Best Books for Young Adults Nominations

Updated Nov. 9, 2009

Fiction

Abbott, Ellen Jensen.
Watersmeet. Marshal Cavendish. 2009. 978-0-7614-5536-3. $16.99. A surge in religious fervor increases the intolerance and cruelty in her settlement, so Abisina tries to find the mysterious place where her unknown father waits, called Watersmeet.

Abrahams, Peter.
Reality Check. Harper Collins/Harper Teen. 2009. 978-0-06-122767-7. $16.99 A rich girl's former small-town boyfriend comes to search for her when she goes missing from her fancy boarding school.

Alexander, Jill.
Sweetheart of Prosper County. Macmillan/Feiwel and Friends . 2009. 978-0312548568. $16.99. Austin tries to become FFA Sweetheart, so that she will find the courage to stand up to a bully but finds that it doesn't work that way.

Alvarez, Julia.
Return to Sender. Random House/Knopf. 2009. 978-0-375-85838-3. $16.99. Tyler learns that honesty, patriotism, and the line between right and wrong are not always black and white when his family must hire migrant workers to save their Vermont dairy farm.

Amateau, Gigi.
A Certain Strain of Peculiar. Candlewick Press. 2009. 9780763630096. $16.99


To escape ridicule from her classmates in Virginia, thirteen-year-old Mary drives to Alabama to live with her grandmother. Here, both Mary and her mother find their way home.

Anderson, Laure Halse.
Wintergirls. Penguin/Viking Books. 2009. 978-0-670-01110-0. $17.99 Lia is haunted by her best friend's death from anorexia, as she struggles with the same eating disorder.

Ardelius, Gunnar.
I Need You More Than I Love You and I Love You to Bits. Boyds Mill Press
/Front Street. 2008. 978-1590784723. $16.95. After a one-night stand, Morris and Betty fall in love, but how will they know when it's over?

Ayarbe, Heidi.
Freeze Frame. HarperCollins/Laura Geringer Books. 2008. 978-0-06-135173-0. $16.99. Kyle doesn’t remember shooting his best friend, Jason, with his father’s gun. He tries to recreate the scene, but he’s afraid he’ll discover that he did it on purpose.

Bachorz, Pam.
Candor. Egmont. 2009. 978-1-60684-012-2. $16.99. Oscar knows how to shut down the subliminal messages the town of Candor is feeding its teenagers, but if he's caught, his own mind is in danger.

Barnes, John.
Tales of the Madman Underground. Penguin/Viking Books. 2009. 978-0-670-06081-8. $18.99. In an attempt to distance himself from the rest of the students in the school's therapy group known as the Madman Underground, Karl launches his senior year with “Operation Be Fucking Normal.”

Beaudoin, Sean.
Fade to Blue. Little, Brown and Company. 2009. 978-0-316-01417-5. $16.99. Blue senses that something is wrong in her small town. She begins to piece together the connection between her missing father and the high school's football star, Kenny.

Blank, Jessica.
Karma for Beginners. Hyperion/Disney. 2009. 978-1423117513. $16.99.


Tessa and her hippie mom have always lived in strange places around the county, but now her mom seems intent on staying in the oddest place yet - an ashram in the Catskills.

Block , Francesca Lia.
Pretty Dead
. HarperCollins/HarperTeen. 2009. 978-0-06-154785-0. $16.99. Charlotte is a vampire that has witnessed centuries of death and destruction. But something is happening to Charlotte. Not since she was a human has morality touched her.

Boorhaem, Ellen.
The Unnameables. Houghton Mifflin. 2008. 978-0-15-206368-9. $16.00. In a place where everything has a name and every name has a meaning, outsider Medford Runyuin struggles in vain to follow the rules of his adopted home.

Borris, Albert.
Crash Into Me. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing/Simon Pulse. 2009. 978-1-4169-7435-2. $16.99. Four desperate teens meet online and make a suicide pact that ends in Death Valley, California. But first, there’s the road trip.

Bradley, Alan.
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Dell Publishing/Delacorte Press. 2009. 978-0-385-34230-8. $23.00. Flavia de Luce is delighted with the discovery of a dead snipe on her doorstep and considers it a bonus when a human body is found in her cucumber patch.

