Young Adult

A stirring look at how a high school senior deals with the death of her boyfriend, who was killed in a camping accident.

Yes, the same Jeff Probst who hosts Survivor on television has entered the book business, with this exciting adventure series geared toward upper elementary and middle school boys. Tebbetts helped James Patterson write his middle school bestsellers, and this series is sure to be a hit, too.

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.

I try not to include books too many pages over 250, but I assure you that this one is worth the extra 22 pages (your middle schoolers be turning pages so quickly that it won’t matter). A Newbery Honor, this book tracks the trials of a seventh grader stuck reading Shakespeare during the 1960s, and how his heated relationship with a teacher turns into friendship. Funny and poignant.

Ten-year-old Prairie Evers reminds me a lot of Candide or Pollyanna by her ability to always see the positive in every situation. Very good book.

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.