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Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1999.

            "The ninth graders are herded into the auditorium.  We fall into clans: Jocks, Country Clubbers, Idiot Savants, Cheerleaders, Human Waste, Eurotrash, Future Fascists of America, Big Hair Chix, the Marthas, Suffering Artists, Goths, Shredders.  I am clanless."  Melinda is a friendless outcast at Merryweather High. She busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, and now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. As time passes, she becomes increasingly isolated and practically stops talking altogether.  Will her world ever be right again?

Anderson, M.T. Feed. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2002.

            "We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to completely suck."  So says Titus, whose ability to read, write, and even think for himself has been almost completely obliterated by his "feed," a transmitter implanted directly into his brain.  Feeds are a crucial part of life for Titus and his friends.  After all, how else would they know where to party on the moon, how to get bargains at Weatherbee & Crotch, or how to accessorize the mysterious lesions everyone's been getting?  When Titus meets Violet, a girl who decides to fight the feed, his whole world changes.

Babbitt, Natalie. Tuck Everlasting. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1975.

            Young Winnie Foster feel restless in her current life, and she is surprisingly grateful when she is kidnapped by the strange Tuck family.  Why did they need to kidnap her?  How does Winnie end up in jail, if she was the one kidnapped?  Will Winnie choose to do what 17-year old Jessie asks her, or will she decide that life is not for her?

Berg, Elizabeth. Durable Goods. New York: Random House, 2003.

            In the sweltering heat of a Southwestern summer, on a small army base in rural Texas, Katie waits impatiently for her life to change.  Though battered by the recent death of her mother, her spirit remains miraculously strong.  She is filled with longings: for a boy to fall in love with her the way Dickie Mac has fallen for her sister; for her father to stop hitting her; for her life to become less uncertain.  And she knows that day is coming soon.

Berg, Elizabeth. Joy School. New York: Ballantine Books, 1998.

            Thirteen-year-old Katie is new to her Missouri town, living alone with a stern, inaccessible father following her mother's death.  Unable to fit in at school, she forges alliances where she can: with her housekeeper, with a pimply fellow misfit named Cynthia, and with the gorgeous Taylor, who gets a kick out of shoplifting.  Must frustrating of all is Katie's imperfect friendship with the proprietor of a local gas station, a handsome 23-year-old who shares her love of checkers but doesn't return her crush.

Berg, Elizabeth. True to Form. New York: Atria Books, 2002.

            Katie Nash is thirteen years old in 1961, and she's facing a summer full of conflict.  Her father has enlisted her in two care-taking jobs-baby-sitting for the rambunctious Wexler boys and, equally challenging, looking after Mrs. Randolph, her elderly, bedridden neighbor.  To make matters worse, Katie has been forcibly inducted into the "loser" Girl Scout troop, compliments of her only new friend Cynthia's controlling mother.  Her only saving grace is a trip to her childhood hometown in Texas, to visit her best friend Cherylanne.  But people and places change-and Cherylanne is no exception.  When an act of betrayal leaves Katie wondering just want friends are really for, she learns to rely on the only one left she can trust: herself.

Berg, Elizabeth. What We Keep. New York: Ballantine Books, 2002.

            Ginny Young crosses the country for a reluctant reunion with the mother she has not seen in 35 years. During the long hours of her flight, she returns in memory to the summer when she turned 12 and her family turned inside out.  What We Keep is about ties that are buried but not broken, wounds that are dressed but never heal, and love that changes form but somehow survives.

Block, Francesca Lia. I Was a Teenage Fairy. New York: Joanna Cottler, 1998.

            This is the story of Barbie Marks, who dreams of being the one behind the camera, not some barely flesh-and-blood version of the plastic doll she was named after.  It is the story of Griffin Tyler, whose androgynous beauty hides the dark pain within him.  And finally, it is the story of Mab, a pinkie-sized, magenta-haired, straight-talking fairy who may or may not be real.

Block, Francesca Lia. Weetzie Bat. New York: Harper Collins, 1999.

            Weetzie Bat lived in a fairy-tale land of glitter, glitz, and coolness. She had a bleachd-blonde flat-top and pink sunglasses, and cruised around town with her best friend Dirk and her Slinkster Dog pooch in a '55 Pontiac named Jerry.  Weetzie loved L.A., with its plastic palm tree wallets and tomahawks, its cheap cheese and bean burritos, and its surfer dudes. But still, something was missing. So Weetzie made three wishes, and they all came true...

