1.
Down the Rabbit Hole (2005) by Peter Abrahams
Like her idol Sherlock Holmes, 8th grader Ingrid Levin-Hill uses her intellect to solve the murder of an eccentric local woman in her hometown of Echo Falls.
2.
Fever, 1793 (2000) by Laurie Halse Anderson
16 year old Matilda Cook, separated from her sick mother, learns about perseverance and self-reliance when she is forced to cope with the horrors of the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia in 1793.
3.
Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation: The Pox Party (2006) by M.T. Anderson
Octavian, a young African American is brought up as part of a science experiment in the years leading up to and during the Revolutionary War.
4.
Thirteen Reasons Why (2007) by Jay Asher
Clay returns home from school to find a box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers 13 cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush, who committed suicide two weeks earlier.
5.
Hope Was Here (2000) by Joan Bauer
When 16 year old Hope and her aunt move from Brooklyn to Mulhoney, Wisconsin, to work in the Welcome Stairways diner, they become involved with the diner owner's political campaign to oust the town's corrupt mayor.
6.
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2001)by Ann Brashares
Give four best friends one pair of pants and watch as the biggest summer of their lives unfolds.
7.
A Great and Terrible Beauty (2003)by Libba Bray
After the suspicious death of her mother in 1895, 16 year old Gemma returns to England to attend a finishing school where she becomes aware of her magical powers and ability to see into the spirit world.
8.
Teen Idol (2004) by Meg Cabot
When teenage heartthrob Luke Stryker shows up at a small-town Indiana high school to do research for a movie role, he persuades Jenny Greenley to use her talents to try to change things at school for the better.
9.
Dragon’s Keep (2007) by Janet Lee Carey
Rosalind has grown up knowing that she is the one to fulfill Merlin’s prophecy of restoring her family name. Born with a dragon claw that she must keep hidden, she struggles to understand her mother’s choices and the dragon’s anger.
10.
Code Orange (2005) by Caroline B. Cooney
While conducting research for a school paper on smallpox, Mitty finds an envelope containing 100 year old smallpox scabs and fears that he has infected himself and all of New York City.
11.
Deadline (2007) by Chris Crutcher
Given the medical diagnosis of one year to live, high school senior Ben Wolf decides to fulfill his greatest fantasies, and ponders his life’s purpose and legacy.
12.
Bucking the Sarge (2004) by Christopher Paul Curtis
Deeply involved in his cold and manipulative mother's shady business dealings in Flint, Michigan, 14 year old Luther keeps a sense of humor while running the Group Home, all the while dreaming of going to college and becoming a philosopher.
13.
Just Listen (2006) by Sarah Dessen
Isolated from friends who believe the worst because she has not been truthful with them, Annabel finds an ally in classmate Owen, whose honesty and passion for music help her to face and share what really happened at the end-of-the-year party that changed her life. A must read for fans of Speak.
14.
A Northern Light (2004) by Jennifer Donnelly
16 year old Mattie, determined to attend college and be a writer against the wishes of her father and boyfriend, takes a job at a hotel where the death of a guest renews her resolve to live her own life.
15.
Last Shot: A Final Four Mystery (2005) by John Feinstein
After winning a basketball reporting contest, 8th graders Stevie and Susan Carol are sent to cover the Final Four tournament, where they discover that a talented player is being blackmailed into throwing the final game.
16.
Bloodwater Mysteries Snatched (2006) by Pete Hautman
Too curious for her own good, Roni, crime reporter for her high school newspaper, teams up with Brian, freshman science geek, to investigate the beating and kidnapping of a classmate.
17.
The Outsiders (1967) by S. E. Hinton
Rivalry between rich and poor gangs in 1960s Oklahoma leads to the deaths of three teenagers and intense soul-searching for one of the kids involved, a sensitive fourteen-year-old writer named Ponyboy.
18.
Aquamarine (2001) by Alice Hoffman
A love-struck mermaid named Aquamarine supplies adventure and insights to two 12 year old girls, life-long friends who are spending their last summer together before one of them moves away.
19.
Crank (2004) by Ellen Hopkins
Kristina Georgia Snow's life is turned upside-down, when she visits her absentee father, gets turned on to the drug "crank", becomes addicted, and is led down a desperate path that threatens her mind, soul, and her life.
20.
Misfits (2001) by James Howe
Four students who do not fit in at their small-town middle school decide to create a third party for the student council elections to represent all students who have ever been called names.
21.
Silent to the Bone (2000) by E.L. Konigsburg
13 year old Branwell loses his power of speech after being wrongly accused of gravely injuring his baby half-sister, and only his friend Connor is able to reach him and uncover the truth about what happened.
22.
Son of the Mob (2002) by Gordon Korman
17 year old Vince's life is constantly complicated by the fact that he is the son of a powerful Mafia boss, a relationship that threatens to destroy his romance with the daughter of an FBI agent.
23.
Girl, 15, Charming But Insane (2004) by Sue Limb
15 year old Jess, living with her mum, separated from her father in Cornwall, and with a best friend who seems to do everything perfectly, finds her own assets through humor. For fans of Meg Cabot’s Princess Diaries.
24.
Flip (2004) by David Lubar
8th graders Ryan and Taylor are twins, but that’s where the similarities end. They do, however, have at least one thing in common--nothing is turning out as they had planned.
25.
Travel Team (2004) by Mike Lupica
After he is cut from his travel basketball team--the very same team that his father once led to national prominence--12 year old Danny Walker forms his own team of cast-offs that might have a shot at victory.
26.
Wicked Lovely (2007) by Melissa Marr
17 year old Aislinn, who has the rare ability to see fairies, is drawn against her will into a centuries old battle between the Summer King and the Winter Queen, and the survival of her life and love hang in the balance.