Bray, Libba.
Going Bovine. Random House/Delacorte. 2009. 978-0-385-73397-7. $17.99. Cameron knew there was something wrong when he started seeing pillars of fire and angels, but he never imagined he had mad cow disease.

Brennan, Sarah Rees.
Demon's Lexicon. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing/Margaret K. McElderry. 2009. 978-1-4169-6379-0. $17.99. Sixteen-year-old Nick and his older brother Alan are always on the run. Now, Alan has been marked by a demon and to save him, the boys must become the hunters.

Brooks
, Kevin
.
Dawn. Scholastic/Chicken House. 2009. 978-0-545-06090-5. $17.99.


Dawn keeps her younger self tucked away in a cave in her mind, hiding from the truth of what happened two years ago, before her father disappeared.

Brooks
, Laurie
.
Selkie Girl. Random House/Knopf. 2008. 978-0-375-85170-4. $15.99. Sixteen-year-old Elin Jean, ostracized because of her webbed fingers, discovers the reason for her mother's unhappiness after finding evidence of her own mysterious origins.

Brown, Chris Carlton.
Hoppergrass. Henry Holt. 2009. 978-0-8050-8879-3. $17.99 Bowser’s unlikely friendship with another boy at a facility for juvenile delinquents leads him to stand up for the truth when a tragic accident is covered up by the authorities.

Brown, Jennifer.
Hate List. Hatchette Book Group/Little, Brown and Company. 2009. 978-0-316-04144-7. $16.99. In the year following the devastating shootings at her high school orchestrated by her boyfriend Nick, Valerie must come to terms with grief and guilt in order to move on with her life.

Burd, Nick.
The Vast Fields of Ordinary. Penguin/Dial. 2009. 978-0-8037-3340-4. $16.99


Facing the bitter truth of no future with Pablo, Dade’s last summer before college looks bleak. Then he meets Alex, who’s unlike anyone he’s ever met, and romance seems possible.

Burg, Anne E.
All the Broken Pieces. Scholastic. 2009. 978-0-545-08092-7. $16.99. 12-year-old Matt struggles to cope with his memories of family left behind in war-torn Vietnam with the help of his adoptive parents, his music teacher, and his baseball coach.

Cadnum, Michael.
Peril on the Sea. Farrar Straus Giroux. 2009. 9780374358235. $16.95. After nearly drowning when his ship explodes, Sherwin Morris is rescued by a passing ship and swept on to new and greater adventure by a marginal pirate.

Calame, Don.
Swim the Fly. Candlewick Press. 2009. 978-0-7636-4157-3. $16.99. To impress a girl, un-athletic Matt volunteers to swim in the boys' butterfly competition with the help of his two true friends as they face their true summer's goal.

Cantor, Jillian
. The September Sisters. HarperCollins/HarperTeen. 2009. 978-0-06-168648-1. $16.99. 13-year-old Abigail and her younger sister Becky have always fought, until the day Becky mysteriously disappears. Now Abby struggles to keep herself and her family together and find Becky’s killer.

Carmichael, Clay.
Wild Things. Boyds Mills Press/Front Street. 2009. 978-1-59078-627-7. $18.95. When Zoe's mentally ill mother dies and she is taken in by an uncle she's never met she slowly learns to trust by coaxing a stray cat to trust her.

Cashore, Kristin.
Fire. Penguin Group/Dial Books. 2009. 978-0-8037-3461-6. $17.99. In a world full of monsters so beautiful they lure people into their doom, how can people protect themselves from human monsters?

Chadda, Sarwat.
The Devil's Kiss. Disney/Hyperion. 2009. 978-1-4231-1999-9. $17.99. Billi SanGreal, a reluctant Knight Templar, is thrust into an epic battle of good vs. evil when demons from Hell threaten to bring forth the tenth plague.

Chaltas, Talia.
Because I Am Furniture. Penguin/Viking. 2009. 978-0-670-06298-0. $16.99. Anke watches her siblings and mother suffer at the hands of her abusive father until she finds enough strength, through involvement in volleyball, to demonstrate her needs.

