Young Adult

We need A LOT more books like this. If you have a daughter or granddaughter, buy this book as a New Year’s gift (yes, I just created that holiday). This is the perfect way to focus girls on positive elements that will bring out the amazing qualities so many teenage girls suppress in order to “fit in.” Carrier provides a blueprint that will benefit all teenage girls. This is a gem, and I have bought multiple copies for friends and customers. I highly recommend you do the same.

Why don’t teenage boys read? Check the covers and titles of most teen bestsellers. They almost all deal with teenage romance and how to fit into the right clique. It’s enough to drive a guy crazy! Deuker writes about sports and understands the thoughts of many teenage boys (He has a lot of great titles). How can we replicate him? I am so grateful for guys who write books for guys (I’m not saying everything has to deal with red meat and bodily functions, but trying to find an appealing book for a teenage boy is often like looking for educational programming on TLC).

Swanson’s adult-level Manhunt is one of the best books I’ve read in the past 20 years, and I am so grateful he created a young adult version that is sure to intrigue teens about the hunt for President Lincoln’s assassins. Social studies made riveting!

This is one of those rare books that I noticed students passing around with mischievous smirks. Colfer’s wit and sarcasm work perfectly for teens in this enjoyable story of an outcast who blackmails the most popular kids in his high school.

Burroughs is one of my favorite science fiction writers of all time, and besides his Tarzan books I have always devoured his John Carter series. This book is the third in that series, and it will serve as a great hook for many reluctant readers.

This is a book your students will get a kick out of, especially those who like to stir the pot. While not specifically written for teens, your students will enjoy wonderful discussions about how statistics are consistently used in ways to control, manipulate and persuade people how to vote, invest and do just about anything. The book is over 60 years old, and it is just as applicable and intriguing today as when it first appeared in 1954.

I recently met a teenage reluctant reader who had never seen Gary Larson’s Far Side cartoons and was appalled! How can one go through life without tasting one of the funniest cartoon strips of all time. If you are ever sick or grumpy, there are two anecdotes: watch The Price Is Right and/or read The Far Side. Guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.

If you are the parent or teacher of a teenage boy, get him reading books by Gary Soto. Soto is a magnificent author who speaks to the trials and tribulations of adolescence, and, most brilliantly, the experiences of Hispanic-American boys. In this wonderful book, Lincoln Mendoza learns how to deal with adjusting to a new school, new friends and new culture without belittling himself or others. One of my favorite young adult authors.

I guess the theme of this month’s list may very well be “great books that I have neglected to mention in previous lists.” This hilarious classic features a cat that suspects the family’s newest pet rabbit is a vampire, and it is up to the family dog to save the day. One of my students’ all-time favorite books.

I was appalled when I learned in college of the Japanese internment camps. It bothered me to hear about that dark mark on America’s history, and it bothered me even more that I had not heard about it until college. Mochizuki also wrote the wonderful Baseball Saved Us, and I appreciate how he contextualizes the Japanese-American experience into relatable characters for students. This profile of four teens follows four Japanese-American boys in 1972, but they could be four teenagers from anywhere in America.

While written for young adults, this book covers time travel about as logically as any adult book I have ever read. Who would not want to own an “unner,” a device capable of taking one back in time to change events. Entertaining and surprisingly deep.

This one does not come out until next month, so pre-order it now. A great book to use with teens when trying to show them how to express themselves through journal-writing. Karis Reed is grounded indefinitely, and her battles with her mother force her to re-examine her life (the teens I read this book aloud to said they could readily identify with how Karis defied her parents). Through it all, Karis discovers faith through her trials. Nice to read an uplifting book for teens for a change. 

Teen horror novels rank about as high on my wish list as enduring political ads on television, so I was thrilled to read this funny spoof by Fleischman, a Newbery winner (just so you know he is a credible writer). I have found this to be an excellent book for reluctant teenage boy readers, as it is a quick read that makes them laugh and often inspires them to write their own parodies.

I loved this story because it is so relevant to the pressures I see so many teenage Latinas go through regarding their “quinceanara,” a traditional coming-of-age party for 15 year olds. There are so many pressures on girls to spend elaborate amounts of money on what many consider an event that reinforces female stereotypes. I thought this was a refreshing take on a story I have seen play out unhappily in many homes.

Warning: this book is written in a foreign language, British. I was concerned that American teens might not care for a book about a British teen, but once they get past the British slang they get a real kick out of Rennison’s teen version of Bridget Jones. A good writer, and if girls like this one, there are several more to choose from.