Recommendations based on Catalystby Laurie Halse Anderson

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. 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)

  2. Twisted

    by Laurie Halse Anderson
    A young girl's struggle for justice against a high school culture of silence and victim-blaming.

    High school senior Tyler Miller used to be the kind of guy who faded into the background—average student, average looks, average dysfunctional family. But since he got busted for doing graffiti on ... (Goodreads)

  3. Chains

    by Laurie Halse Anderson
    A young girl's mission to secure her and her sister's freedom from enslavement.

    As the Revolutionary War begins, thirteen-year-old Isabel wages her own fight...for freedom. Promised freedom upon the death of their owner, she and her sister, Ruth, in a cruel twist of fate become ... (Goodreads)

  4. Dreamland

    by Sarah Dessen
    A teenage girl's journey of self-discovery, navigating the complexities of relationships and growing up.

    The book is split into three parts. Caitlin O'Koren has just realized that on her 16th birthday, her 18 year-old sister, Cass, has run away. Everybody completely forgets about Caitlin's birthday. Her ... (Wikipedia)

  5. The Moon and More

    by Sarah Dessen
    A summer of love and self-discovery for a girl in a small beach town, as she navigates relationships with family, friends, and a new love interest.

    Emaline is spending the summer working for her family's real estate agency and getting ready to head to the local college in the fall. , Her plans for the summer involve working at her family's ... (Wikipedia)

  6. The Boleyn Inheritance

    by Philippa Gregory
    Courtly intrigue during the reign of Henry VIII, full of danger, secrets and betrayal.

    The book begins in 1539, after the death of King Henry VIII's third wife, Jane Seymour . Henry is looking for a new wife and chooses Anne of Cleves , daughter of John III, Duke of Cleves , whom he ... (Wikipedia)

  7. Just Listen

    by Sarah Dessen
    A young girl's journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance, navigating the complexities of teenage life.

    Annabel Greene is a girl who has it all—at least, that's how it seems on TV commercials. Annabel's life is far from perfect. , Her friendship with her best friends Clarke and Sophie ended bitterly. ... (Wikipedia)

  8. Does My Head Look Big in This?

    by Randa Abdel-Fattah
    A coming-of-age story about a Muslim-Australian teenager who decides to wear the hijab full-time and faces discrimination and challenges from her peers.

    When sixteen-year-old Amal decides to wear the hijab full-time, her entire world changes, all because of a piece of cloth... Sixteen-year-old Amal makes the decision to start wearing the hijab ... (Goodreads)

  9. 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)

  10. The Lover's Dictionary

    by David Levithan
    A unique exploration of the complexities of a relationship, told through a series of dictionary entries.

    A nameless narrator tells the story of a relationship through dictionary entries. These short entries provide insight into the ups and downs of their romantic relationship, revealing the couple's ... (Wikipedia)

  11. Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock

    by Matthew Quick
    A teenage boy's plan to take revenge on those he feels have wronged him, and his journey to self-forgiveness.

    Today is Leonard Peacock’s birthday. It is also the day he hides a gun in his backpack. Because today is the day he will kill his former best friend, and then himself, with his grandfather’s P-38 ... (Goodreads)

  12. The Sky Is Everywhere

    by Jandy Nelson
    A young girl's exploration of love and loss amidst a tumultuous family life.

    Adrift after her sister Bailey's sudden death, Lennie finds herself torn between quiet, seductive Toby—Bailey's boyfriend who shares her grief—and Joe, the new boy in town who bursts with life and ... (Goodreads)

  13. Elsewhere

    by Gabrielle Zevin
    A young girl's journey to the afterlife, grappling with the reality of death.

    Fifteen-year-old Liz is hit and killed by a taxi. When she wakes up, she finds herself in the cabin of a ship named the SS Nile. She meets her idol, who turns out to be dead, like her. The ship ... (Wikipedia)

  14. On the Island

    by Tracey Garvis Graves
    A story of survival, friendship, and love between two people stranded on a desert island.

    When thirty-year-old English teacher Anna Emerson is offered a job tutoring T.J. Callahan at his family's summer rental in the Maldives, she accepts without hesitation; a working vacation on a ... (Goodreads)

  15. Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports

    by James Patterson
    Maximum Ride and her flock of genetically enhanced kids must save the world from evil scientists and their monstrous creations.

    In the third book of the Maximum Ride series, Max and her flock are faced with the task of saving the world from a massive company called Itex, and its leader known as the Director. They plan on ... (Wikipedia)

  16. The Woman Who Rides Like a Man

    by Tamora Pierce
    Alanna continues her journey disguised as a man, facing challenges and discovering her true identity.

