Young Adult

Wonderful thriller that teachers can use to teach students how to write from different points of view. Is Rex Jenson the kind and gracious father that the neighborhood thinks him to be? Hartnett creates tension throughout that will leave teens turning pages to find out what happens next.

Disturbing memoir that all teens who like to complain about their parents should read. They think they had bad parents? Read about what Fox had to endure!

Subtitled “Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World,” Goff’s whimsical life stands as a testament to all of us how we can make each day into our own personal masterpiece. And I think we need to read a lot more books about loving one another, especially in today’s often unkind society.

Tense page-turner that gets better the more you read about a family’s survival in an underground bunker to save them from a nuclear attack. This one makes for some great classroom discussions.

Teens especially appreciate Sonnenblick’s quick, witty dialogue. His books always make for fun reading.

If you are an Olympic junkie like me, you'll love the interviews with these 100 Olympians as they reflect on what it took for them to succeed.

This is a MUST BUY for all middle school teachers. I think it is one of the best books I have read for young adults in years. A wordless picture book that captures the immigrant experience and speaks loudly to my English language learners, this book can be used to stimulate amazing class discussions. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

This was one of my favorite books as a kid. I always liked the idea that there are little people living in our floorboards recycling our matchboxes for storage units and stamps for paintings. This is a classic and sure to interest any child.

Chbosky knows teenagers, and this book does a decent job of addressing the issues so many 11th graders face. I recommend this book to parents of teens, as I hope it will make more parents empathetic with the trials and tribulations of today’s adolescents.

I think every middle school teacher should be forced to read this book, so they can keep it in mind when dealing with their students. Extremely well-written, the book paints the life lessons of Palmer as he tried to emulate others before discovering that he was unlike anyone else. Every child needs to understand that s/he is unique and important to the world. This is a WONDERFUL book.

The story of two opposites discovering they are not so different after all is nothing new. Still, many teenage girls I read with connect to 15-year-olds Antonia and Jazz. I think Peters does a good job of capturing the way teens communicate.

Van Draanen is renowned for her wonderful mysteries (check out her Sammy Keyes series), and I was thrilled to read this departure that proves to me she is one of the great young adult authors of our time. A great book for class discussions, as the boy/girl teen voices make for a wonderful battle of the sexes.

I have become fascinated with anything associated with Jackie Robinson, and I am so pleased to have come across this book. It is a funny and moving story about an immigrant girl from China who moves to Brooklyn in 1947 and manages to fit in when she realizes that if a black man and the grandson of a slave can make it in America, everyone has an opportunity to succeed. I love this book, and it won a ton of awards when it was published in the mid-1980s.

Great book! We need more books for teens that emulate this tone, a sort of It’s a Wonderful Life-like tale for teens. Mass accomplishes what great authors aim for: she makes you laugh, cry and think.

How do you deal with a horrible secret? Write about it. That’s the advice the “girl next door” gives a troubled sophomore skateboarder. Nelson has a command of teen-speak that appeals to middle- and high-school readers.