Clayton, Emma.
The Roar. Scholastic/Chicken House. 2009. 978-0-439-92593-8. $17.99. The government is making thousands of children strong, agile and competitive, but why? Twelve-year-old Mika plays along, hoping the training will lead him to his kidnapped twin.

Clement-Moore, Rosemary.
Highway to Hell. Random House / Delacorte Press. 2009. 978-0-385-73463-9. $16.99. Maggie and Lisa find their spring break road trip interrupted by a cow’s carcass which launches them into a hunt for an evil demon terrorizing a remote desert.

Cody, Matthew.
Powerless. Random House/Knopf. 2009. 978-0-375-89353-7. $15.99. In Nobles Green there are six kids with superpowers, but the night they turn 13 the powers, and their memory of them, disappear.

Collins, Suzanne.
Catching Fire. Scholastic/ Scholastic Press. 2009. 978-0-439-02349-8. $17.99. After winning the Hunger Games, Katniss is preoccupied with the government’s expectations for her romantic life. She soon has more important worries—including revolts in the Districts and new Game rules.

Coombs, Kate.
The Runaway Dragon. Macmillan/Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2009.978-0-374-36361-1. $16.99. When Princess Meg's dragon Laddy runs away, Meg and her friends set out on a quest through an enchanted forest to bring him home.

Cooney, Caroline B.
If the Witness Lied. Random House/Delacorte. 2009. 978-0-385-73448-6. $16.99. Siblings Jack, Madison and Smithy work to protect their 2 year old brother Tris from media exploitation and their not-quite-aunt Cheryl.

Cooper, Michelle.
A Brief History of Montmaray. Random House/Alfred A Knopf. 2009. 978-0-375-85864-2. $16.99. Not even a small island nation populated mostly by royalty can keep neutral in the events leading up to the Second World War.




Crowley
, Suzanne Carlisle.
The Stolen One. Harper Collins/Greenwillow. 2009. 978-0-06-123200-8. $17.99 In searching for her identity, Spirit finds that she is the daughter of a former queen and realizes who she truly loves, at the court of Queen Elizabeth I.

Crutcher, Chris.
Angry Management. HarperCollins Publishers/Greenwillow Books. 2009. 978-0-06-050247-8. In three novellas, characters from the author's previous stories attend an angry management group with others and we see how each deals with their insecurity and anger.

Davies, Jacqueline.
Lost. Marshall Cavendish. 2009. 978-0-7614-5535-6. $16.99. Essie, 16, sews all day for pennies at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory to help feed her fatherless family and now to forget her little sister's death. Then the fire happens.

Davis, Eleanor.
The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook. Bloomsbury. 2009. 9781599903965. $10.99. A jock, a science nerd, and the school's tough girl bond over their love of science and put their collective knowledge to the test when a rogue scientist steals their designs.

Davis, Tanita.
Mare's War. Random House/Alfred A. Knopf. 2009. 978-0-375-85714-0. $16.99. Sisters Octavia and Tali embarks on a road trip woth their grandmother over the summer. During this road trip, Octavia and Tali learn that there's more to their grandmother than what they have seen.

Dessen, Sarah.
Along For the Ride. Penguin/Viking. 2009. 978-0-670-01194-0. $16.99. Auden’s summer becomes one of second chances, not just for her but for her family and friends as well. The more chances she takes, the more she discovers about herself.

Dowd, Siobhan.
Solace of the Road. Random House/David Fickling Books. 2009. 978-0-375-84971-8. $17.99. Holly Hogan had had enough. She dons a blonde wig, hits the road, and becomes Solace, a street smart, tough teen ready to take on the world.

Echols, Jennifer.
Going Too Far. Simon Pulse/MTV Pocket Books. 2009. 978-1-4165-7173-5. $11.00. Meg is the blue haired girl in a small town, John is the cop who picks her up one night, and the relationship that develops causes all sorts of problems.

Ellis, Ann Dee.
Everything Is Fine. Little, Brown and Company. 2009. 978-0-316-01364-2. $16.99.Mazzy spends her summer making art and heating up marshmallows in the microwave, mainly because her mother won’t get out of bed and her father has left her alone.

