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Staff
Picks for Teens
Our Youth Services Librarians select outstanding books to recommend to teen readers.
| Spring 2008 | |
Homeschooled by his hippie grandmother, Capricorn (Cap) Anderson has never watched television, tasted a pizza, or even heard of a wedgie. But when his grandmother lands in the hospital, Cap is forced to move in with a guidance counselor and attend the local middle school. While Cap knows a lot about tie-dyeing and Zen Buddhism, no education couldprepare him for the politics of public school. Grades 7 - 12 |
Sixteen-year-old Jean "Jinx" Honeychurch, the descendant of a witch, must leave Iowa to live with relatives in Manhattan after the first spell she casts goes awry, but she will have to improve her skills to stop her cousin from practicing black magic that endangers them and the boy they both like. Grades 7 - 12 |
Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Grades 8 - 12 |
Given the medical diagnosis of one year to live, high school senior Ben Wolf decides to fulfill his greatest fantasies, ponders his life's purpose and legacy, and converses through dreams with a spiritual guide known as "Hey-Soos."Grades 9 - 12 |
| Winter 2007-2008 | |
When the Gallagher Academy, a secret spy school for girls, hosts male guests from Knowlton-Hale, Cammie is blamed for a series of security breaches that forces her to clear her name while trying to deny her attraction to an incorrigible hottie named Zach. Grades 7 - 12 |
Sandpiper Hollow Ragsdale has a bad reputation. At first she just wanted a boyfriend, but now she's had a dozen and doesn't know what she saw in any of them. When one of Sandy's exes, Derek, starts harassing her, a mysterious boy called the Walker comes to her aid. As Derek's aggressions turn dangerous, Sandy and Walker are forced to confront the pain of their pasts, which each of them would rather forget. Grades 9 - 12 |
This modern retelling of “Beauty and the Beast”, as described by the Beast, portrays Kyle Kingsbury, the most popular guy at a Manhattan private school with the meanest and most egotistical attitude. A witch punishes him and turns him into a beast who now must find his true love and make her accept him as he is in order to break the curse and return him to being the man he once was. Grades 8 - 12 |
Always cautious, Joe has never even gotten so much as an after-school detention. So how is it that this Saturday night, he's at Burger Heaven, waving a loaded gun, yelling at the teen workers to get down on the floor NOW? Dylan has always succeeded at his twisted plans--until this Saturday, this robbery, where everything has gone wrong. And now, surrounded by police outside Burger Heaven, Dylan's life will never be the same--and neither will the lives of his hostages.Grades 8 - 12 |
Fall 2007 |
The time has come for Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman, and Angel to face their ultimate enemy and, despite many obstacles, try to save the world from a sinister plan to re-engineer a select population into a scientifically superior master race, then terminating the rest of the world. Grades 7 - 12 |
On the planet Pern, after her father forbids her to indulge in music in any way, fifteen-year-old Menolly, runs away and takes shelter with the planet's fire lizards who, along with her music, open a new life for her. Grades 7 - 12 |
When Southern California high school senior Sofi Mendoza lies to her parents and crosses the border for a weekend party, she has no idea that she will get stuck in a Mexican village with family she has never met, unable to return to the United States. Grades 9 - 12 |
Sixteen-year-old Dylan tries to understand her feelings for her girlfriend Joq at the same time she is dating her boyfriend Cam.Grades 9 - 12 |
| Summer 2007 | |
In the not-too-distant future, when a gay Jewish man is elected president of the United States, sixteen-year-old Duncan examines his feelings for his boyfriend, his political and religious beliefs, and tries to determine his rightful place in the world.Grades 8 - 12 |
Having made an educational video on the challenges of going through puberty for his class project, Leon learns an unexpected lesson in the process when the school suspends him for its indecent content and members of the town fiercely debate the issue of censorship.Grades 7 - 10 |
In his desire to seek revenge for his brother, Kyle Kirby decides to punish the most popular girl in school in a horrifying and mind numbing manner , but Cass's strong will to live keeps her going as she uses her wit and her words to figure out what he wants from her and end the nightmare.Grades 9 - 12 |
After the death of Justin's younger brother, the star athlete's life falls apart as longtime friends ignore him, people treat him like a monster, and he gets into fights on a moment's notice, but when he begins to hear a voice, Justin worries about what the future will hold for him if events of that tragic day never fade away.Grades 9 - 12 |
| Spring 2007 | |
At age thirteen, best friends Ronnie and Joey suddenly feel like chimps--long armed, big eared, and gangly--and when the coach humiliates Joey in front of a girl, he climbs up a tree and refuses to come down, forcing Ronnie to court the girl on his behalf.Grades 7 - 10 |
