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Young Adult

The Light in the Forest

The Light in the Forest

By Conrad Richter 192 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

I remember reading this book when I was a teenager. It is super-short, and I figured it would strike a chord with today’s teenage fans of Avatar.
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How I Live Now

How I Live Now

By Meg Rosoff 194 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

Grabbed a copy when I read praise on the cover from Mark Haddon (author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time). This is a MUST READ. One of the best young adult novels I have read in years, as it manages to cast a self-centered teen (redundant?) in dire circumstances (a 21st century World War), and the protagonist actually learns empathy – something more adolescents could use. Middle school students cannot stop talking about this one.
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The Boy Who Couldn't Die

The Boy Who Couldn't Die

By William Sleator 184 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

When I come across teens who don’t like to read, one of my favorite authors to direct them to is William Sleator. While Sleator writes a lot of great sci-fi, this “horror” book is a great way to peak teens’ interest in reading. Fast-paced, with plenty of clever twists and turns.
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You Know Where to Find Me

You Know Where to Find Me

By Rachel Cohn 224 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

A tale of two drastically different cousins. When one commits suicide, the other spirals down the same path until her family intervenes. I found the book to be pleasantly uplifting in an overcrowded market of morose tales of teen angst.
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Fly on the Wall: How One Girl Saw Everything

Fly on the Wall: How One Girl Saw Everything

By E. Lockhart 182 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

The perfect book for teachers to complement Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis. Lockhart’s female protagonist turns into a fly on the wall of the boy’s locker room, and hilarity and introspection ensue.
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The Case of the Purloined Professor

The Case of the Purloined Professor

By Judy Cox 256 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

I am making it my mission to get students to read Judy Cox. This is her second story about two rat brothers who live in a cage in Ms. Dove’s fifth-grade classroom who, once in a while, escape for an adventure around the globe. Make sure to check out its predecessor, The Mystery of the Burmese Bandicoot (see July 2008 review).
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Blackbriar

Blackbriar

By William Sleator 224 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

I’ve been on a William Sleator kick lately. I hear all of these teens talking about their favorite scary authors, and I challenge them to read Sleator. That man knows how to tell a terrifying tale.
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Keep Sweet

Keep Sweet

By Michele Dominguez Greene 224 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

An eerie tale of a teen’s life in a polygamist community. Sort of a cross between Under the Banner of Heaven, The Chosen One and Big Love. Great book for sparking lively classroom discussions.
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The Krybosian Stairpath

The Krybosian Stairpath

By S. R. R. Colvin 204 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

Middle-school science teachers will especially appreciate this book about an 11-year-old girl whose family lives in an extraordinary underground house. Great way to excite students about geology. Fantasy that is scientifically-based!
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Flipped

Flipped

By Wendelin Van Draanen 256 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

Van Draanen is renowned for her wonderful mysteries (check out her Sammy Keyes series), and I was thrilled to read this departure that proves to me she is one of the great young adult authors of our time. A great book for class discussions, as the boy/girl teen voices make for a wonderful battle of the sexes. 
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Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall

Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall

By Wendy Mass 256 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

Great book! We need more books for teens that emulate this tone, a sort of It’s a Wonderful Life-like tale for teens. Mass accomplishes what great authors aim for: she makes you laugh, cry and think.
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Paranoid Park

Paranoid Park

By Blake Nelson 192 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

How do you deal with a horrible secret? Write about it. That’s the advice the “girl next door” gives a troubled sophomore skateboarder. Nelson has a command of teen-speak that appeals to middle- and high-school readers.
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The Juvie Three

The Juvie Three

By Gordon Korman 256 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

If you’ve never read a Gordon Korman book, do yourself a favor and grab a copy of this book. Korman has a way of writing that teens find engrossing during read alouds. The absurdity of his tales leave students eager to hear what will happen next (that is why so many students opt to check-out copies of his books themselves rather than wait for teachers to finish the read aloud…this book is no different).
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The Schwa was Here

The Schwa was Here

By Neal Shusterman 240 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

I confess that I picked this book from the shelves because I thought it was a grammar book and wound up treated to a book that teen boys love. Great characters come together in a money-making scheme gone awry. Funny and touching at the same time.
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Don't You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey

Don't You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey

By Margaret Peterson Haddix 128 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

Margaret Peterson Haddix is one of the most popular young adult authors in America, and the reason is because of her mastery to create realistic teen characters in realistic situations in much the way that filmmaker John Hughes managed to capture teen dilemmas during the 1980s. I use this book to inspire middle schoolers to write, especially as I have taught girls like Tish Bonner who sit in the back of the class and think they are too good for school.
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