Ellis, Deborah.
Lunch with Lenin and Other Stories. Fitzhenry & Whiteside. 2008. 978-1-55455-105-7. $14.95. A collection of ten short stories that explores teens and their direct or indirect exposure to drugs and alcohol.

Efaw, Amy.
After. Penguin/Viking
. 2009. 978-0-670-01183-4. $17.99. Soccer star Devon never admitted to herself that she was pregnant. Now she’s in detention, facing charges of attempted murder after delivering a baby and dumping it in the trash.

Emerson, Kevin.
Carlos is Gonna Get It.
Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine. 2008. 978-0-439-93525-8. $16.99. Tired of Carlos’s bizarre behavior and special treatment from teachers, Trina and her classmates come up with a plan to pay him back for making their 7th grade miserable.

Engle, Margarita.
Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba. Henry Holt. 2009. 978-0-8050-8936-3. $16.99. In 1939, Daniel leaves his family behind when he flees the horrors of holocaust Europe. Now a refugee in Cuba, he must find hope to make a life for himself.

Fantaskey, Beth.
Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side. Harcourt. 2009. 978-0-15-206384-9. $17.00 Jessica Packwood begins her senior year unaware that she’s destined to become the bride of an arrogant vampire prince who expects to establish his birthright and claim his prize.

Ferraro
,
Tina.
The ABC's of Kissing Boys. Random House Children's Books/Delacorte Press. 2009. 978-0-385-73582-7. $8.99. Learning to kiss from her father's archenemy's son (a freshman) can lead to consequences Parker never imagined. A funny, poignant, and sweet Romeo and Juliet.

Ford, John C.
The Morgue and Me. Penguin/Viking. 2009. 978-0-670-01096-7. $17.99. This classic who-done-it takes a wannabe detective (or spy) and a ballsy (hot) reporter on a whirlwind of murder, blackmail, bribery, and environmental scandal.

Forman, Gayle.
If I Stay. Penguin/ Dutton. 2009. 978-0-525-42103-0. $16.99. While in a coma after her family is killed in a car accident, Mia struggles to decide whether to live or die.

Foxlee, Karen.
The Anatomy of Wings. Random House / Knopf. 2009. 978-0-375-95643-0. $16.99. Jenny’s beautiful sister is dead and nothing makes sense anymore. The only way for Jenny to right her world is to analyze the events leading up to her sister’s death.

Freymann-Weyr, Garret.
After the Moment. Houghton Mifflin. 2009. 978-0-618-60572-9. $16.00 To be with his sister, Leigh moves in with his father's family during his senior year of high school and falls in love with a troubled girl.




Frost, Helen.
Crossing Stones. Farrar, Straus & Giroux/Frances Foster Books. 978-0-374-31653-2. $16.99. Muriel's itching for a life outside her family's Vermont farm, but bigger changes await her in 1917 as first her neighbor and then her brother enlist to fight in Europe.

Garsee, Jeannine.
Say the Word. Bloomsbury. 2009. 978-1-59990-333-0. $16.99. After her estranged mother dies, Shawna Gallagher refuses to accept her dysfunctional home life and attempts to make peace with her mother’s lesbian lover.

George, Jessica Day.
Princess of the Midnight Ball. Bloomsbury. 2009. 978-1-59990-322-4. $16.99.When the decade long war ends, professional solider Galen finds work as a gardener in the king’s garden, only to help solve the puzzle involving twelve dancing princesses.

Gill, David Macinnis.
Soul Enchilada. Harper Collins/Harper Teen. 2009. 978-0-06-167301-6. $16.99. When a repo demon comes for her Cadillac, Bug Smoot finds that her deceased grandfather pledged both her soul and her car as collateral on a deal.

Gingras, Charlotte.
Pieces of Me. Kids Can Press. 2009. 978-1-55453-242-1. $17.95. Pieces of Mira: her crazy domineering mother, her mostly absent father, her artistic talent, her first friend Cath, the birdman. Will the pieces come together to free her to be herself?

Goodman, Alison.
Eon: Dragoneye Reborn. Penguin/Viking Books. 2008. 978-0-670-06227-0. $19.99. Sixteen-year-old Eon is the unlikeliest candidate for Dragoneye, but she holds great power and a dangerous secret that just might make her the greatest Dragoneye for centuries.