Clements, Andrew. Things Not Seen. New York: Philomel Books, 2002.

            The earnest and likable 15-year-old narrator is the principal thing not seen in this fast-paced novel, set in Chicago. As the book opens, the boy discovers that he has turned invisible overnight. Bobby breaks the news to his parents who, afraid of being hounded by the media, instruct him to share his dilemma with no one. But when Bobby ventures out of the house and visits the library, he meets Alicia, a blind girl to whom he confides his secret. Will she betray him?

Colfer, Eoin. Artemis Fowl. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2001.

            Artemis Fowl is a twelve-year-old genius, but he was born into a family of crime.  Determined to make even more money than his family ever had, he devises a plan to capture a fairy who will lead him to her people's gold.  A humorous adventure combining fantasy and science fiction, this is a great  book for anyone who enjoyed the Harry Potter books.

Colfer, Eoin. Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2002.

            Although he really doesn't want to, Artemis must ask Holly Short for help in this second installment of the fun series sure to please Harry Potter fans.  How will Holly and Artemis save  his father, kidnapped by the Russian Mafiya?  Surely some fairy magic will help!

Colfer, Eoin. Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2003.

            Artemis has created an amazing new piece of technology, proving him to be the smartest kid in the world, but even Artemis makes mistakes.  When he and Butler, loyal bodyguard to the boy genius, get ambushed and Butler gets shot, Artemis needs to find a way to save Butler, and fast!

Creech, Sharon. Walk Two Moons. New York: HarperTrophy, 1994.

            Readers will be moved by this sweet yet sad story (winner of the 1995 Newberry Medal) about thirteen-year-old Sal who wishes desperately that her mother would come back.  At the same time as we learn about her, she tells an "extensively strange" and humorous story about Phoebe Winterbottom, a new friend who views the world in a rather paranoid way.

Flinn, Alex. Breaking Point. New York: HarperTempest, 2002.

            "We may need to plant a bomb in Old Lady Zaller's classroom."  These simple words will change Paul Richmond's life forever.  Paul is new to Gate, a school whose rich students make life miserable for anyone not like them.  And Paul is definitely not like them.  Then something incredible happens.  Charlie Good, star student and athlete, invites Paul to join his elite inner circle.  How far will Paul go to belong?  A frightening story about the effects of bullying and the pressure to fit in.

Glenn, Mel. Split Image. New York: HarperTempest, 2000.

            Everyone has an image of Laura Li, the most popular girl in school: "stone-hearted," "warmhearted," "conceited deceiver," "humble achiever," "a virgin," "the hottest girl in the world."  Award-winning poet Mel Glenn weaves a brilliant web of authentic voices in this riveting story, told in poetry, about what happens when one teenage tril is denied the freedom to determine her own identity.

Guest, Judith. Ordinary People. New York: Penguin, 1993.

            On the outside Cal and Beth Jarrett and their teenage son, Con, seem the ideal family, ordinary people.  Calvin is a determined, successful provider, age 41, tax attorney.  Being a father is more than just trusting to luck.  Beth is a highly organized and efficient wife and mother, still as beautiful, cool, and self-possessed as when she married Cal 21 years ago; even after all these years, she is still a marvelous mystery to her husband.  Conrad is an ordinary teenage boy: 1,000-word book report due Wednesday (and of course he hasn't read the book). Something has gone terribly wrong in their lives, an it is tearing them apart, especially Conrad.  Maybe Berger, the affable shrink who looks like a compact, undersized gorilla, can save him.  Maybe not.

Klass, David. You Don't Know Me. New York: HarperTempest, 2001.

            You think you know John?  Well, let's see.  What bathroom fixture did his father have in mind at his birth?  Does algebra have any use, besides torture?  Who is Gloria Hallelujah?  Who is Violet Hayes?  How can John, who is fighting a secret battle for his life know anyone?  And how can they know him?  This is a darkly humorous tale of a young teen's struggles in a family that is not a family, in a school that is not a school . . . readers will chuckle and wince as they read John's story.

Korman, Gordon. Son of the Mob. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2002.

            "My father.  They call him Honest Abe Luca instead of Anthony because he's so straight in his business dealings, no matter how illegal they happen to be.  Never rips anybody off.  Never breaks a promise.  Except one: Honest Abe just can't seem to make good on his word to keep his line of work completely separate from my life."  How is Vince supposed to explain to a girl what his father does for a living, especially when her father is an FBI agent??

