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Updated December 2008

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss's skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister's place.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins - By winning the annual Hunger Games, District 12 tributes Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark have secured a life of safety and plenty for themselves and their families, but because they won by defying the rules, they unwittingly become the faces of an impending rebellion.

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer - When a meteor hits the moon, Miranda must learn to survive the unimaginable. Told in journal entries, this is the heart-pounding story of Miranda's struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all--hope--in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar world.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman - In a society where unwanted teens are salvaged for their body parts, three runaways fight the system that would "unwind" them. Connor's parents want to be rid of him because he's a troublemaker. Risa has no parents and is being unwound to cut orphanage costs. Lev's unwinding has been planned since his birth, as part of his family's strict religion. Brought together by chance, and kept together by desperation, these three unlikely companions make a harrowing cross-country journey, knowing their lives hang in the balance. If they can survive until theireighteenth birthday, they can't be harmed -- but when every piece of them, from their hands to their hearts, are wanted by a world gone mad, eighteen seems far, far away. In Unwind, Boston Globe/Horn Book Award winner Neal Shusterman challenges readers' ideas about life -- not just where life begins, and where it ends, but what it truly means to be alive.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart - Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14: Debate Club. Her father's "bunny rabbit." A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school. Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15: A knockout figure. A sharp tongue. A chip on her shoulder. And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston. Frankie Landau-Banks. No longer the kind of girl to take "no" for an answer. Especially when "no" means she's excluded from her boyfriend's all-male secret society. Not when her ex-boyfriend shows up in the strangest of places. Not when she knows she's smarter than any of them. When she knows Matthew's lying to her. And when there are so many, many pranks to be done. Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16: Possibly a criminal mastermind. This is the story of how she got that way.

Alt Ed by Catherine Atkins - Atkins paints a gripping portrait of an overweight teenage girl who's coming to terms with her father's estrangement, her brother's hostility, and the slow torture she's received at the hands of her classmates.

Shattering Glass by Gail Giles - When Rob, the charismatic leader of the senior class, decides to turn the class nerd into Prince Charming, his cruel challenge leads to violence and death.

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler - Sophomore Virginia Shreves lives in Manhattan and attends a prestigious private school. She lives by her Fat Girl Code of Conduct. She has a budding romance with Froggy the Fourth, but she doesn't want his wandering hands to feel her fat. Her baggy clothing helps her to "hide." Her mother, Dr. Phyllis Shreves, is an adolescent psychologist obsessed with her imperfect daughter's weight, and her father is rarely around. Her older sister joined the Peace Corps to escape mom, and brother Byron is big man on the Columbia campus-until he's suspended for date rape. Finally, Virginia stands up to her mother and takes charge of her life.

Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer - After moving to Wisconsin to run a diner with her aunt, 16-year-old Hope finds herself involved in the small town's mayoral race, where the G.T., owner of the diner, enters the race against the undefeated longtime mayor. G.T. has leukemia, but Hope sees the goodness and power in him.

America by E.R. Frank - At age 15, a boy named America has spent years lost in the system. Dr. B., a psychiatrist at Ridgeway Hospital, nudges America's life story from him. Dr. B. learns America was abandoned twice by his mother, about his bad brothers, and others in his life who care more than America does whether he lives or dies.

Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman - Vince Luca is just like any other high school guy. There is just one thing that really sets him apart--his father is the head of a powerful crime organization. When Vince meets a girl, her family turns out to be the biggest problem of all--because her father is an FBI agent.

Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher - A high school bus provides surprising sanctuary for seven unlikely swim teammates who are, in the words of their coach, "A perennial road team. Mermen without a pond". These invisible kids resonate because of how the author sees them, believes in them, and lets them speak.

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher - Because of their "terminal uglies", Eric, who is overweight, and Sarah, who was badly burned as a young child, become fast friends. Then Sarah learns the truth of her accident, and Eric has to help her find a way through the pain.

Gospel According to Larry by Janet Tashjian - When teenager Josh Swensen sees consumerism and waste in America, he tries to do something about it with his controversial start-up Web site. When Josh rises to messiah status, he's trapped inside his own creation. Josh feels his only way out is to stage his death and be free of his Internet alter ego, "Larry." This plan comes with danger, and soon Josh finds himself cut off from the world.

Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas - Steve York, 18, must write a 100-page paper to make up the credit for a failed English class. He chooses to document his sophomore and junior years, revealing how the gifted National Merit Scholar son of an over-achieving father has become an alienated drug user. As Steve produces an increasingly personal--and hysterically funny--tale of first love and betrayal, he re-examines his notions of truth, friendship, family relationships and love.

Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix - Fifteen-year-old Ella finds Prince Charming's proposal ensnares her in a suffocating tangle of palace rules and royal etiquette. So she plots to escape in a retelling of Cinderella's story.

King of the Mild Frontier by Chris Crutcher - Do you know: A good reason to be phobic about oysters and olives? That you can step inside a roaring coal furnace and feel cool? That Jesus had an older brother? How shutting your mouth can help you avoid brain surgery? How to avoid cow-pies during your baptism? How to survive in the winter wilderness with only a fishing pole and a sausage? Chris Crutcher knows the answers to these things and more. And once you have read about Chris Crutcher's life as a dateless, broken-toothed, scabbed-over, God-fearing dweeb, and once you have contemplated his ascension to the buckskin-upholstered throne of the King of the Mild Frontier, you will close this book, close your eyes and hold it to your chest, and say, "I, too, can be an author."

Geography Club by Brent Hartinger - Hartinger's debut novel is a fast-paced and funny portrait of contemporary teenagers who may not learn any actual geography in their latest club, but who learn plenty about the treacherous social terrain of a typical American high school.

All-American Girl by Meg Cabot - From the author of the bestselling Princess Diaries books comes a brand-new tale of teenage mayhem. Samantha Madison is just your average gal when she's appointed teen ambassador to the United Nations and catches the eye of the first son.

My Heartbeat by Garret Freymann Weyr - A fast, furious story in which a quirky personal triangle learns to change its shape and a girl learns the limits of what she can never know about whom she loves.

~Young Adult Librarian ~
Kristin Pekoll
kpekoll@west-bendlibrary.org
262.335.5151 x5235

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