Young Adult

Written for girls, this book is relatable for any small town teens who are bored and/or feel like outsiders. I’m a guy, and I sped through this very well-written novel.

Ever see M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village? This book is everything that movie wasn’t: interesting, involving and invigorating. Margaret Peterson Haddix is a superb storyteller.

This is Luper’s first book, and I expect many more. Everybody seems to be into poker nowadays, and Luper introduces us to 16-year-old Andrew Lang, a typical teen bursting with hormones and worldly knowledge. Just when he thinks he has figured everything out, he is dealt a bad hand, and Andrew’s losses may soon be noticed by an unsuspecting bankroller named “dad.” A really easy book to read.

One of the best ways I know to attract adolescents to reading is by feeding them graphic novels, and none other than Neil Gaiman says it best about this book: “a masterpiece of YA literature and comics.”

No, the book is not about naval warfare. Rather, a bunch of fourth graders devise various plans to make their substitute teacher cry. Find out if the tables turn.

For older teens (based on language and content), this one is popular reading with high school girls who enjoy romances. It is so well-written that even I managed to breeze through it, and it held my interest the entire way (a rarity for me with teen romances). A touching and often very funny portrayal of friendship, I like it best for how it deals with alternate points of view.

For those who love adventure stories, it does not get much better than this story of a young boy and his Eskimo buddy braving the storms of the Canadian Arctic in search of their fathers.

I like slender books! This novelette actually took a little longer than I thought, as the story is told through the point of view of an 8-year-old girl who has a penchant for misspelling (as seen in the title). I think teachers will appreciate recommending this book to students as an exercise in fluency. I have found that middle schoolers enjoy the story and delight in identifying misspellings.

Gleitzman is from the Land Down Under, and this funny and endearing tale has sparked my interest in Australian literature for kids (it’s not just about The Wiggles). The book follows the funny adventures of Young Limpy as he sets out to make humans have a little more respect for the toads they seem to run over on the highways so frequently. Students will benefit from seeing a funny character who never quits trying.

I confess that I am a big fan of British humor, as I love Monty Python, Ricky Gervais and Jeanne Willis. Anne Fine has that twisted sense of humor in this engrossing book about a boy sentenced to his bedroom on Christmas. His descriptions of his various family members remind me of the Dursleys from Harry Potter. A little too mean for little kids, the humor is perfect for teens.

Jazz and Antonia are polar opposites, yet their peer-counseling sessions bring them together in a way that allows readers to deeply know both girls. A well-written book that I use as a model for teenage writers.

Who better to attract teens’ attention than the man who coached LeBron James in high school? Amazingly, Joyce went from knowing little about basketball to becoming one of the most successful high school coaches in America. I breezed through this book, and I know your boys, especially, will love it.

I am always looking for books that examine multiple points of view, and this book fits the bill. A compelling look at school violence from several perspectives: students, teachers, parents, etc. Reads like a viewing of Rashomon.

While looking at different perspectives, take a look at the cliques in this school. What intrigues and frightens me about this story is how vicious teenagers can be to one another (and that, sadly, is accurate). The characters in this book should have read Strasser’s Give a Boy a Gun to consider the possible consequences of ridiculing a classmate.

With March Madness ending and the NBA playoffs beginning, this collection of stories about playing basketball at “The Cage” in New York City from nine award-winning young adult authors is sure to draw a lot of interest from teenage boys.