Grant, K.M.
Blue Flame: Book One, The Perfect Fire Trilogy. Walker & Company. 2008. 978-0-8027-9694-3. $16.99. In 1242 France, Parsifal, who has devoted his life to guarding the Blue Flame, helps a young couple whose families are in the bloody conflict between Catholics and Cathars.

Griffin, Paul.
The Orange Houses. Penguin/Dial Books. 2009. 978-0-8037-3346-6. $16.99. Despite poverty, gang violence, and lack of appropriate supports, three inner-city teens come together and try to beat the odds and succeed in life.

Halpern, Julie.
Into the Wild Nerd Yonder. Macmillan/Feiwel and Friends. 2009. 978-0312382520. $16.99. Feeling used by her two best friends, high school sophomore Jessie decides to go in search of new friends. But will she be able to survive being branded a nerd?

Hamilton, Sekou.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Intern at Your Own Risk. TokyoPop. 2009. 978-1-4278-1550-7. $12.99. Five high school interns at the Las Vegas crime lab (of CSI television fame) are confronted with the bludgeoned murder of a classmate.

Han, Jenny.
The Summer I Turned Pretty. Simon & Schuster. 2009. $16.99. At the beach house where she has spent every summer since childhood, sixteen-year-old Belly finds that this is the summer of many changes.

Hardinge, Frances.
The Lost Conspiracy. HarperCollins. 2009. 978-0-06-088042-2. $16.99.


Hathin is unremarkable compared to her mind wandering sister, but when push comes to shove, Hathin must save herself, her sister, and her whole island.

Hartinger, Brent.
Project Sweet Life. Harper Collins/Harper Teen. 2009. 978-0-06-082411-2. $16.99. Three friends spend the summer scheming to raise enough money so they won't have to get summer jobs but find this may be harder than actually working.

Hautman, Pete.
How to Steal a Car. Scholastic. 2009. 9780545113182. $16.99. When perennial good girl Kelleigh takes a joyride after finding a stranger's car keys, she finds the rush of stealing cars spices up her otherwise boring suburban existence.

Headley, Justina Chen.
North of Beautiful. Little, Brown and Company. 978-0-316-02505-8. $16.99. Terra Cooper is held back in life by her facial port-wine stain, her controlling father and herself. When she meets Jacob’s family, she and her mother begin to escape.

Herlong, M.H.
The Great Wide Sea. Penguin/Viking. 2008. 978-0-670-06330-7. $16.99. His mother is dead and his father is missing at sea. With a horrific storm brewing, can sixteen-year-old Ben and his younger brothers survive?

Hernandez, David.
No More Us for You. Harper Collins/Harper Teen. 2009. 978-0-06-117333-2. $16.99. Carlos has a cheating girlfriend, a mystery man urinating on the floor at work, and a friend in a coma. Can Isabel—still grieving her dead boyfriend—help him cope?

Herrick, Steven.
Cold Skin. Boyd's Mill Press Inc./Front Street. 2009. 978-1-59078-572-0. $18.95. In a small Australian town, a murder brings everyone under suspicion, especially Albert Holding and his sons.

Hoban, Julia.
Willow. Penguin Group/ Dial Books. 2009. 978-0-8037-3356-5. $16.99. Willow uses self-mutilation to deal with losing her parents to a car crash. Soon, a guy named Guy enters her life and helps her to deal with her issues.

House, Silas.
Eli the Good. Candlewick Press. 2009. 9780763643416. $16.99. Worried about his father's flashbacks to Viet Nam and about other family problems plus his best friend, Eli lives through the hot, endless summer of the country's bicentennial celebration.

Howell, Simmone.
Everything Beautiful. Bloomsbury. 2008. 978-1-59990-042-1. $19.99. Riley is intent on escaping the Christian camp her father has sent her to before the week is out, but meeting Dylan Luck, who uses a wheelchair, challenges her own beliefs and plans.

Hrdlitschka, Shelley.
Sister Wife. Orca. 2008. 978-1-55143-927-3. $12.95. Celeste lives in a remote polygamist society but chafes at her coming marriage. There is an option to leave everything she knows, but that is the problem.

