Recommended Reading for
Ages 13 and Up
Naught & Crosses
by Malorie Blackman
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
ISBN: 9781416900160
Ages 10-up
400 pages
Excited by the idea that her best friend, Callum McGregor, will be going to her school, 13-year-old Persephone Hadley, daughter of a racist politician, is too young and too privileged to realize that friendships between naughts, like Callum, the son of her mother's former maid, and Crosses, like herself, are impossible in her segregated society. In this alternate world, recognizably English but with a twist, conditions for the pale-skinned naughts have improved little since the days of slavery; the dark-skinned Crosses have the money and power. Caught up in the hostility surrounding the school's integration, Sephy attempts to be a public friend and makes things worse.
The Demon's Lexicon
By Brennan, Sarah Rees
Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing
ISBN: 9781416963790
Ages Young Adult
Pages 336
What if the bad-boy hunk in your class was actually a sword-wielding demon slayer? That’s the enticing scenario offered up in Brennan’s debut, and although the results are periodically workmanlike, they will satisfy the legions currently clamoring for this brand of dark fantasy. Nick (the aforementioned hunk) lives with his empty-shell mother and older brother Alan, but they’re constantly on the move as they hunt—and are hunted by—evil magicians and their conjured demons. Their brutal routine is interrupted by the arrival of two teen siblings in need of help, one of whom has been “marked” by a demon for certain death and the other of whom fosters a growing desire for one of the brothers. Though unique, the mythology has some holes and feels needlessly convoluted. That said, Brennan excels when she dwells upon her characters’ more human emotions (desire, loneliness, loyalty), and hits her stride in the final stretch, creating several scenes of unexpected horror and piling on some truly surprising twists. Stick with it, and you’ll be glad you did. Grades 9-12. --Daniel Kraus
The Orange Houses
By Paul Griffin
Penguin/ Dial Books
ISBN: 9780803733466
Age: Young Adult
Pages:160
Much like Rita Williams-Garcia’s Jumped (2009), this story follows three kids through the pressure cooker of inner-city teenage life as it moves toward its crushing conclusion. Whereas that book mined the minor humiliations and overblown dramas that swirl during a single school day, this has a much more diffuse scope. The three characters couldn’t be any more different: Tamika Sykes is a partially deaf student agonizing over whether she really wants to hear all the noise surrounding her; Fatima Espérer is a 16-year-old refugee who fled the violence and poverty of her unspecified African country to live in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty; and depending on who you ask, Jimmy Sixes, already a disturbed veteran at age 18, is either a street poet or a junkie. The three form an unusual friendship, connecting both artistically and emotionally. All this is set in a city that has become a powder keg of anti-immigration sentiment (thanks to a recently passed law that rewards citizens for reporting illegals) and is perilously close to the ever-present spark of gang violence. Griffin clearly knows teens, especially the way they speak. In another writer’s hands, this story of three outcasts might have turned into a sentimental mess, but he keeps the depth of emotion honest as his characters battle alienation and find strength in sacrifice. Although readers will be prepared for an unnerving journey from the opening scene, they will nevertheless be floored by some of the turns in this swift, tense, and powerful book.
The Great Wide Sea
By Herlong, M.H.
Penguin/Viking
ISBN: 9780670063307
Age: Young Adult
Pages: 288
Soon after their mother’s death, 15-year-old Ben and his two younger brothers are stunned when their father sells their home, buys a sailboat, and announces that they will live on board and cruise the Bahamas for the next year. Wrenched from everything he knows and forced to obey his father-captain’s orders, Ben starts out angry and finds no escape. As he says, “We were always together.” When their father sets a course for Bermuda and disappears overboard one night, the boys have little time to wonder if he jumped or fell before they’re struggling to stay afloat in a fierce Atlantic storm. Lost at sea in a damaged boat, they find their way to an island where they are stranded with little food, little water, and little hope of rescue. Herlong’s first book is a great survival story and a fine portrayal of family relationships in a time of crisis. Justifiably angry, yet logical, reflective, and at times compassionate, Ben makes a sympathetic protagonist, and his brothers are no less appealing.