When Anna, Emma, and Mariah concoct a story about why they are late getting home one Friday night, their lie has unimaginable consequences when the police get involved, the town becomes enraged, and a man is suddenly arrested for a crime that never happened.Grades 8 - 12 |
After getting busted for doing graffiti and having to work all summer to pay for the damages, invisible Tyler's physique changes greatly and brings with it unexpected perks and dangers. Bethany Millbury, a very popular girl, starts paying attention to him, his ever-angry father increases the heat, and life starts to go bad again, forcing Tyler to choose between transforming himself or giving in to his destructive thoughts.Grades 9 - 12 |
As their lives take them in different directions, Lena, Tibby, Carmen, and Bridget discover many more things about themselves and the importance of their relationship with each other. Carmen is falling for a college friend, Lena preparing for a great summer fling, Bridget seeking the attention of a certain professor, and Tibby parting ways with an old special someone, the Traveling Pants girls are certain to have a summer they won't soon forget. Grades 9 - 12 |
| February 2007 | |
Hoping to impress a sexy female classmate, fifteen-year-old Carlos secretly hires gay student Sal to give him an image makeover, in exchange for Carlos's help in forming a Gay-Straight Alliance at their Texas high school.Grades 7 - 12 |
Part 2 of the Midnighters sees the four teens continue to battle evil creatures living in an hour hidden at midnight. Jessica and her new friends learn about the town of Bixby, Oklahoma's own shadowy past and uncover a deadly conspiracy that reaches beyond the secret hour and threatens everyone.Grades 8 - 12 |
| January 2007 | |
When fifteen-year-old Jackson visits his aunt in England, he becomes caught up in a chase to capture an unknown creature who is stalking and killing people on the plains surrounding ancient StonehengeGrades 7 - 12 |
In a future society that has decided it would "rather be safe than free," sixteen-year-old Bo, after being falsely accused of spreading a rash throughout his school ends up in a tundra prison factory. While laboring at a pizza factory in the Canadian tundra where he's promised early parole if he joins an illegal football team, Bo survives with the help of his running skills and an artificial intelligence program named Bork. Grades 6 - 12 |
| December 2006 | |
Cammie Morgan, who attends the spy school The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, can speak fourteen different languages, hack CIA computer codes, and kill a man seven different ways, but she is ill-prepared when she falls in love with an ordinary boy who thinks she's an ordinary girl. Grades 7 - 10 |
A local story, taking place in San Jose’s Alum Rock and Willow Glen neighborhoods. Knowing that her mother will not give up on the idea of throwing her a ridiculously extravagant birthday party, Estrella Alvarez begins to prepare herself for the embarrassment that is sure to come. When she gets involved with a young boy from the barrio, Estrella is determined to not let him find out in order to keep him from being in attendance at gaudy bash. Grades 7 - 12 |
| November 2006 | |
A high school freshman discovers the devastating consequences of refusing to join in the school's annual fund raising drive and arousing the wrath of the school bullies while trying to maintain his convictions. Grades 9 - 12 |
Longing to experience the life of a "normal" teenager, sixteen-year-old actress Kaitlin Burke assumes a false identity to attend a local high schoolGrades 7 - 12 |
| October 2006 | |
Three seventh grade girls accuse their music teacher of improper behavior, changing their lives and the life of the teacher (Mr. Mattero) as parents, school staff, and the police get involved to uncover the truth.Grades 7 - 12 |
Fourteen-year-old Nadira, her sister, and their parents leave Bangladesh for New York City, but the expiration of their visas and the events of September 11, 2001, bring frustration, sorrow, and terror for the whole family. Nadira’s family fears their status as illegal immigrants in the country and so attempt to flee to Canada for asylum, but when things go badly at the border and her father is arrested, it is up to Nadira to help get him out of trouble and bring the family back together.Grades 9 - 12 |
| September 2006 | |
In a futuristic London, sixteen-year-old forensic investigator Luke Harding and his robotic assistant, Malc, investigate a series of murders in which there are no traces of a murder weapon, and the only thing the victims seem to have in common is their name (Emily Wonder). Grades 6 - 12 |
After being attacked and ending up in the hospital, HIV-positive Alex Crusan must decide whether to keep the truth to himself or risk revealing the identity of his attacker to the authorities in the pursuit of justice. In addition to Alex’s story, we hear from the bigot accused of the crime, and the only witness (a classmate with Down Syndrome) as they reveal how the assault has changed their lives as they tell of its aftermath.Grades 8 - 12 |
| Selected Previous Staff Picks | |
After recovering from a near fatal gunshot wound, teenage spy Alex Rider is kidnapped, escapes sure death, and embarks on a cross Atlantic trip to stop a group of eco-terrorists from sabotaging the launch of the first outer space hotel. Grades 7 - 12 |
Seventeen year old Lucy learns about life and love with the help of her friends and saucy Tante Pearl over the course of a hot Louisiana summer before her senior year of high school.Grades 9 - 12 |
