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Young Adult

Scott Pilgrim Color Hardcover Volume 1: Precious Little Life

Scott Pilgrim Color Hardcover Volume 1: Precious Little Life

By Bryan Lee O'Malley 192 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

I recently met Terry Thompson, an expert on graphic novels, and I could listen to him talk about graphic novels all day. As a result, I have whet my appetite with more graphic novels lately, and I started with this one because the movie version looked interesting (although I never saw it). This is the first in a series about some lovable slackers in extraordinary “manga” circumstances, and I found the storyline and artwork to be constantly engaging and entertaining.
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Human.4

Human.4

By Mike A. Lancaster 240 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

So you are trying to find a book for your teenage boy? Science Fiction is not everyone’s cup of tea, but this story seems to grab the boys (and girls) as a hypnotized teen wakes up to find he is obsolete. Suspenseful throughout.
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Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (10th Anniversary Edition) (Gallagher Girls)

Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (10th Anniversary Edition) (Gallagher Girls)

By Ally Carter 256 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

It is rare nowadays to come across a series for teens that can be relevant without being completely depressing, so I thank Ally Carter for writing the remarkable Gallagher Girls series. Mostly harmless, lots of fun.
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Bystander

Bystander

By James Preller 256 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

Probably one of the best-written books I have ever read about bullying, this book will haunt you and prompt an important discussion among your middle school students.
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Story of a Girl

Story of a Girl

By Sara Zarr 224 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

This is not “light” reading, as it deals with Deanna, a teenager whose father catches her sleeping with a boy and being branded a slut by everyone. She keeps an “anonymous” journal that – I must confess – brought tears to my eyes, as I can see how so many teenage girls could identify with Deanna’s struggles. This book will give you plenty to think about.
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Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence

Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence

By Geoffrey Canada 192 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

Geoffrey Canada, founder of Harlem Children’s Zone, is one of my personal heroes for his work with inner-city youth. This terrific graphic adaptation of his own memoir of life on the streets is sure to attract even your most reluctant readers. Check that – it will especially entice your reluctant readers.
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Real Live Boyfriends: Yes. Boyfriends, plural. If my life weren't complicated, I wouldn't be Ruby Oliver (Ruby Oliver Quartet)

Real Live Boyfriends: Yes. Boyfriends, plural. If my life weren't complicated, I wouldn't be Ruby Oliver (Ruby Oliver Quartet)

By E. Lockhart 240 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

The fourth in the Ruby Oliver series, this entry finds Ruby in her senior year of high school acting like her typical neurotic self. I think what sets Lockhart’s teen chick lit apart from others is that the situations are never too terrible and the humor is always high – making this ideal for teenage girl readers who are tired of reading about suicide.
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First Kiss (Then Tell): A Collection of True Lip-Locked Moments

First Kiss (Then Tell): A Collection of True Lip-Locked Moments

By Cylin Busby 212 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

Probably most appropriate for Valentine’s Day, this terrific collection of short stories by some of America’s leading young adult authors – from Nikki Grimes to Jon Scieszka – exposes teens to the trials, tumult and hilarity of young love. 
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Mexican WhiteBoy

Mexican WhiteBoy

By Matt de la Peña 256 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

This needs to be in every middle school teacher’s classroom library, as it is one of the best books I have read with my students that deals with the complexities of growing up biracial. Danny – yes, I like books with main characters who share my name – feels out of place in white neighborhoods and Mexican neighborhoods because he is a mix of both. This is the first book I have read by de la Pena, and I am definitely going to read a lot more.
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Trash

Trash

By Andy Mulligan 240 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

This book reads like a written version of the movie Slumdog Millionaire, as it follows three teens living among the trash heaps of a third world country whose world is transformed when they discover a mysterious bag. Compelling page-turner that can be used for great classroom conversations about poverty and the silent voices of the poor.
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Sir Charlie: Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World

Sir Charlie: Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World

By Sid Fleischman 288 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

Okay – so it is really 288 pages. The appendix alone is thirty pages; cut me some slack! I am a sucker for anything on Charlie Chaplin, and placed in the hands of masterful author Sid Fleischman, this is a terrific biography about a cinematic comic icon.
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Memento Nora (Memento Nora series)

Memento Nora (Memento Nora series)

By Angie Smibert 192 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

A teenager witnesses a murder and is given a pill to forget the whole event. Everything would have been fine – if she took the pill. Instead, Norah and a classmate try to figure out the real story, and your middle school students will love the suspense that ensues. Smibert’s book reads like an Orwellian tale.
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Black and White (Speak)

Black and White (Speak)

By Paul Volponi 199 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

Too proud to work fast food, two star basketball buddies, one black and the other white, wound a victim in a robbery to earn extra cash, then wait for the authorities to track them down. What is so interesting to teen readers is the different treatment the two boys receive, making this a great classroom fodder.
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Playground

Playground

By 50 Cent 320 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

Subtitled “The Mostly True Story of a Former Bully,” hip hop star 50 Cent’s debut young adult novel makes a great classroom discussion starter about the all-too-prevalent bullying that occurs in schools. 
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Requiem: Poems of the Terezin Ghetto

Requiem: Poems of the Terezin Ghetto

By Paul B. Janeczko 112 pages Young Adult

Danny Says

Subtitled “Poems of the Terezin Ghetto,” Janeczko – who has written all sorts of wonderful books for teachers to inspire a love of poetry in their students – creates moving first-person accounts of Jews incarcerated in the infamous Czech concentration camp for “artistic” Jews. Good poetry is meant to be read aloud, and this book is the impetus for wonderful classroom lessons about tolerance and humanity gone awry in world history.
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