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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
by Sherman Alexie
A young Native American boy's struggles to survive in a difficult world.
The book follows a fourteen-year-old boy living with his family on the Spokane Indian Reservation near Wellpinit, Washington for a school year. It is told in episodic diary style, moving from the ... (Wikipedia)
Fallen Angels
by Walter Dean Myers
A group of young soldiers in the Vietnam War struggle with fear, loss, and the harsh realities of combat.
The plot follows a soldier named Perry, through his experiences in Vietnam, at war, and through his life. , The novel initially received mixed reviews. , It would receive the 1988 Coretta Scott King ... (Wikipedia)
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
by E.L. Konigsburg
Two adventurous children who run away from home and hide in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.
When suburban Claudia Kincaid decides to run away, she knows she doesn’t just want to run from somewhere, she wants to run to somewhere — to a place that is comfortable, beautiful, and, preferably, ... (Goodreads)
The Things They Carried
by Tim O'Brien
A collection of stories about the Vietnam War, interweaving the past and present.
In 1979, Tim O'Brien's Going After Cacciato —a novel about the Vietnam War—won the National Book Award. In this, his second work of fiction about Vietnam, O'Brien's unique artistic vision is again ... (Goodreads)
The First Part Last
by Angela Johnson
A teenage girl's journey of self-discovery, coming to terms with teen pregnancy.
Bobby's a classic urban teenager. He's restless. He's impulsive. But the thing that makes him different is this: He's going to be a father. His girlfriend, Nia, is pregnant, and their lives are about ... (Goodreads)
The House of the Scorpion
by Nancy Farmer
A gripping sci-fi story of a boy's fight for survival in a world of clones and immortality.
This story is set in the country of Opium, a narrow strip of land between Mexico (now called Aztlán ), and the United States , which is ruled by the original Matteo Alacrán, or El Patrón, an ... (Wikipedia)
Heat
by Mike Lupica
A young basketball player discovers his passion and potential as he navigates the world of competitive sports.
Michael Arroyo has a pitching arm that throws serious heat along with aspirations of leading his team all the way to the Little League World Series. But his firepower is nothing compared to the heat ... (Goodreads)
Love You Forever
by Robert Munsch
A boy is comforted and loved by his mother throughout his life, reminding him that her love is unconditional.
An extraordinarily different story by Robert Munsch is a gentle affirmation of the love a parent feels for their child—forever. "A young woman holds her newborn son and looks at him lovingly. Softly ... (Goodreads)
As I Lay Dying
by William Faulkner
A family's struggle to fulfill the dying wish of their mother, amidst personal and societal challenges.
The book is narrated by 15 different characters over 59 chapters. It is the story of the death of Addie Bundren and her poor, rural family's quest and motivations—noble or selfish—to honor her wish ... (Wikipedia)
Marcelo in the Real World
by Francisco X. Stork
A young man with Asperger's Syndrome navigates the challenges of the real world.
Marcelo Sandoval, is a seventeen-year-old who hears music in his head as a result of mild autism , described as a " cognitive disorder " by his father. , He attends a school that caters to the needs ... (Wikipedia)
Be More Chill
by Ned Vizzini
A high school student takes a pill to become popular, but the pill has unexpected side effects.
Be More Chill is written in the first person, from the perspective of high school student Jeremy Heere. Jeremy is considered a loser by his popular peers; the popular girls have no interest in him, ... (Wikipedia)
All American Boys
by Jason Reynolds
Two high school boys, one black, one white, navigate race, justice and friendship.
Rashad is absent again today. That’s the sidewalk graffiti that started it all… Well, no, actually, a lady tripping over Rashad at the store, making him drop a bag of chips, was what started it all. ... (Goodreads)
Their Eyes Were Watching God
by Zora Neale Hurston
A woman's journey of self-discovery, liberation and empowerment.
Fair and long-legged, independent and articulate, Janie Crawford sets out to be her own person – no mean feat for a black woman in the '30s. Janie's quest for identity takes her through three ... (Goodreads)
Make Lemonade
by Virginia Euwer Wolff
A teenage mother takes a job cleaning for a writer and learns to make the best of her situation.
An award-winning novel about growing up and making choices, Virginia Euwer Wolff's groundbreaking novel, written in free verse, tells the story of fourteen-year-old LaVaughn, who is determined to go ... (Goodreads)
Touching Spirit Bear
by Ben Mikaelsen
A young boy's journey of redemption, healing and understanding through his experience with a Spirit Bear.
Within Cole Matthews lies anger, rage and hate. Cole has been stealing and fighting for years. This time he caught Peter Driscal in the parking lot and smashed his head against the sidewalk. Now, ... (Goodreads)
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
by Brian Selznick
An orphaned boy's journey to unravel the secrets of a mechanical man and find his place in the world.