Excited about meeting another Asian American in her small suburban town, Chinese-American Sue Hua begins an immediate friendship and romance with Andy, a talented and handsome violinist. Sue Hua knows that there are vast differences between them and worries what her family will think and do when she brings home her boyfriend with a Japanese surname. Grades 8 - 12 |
When the director of her school play suddenly has an accident, her shoes go missing, and things in town become stranger with every passing moment, Ingrid must find a way to get to the bottom of the matter in order to set things right in her small community of Echo Falls.Grades 6 - 12 |
When fourteen-year-old Jamie accidentally turns in a private story from her journal instead of an English assignment, it gets into the hands of a publisher and she becomes a best-selling author almost overnight. Grades 7 - 12 |
Brian uses basketball to block out memories of his girlfriend and her family who were gunned down seven months ago, but the upcoming murder trial and a high school history assignment force him to face the past and decide how far he should go to see justice served. Includes facts about miscarriages of justice in American history.Grades 9 - 12 |
When he is given an assignment to write and A to Z autobiography during the span of a school year, Joe Bunch takes it on with little enthusiasm until his writing begins to help him understand himself, his feelings for his boyfriend Colin Briggs, and his place in the world as the misfit he thinks himself to be.Grades 6 - 9 |
As a recent immigrant from the Philippines, fourteen-year-old Melissa tries her best to fit in to her new surroundings in busy San Francisco and San Mateo County, but despite working hard at her job, buying the right clothes, and learning the language, Melissa still feels like an outsider and worries that she will never make the successful transition she desires. Grades 6 - 12 |
The first of a new science fiction mystery series called Traces (Luke Harding, forensic investigator). 16 year-old Luke has just passed his final exam and become an FI (Forensic Investigator) and wants to celebrate. Unfortunately, the fun is short lived, with his first murder case occurring that night at his school, involving a classmate. Two more murders follow, all pointing at Luke as the main suspect. Luke, with the help of MALC (Mobile Aide to Law and Crime) is able to figure out what happened (with the tiniest of clues) and nail the real killer. Grades 6 - 12 |
Jack's predictable existence on Freedom space station is transformed when Kit, the Earthie rat, enters his life and enlists him and a sensitive robot in an effort to outwit the Company.Grades 6 - 12 |
In rural 1904 Indiana, fifteen-year-old Russell's dreams of quitting school and joining a wheat threshing crew in the Dakotas are disrupted when his older sister takes over the teaching at his one-room schoolhouse after mean old Myrt Arbuckle "hauls off and dies." Grades 6 - 10 |
Ten science fiction and/or fantasy short stories published in 2004. Includes a brief introduction to each story, its type of writing, and suggestions of other titles and authors if the reader likes this short story. Grades 6 - 12 |
Twelve year old Charlie has never played with others, gone to school, or anything else a normal kid does. His father has kept him hidden away in the basement, punishing him for the littlest things for hours/days/weeks at a time. One day Charlie gets out and becomes confused and lost, ending up in the hospital and then foster care. Readers, at first surprised and bewildered by what Charlie is afraid of and doesn’t know, will find hope that Charlie’s life will have changed for the better.Grades 7 - 12 |
A prequel to "Vote for Larry", which explains where Larry came from. Josh Swenson, a super intelligent high school senior bound for Princeton, created his online pseudonym “Larry”, for a website which espouses consumerism and America's current way of life. This site starts small, but steadily picks up readers, before becoming huge when U2 & Bono broadcast the site’s existence to everyone. Larry becomes everyday news and hugely popular, with everyone wondering “Who is Larry?” Grades 7 - 12 |
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Sam, a 13-year old boy, moves to England from California after his mother dies and tries to fit in with his British cousin and friends. Sam is a bit wild, so the group dares him to go to school for 5 days as a girl. Since Sam already has the hair & the build, he eventually decides to go for it. The weird thing is, Sam succeeds, all the girls do not suspect a thing, and neither does the parents he is living with. Things start to get weird when Sam's dad gets out of prison and goes looking for him (after hearing something about a million dollar inheritance Sam just received). Grades 7 - 12 |
Jacky Faber, a girl disguised as a boy on board a British ship, is back in her 2nd adventure in 1803 Boston. After being exposed as a girl and forced to leave her ship, Jacky finds herself attending a lady’s finishing school, where, she battles snobbish classmates, roams the city in search of adventure, and learns to ride a horse. Grades 6 - 12 |
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Why can't a white kid sit with the black kids in the cafeteria?
