Young Adult

A buddy just reminded me that I have never included any books about Sir Ernest Shackleton on the list, and I love the story of Shackleton and his men. This book can be read by all ages (in fact, it is written for adults, but teens just DEVOUR it), and it is a great companion with Alfred Lansing’s Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage. Incredible true story of courage, perseverance and overcoming adversity.

Filled with enough romance, Fantasy and adventure, this book will appeal to both girls and boys.

Written in second person, Freewill (an interesting play on words) deals with the thoughts of “Will” as he tries to come to terms with the deaths of his father and stepmother. Definitely a page-turner that will provoke interesting class discussions.

Maybe it’s the winter cold or my yearning to get motivated for the new year – I just cannot seem to get enough stories about grueling Antarctic adventures. This book (which contains wonderful photographs from the expedition) chronicles the 1910 saga of the crew of the Terra Nova. The crew finds itself confronted with dangers like frostbite, scurvy and killer whales as it tries to collect the eggs of Emperor penguins.

Fascinating memoir of a Chicano ex-gang member from East Los Angeles. Makes for some great discussions with your boys.

A lot of people say this book is about clashes between traditional Chinese culture fitting into America, but I prefer to look at it as the story of a teenager and her Chinese grandmother getting to know and appreciate one another. This story transcends cultures.

Acne is calamitous for just about every teenager, but for Olivia – an actress – it can spell the end of her career. Howse does a great job of addressing a number of teen issues without belittling them or judging them. Your girls, especially, will flock to this one.

I love it when students bring me their own book recommendations, and I wind up loving their book picks. Your teenage boys, especially, will immerse themselves in this look into the Army’s elite counterterrorism unit, authored by a career Army man who retired as a command sergeant major. I flew through this book, and it reminded me how grateful I am for our armed services.

Incredibly powerful memoir about bullying. Every secondary school in America should own multiple copies of this book and encourage book talks on it.

This is a book that any child with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or parent of an ADD child would appreciate.

What can I say? Some authors always seem to impress me, and I cannot resist recommending their books. Gary Paulsen is the perfect author to attract reluctant teenage boys to reading. His latest tale features a sly young entrepreneur who ascends from mowing lawns to hiring his own force of migrant workers to help him as he accumulates a net worth of over half a million bucks. Show me a boy who does not like to read, and I will direct you to this book.

Got a teenage girl who enjoyed the Twilight series? Hand her a copy of this.

Thank you, CreateSpace, for making publishing available to anyone. There are so many great writers lurking out there, and I was delighted by Annunziato’s engrossing debut, written during his daily commute to work (much like Scott Turow did with Presumed Innocent).

Children are disappearing but no one is talking about it. What evil is taking root in this small Canadian town? This one will keep you on your toes.

I must admit that I chose to read this book because I liked the cover art (I have an older edition; the newer edition's cover is a lot plainer and less interesting to me), and I was startled to discover an author I truly admire. I can usually spot when an author used to be a teacher because s/he writes characters so well, and that is what you will be treated to when you read this wonderful book about a stud-turned stoner who needs to reflect on his own experiences to determine “what went wrong.” I intend to use this book with middle-school boys seeking answers.