logo

Young Adult

Making Up Megaboy

Making Up Megaboy

By Virginia Walter 64 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

I am a huge fan of the great Japanese film director Akira Kirosawa, and one of Kurosawa’s most provocative films is Rashomon, the story of a woman’s rape told from different perspectives. Walter attempts to do the same in this book by telling the story of a teenager who kills an elderly store owner, as told through 18 different first-person perspectives. I have heard many teachers gripe that the book offers no definite resolution, but that is precisely one of the things I like about the book. It makes for intense book discussions. 
Buy on Amazon
Something Like An Autobiography

Something Like An Autobiography

By Akira Kurosawa 205 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

Alright, the Megaboy book got me thinking about Kurosawa, so of course I wound up re-watching some of my favorite Kurosawa films (The Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Ran, The Hidden Fortress). If you have never heard of Kurosawa, just know that George Lucas and Steven Spielberg idolized him, and his movies inspired all sorts of American adaptations (e.g. The Magnificent Seven, High Plains Drifter, Star Wars). Because of Kurosawa, I have managed to get a lot of middle and high school students interested in foreign films and Joseph Campbell. This brief autobiography is great and should whet your appetite for the much longer The Emperor and the Wolf (about Kurosawa and his turbulent relationship with his favorite star, Toshiro Mifune).
Buy on Amazon
Kissing Tennessee

Kissing Tennessee

By Kathi Appelt 132 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

Appelt’s collection of short stories revolving around a middle school dance makes for a great book discussion among middle schoolers, especially girls. Appelt captures the voice of teen girls as well as any current young adult author. I have even shared this with grown-ups who were moved by the writing.
Buy on Amazon
Hot Scots, Castles, and Kilts

Hot Scots, Castles, and Kilts

By Tammy Swoish 208 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

Sixteen-year-old Sami has a lot to deal with when she moves with her mother to Scotland to turn a struggling family farm into a “tourist farm.” While her cousins want to tell her what a magical country Scotland is, Sami feels like a peasant without electricity. A group of eighth-grade girls I have been reading with likes this book because: (a) it is written like a diary; (b) there’s a ghost; and (c) it has a hot guy. 
Buy on Amazon
Rowing To The Rescue

Rowing To The Rescue

By Doris Licameli 80 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

There are several things I like about this little book. First of all, my mother is a lighthouse fanatic, and I can see how this book would be great for any parent or teacher to read with children before or after a lighthouse visit. More importantly, I love books that feature teenage-girl protagonists who rock, and 15-year-old Ida Lewis is such a character (and she is a real-life heroine who lived in 19th century Rhode Island). A delightful quick read.
Buy on Amazon
It's All About Me: Personality Quizzes for You and Your Friends

It's All About Me: Personality Quizzes for You and Your Friends

70 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

I honestly have no idea how I have overlooked putting this book on a prior edition of the Lazy Readers’ Book Club, as this was my favorite book of 2006. If you are a teacher, you HAVE to buy this book. This book is applicable for all ages, but teenagers love it the most. It is filled with funny personality quizzes that delight students. Parents and teens: BUY THIS BOOK. Great fun! I’d also like to plug the publisher, Klutz, which publishes a lot of high-quality books.
Buy on Amazon
How They Met and Other Stories

How They Met and Other Stories

By David Levithan 256 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

David Levithan is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors. As it is February, I realized I had to include at least one book for Valentine’s Day. This collection of 18 delightful stories about love written from different perspectives (first, second and third person) chronicles love in all its forms, and I would recommend this book not just for teens but for their parents, as well.
Buy on Amazon
Garfield Large & in Charge

Garfield Large & in Charge

By Jim Davis 96 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

Davis is always funny, and the reason I include this book recommendation is to bring more attention to his website, www.professorgarfield.org. This is one of my favorite websites to teach students how to write, as its free comic strip creator is a terrific way to allow students to create their own Garfield comic strips to teach sequence of events, review concepts learned each day, etc. Any K-8 teacher needs to check out this site.
Buy on Amazon
The Arrival

The Arrival

By Shaun Tan 128 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

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.
Buy on Amazon
The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

By Stephen Chbosky 224 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

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.
Buy on Amazon
Define

Define "Normal"

By Julie Anne Peters 196 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

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. 
Buy on Amazon
Before Midnight

Before Midnight

By Cameron Dokey 208 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

Part of Dokey’s wonderful Once Upon a Time series, this different take on Cinderella helps explain why the stepmother did not like Cinderella and what Cinderella’s father was thinking leaving her in her stepmother’s care. I have enjoyed every retelling in the series, from Dokey’s take on Rapunzel to her re-examination of “Sleeping Beauty” Princess Aurore.
Buy on Amazon
Football Hero

Football Hero

By Tim Green 320 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

Here’s a good football book for boys about a 12-year-old with the uncanny ability to predict another team’s plays. Anyone who enjoys rooting for the underdog will enjoy this book, written by former NFL defensive end Tim Green.
Buy on Amazon
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

By Lewis Carroll 70 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

Sterling publishers have a wonderful series of unabridged classics that I think everybody should be made aware of, as the series includes books ranging from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Gulliver’s Travels to Frankenstein and The Wind in the Willows. As a dedicated lazy reader myself, I found these books to be especially enjoyable as an adult (when I willingly chose to read them rather than had them mandated to me by a teacher).
Buy on Amazon
Drita, My Homegirl

Drita, My Homegirl

By Jenny Lombard 144 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

Absolutely marvelous book about two unlikely friends, an Albanian refugee and a precocious African-American fourth grader. Written in first person in alternating chapters from both girls’ perspectives, I could not put this book down. I highly recommend you check it out.
Buy on Amazon

Explore

Act

About

Connect With Us

Join Now