What happens when a biracial girl from Trinidad falls for a guy
from a very different culture? How does a teen deal with being
the only Palestinian boy or the only Japanese girl in a small
American town? |
Chloe and Julian meet during a visit as prospective Freshmen to an Ivy League College. They instantly hit it off and start start e-mailing each other, just not always completely honestly. Other emails spider their way out to Chloe's and Julian's friends, sisters, and sometimes mothers. IM's between friends and snail mail letters while Chloe is at summer camp complete the relationship and demonstrate how Chloe and Julian really do not know each other or what to expect the next time they meet. A hard hitting look at how people perceive themselves or others in relationships, especially via letters or e-mail, where large parts of a person's life may not appear. Grades 7 - 12 |
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Monterey, Savannah, Jamal, and Eddie have never had much to do with each other until Emako Blue shows up at chorus practice. But just as the lives of these five Los Angeles high school students become intertwined, tragedy tears them apart. Grades 7 - 12 |
Maddie, Angela, and Zoe IM each other all the time, about anything and everything, which is demonstrated through their nonstop IM chatting during their first 3 months of 10 grade. Grades 7 - 12 |
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15 year-old Luther has become entrenched in his cold and manipulative mother’s (“Sarge”) shady business dealings in Flint, Michigan. She got a him a fake drivers license (age of 18 on it) when he was 13 so he could run a group home for men, including giving meds. While dreaming of college, Luther is aiming to win the first place at the Science Fair for the 3rd time. When Luther finally starts to acknowledge (to himself) what is going on, some intriguing events are set in motion. Grades 7 - 10 |
In Alagaesia, a fifteen-year-old boy of unknown lineage called Eragon finds a mysterious stone that weaves his life into an intricate tapestry of destiny, magic, and power, peopled with dragons, elves, dangerous monsters, rebels, and an evil king. First of a trilogy. Grades 6 - 12 |
Short stories from some of the best known teen writers today, including Bruce Coville, Meg Cabot, Alex Sanchez, Todd Strasser & Ann Martin. Grades 6 - 9 |
Gabe, Al & Bram throw wild parties every week at different houses. One night Gabe meets up with Helen. Helen ends up pregnant after that one night, tries to contact Gabe, but he, as usual, ignores and hides from all girls he has had stands with. What is Helen going to do and will Gabe ever acknowledge her and the child? Grades 9 - 12 |
TJ, a multiracial, adopted teenager is intellectually and athletically gifted, but dislikes organized sports. He agrees to form a swimming team for his school and recruits some of the school's less popular students as a stab at the jock athletic culture of his high school. grades 7-10 |
Anna Goldmith moves from London to a small Yorkshire town. The most popular girl in school, Hayley Parkin, quickly befriends Anna. But as Hayley and Anna's friendship gets going, Hayley begins her cruel games of innocent teasing, which develops into mean remarks and even violence, toward frightened Anna. But Hayley's cunning leaves a deeper impression on Anna than anyone, even her best friend Melanie, could ever anticipate. |
In the far distant future, when cities are giant tracked entities that move about and consume smaller towns, London is on the move. Tom, a fifteen-year-old apprentice, along with stranger Hester fall out/are pushed out of London and must seek out answers and find their way back to London. Follow their struggles and adventures across old Europe and discover this amazing new world where nothing has stayed the same. Grades 7-12 |
Three eighth-grade friends, preparing for the International Double Dutch Championship jump rope competition in their home town of Cincinnati, Ohio, cope with Randy's missing father, Delia's inability to read, and Yo Yo's encounter with the class bullies. Grades 7-10 |
Jazmin, an Afro-American teenager who lives with her older sister in a small Harlem apartment in the 1960s, finds strength in writing poetry and keeping a record of the events in her sometimes difficult life. Grades 6-9 |
Students at a Bronx high school read aloud personal poems they've written, revealing their innermost thoughts and fears to their formerly clueless classmates. Grades 8-12 |
