Recommended Reading

1
Recommended Reading
2
Categories

• Sad stories
• War stories
• Mysteries
• Sports stories
• Adventure
• Problem stories

• Funny stories
• Stories about teen parenting
• Horror stories and vampire fiction
• Futuristic and fantasy stories

3
Sad Stories
4
Hanging on to Maxby Margaret Bechard

• When Sams girlfriend decides to give their baby
  up for adoption he chooses to take his son
  instead, and with his fathers help, raise Max
  while he finishes high school.

5
A Summer to Die by Lois Lowry (F LOW)

• Thirteen-year-old Meg envies her sister's beauty
  and popularity. Her feelings don't make it any
  easier for her to cope with Molly's strange
  illness and eventual death.
• Return to categories list

6
War Stories
7
With Every Drop of Bloodby James and Christopher
Collier (F COL)

• While trying to transport food to Richmond,
  Virginia, during the Civil War, fourteen-year-old
  Johnny is captured by a black Union soldier.
• Return to categories list

8
A Boy at Warby Harry Mazer (F MAZ)

• While fishing with his friends off Honolulu on
  December 7, 1941, teenaged Adam is caught in the
  midst of the Japanese attack and through the
  chaos of the subsequent days tries to find his
  father, a naval officer who was serving on the
  U.S.S. Arizona when the bombs fell.
• Return to categories list

9
Fallen Angelsby Walter Dean Myers (F MYE)

• 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.
• Return to categories list

10
The Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins by Walter
Dean Myers (F MYE)

• A seventeen-year-old soldier from central
  Virginia records his experiences in a journal as
  his regiment takes part in the D-Day invasion of
  Normandy and subsequent battles to liberate
  France.
• Return to categories list

11
Soldiers Heart by Gary Paulsen (F PAU)

• Fifteen-year-old Charley Goddard leaves home in
  June, 1861, and enlists in the First Minnesota
  Volunteers in order to fight in the Civil War.
  Unaware of what it means to be involved in a
  "shooting war," he soon learns about the violence
  and horror of combat.
• Return to categories list

12
Funny Books
13
Burger Wussby M.T. Anderson (F AND)

• Hoping to lose his loser image, Anthony plans
  revenge on a bully which results in a war between
  two competing fast food restaurants, Burger Queen
  and O'Dermott's.
• Return to categories list

14
A Fate Totally Worse than Deathby Paul
Fleischman (F FLE)

• In this parody of a horror novel ,three girls
  become convinced that the new exchange student is
  actually the ghost of a girl whose death they
  cause the year earlier.
• Return to categories list

15
The Cannibals Starring Tiffany Spratt by Cynthia
D. Grant (F GRA)

• In her journal the relentlessly superficial
  Tiffany, head of the cheerleading group called
  the Cannibals, describes the excitement and
  turmoil of her senior year in high school.
• Return to categories list

16
Son of the Mobby Gordon Korman (F KOR)

• Seventeen-year-old Vince's life is constantly
  complicated by the fact that he is the son of a
  powerful Mafia boss, a relationship that
  threatens to destroy his romance with the
  daughter of an FBI agent.
• Return to categories list

17
Vampire High by Douglas Rees (F REE)

• When his family moves from California to New
  Sodom, Massachusetts and Cody enters Vlad Dracul
  Magnet School, many things seem strange, from the
  dark-haired, pale-skinned, supernaturally strong
  students to Charon, the wolf who guides him
  around campus on the first day.
• Return to categories list

18
How I Spent My Last Night on Earth by Todd
Strasser (F STR)

• When a rumor appears on the Internet that a
  giant asteroid is about to destroy Earth, Legs
  Hanover scrambles to meet the boy of her dreams,
  elusive Andros Bliss.
• Return to categories list

19
How I Changed My Life by Todd Strasser (F STR)

• Overweight high school senior Bo decides to
  change her image while working on the school play
  with a former star football player who is also
  struggling to find a new identity for himself.
• Return to categories list