As Easy As Falling Off the Face of the Earth
By Lynn Rae Perkins
Greenwillow Books
ISBN: 9780061870903
Age: Young Adult
Pages 368
This is a story of one misfortune after another. As the book opens, Ry, a 16-year-old Wisconsin resident en route to camp, is left behind in Middle-of-Nowhere, MT, as his stalled train pulls out and he recounts the events that led him to leave the train in the first place. Bad goes to worse: he loses a shoe and his phone charger, his grandfather back home is injured, and his parents are having their own misadventures in the Caribbean. A superhero of a fix-it guy named Del helps Ry to put his life back together. Along the way, readers learn that there is more to Del than initially meets the eye. The story is told in a traditional, episodic style, bouncing from one calamity to the next. The narration occasionally switches perspective to include the grandfather's tale of woe as well as well-drawn graphic-style portrayals of the family dogs' mishaps. The style is reminiscent of Chris Crutcher's, and the action is evocative of Gary Paulsen, but the freewheeling prose, quirky humor, and subtle life lessons are all Perkins's own. This novel is not going to be every teen boy's cup of tea, but its charms are undeniable. Leah Krippner, Harlem High School, Machesney Park, IL
More wonderful book titles for Tweens, Teens and Young Adults
| Author | Title |
|---|---|
| Adams, Douglas | Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy (Series) |
| Anderson-Halse, Laurie | Prom |
| Alexis, Sherman | The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian |
| Anderson, M.T. | Feed, Thirsty |
| Anderson, M.T. | The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing |
| Anderson, M. T | Traitor of the Nation |
| Asher, Jay | Thirteen Reason Why |
| Bacigalupi, Palo | The Windup Girl |
| Bacigalupi, Palo | Ship Breaker |
| Benoit, Charles | You |
| Berk, Josh | The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin |
| Black, Holly | Tithe |
| Black, Holly | White Cat |
| Bradbury, Ray | Fahrenheit 451 |
| Carter, Ally | Heist Society |
| Cast P.C. and Kristin | House of Night (Series) |
| Coelho, Paulo | The Alchemist |
| Cohn, Rachel | Gingerbread |
| Cohn, Rachel | Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist |
| Conrad, Lauren | Sugar and Spice |
| Conrad, Lauren | Sweet Little Lies |
| Cushman, Karen | Catherine, Called Birdy |
| Cushman, Karen | The Midwife’s Apprentice |
| Dashner, James | Maze Runner (Series) |
| Dessen, Sarah | Dreamland |
| Dessen, Sarah | Along for the Ride |
| Dessen, Sarah | Someone Like You |
| Deuker, Carl | Payback Time |
| Deuker, Carl | Heart of a Champion |
| Deuker, Carl | Gym Candy |
| Deuker, Carl | Night Hoops |
| Farmer, Nancy | House of the Scorpion |
| Farmer, Nancy | The Ear, The Eye and The Arm |
| Gaiman, Neil | Neverwhere |
| Gaiman, Neil | Anansi Boy |
| Gaiman, Neil | The Graveyard Book |
| Gaiman, Neil | The Sandman |
| Gaiman, Neil | Coraline |
| Giles, Gail | Right Behind You |
| Giles, Gail | Shattering Glass |
| Giles, Gail | What Happen to Cass McBride |
| Going, K.L. | Fat Kids Rule The World |
| Green, John | An Abundance of Katherine’s |
| Hartinger, Brent | The Last Chance Texaco |
