Young Adult

The 15-year-old son of Leif Eriksson discovers the Vikings are not alone in the New World in this very easy-to-read coming of age story.

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.

Besides The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving, I’d rate this as probably my favorite Halloween tale. Master storyteller Ray Bradbury exposes us to the eerie Halloween rituals of different cultures. A superb book.

Before having a square named after him in Oakland, Jack London wrote a few good books. This remains one of my favorites, and I noticed that Dover Publications is offering copies for a buck on Amazon.

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).

If you are too lazy to read this captivating tale of the man who goes from slow learner to genius, sneak a peek at Cliff Robertson’s Oscar-winning performance in the movie version Charly.

There’s not a teenager in the world who thinks life is fair. Danziger does a great job of poking fun at life as a teenager, but this book works because it has just as much heart as laughs. Very popular among the teens I read with.

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.

A disturbing narrative about the bleak life on the streets of a pack of homeless teens in New York City. I recommend this book for two reasons: one of the protagonists is a librarian that lends a helping hand (and I like books that portray librarians as heroes) and I cannot get the book out of my head. I am not sure yet that I like it, and that means it is probably a great book (the ones that keep you thinking always are).

To blend in or stand out? That is probably the most crucial question for any teenager. This interesting tale of a girl who grows wings and sees the distress of her mother (who, it turns out, had her wings cut off by her mother when she was a teenager) should find a wide audience, as I empathized with the dilemmas that both teens and their parents face.

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.

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.

Inspired by the author’s own experiences camping as a Boy Scout on the site of Hawaiian earthquake/tsunami, this book is sure to entice readers, as it reads a lot like a campfire story that keeps building and building.

I think what I like most about Hahn’s sequel to Unenchanted is her ability to tell a compelling story with an interesting love triangle for teenage girls that does not focus on death and dreariness.

Think Blair Witch Project for teens, as six teenagers stay the night at a mental institution set for demolition. A great mystery that will keep teenagers on the edges of their seats.