip

Tom, a third class apprentice in a distant future in which technology has been lost and tiered cities move about the Earth on caterpillar tracks, often absorbing smaller locales, has many dangerous adventures after being pushed off London by Thaddeus Valentine, a historian who is trying to resurrect an ancient atomic weapon.

The Moves Make the Man: A Novel Brooks, Bruce

A black basketball player and an emotionally troubled white shortstop in North Carolina form a precarious friendship.

*(M)Northern Light Donnolly, Jennifer

In 1906, a sixteen-year-old Mattie, determined to attend college and be a writer against the wishes of her father and fiancé, takes a job at a summer in where she discovers the truth about the death of a guest. Based on a true story.

One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies Sones, Sonya

Fifteen-year-old Ruby Milliken leaves her best friend , her boyfriend, her aunt, and her mother’s grave in Boston and reluctantly flies to Los Angeles to live with her father, a famous movie star who divorced her mother before Ruby was born.

(M) (Novel in Verse)

Out of the Fire Froese, Deborah

Dayle, a sixteen-year-old girl dealing with the typical teenage problems of relationships, boys, school, and family, is faced with a whole new set of complications when she is badly burned in an accident and a friend seriously injured.

Pardon Me, You’re Stepping on my Eyeball!: A Novel Zindel, Paul

Two alienated teenagers learn to cope with their personal problems by being honest with each other.

Pride and Prejudice Austen, Jane

A mother’s foolish attempts to marry off her five daughters result in humorous and tragic episodes.

Private Peaceful Morpurgo, Michael

When Thomas Peaceful’s older brother is forced to join the British Army, Thomas decides to sign up as well, although he is only fourteen years old, to prove himself to his country, his family, his childhood love, Molly, and himself.

Rat Boys: A Dating Experiment Eberhardt, Thom

Fourteen-year-olds Marci and Summer use a magic ring to turn two rats into cute boys so that they can have dates for the Spring Fling. (Humor)

*River Runs Through It MacLean, Norman

Relates the adventures and misadventures of two brothers growing up in early twentieth century Montana.

*The Road Home White, Ellen Emerson

Rebecca, a young nurse stationed in Vietnam during the war, must come to grips with her wartime experiences once she returns home to the United States.

Runner Deuker, Carl

Living with his alcoholic father on a broken-down sailboat on Puget Sound has been hard on seventeen-year-old Chance Taylor, but when his love of running leads to a high-paying job, he quickly learns that the money is not worth the risk.

Scribbler of Dreams Pearson, Mary E.

Despite her family’s long feud with the Crutchfields, seventeen-year-old Kaitlin falls in love with Bram Crutchfield and weaves a tangled web of deception to conceal her identity from him.

Shade’s Children Nix, Garth

In a savage postnuclear world, four young fugitives attempt to overthrow the bloodthirsty rule of the Overlords with the help of Shade, their mysterious mentor.

Shadow Club Shusterman, Neal

When a junior high school boy and his friends decide to form a club of "second bests" and play anonymous tricks on each other’s arch rivals, the harmless pranks escalate until they become life-threatening.

Shakespeare Bats Cleanup Koertge, Ronald

When a fourteen-year-old baseball player catches mononucleosis, he discovers that keeping a journal and experimenting with poetry not only helps fill the time, it also helps him deal with life, love, and loss. (Novels in Verse)

(M)Shattering Glass Giles, Gail

When Rob, the charismatic leader of the senior class, turns the school nerd into Prince Charming, his actions lead to unexpected violence.

Slot Machine Lynch, Chris

When overweight thirteen-year-old Elvin Bishop is sent to camp at St. Paul’s Seminary Retreat Center, he is forced to try out various sports in order to find out which "slot" he belongs in – funny.

Soldier Boys Hughes, Dean

Two boys, one German and one American, are eager to join their respective armies during World War II, and their paths cross at the Battle of the Bulge.

Soldier X Wulffson, Don L.

In 1943 sixteen-year-old Erik experiences the horrors of war when he is drafted into the German army and sent to fight on the Russian front.

Son of the Mob (and sequels) Korman, Gordon

Eighteen-year-old Vince Luca, son of mob boss Anthony Luca, goes away to college in southern California hoping to escape his past, but soon his brother and a series of "uncles" appear at his dorm, and before long he is caught up in criminal activity once again.

*Spindle’s End McKinley, Robin

The infant princess Briar Rose is cursed on her name day by Pernicia, an evil fairy, and then whisked away by a young fairy to be raised in a remote part of a magical country, unaware of her real identity and hidden from Pernicia’s vengeful powers.

(M)Tears of a Tiger Draper, Sharon

The death of high school basketball star Rob Washington in an automobile accident affects the live of his close friend Andy, who was driving the car, and many others in the school.