20
Scary Books and Vampire Stories
21
In the Forests of the Night by Amelia
Atwater-Rhodes (F ATW)

• Risika, a teenage vampire, wanders back in time
  to the year 1684 when, as a human, she died and
  was transformed against her will.
• Return to categories list

22
Blackwater by Eve Bunting (F BUN)

• When a boy and girl are drowned in the
  Blackwater River, thirteen-year-old Brodie must
  decide whether to confess that he may have caused
  the accident.
• Return to categories list

23
Mysteries
24
The Executionerby Jay Bennett (F BEN)

• Three survivors of an automobile crash in which
  the driver was killed are threatened by an
  executioner who believes they too should die.
• Return to categories list

25
The Haunted Oneby Jay Bennett (F BEN)

• After the girl eighteen-year-old Paul loves
  drowns at the New Jersey beach while he is the
  lifeguard on duty, he begins to receive phone
  calls from her and to see her in odd places.
• Return to categories list

26
Skinheadby Jay Bennett (F BEN)

• A plea from a dying man he has never seen before
  involves nineteen-year-old Jonathan in a
  life-and-death struggle with white-supremacist
  skinheads.
• Return to categories list

27
The Dark Corridorby Jay Bennett (F BEN)

• At the end of a summer disrupted by three
  teenage suicides in their town, eighteen-year-old
  Kerry's girlfriend Alicia apparently kills
  herself, leaving him obsessed with death and
  strange doubts.
• Return to categories list

28
Coverupby Jay Bennett (F BEN)

• Brad is tormented by confused memories of a
  drunken ride with his best friend Alden, during
  which they may have hit and killed a man.
• Return to categories list

29
Drivers Edby Caroline B. Cooney (F COO)

• Three teenagers' lives are changed forever when
  they thoughtlessly steal a stop sign from a
  dangerous intersection and a young mother is
  killed in an automobile accident there.
• Return to categories list

30
Daughters of Eveby Lois Duncan (F DUN)

• A high school teacher manipulates the lives of
  a group of girls, with chilling results.
• Return to categories list

31
Ransomby Lois Duncan (F DUN)

• It was just another bus ride home from school,
  until Bruce, Glenn, Dexter, Marianne and Jesse
  realize they are on an unfamiliar road. Why
  would someone want to kidnap them?
• Return to categories list

32
Dead Girls Dont Write Lettersby Gail Giles (F
GIL)

• Fourteen-year-old Sunny is stunned when a total
  stranger shows up at her house posing as her
  older sister Jazz, who supposedly died in a fire
  months earlier.
• Return to categories list

33
The Taking of Room 114by Mel Glenn (F GLE)

• A series of poems reflect the thoughts of school
  officials, parents, police, and especially a
  class of seniors who have been taken hostage by
  their high school history teacher.
• Return to categories list

34
Looking for Redby Angela Johnson (F JOH)

• A thirteen-year-old girl struggles to cope with
  the loss of her beloved older brother, who
  disappeared four months earlier off the coast of
  Cape Cod.
• Return to categories list

35
Who Is Eddie Leonard?By Harry Mazer (F MAZ)

• A fourteen-year-old boy who was raised by an
  abusive old woman and who has always had
  questions about his parents sees a picture of a
  missing child and sets out to discover if he is
  that child.
• Return to categories list

36
Problem Stories
37
Alt Edby Catherine Atkins (F ATK)

• Participating in a special after-school
  counseling class with other troubled students,
  including a sensitive gay classmate, helps Susan,
  an overweight tenth grader, develop a better
  sense of herself.
• Return to categories list

38
It Happened to Nancyby Anonymous (F ANO)

• The story of a fourteen year old girl infected
  with the HIV virus by a rapist, as told through
  the pages of her own diary.
• Return to categories list

39
Death Windby William Bell (F BEL)

• Allie, failing school and fearing she is
  pregnant by her ex-boyfriend, decides there is no
  way she can face her always fighting parents and
  decides to run away, but she gets a different
  perspective on her life and future when a tornado
  hits, destroying her home and injuring her
  mother.
• Return to categories list