Hurwin, Davida Wilis.
Freaks and Revelations. Little, Brown and Company. 2009. 978-0-316-04996-2. $16.99. Jason, a young gay cast out by his family, and Doug an angry punk rocker are destined to collide in a violent attack that will change their lives forever.

Jinks, Catherine.
The Reformed Vampire Support Group. Harcourt/ Houghton Mifflin. 2009. 978-0-15-206609-3. $17.00. Nina Harrison, now and forever a teenage vampire, leads her dysfunctional crew of bloodsuckers on a mission to halt vampire persecution and rescue a vicious werewolf.

Johnson, Louanne.
Muchacho. Random House Children's Books/ Alfred A. Knopf. 2009. 978-0-375-86117-8. $15.99. Eddie Corazon, an angry juvenile delinquent in an alternative school, is influenced by love, a special teacher, books, and a criminal cousin as he tries to find his true self.

Jones, Carrie.
Need. Bloomsbury. 2008. 978-1-59990-338-5. $16.99. Zara moves to Bedford and discovers that not everything is what it seems in the small Maine town.

Kantor, Melissa.
Girlfriend Material. Disney/ Hyperion Books. 2009. 978-1-4231-0849-8. $15.99. Kate's plans for a summer with her best friend and a writing class is dashed when her mother announces that they are going to spend the summer with her college friends in Cape Cod.

Karim, Sheba.
Skunk Girl. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. 2009. 978-0-374-37011-4. Nina's parents wouldn't be happy about her dating a non-Pakistani boy, but she's got bigger things to worry about-like the hair that's growing in a stripe down her back.

Katcher, Brian.
Almost Perfect. Random House/ Delacorte Press. 2009. $17.99. 978-0-385-73664-0. An intriguing new student gets Logan out of his post-breakup slump, but as Sage reveals her past, Logan isn’t sure he’s confident enough to handle her MTF gender identity.

Kelly, Jacqueline.
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. Henry Holt. 2009. 978-0-8050-8841-0. $16.99. In 1899, eleven-year-old Calpurnia bonds over science and nature with her grandfather even as she becomes increasingly aware that she may not be able to pursue those interests as an adult.

King, A.S.
The Dust of 100 Dogs. Llewellyn Publications/Flux. 2009. 978-0-7387-1426-4. $9.95After being cursed to live the lives of 100 dogs before being reborn as a human, former pirate Emer Morrisey returns to Jamaica to reclaim treasure buried centuries before.

Knowles, Jo.
Jumping Off Swings. Candlewick Press. 2009. 978-0-7636-3949-5. $16.99.


Ellie is pregnant after looking for love in the wrong place with one too many boys. Corrine, Caleb and Josh all deal with the emotions, consequences and difficult decisions ahead.

Korman, Gordon.
Pop. HarperCollins/Balzer and Bray. 2009. 978-0-06-174228-6. $16.99


The new kid in town, Marcus sees no chance of breaking into a solid varsity football team until he starts practicing with a former professional player and learns his secrets.

Kwasney , Michelle D.
Blue Plate Special. Chronicle Books. 2009. 978-0-8118-6780-1. $16.99


Three girls, each being fatherless and feeling alienated from their mothers, try to satisfy their loneliness with the attentions of lovers.

LaCour, Nina.
Hold Still. Dutton. 2009. 978-0525421559. $17.99. Devastated by her best friend’s suicide, Caitlin tries to rebuild her own life and relationships while finding the courage to read the journal that Ingrid left behind.

Larbalestier, Justine.
Liar. Bloomsbury. 2009. 978-1-59990-305-7. $16.99. For years Micah has been a liar, and after her boyfriend's brutal murder, will anyone...will you... believe what she has to say?

Lee, Tony.
Outlaw:
The Legend of Robin Hood. Candlewick Press. 2009. 9780763644000. $11.99. The classic hero Robin Hood fights the evil Prince John and Sheriff of Nottingham in a swashbuckling graphic novel with dynamic visual effects.

Levine, Anna.
Freefall. HarperCollins/Greenwillow. 2008. 978-0-06-157654-6. $16.99. Aggie, a young Israeli woman, is contemplating joining a combat unit for her mandatory service, especially after she falls in love with her friend’s brother Noah, who’s a soldier.

