Young Adult

Sitomer is a former California Teacher of the Year, and I can assure you that he writes in the authentic voice that any inner-city middle schooler can relate to. Make sure to check out Sitomer’s latest venture, Nerd Girls. He is a terrific author.

Key’s debut, Alabama Moon, is a highly popular book among teens, and this one will be, too, as it is a page-turner. Better yet, teachers and parents will appreciate the book’s lessons in decision-making and consequences. One of the all-too-rare teen reads that is edgy and manages a happy ending.

How did I miss this book? It’s a Newbery Honor, for crying out loud! Rarely have I seen a teen book about growing up with a disability treated in such a funny and thoughtful way. Excellent story!

If you are trying to introduce students to Tom Sawyer, this book serves as a great introduction. It profiles a young Twain that is adventurous and mischievous. Great anecdotes and a nice overview of the childhood of one of America’s greatest authors and most quoted men (along with Yogi Berra and Abraham Lincoln, for those of you who love random facts).

A great nonfiction writer for young adults, DeAngelis does a superb job of supplying eyewitness accounts and descriptions of one of America’s greatest tragedies. I read this book to a fourth grade class and challenged students to figure out how we can avoid similar tragedies in the future. You may notice below that I include a novelization of the same event for my next pick.

I am quite a fan of Carla Killough McClafferty, as her books tend to take subjects (like World War II) or people (George Washington) that I thought I knew a lot about and leave me turning pages to find out fascinating undiscovered details. Quick, pleasant reading – and great for dinner conversations.

Beautifully crafted story about a 12-year-old boy with autism who feels most at home communicating with others on an Internet writing site. When he makes friends with a girl online, he becomes terrified when his parents take him to a live conference of the site’s participants. All teens will relate to the social awkwardness, and this book does a superb job of taking readers through the autistic boy’s struggles with interpreting “simple” things like body language.

Part of the Amulet series, this book – more than any other – has sold me on my oldest daughter’s fascination with manga. The artwork is beautiful, and the fantasy will hook the most reluctant readers. Make sure to read all of them.

It was almost 100 years ago (March 25th, 1911) when one of the worst fire disasters in America’s history killed over a hundred female immigrant workers (many of them girls). This fictionalized account from the eyes of an 11-year-old Jewish girl working at the factory compliments the informational text above in humanizing for students an American tragedy.

I am a sucker for biographies and anecdotes about famous people, and this book is loaded with interesting tales chronicling famous women from Joan of Arc to Mother Teresa. And don’t worry: they have a boys version called Boys Who Rocked the World.

ReShonda Tate Billingsley debuted only a couple of years ago, and already she has a loyal national following of adult readers. This is the second (and shorter) book in a young adult series she has aimed at teenage girls. I know the middle school girls who I work with absolutely love Tate Billingsley’s books, and I believe she is an author deserving of your attention.

It is rare that I come across teen literature that can be self-deprecating and funny in an endearing way. Teens will love this book for its quirkiness and ample array of photos, courtesy of the Internet sensation authors.

If you really want to introduce your teens to the perfect Western, there is no finer example (in my humble opinion) than Shane. I used to use this book with my ESL students, as the language is simple, the writing is beautiful and the story has every element of a good Western (bad cattle rancher picking on the helpless farmers when a stranger with a white hat rides in from out of town and becomes the idol of a farm boy…yada, yada, yada). After you read the book, watch the terrific film with Alan Ladd. Ah, this is as good as it gets, as American as apple pie.

My Uncle Bob reminded me to include this classic Kipling tale about a spoiled brat who loses everything before understanding not to take life for granted. In many ways this tale reads like an alternative series of events to Kipling’s fantastic The Jungle Book. We sure are lucky to have had a writer like Rudyard Kipling (I can read anything he wrote).

Historical fiction set in the Civil War that follows Sarah, a young woman who escapes her New York family’s matchmaking scheme to work at Mt. Vernon in Virginia. There, the Civil War is in full swing, and Sarah learns a lot about the treacheries of war and the goodness of all people. This one surprised the heck out of me, as I thought it was fantastic.