Young Adult

Acne is calamitous for just about every teenager, but for Olivia – an actress – it can spell the end of her career. Howse does a great job of addressing a number of teen issues without belittling them or judging them. Your girls, especially, will flock to this one.

I love it when students bring me their own book recommendations, and I wind up loving their book picks. Your teenage boys, especially, will immerse themselves in this look into the Army’s elite counterterrorism unit, authored by a career Army man who retired as a command sergeant major. I flew through this book, and it reminded me how grateful I am for our armed services.

Incredibly powerful memoir about bullying. Every secondary school in America should own multiple copies of this book and encourage book talks on it.

This is a book that any child with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or parent of an ADD child would appreciate.

What can I say? Some authors always seem to impress me, and I cannot resist recommending their books. Gary Paulsen is the perfect author to attract reluctant teenage boys to reading. His latest tale features a sly young entrepreneur who ascends from mowing lawns to hiring his own force of migrant workers to help him as he accumulates a net worth of over half a million bucks. Show me a boy who does not like to read, and I will direct you to this book.

Got a teenage girl who enjoyed the Twilight series? Hand her a copy of this.

Thank you, CreateSpace, for making publishing available to anyone. There are so many great writers lurking out there, and I was delighted by Annunziato’s engrossing debut, written during his daily commute to work (much like Scott Turow did with Presumed Innocent).

Children are disappearing but no one is talking about it. What evil is taking root in this small Canadian town? This one will keep you on your toes.

I must admit that I chose to read this book because I liked the cover art (I have an older edition; the newer edition's cover is a lot plainer and less interesting to me), and I was startled to discover an author I truly admire. I can usually spot when an author used to be a teacher because s/he writes characters so well, and that is what you will be treated to when you read this wonderful book about a stud-turned stoner who needs to reflect on his own experiences to determine “what went wrong.” I intend to use this book with middle-school boys seeking answers.

It is about time I recommended a book by Will Hobbs, who just happened to be my seventh-grade reading teacher. He is one of the bestselling young adult authors in America, and I'd recommend any of his books (although this is one of the shortest). This book chronicles 16-year-old Jason Hawthorn's great race across Alaska. Thank you, Mr. Hobbs, for being one of the first teachers to interest me in reading!

Take your pick of any of Matt Christopher’s compelling biographies, which feature some of the biggest figures in sports (e.g. Tiger Woods, Jennifer Capriati and Lance Armstrong). This is a great way to get sports junkies hooked on reading, as Christopher’s books are very easy and compelling to read. I became interested in him after reading his takes on two of my favorite athletes, John Elway and Terrell Davis (can you tell I am a Denver Bronco fan?)

I met Sharon at a teaching conference in Oregon, and I have been meaning to put a couple of her books on my lists ever since. What I like most about Draper’s books is her ability to deal with characters and situations that many of us who have taught in the inner city can relate to. We need a lot more authors like her writing about urban issues; then again, she is a tough act to follow.

Although this book is a sequel to Hurwitz’s popular Class Clown, I prefer this story. It does a great job of poking fun at the standardized-testing craze.

The movie version hits theaters this month, and I will let you decide which is better. One of the ways I get teenagers reading is to offer them books with movie versions, as 95% of the time the movie cannot hold a candle to the book (some exceptions of great books turned into great movies: To Kill a Mockingbird, The Godfather and The Silence of the Lambs). If you enjoyed The Princess Bride by William Goldman (and who on Earth could not love that story, which is a terrific example of a great book and wonderful movie), I have a feeling you will enjoy this book, a perfect 250 pages (the paperback version; the hardcover version weighs in at 10 pages less).

Another wonderful treat from a first time author. The title caught my eye, and the story grabbed me immediately. My biggest complaint with so many young adult authors is that they fail to depict realistic characters or situations. The strength of this book is the friendship between an unlikely pair – a skinny punk rocker and a suicidal “fat kid.” A moving, honest story.