Cameron’s dad, serial killer Hank Miller, is killed in a shoot-out with police. Cameron adopts the identity of one of his father's victims to escape the system and find a better life. How does he fit in with this family and do the suspect anything? Grades 9-12 |
When fifteen-year-old Bobby wakes up and finds himself invisible, freaking out his parents. Bobby ends up wandering around town naked (clothes are visible) and meets Alicia, a blind college girl, while trying to find out what caused his condition and how to reverse it. Grades 7-10 |
Watch out Harry Potter, you’ve got a rival in town. Artemis Fowl, a 12 year old genius, is busy trying to restore his family fortune by capturing a fairy and demanding a ransom in gold. Naturally the Lower Element Police Reconnaissance (LEPrecon) fights back with magic, technology, and a particularly nasty troll. With a captivating use of technology mixed with magic, well developed characters and a twisting plot line, this James Bond like action thriller comes to a quick and fascinating conclusion. Grades 5-10 |
In a future where humans despise clones, Matt enjoys special status as the young clone of El Patron, the 140-year-old leader of a corrupt drug empire nestled between Mexico and the United States. But why was Matt cloned? and What is his future meant to be? Grades 7-12 |
A haunting story of today’s school life because of Columbine like school shootings. Central High School begins to change after shootings at a nearby school, which results in a grief and crisis counselor taking over Central High School and enacting increasingly harsh measures to control students. Those who do not obey, promptly disappear, with the apparent support of the parents and the town. Grades 9-12 |
Sixteen year old Bud is raising his newborn daughter alone, with no help from parents and no indication of where the mother is. Experience the frustrations and joys of raising a newborn as the chapters alternate between the present and the past (7 months earlier during the pregnancy). Grades 9-12 |
A novel in poems that reveal God's discovery of the wonders and pains in the world he has created. Grades 6-12 |
Paul has always know he was gay, but it wasn't until he was in kindergarten that it was confirmed. Paul's hometown is quite different from today's hometowns; all lifestyles are more than accepted, they are almost expected, what with third grade gay class president's and drag queen football stars. Unfortunately not everything is perfect, since Tony's parents refuse to acknowledge that he is gay and treat him very poorly as a result. Filled with teen romance, agony, break-ups & betrayals. Grades 8-12 |
Fourteen-year-old Lindsay meets Talon and discovers that there are 2 worlds in New York city, one aboveground and one underground. Discover both worlds as you discover where the "downsiders" came from and what happens during possible discovery by the "topsiders". |
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Schooled 
Jinx 
The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian 
Deadline 
Cross my heart and hope to spy 
Sandpiper 
Beastly
Holdup 
Saving the world and other extreme sports 
Dragonsong 
Sofi Mendoza's guide to getting lost in Mexico
Hello, groin 
Wide awake 
How to get suspended and influence people 
What happened to Cass McBride? 
Echo
Mercy on these teenage chimps
Harmless
Twisted
Forever in blue : the fourth summer of the Sisterhood
Getting It
Touching darkness
The doom stone
Rash
I'd tell you I love you, but then I'd have to kill you
Estrella's quinceañera
The chocolate war
Secrets of my Hollywood life : a novel
What Mr. Mattero Did
Ask me no Questions
Roll Call
Fade to Black
Ark Angel 
Love, Cajun style
Mismatch
Down the rabbit hole : an Echo Falls mystery 
How my private, personal journal became a bestseller
The perfect shot
Totally Joe
Fresh off the boat
Framed
Spacer and Rat
The teacher's funeral : a comedy in three parts 
The year's best science fiction and fantasy for teens
The boy from the Basement 
The gospel according to Larry 
Boy2girl 
Curse of the Blue Tattoo : being an Account of the Misadventures
of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine lady 
Face
relations : 11 stories about seeing beyond color
Heart on my Sleeve
Emako
Blue 
TTYL
Bucking
the Sarge 
Eragon
13:
Thirteen Stories that Capture the Agony and Ecstasy of Being
Thirteen 
One
Night
Whale
Talk
Drowning
Anna
Mortal
Engines
Double
Dutch
Jazmin's
Notebook
Bronx
Masquerade
Counterfeit
Son
Things
Not Seen
Artemis
Fowl
House
of the Scorpion
After
The
First Part Last
God
Went to Beauty School
Boy
Meets Boy
Downsiders
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