Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian / Alexie, Sherman
Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.
Book of a Thousand Days / Hale, Shannon
Fifteen-year-old Dashti, sworn to obey her sixteen-year-old mistress, the Lady Saren, shares Saren's years of punishment locked in a tower, then brings her safely to the lands of her true love, where both must hide who they are as they work as kitchen maids.
Boy in the Striped Pajamas, The / Boyne, John
Bored and lonely after his family moves from Berlin to a place called "Out-With" in 1942, Bruno, the son of a Nazi officer, befriends a boy in striped pajamas who lives behind a wire fence.
Chinese Cinderella: the true story of an unwanted daughter / Mah, Adeline Yen
Yen Mah is only an infant when her father remarries after her mother’s death. As the youngest of her five siblings, Wu Mei suffers the worst at the hands of her stepmother Niang.
Chocolate War, The / Cormier, Robert
Jerry Renault is forced into a psychological showdown with Trinity School's gang leader, Archie Costello, for refusing to be bullied into selling chocolates for the annual fundraising.
City of Bones: the mortal instruments / Clare, Cassandra
Suddenly able to see demons and the Darkhunters who are dedicated to returning them to their own dimension, fifteen-year-old Clary Fray is drawn into this bizarre world when her mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a monster.
Daughter of War / Skrypuch, Marsha Forchuk
Teenagers Kevork and his betrothed Marta are the lucky ones. They have managed so far to survive the Armenian genocide in Turkey, and both are disguised as Muslims. But Marta is still in Turkey, pregnant with another man's child. And Kevork is living as an Arab in Syria.
Deadline / Crutcher, Chris
Given the medical diagnosis of one year to live, high school senior Ben Wolf decides to fulfill his greatest fantasies, ponders his life's purpose and legacy, and converses through dreams with a spiritual guide known as "Hey-Soos."
Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, The / Lockhart, E.
A nottie-turned-hottie, Alabaster Prep sophomore Frances "Frankie" Landau-Banks discovers that her handsome, popular boyfriend Matthew belongs to an all-male secret society -- the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds. Frankie assumes a fake online identity in order to become a member and secretly initiates a series of mischievous deeds to gain their approval.
Double Helix / Werlin, Nancy
Eighteen-year-old Eli discovers a shocking secret about his life and his family while working for a Nobel Prize-winning scientist whose specialty is genetic engineering.
Eragon / Paolini, Christopher
In Aagaesia, a fifteen-year-old boy of unknown lineage called Eragon finds a mysterious stone that weaves his life into an intricate tapestry of destiny, magic, and power, peopled with dragons, elves, and monsters.
Graceling / Cashore, Kristin
In a world where some people are born with extreme and often-feared skills called Graces, Katsa struggles for redemption from her own horrifying Grace, the Grace of killing, and teams up with another young fighter to save their land from a corrupt king.
Heat / Lupica, Mike
Pitching prodigy Michael Arroyo is on the run from social services after being banned from playing Little League baseball because rival coaches doubt he is only twelve years old and he has no parents to offer them proof.
Hunger Games, The / Collins, Suzanne
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.
If I Stay / Forman, Gayle
While in a coma following an automobile accident that killed her parents and younger brother, seventeen-year-old Mia, a gifted cellist, weighs whether to live with her grief or join her family in death.
Into the Wild / Krakauer, Jon
Describes the story of Chris McCandless who gave away all his possessions and hiked into the Alaskan wilderness in 1992 to live off the land. His body was found four months later.
John Lennon: all I want is the truth / Partridge, Elizabeth
This telling photo-biographical account of John Lennon introduces the man behind the myth who sought truth through music.
Let Me Play: the story of Title IX, the law that changed the future of girls in America / Blumenthal, Karen
In 1972, Congress passed Title IX, a momentous law that changed opportunities for American women. Blumenthal introduces the historical events that led to the law.
Lock and Key / Dessen, Sarah
When she is abandoned by her alcoholic mother, high school senior Ruby winds up living with Cora, the sister she has not seen for ten years, and learns about Cora's new life, what makes a family, how to allow people to help her when she needs it, and that she too has something to offer others.
Long Way Gone: memoirs of a boy soldier / Beah, Ishmael
Ishmael Beah's memoir tells of his plight as a twelve-year-old soldier in Sierra Leone's civil war in the 1990s. Brought to a rehabilitation center sponsored by UNICEF at age fifteen, he becomes a spokesman for the center's work until the war ultimately forces him to flee to the United States two years later.
Maximum Ride: the angel experiment / Patterson, James
After the mutant Erasers abduct the youngest member of their group, the "birdkids," who are the result of genetic experimentation, take off in pursuit and find themselves struggling to understand their own origins and purpose.
Navajo Code Talkers / Aaseng, Nathan
Describes how the American military in World War II used a group of Navajo Indians to create an indecipherable code based on their native language.
Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie / Lubar, David
In a series of humorous diary entries, ninth-grader Scott offers a list of do’s and don’ts to his unborn sibling on surviving freshman year of high school.
Speak / Anderson, Laurie Halse
A traumatic event near the end of the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda's freshman year in high school.
Sunrise Over Fallujah / Myers, Walter Dean
Robin Perry, from Harlem, is sent to Iraq in 2003 as a member of the Civilian Affairs Battalion, and his time there profoundly changes him.
Uglies / Westerfeld, Scott
Tally can’t wait for her sixteenth birthday and the surgery that will transform her into a “Pretty,” because if everyone is beautiful, everything is perfect – right?