| Hautman, Pete | Godless |
| Hautman, Pete | Invisible |
| Hautman, Pete | How to Steal A Car |
| Hinton, S.E. | The Outsiders: That Was Then, This is Now |
| Holder, Nancy | Pretty Little Devils |
| Jinks, Catherine | Evil Genius |
| Jinks, Catherine | Genius Squad |
| Jinks, Catherine | The Genius Wars |
| Kidd, Sue M. | The Secret Life of Bees |
| Kent, Kathleen | The Wolves of Andover |
| Kent, Kathleen | The Heretic’s Daughter |
| Larson, Kirby | Hattie Big Sky |
| Lenhard, Elizabeth | It’s A Purl Thing: Chicks with Sticks |
| London, Jack | White Fang |
| London, Jack | Call of the Wild |
| Lynch, Chris | Inexcusable |
| Lynch, Chris | Hothouse |
| Myers, Walter Dean | Bad Boy |
| Myers, Walter Dean | Monster |
| Myers, Walter Dean | Slam |
| Myers, Walter Dean | Fallen Angels |
| Myers, Walter Dean | Lockdown |
| Myracle, Lauren | The Fashion Disaster, That Changed My Life |
| Oliver, Lauren | Before I Fall |
| Oliver, Lauren | Delirium |
| Pearson, Mary | Scribbler of Dreams |
| Pearson, Mary | The Adoration of Jenna Fox |
| Reeve, Phillip | Mortal Engines (Series) |
| Reeve, Phillip | Here Lies Arthur |
| Reeve, Phillip | Fever Crumb |
| Rodriguez-Valdes, Alisa | Haters |
| Rossoff, Meg | How I Live Now |
| Rossoff, Meg | The Bride’s Farewell |
| Shusterman, Neal | Unwind |
| Shusterman, Neal | The Schwa Was Here |
| Shusterman, Neal | Everlost |
| Shusterman, Neal | Bruiser |
| Sonnenblick, Jordon | Drums |
| Sonnenblick, Jordon | Girls, and Dangerous Pie |
| Sonnenblick, Jordon | After Ever After |
| Vizzini, Ned | Be More Chill |
| Zindel, Lizabeth | Girl of the Moment |
| Books For The More Advance Teen Reader | |
| Adam, Lorraine | Harbor |
| Adiga, Aravand | White Tigers |
| Allende, Isabel | Zorro |
| Benioff, David | City of Thieves |
| Brooks, Geraldine | Year of Wonders, People of the Book |
| Burroughs, Augusten | Running with Scissors |
| Butcher, Jim | Dresden Files Series |
| Crichton, Michael | Jurassic Park |
| Crichton, Michael | Timeline |
| Dimante, Anita | The Red Tent |
| Duey, Kathleen | Skin Hunger |
| Duey, Kathleen | Sacred Stars |
| Eng, Tan Twan | The Gift of Rain |
| Fitzpatrick, Becca | Hush, Hush |
| Golding, William | Lord of the Flies |
| Gregory, Phillipa | The Other Boleyn Girl |
| Kate, Lauren | Fallen Series |
| King, Stephen | Dark Towers (Series) |
| Krakauer, Jon | Into Thin Air |
| Krakauer, Jon | Into the Wild |
| Krakauer, Jon | Where Men Win Glory |
| Murakami, Takashi | Cloud of Sparrows |
| Murakami, Takashi | Autumn Bridges |
| Nix, Garth | The Abhorsen Trilogy |
| Picoult, Jodi | My Sisters Keeper |
| Picoult, Jodi | Nineteen Mintues |
| Pratchett, Terry | Nation |
| Pressfield, Steven | Gate of Fire |
| Rice, Ann | Interview with the Vampire |
| Ruff, Matt | Bad Monkey |
| Sebold, Alice | Lovely Bones |
| Smith, Wilbur | River God; A Novel of Ancient Egypt |
| Smith, Wilbur | Birds of Prey |
| Steinbeck, John | Of Mice of Men |
| Steinbeck, John | Grapes of Wrath |
| Steinbeck, John | Pearl |
| Verghese, Abraham | Cutting for Stone |
| Vizzini, Ned | It’s Kind of funny Story |
| Voorhees, Curt | The Brothers Torres |
| Waldman, Ayelet | Daughter’s Keeper |
| Walls, Jeannette | The Glass Castle |
| Larson, Eric | Thunderstruck |