27.
A Boy No More (2004) by Harry Mazer
After his father is killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor, Adam, his mother, and his sister are evacuated from Hawaii to California, where he must deal with his feelings about the war, Japanese internment camps, his father, and his own identity.
28.
Twilight (2005) by Stephenie Meyer
When 17 year old Bella leaves Phoenix to live with her father in Forks, Washington, she meets an exquisitely handsome boy at school for whom she feels an overwhelming attraction and who she comes to realize is not wholly human.
29.
Dairy Queen (2007) by Catherine Murdock
After spending her summer running the family farm and training the quarterback for her school's rival football team, 16 year old D.J. decides to go out for the sport herself, not anticipating the reactions of those around her.
30.
Scorpions (1988) by Walter Dean Myers
After reluctantly taking on the leadership of the Harlem gang, the Scorpions, Jamal finds that his enemies treat him with respect when he acquires a gun--until a tragedy occurs.
31.
Ties That Bind, Ties That Break (2005) by Lensey Namioka
Ailin's life takes a different turn when she defies the traditions of upper class Chinese society by refusing to have her feet bound.
32.
Airborn (2004) by Kenneth Oppel
Matt, a young cabin boy aboard an airship, and Kate, a wealthy young girl traveling with her chaperone, team up to search for the existence of mysterious winged creatures reportedly living hundreds of feet above the Earth's surface.
33.
Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment (2005) by James Patterson
After the mutant Erasers abduct the youngest member of their group, the “birdkids” who are a result of genetic experimentation, take off in pursuit, and find themselves struggling to understand their own origins and purpose.
34.
The Will of the Empress (2005) by Tamora Pierce
While traveling to Namorn to visit her devious cousin, 18 year old Sandry must rely on her childhood friends and fellow mages Daja, Tris, and Briar, despite the distance that has grown between them. The story of the four mages from the Circle Quartet continues!
35.
Witch Child (2002) by Celia Rees
In 1659, 14 year old Mary Newbury keeps a journal of her voyage from England to the New World and her experiences living as a witch in a community of Puritans near Salem, Massachusetts.
36.
The Redheaded Princess (2008) by Ann Rinaldi
In 1542, Lady Elizabeth is striving to get back into the good graces of her father, King Henry VIII. As the years pass she faces his death and the deaths of other close relatives until she finds herself next in line to ascend the throne of England in 1558.
37.
Wednesday Wars (2007) by Gary Schmidt
During the 1967 school year, on Wednesday afternoons when all his classmates go to either Catechism or Hebrew school, 7th grader Holling Hoodhood stays in Mrs. Baker's classroom where they read the plays of William Shakespeare and Holling learns a lot about the world he lives in.
38.
Unwind (2007) by Neal Shusterman
Three teens embark upon a cross-country journey in order to escape from a society that salvages body parts from children ages thirteen to eighteen.
39.
Peak (2007) by Roland Smith
14 year old Peak Marcello just might be the youngest climber to summit Everest, after a skyscraper climbing incident lands him in his famous mountain climber father’s custody.
40.
What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know (2007) by Sonya Sones
14 year old Robin Murphy is so unpopular at high school that his name is slang for "loser," so when he begins dating the beautiful and popular Sophie, her reputation plummets.
41.
Bartimaeus Trilogy : The Amulet of Samarkand (2003) by Jonathan Stroud
Nathaniel, a young magician's apprentice, becomes caught in a web of magical espionage, murder, and rebellion, after he summons the djinni Bartimaeus and instructs him to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from a powerful magician.
42.
Hungry City Chronicles: Mortal Engines (2001) by Philip Reeve
In a distant future in which technology has been lost and new cities consume other cities, it’s up to a group of teens, led by a third class apprentice named Tom, to stop the mayor of London from resurrecting an ancient atomic weapon.
43.
Montmorency: Thief, Liar, Gentleman? (2005) by Eleanor Updale
In Victorian London, after his life is saved by a young physician, a thief utilizes the knowledge he gains in prison and from the scientific lectures he attends as the physician's case study exhibit to create a new, highly successful, double life for himself.
44.
Flipped (2001) by Wendelin Van Draanen
In alternating chapters, two teenagers describe how their feelings about themselves, each other, and their families have changed over the years.
45.
Heir Apparent (2002) by Vivian Vande Velde
While playing a total immersion virtual reality game of kings and intrigue, 14 year old Giannine learns that demonstrators have damaged the equipment to which she is connected, and she must win the game quickly or be damaged herself.
46.
The Uglies (2005) by Scott Westerfeld
Tally is faced with a difficult choice when her new friend Shay decides to risk life on the outside rather than submit to the forced operation that turns 16 year old girls into gorgeous beauties, and realizes that there is a whole new side to the pretty world that she doesn't like.
47.
American Born Chinese (2006) by Gene Luen Yang
This Graphic Novel alternates between three interrelated stories about the problems of young Chinese Americans trying to participate in the popular culture.
48.
The Sword of the Rightful King (2003) by Jane Yolen
Merlinnus the magician devises a way for King Arthur to prove himself the rightful king of England--pulling a sword from a stone--but trouble arises when someone else removes the sword first.
49.
Elsewhere (2005) By Gabrielle Zevin
After 15 year old Liz is hit by a taxi and killed, she finds herself in a place that is both like and unlike Earth, where she must adjust to her new status and figure out how to “live.”
50.
I am the Messenger (2005) by Marcus Zusak
After capturing a bank robber, 19 year old cab driver Ed begins receiving mysterious messages that direct him to addresses where people need help, and he begins getting over his lifelong feeling of worthlessness.
Young Adult Booklists