Mack, Tracy. Drawing Lessons. New York: Scholastic, 2000.

            Aurora is an artist, like her father.  Through years of drawing lessons, he has taught her about light and color, perspective and form.  The great thing about art, Rory thinks, is you can bring back something you've lost and keep it forever.  But when her father leaves the family, it's Rory who is lost.

Myers, Walter Dean. Monster. New York: HarperTempest, 1999.

            While on trial as an accomplice to a murder, sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon records his experiences in prison and in the courtroom in the form of a film script as he tries to come to terms with the course his life has taken.  Highly Recommended!

Myers, Walter Dean. Slam! New York: Scholastic, 1996.

            Sixteen-year-old "Slam" Harris is counting on his noteworthy basketball talents to get him out of the inner city and give him a chance to succeed in life, but his coach sees things differently.  Highly recommended!

Oates, Joyce Carol. Big Mouth & Ugly Girl. New York: HarperTempest, 2002.

            Matt has a Big Mouth, but he never really thought his sense of humor could be taken the wrong way until police officers escorted him out of class.  Ugly Girl, fiercely competitive but lonely Ursula, doesn't even know Matt, but she knows that he didn't really threaten to blow up the school, no matter what he said.  An intricate story of two misfit teenagers struggling to figure out who they are among tests of loyalty, friendship, family, and integrity.

Paulsen, Gary. The Crossing. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell, 1990.

            Manny is a homeless orphan from Mexico hoping to get to America soon.  When he tries to steal an American soldier's wallet, Manny meets a companion who may help him achieve the crossing he so desperately wants.  The story switches back and forth from Manny and the alcoholic soldier's perspectives.

Prose, Francine. After. New York: Joanna Cottler, 2003.

            The shootings in Pleasant Valley were fifty miles away, but at Central High a grief and crisis counselor is hired, security is increased, and privileges are being taken away.  No one knows why.  If you break the new rules the punishment is severe.  And the rules keep changing every day.  School feels like a prison.  It's for their protection, yet fifteen-year-old Tom Bishop and his friends learn that things are far more sinister than the seem.  Students and teachers begin disappearing.  There's no way to stop it.

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. New York: A.A. Levine, 2003.

            Now fifteen in his fifth year at Hogwarts, Harry Potter finds himself upset most of the time.  The new dark arts teacher seems to have a personal vendetta against him and the nightmares he's having are extremely troubling, especially when what he dreams comes true!

Sachar, Louis. Holes. New York: Dell Yearling, 1998.

            Will the curse on Stanley Yelnats ever be lifted?  Will he survive Camp Green Lake?  This is not a typical summer camp!  Shifts between past and present may confuse younger readers, but this darkly humorous mystery keeps readers turning pages until they learn the truth.

Tashjian, Janet. The Gospel According to Larry. New York: Dell Laurel-Leaf, 2001.

            Josh Swensen owns only 75 possessions.  Period.  His virtual alter ego, Larry, has his own web site, where he posts sermons on anticonsumerism, and is attracting quite a following.  Meanwhile, Larry's identity is a mystery to everyone, including Josh's best friend Beth, whom he has been in love with for years.  What will happen to the world, and to Josh, if he is exposed?

Vizzini, Ned. Teen Angst?  Naaah...: A Quasi-Autobiography. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing, 2000.

            Ned Vizzini writes about the weird, funny, and sometimes mortifying moments that made up his teen years. With wit, irony, and honesty, Teen Angst? invites you into his world of school, parents, street people, rock bands, friends, fame, camp, sex (sort of), Cancun (almost), prom, beer, Nintendo, the cool (and almost cool), and more.

Wittlinger, Ellen. The Long Night of Leo and Bree. New York: Simon  & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2002.

            Leo is angry.  It's the fourth anniversary of the brutal murder of his sister.  He keeps visualizing pictures of her stabbed body, which he can't get out of his mind.  To escape his mother, who's been crazy since the murder and is even worse tonight, Leo drives though the streets in a rage.  Bree is "slumming" in a working-class town near her affluent one.  She wants an evening to herself, without her mother or boyfriend telling her what to do.  Leo spots Bree, wonders why she should be alive when his sister isn't, and in an instant, takes her hostage.