    The third book sees Alanna through her journey through the Bazhir desert, where she and her manservant Coram are adopted by the Bloody Hawk tribe of the desert people Bazhir. During their stay, ... (Wikipedia)

  17. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

    by Junot Díaz
    An exploration of love, identity, and the power of fate in a family's struggles and triumphs.

    Oscar de León (nicknamed Oscar Wao, a bastardization of Oscar Wilde ) is an overweight Dominican growing up in Paterson, New Jersey. Oscar desperately wants to be successful with women but, from a ... (Wikipedia)

  18. School's Out—Forever

    by James Patterson
    Max and her friends escape from a sinister school and uncover a dangerous conspiracy. They must fight to survive and expose the truth.

    After the events of, Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment, , the prior book, the Flock is headed toward Washington, D.C., where they hope to find the answers to their origins. However, after Fang is ... (Wikipedia)

  19. Lioness Rampant

    by Tamora Pierce
    Alanna of Trebond, now a knight, must face her greatest challenge yet to save her kingdom from a powerful sorcerer.

    The first chapter of this book finds Alanna, Faithful, and Coram on a quest for the 'Dominion Jewel', which grants immense psychokinetic power to any monarch who owns it. In the town of Berat, Alanna ... (Wikipedia)

  20. The Guardian

    by Nicholas Sparks
    A young widow and a single father fall in love, but their pasts threaten to tear them apart.

    Julie Barenson's young husband left her two unexpected gifts before he died: a Great Dane puppy named Singer and the promise that he would always be watching over her. Now, four years have passed. ... (Goodreads)

  21. The Angel Experiment

    by James Patterson
    A group of genetically engineered children on the run from a dangerous government agency.

    Six unforgettable kids — with no families, no homes — are running for their lives. Max Ride and her best friends have the ability to fly. And that's just the beginning of their amazing powers. But ... (Goodreads)

  22. Leaving Time

    by Jodi Picoult
    A young girl's quest to uncover the truth behind her mother's disappearance.

    For more than a decade, Jenna Metcalf has never stopped thinking about her mother, Alice, who mysteriously disappeared in the wake of a tragic accident. Refusing to believe she was abandoned, Jenna ... (Goodreads)

  23. Alanna: The First Adventure

    by Tamora Pierce
    A young girl disguises herself as a boy to achieve her dreams of becoming a knight.

    Alanna of Trebond and her twin brother Thom may be twins , but are very different; Alanna is a tomboy who dreams of being a knight, and Thom wishes to become a sorcerer. Unfortunately, Alanna is ... (Wikipedia)

  24. Push

    by Sapphire
    A harrowing tale of a young girl's journey through poverty, abuse, and illiteracy in Harlem.

    Claireece Precious Jones is an obese, illiterate 16-year-old girl who lives in Harlem with her abusive mother Mary. Precious is a few months pregnant with her second child, the product of her father ... (Wikipedia)

  25. Maximum Ride, Vol. 3

    by NaRae Lee
    Maximum Ride and her flock of genetically enhanced kids continue their fight against the evil corporation that created them.

    Narrowly surviving their encounter with Erasers in New York City, the flock is following up a lead on their pasts in Washington, D.C. But what they find waiting for them is...a home?! How will the ... (Goodreads)

  26. It's Kind of a Funny Story

    by Ned Vizzini
    A young man's struggle with mental illness, finding his path to recovery.

    Craig Gilner, the narrator, is 15 years old and lives with his family in a middle-class Brooklyn neighborhood. He attends the prestigious Executive Pre-Professional High School, having studied ... (Wikipedia)

  27. Every Day

    by David Levithan
    A story of love, identity and acceptance, as a person wakes up in a different body each day.

    Every Day is about the story of A, a person who wakes up occupying a different body each day. As described by Frank Bruni of The New York Times , "A. doesn't have a real name, presumably because they ... (Wikipedia)

  28. Before I Fall

    by Lauren Oliver
    A high school student relives the same day over and over, learning to appreciate life.

    The story begins on a seemingly normal day for the popular 17-year-old Samantha "Sam" Kingston. On February 12, known as " Cupid's Day ," Sam goes about her day as normal with her three best ... (Wikipedia)

  29. The Storyteller

    by Jodi Picoult
    A storyteller's quest to restore faith in the power of storytelling and to mend the wounds of her past.

    25-year-old Sage Singer lives in the small town of Westerbrook, New Hampshire . , A couple of years before the story began, Sage and her mother were in a car accident while Sage was driving. Sage's ... (Wikipedia)

  30. Ordinary Grace

    by William Kent Krueger
    A Midwestern family's journey of grief and healing, grappling with tragedy and the power of grace.

    “That was it. That was all of it. A grace so ordinary there was no reason at all to remember it. Yet I have never across the forty years since it was spoken forgotten a single word.” New Bremen, ... (Goodreads)