40
Doloresby Bruce Brooks (F BRO)

• A series of events captures the life of a
  free-spirited girl as she grows from a savvy
  seven-year old to a self-assured sixteen-year
  old.
• Return to categories list

41
The Hemingway Traditionby Kristen Butcher (F BUT)

• After his father commits suicide, Shaw struggles
  to come to terms with his father's death and move
  on.
• Return to categories list

42
The Trouble with Libertyby Kristin Butcher (F
BUT)

• Val, eager to make friends with Liberty Hayes,
  begins to have doubts about the stylish new girl
  when Liberty accuses a favorite teacher of sexual
  misconduct.
• Return to categories list

43
One More Stepby Sheree Fitch (F FIT)

• When Julian's mother decides to marry a
  French-Canadian man, Julian learns that it is not
  always blood that determines true family.
• Return to categories list

44
Who Owns Kelly Paddick?By Beth Goobie (F GOO)

• After attempting suicide, Kelly Paddik is sent
  to a "secure facility," and as she tries to find
  a way out, she has to come to terms with her
  memories of abuse.
• Return to categories list

45
Dont You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey by
Margaret Haddix

• In the journal she is keeping for English class,
  sixteen-year-old Tish chronicles the changes in
  her life when her abusive father returns home
  after a two-year absence.
• Return to categories list

46
Hit Squad by James Heneghan (F HEN)

• Students in an upscale high school decide to
  take on the bullies and take back their school,
  with decidedly mixed consequences.
• Return to categories list

47
Straydogby Kathe Koja (F KOJ)

• Rachel, a teenager with a healthy dose of both
  aptitude and attitude,begins to feel at home
  volunteering at an animal shelter.
• Return to categories list

48
Truthby Tanya Lloyd Kyi (F KYI)

• When a prominent local adult is killed at a teen
  house party, the whole school seems to know who
  is to blame, but no one will go to the police.
• Return to categories list

49
Blue-Eyed Son 1 Mickby Chris Lynch (F LYN)

• His friendship with two Hispanic students offers
  fifteen-year-old Mick an alternative to the
  drunken savagery of his brother and the narrow
  thinking of his Irish-American neighborhood in
  Boston.
• Return to categories list

50
Blue-Eyed Son 2 Blood Relationsby Chris Lynch
(F LYN)

• His friendship with two Hispanic students offers
  fifteen-year-old Mick an alternative to the
  drunken savagery of his brother and the narrow
  thinking of his Irish-American neighborhood in
  Boston.
• Return to categories list

51
Blue-Eyed Son 3 Dog Eat Dog by Chris Lynch (F
LYN)

• Mick seeks revenge on his sadistic brother who
  participates in the illegal sport of dogfighting.
• Return to categories list

52
Fastback Beachby Shirlee Smith Matheson (F MAT)

• When Miles is put on probation for stealing a
  car, he learns about hot rods and rebuilding
  cars. When the project is stolen, Miles has to
  face up to his friends.
• Return to categories list

53
Spellbound by Joyce McDonald (F MCD)

• Raven, a teenage mother and high school dropout
  living in a New York City housing project,
  decides to enter a spelling contest that might
  lead to a college preparatory program and a
  four-year scholarship.
• Return to categories list

54
Monster by Walter Dean Myers (F MYE)

• While on trial as an accomplice to a murder,
  sixteen-year-old Steve Harmond records his
  experiences in prison and in the courtroom in the
  form of a film script as he tries to come to
  terms with the course his life has taken.
• Return to categories list

55
Futuristic and fantasy stories
56
Fire-Us Trilogy Book 1 The Kindlingby Jennifer
Armstrong (F ARM)

• In 2007, a small band of children have joined
  together in a Florida town, trying to survive in
  a world where it seems that all the adults have
  been killed off by a catastrophic virus.
• Return to categories list

57
Everworld 1 Search for Sennaby K.A. Applegate
(F APP)

• David and his friends are transported to a
  fantastic world where they search for their
  friend Senna, who has been mysteriously plucked
  from their midst.
• Return to categories list

58
Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements (F CLE)