In 1930s Paris, young Hugo Cabret and his father repair an automaton at the museum where his father works. When Hugo's father dies in a fire, his uncle brings him to live and work at the train ... (Wikipedia)
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
by Judi Barrett
A whimsical story of a town where food literally falls from the sky.
A grandfather reads a bedtime story, chronicling the lives of the citizens of an imaginary town called Chewandswallow, which is characterized by food raining from the sky. The sky provided the ... (Wikipedia)
Wintergirls
by Laurie Halse Anderson
A teenage girl struggles with anorexia and the lingering trauma of her best friend's death.
Lia Overbrook, an 18-year-old girl, just found out that her ex-best friend Cassie has died. Cassie had called Lia 33 times the night of her death. However, Lia never answered the phone. Cassie was ... (Wikipedia)
Out of the Dust
by Karen Hesse
A poetic story of a young girl's endurance through a time of great hardship.
When Billie Jo is just fourteen she must endure heart-wrenching ordeals that no child should have to face. The quiet strength she displays while dealing with unspeakable loss is as surprising as it ... (Goodreads)
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
by Max Brooks
A collection of interviews recounting tales of the zombie apocalypse.
It has been nearly twenty years since the start of the apocalyptic worldwide pandemic known as the Zombie War, and about ten years since the war has ended in humanity's victory. The framing device ... (Wikipedia)
Interpreter of Maladies
by Jhumpa Lahiri
Collection of stories exploring the struggles of Indian-American immigrants in the US.
A married couple, Shukumar and Shoba, live as strangers in their house until an electrical outage brings them together when all of sudden "they [are] able to talk to each other again" in the four ... (Wikipedia)
Stargirl
by Jerry Spinelli
An uplifting story of a unique girl who challenges her classmates to be their true selves.
The book begins with a brief introduction to the main character, Leo, at an early age, which is followed by his move from his home state of Pennsylvania to Arizona when he is 12. Before the move, his ... (Wikipedia)
The Chocolate War
by Robert Cormier
A boy's struggle against an oppressive school environment, where he must decide between conformity or standing up for what's right.
Jerry is a freshman attending an all-boys Catholic high school called Trinity, while coping with depressive feelings and existential questions that stem largely from his mother's recent death and his ... (Wikipedia)
Beloved
by Toni Morrison
A haunting story of loss and resilience in the aftermath of slavery.
Beloved begins in 1873 in Cincinnati, Ohio , where the protagonist Sethe, a formerly enslaved woman, has been living with her eighteen-year-old daughter Denver at 124 Bluestone Road. The book ... (Wikipedia)
The Crossover
by Kwame Alexander
Two brothers explore the joys and struggles of adolescence through the power of basketball.
New York Times, bestseller ∙ Newbery Medal Winner ∙, Coretta Scott King Honor Award ∙,2015 YALSA 2015 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults,∙, 2015 YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers ... (Barnes & Noble)
Inside Out & Back Again
by Thanhha Lai
A young girl and her family flee Vietnam, adapting to a new life in America.
Inside Out and Back Again is a story about a young girl named Kim Hà and her family, consisting of her Mother and three brothers, being forced to move to the United States because the Vietnam War had ... (Wikipedia)
Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie
by Jordan Sonnenblick
A humorous and heartfelt story of a young boy's struggle with leukemia and its effect on his family.
The protagonist of the book is Steven Alper, a 13-year-old boy living in New Jersey . The Alper family consists of Dad, an accountant; Mom, an English teacher; Steven, an enthusiastic and talented ... (Wikipedia)
Where the Red Fern Grows
by Wilson Rawls
A young boy embarks on an adventure with his beloved hunting dogs, learning valuable life lessons.
An old man named Billy Colman rescues a redbone hound under attack by neighborhood dogs. He takes it home with him so that its wounds can heal. In light of this event, he has a flashback to when he ... (Wikipedia)
Counting by 7s
by Holly Goldberg Sloan
A story of resilience and hope, as an outsider learns to find her place in the world.
Willow Chance is a twelve-year-old genius, obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions, who finds it comforting to count by 7s. It has never been easy for her to connect with anyone other ... (Goodreads)
This World We Live In
by Susan Beth Pfeffer
A post-apocalyptic world where a family struggles to survive and find hope in a world without electricity, food, and safety.
It’s been a year since a meteor collided with the moon, catastrophically altering the earth’s climate. For Miranda Evans, life as she knew it no longer exists. Her friends and neighbors are dead, the ... (Goodreads)