This Lullaby: A Novel (M) Dessen, Sarah

Raised by a mother who’s had five husbands, eighteen-year-old Remy believes in short-term, no-commitment relationships until she meets Dexter, a rock band musician.

*Tomorrow, When the War Began (and sequels) Marsden, John

Seven Australian teenagers return from a camping trip in the bush to discover that their country has been invaded and they must hide to stay alive – several sequels.

Travel Team Lupica, Mike

After he is cut from his travel basketball team, the very same team that his father once led to national prominence, twelve-year-old Danny Walker forms his own team of cast-offs that might have a shot at victory.

*A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Smith, Betty

A young girl comes of age in the squalor and poverty of the Brooklyn slums in the early 1900’s.

The Truth About Forever Dessen, Sara

The summer following her father’s death, 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.

Uglies Westerfeld, Scott

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 sixteen year old girls into gorgeous beauties, and realizes that there is a whole new side to the pretty world that she doesn’t like.

A Walk to Remember Sparks, Nicholas

A twist of fate couples Landon Carter and Jamie Sullivan for the homecoming dance at school and changes their lives forever.

War of the Worlds H. G. Wells

The Wee Free Men (and sequels) Pratchett, Terry

Tiffany, a young witch-to-be in the land of Discworld, teams up with the Wee Free Men, a clan of six-inch-high blue toughs, to rescue her baby brother and ward off a sinister invasion from Fairyland.

Woodsong Paulsen, Gary

For a rugged outdoor man and his family, life in northern Minnesota is a wild experience involving wolves, deer, and the sled dogs.

Zel Napoli, Donna Jo

A psychological retelling of the fairy tale Rapunzel told in alternating chapters (mother, Zel, prince).

Adrift: Seventy-six Days Lost at Sea Callahan, Steven

The author recounts how he survived being adrift in a rubber raft in the Pacific ocean for 76 days after his sloop sank.

The Greatest Muhammad Ali Myers, Walter Dean

A biography of the famous boxer.

Helen Keller: Rebellious Spirit Lawlor, Laurie

An illustrated biography of Helen Keller, sharing aspects of her personality and sometimes radical beliefs, and discussing her relationship with her teacher Annie Sullivan and other important people in her life and work.

Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow Bartoletti, Susan Campbell

A photo-illustrated look at the youth organizations Adolf Hitler founded and used to meet his sociopolitical and military ends; includes profiles of individual Hitler Youth members as well as young people who opposed the Nazis, such as Hans and Sophie Scholl.

Hot Zone Richard Preston

Describes how the lethal ebola virus made its way from the rain forests of Africa to a Washington, D.C. laboratory, and the horrifying measures taken to prevent an outbreak in the United States.

In the Heart of the Sea: Philbrick, Nat

The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

Tells the true story of the Essex, a whaleship that set sail from Nantucket in 1819 and was rammed and sunk by an enraged sperm whale in the South Pacific, setting the twenty-man crew adrift in three tiny boats.

Left for Dead: A Young Man’s Search for Justice for Nelson, Peter

The USS Indianapolis

Recalls the sinking of the USS Indianapolis at the end of WWII, the navy cover-up and unfair court martial of the ship’s captain, and how a young boy helped the survivor set the record straight fifty-five years later.

Never Cry Wolf Mowat, Farley

The author recounts his encounters and discoveries about the wolves which live in the Arctic.

Remarkable Life Fleming, Candace

Pesents a collection of illustrated photographs and stories representing the life and career of Eleanor Roosevelt, and examines her White House years, her years as a delegate to the United Nations, and more.

Stick Figure: A Diary of My Former Self Gottlieb, Lori

Growing up in Beverly Hills in the 1970s, Lori learned to express in her diary her battle with anorexia nervosa.

*Triangle: The Fire That Changed America Von Drehle, Dave

Chronicles the events surrounding the fire at the Triangle shirtwaist factory which broke out on March 25, 1911, killing more than one hundred factory workers who were trapped after the fire broke out, and discusses how the fire changed the work force in America.

the Struggle for Equal Rights Freedman, Russell

Tells the life story of singer Marian Anderson, describing her famous 1939 Lincoln Memorial performance and explaining how she helped end segregation in the American arts after being refused the right to perform at Washington’s Constitution Hall because of the color of her skin.

We Were There Too!: Young People in U.S. History Hoose, Phillip M.

Biography of dozens of young people who made a mark in American history, including explorers, planters, spies, cowpunchers, sweatshop workers, and civil rights workers.

A Treasury of African-American Poetry and Art Rochelle, Belinda, ed.

Pairs twenty works of art by African-American artists with twenty poems by twenty African-American poets.

A Wreath for Emmett Till Waniek, Marilyn Nelson

This illustrated poetry collection eulogizes Emmett Till, an African American man who was killed in a brutal, racially motivated lynching in 1955.