• When fifteen-year-old Bobby wakes up and finds
  himself invisible, he and his parents and his new
  blind friend Alicia try to find out what caused
  his condition and how to reverse it.
• Return to categories list

59
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer(F COL)

• Artemis Fowl is a genius, a criminal mastermind,
  a millionaire, and he is only twelve years old.
  Yet as crafty as he is, Arteis may have met his
  match in Captain Holly Short, an elf from the
  LEPrecon Special Forces, when he plots to steal
  the richest treasure the world has every
  known-the timeless treasure of the fairies!
• Return to categories list

60
Stories about Teen Parents
61
Annies Babyby Anonymous (F ANO)

• A diary of a pregnant teenager. Devasted and
  alone, with no one she can talk to, Annie pours
  her heart out to her diary, confiding her
  feelings of panic, and self-doubt.

62
The First Part Lastby Angela Johnson (F JOH)

• Bobby's carefree teenage life changes forever
  when he becomes a father and must care for his
  adored baby daughter.
• Return to categories list

63
Sports Stories
64
Burnout by Ben Bo (F BO)

• Max's one passion is skateboarding until he
  meets the homeless teen Luka. Suddenly, he must
  reevaluate his priorities.
• Return to categories list

65
Redhanded by Michael Cadnum

• Since he cannot depend on his father, Stephen
  feels as though his only chance to make it to the
  big boxing tournament is to go along with the
  dangerous plan of a local tough guy to whom he
  has introduced by a thrill-seeking friend.
• Return to categories list

66
Crash by Jerry Spinelli (F SPI)

• Seventh-grader John "Crash" Coogan has always
  been comfortable with his tough, aggressive
  behavior, until his relationship with an unusual
  Quaker boy and his grandfather's stroke make him
  consider the meaning of friendship and the
  importance of family.
• Return to categories list

67
Shots on Goal by Rich Wallace (F WAL)

• While pursuing his goal of helping his soccer
  team win the championship in the district
  playoffs, fifteen-year-old Bones tries to deal
  with his resentment of his best friend, on whose
  girlfriend he has a crush.
• Return to categories list

68
Wrestling Sturbridgeby Rich Wallace (F WAL)

• 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.
• Return to categories list

69
Adventure Stories
70
The Wandererby Sharon Creech (F CRE)

• Sophie and her cousin Cody record their
  transatlantic crossing aboard the Wanderer, a
  forty-five foot sailboat, which, along with
  uncles and another cousin, is en route to visit
  their grandfather in England.
• Return to categories list

71
Storm Warriorsby Elisa Carbone

• In 1895, after his mother's death,
  twelve-year-old Nathan moves with his father and
  grandfather to Pea Island off the coast of North
  Carolina, where he hopes to join the all-black
  crew at the nearby lifesaving station, despite
  his father's objections.
• Return to categories list

72
Refuge Coveby Lesley Choyce (F CHO)

• Greg, having just moved to Deep Cove with his
  mother following the sudden death of his dad,
  finds friends and a new purpose in life when he
  rescues a family of refugees who have come to
  Canada from Asia.
• Return to categories list

73
Tough Trailsby Irene Morck (F MOR)

• Ambrose buys an old, infirm horse to work in the
  mountains of Alberta. When a storm comes, the
  horse leads a young boy to safety.
• Return to categories list

74
Lucy the Giantby Sherri L. Smith (F SMI)

• Fifteen-year-old Lucy, the largest girl in her
  school, leaves her small Alaska town and her
  alcoholic father and discovers hardship--and
  friendship--posing as an adult aboard a
  commercial fishing boat.
• Return to categories list

75
No Problem by Dayle Campbell Gaetz (F GAE)

• Curt, a teen blessed with friends, a summer job,
  and a promising future in baseball, puts
  everything at risk when he begins experimenting
  with drugs.
• Return to categories list

76
Bull Riderby Marilyn Halvorson (F HAL)

• Sixteen-year-old Layne faces a dangerous
  challenge when he defies his mother and enters
  himself in a bull riding contest--the same rodeo
  event in which his father was killed.
• Return to categories list