Levine, Kristine.
The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had
. Penguin/G.P. Putnam's Sons. 2009. 978-0-399-25090-3. $16.99. 1917 Alabama, 12-year-old Dit’s life in rural Moundville becomes complicated and tragic by his friendship with Emma, the African American daughter of the new postman.

Levithan, David.
Love is the Higher Law. Random House Children's Books/Alfred A. Knopf. 2009. 978-0-375-83468-4. $15.99. The lives of three New York City teens become intertwined as they recover from the shock of the events of September 11, 2001.

Libby, Alisa M.
The King’s Rose. Penguin/Dutton. 2009. 978-0-525-47970-3. $17.99. A pawn to her family's ambition, Catherine Howard tries to give Henry VIII a son.

Livingston, Leslie.
Wondrous Strange. Harper Collins/Harper Teen. 2009. 978-0-06-157539-6. $16.99. Faeries, pixies, Janus guards, and struggling actresses populate this fantasy that weaves Shakespeare’s
A Midsummer’s Night Dream with a contemporary New York City Setting.

Lloyd, Saci.
The Carbon Diaries 2015. Holiday House. 2009. 978-0-8234-2190-9. $17.95.


When England becomes the first country to combat global warming through severe rationing, 16-year-old Laura tries in vain to maintain normalcy as she copes with new restrictions and a fractured family.

Lo, Malinda.
Ash. Little, Brown and Company. 2009. 978-0-316-04009-9. $16.99. After Ash is orphaned and treated cruelly by her stepmother, she turns again and again to the dangerous woods and a fairy who watches and waits for her.

Lockhart, E.
The Treasure Map of Boys:
Noel, Jackson, Finn, Hutch--And Me, Ruby Oliver. Random House/Delacorte Press. 2009. 978-0-385-73426-4. $15.99. Ruby Oliver’s neurotic mind continues to struggle with having boys as friends while being backstabbed by her female classmates at Seattle’s Tate Prep School.

Lyga, Barry.
Goth Girl Rising. Houghton Mifflin. 2009. 978-0-547-07664-5. $16.00. Kyra Sellers, a.k.a. Goth Girl, is roiling with resentment and hate as she schemes to get back at her former friend and confidant, Fanboy.

Madigan, L.K.
Flash Burnout. Houghton Mifflin. 2009. 978-0-547-19489-9. $16.00. Blake Hewson discovers there’s a big difference between lust and love, a tough lesson of a fifteen-year-old involved with a girlfriend and another girl as a friend.

Magoon, Kekla.
The Rock and the River. Aladdin. 2009. 978-1-4169-7582-3. $15.99. In 1968 Chicago, Sam struggles to decide whether to support his father's nonviolent approach to civil rights or his brother, who has joined the Black Panther Party.

Mantchev, Lisa.
Eyes Like Stars. Macmillan/Feiwel and Friends. 2009. 978-0-312-38096-0. $16.99. Can seventeen-year-old Bertie uncover the mysteries of her own past, control her mischievous fairy companions, choose the right man and save the theater in just a few days?

Marino, Peter.
Magic and Misery. Holiday House. 2009. 978-0-8234-2133-6. $19.95 TJ and her gay best friend Pan enjoy their close friendship until Caspar asks TJ out on a date. TJ stuggles to balance her time between Pan and Caspar.

Mass, Wendy.
11 Birthdays. Scholastic. 2009. 978-0-545-05239-9. $16.99. On Amanda's eleventh birthday everything goes wrong, and she is celebrating without her best friend. When she wakes up the next morning, it's her birthday again...and again...and again.

McCormick, Patricia.
Purple Heart. HarperCollins Publisher/Balzer + Bray. 2009. 978-0-06-173090-0. $16.99. Private Matt Duffy receives the Purple Heart, but he cannot remember the incident that left him with a traumatic brain injury and an image of an Iraqi boy's death.

McKernan, Victoria.
The Devil’s Paintbox. Random House/Knopf. 2009. 978-0-375-83750-0. $16.99. Orphaned siblings Aiden and Maddy have survived Kansas, barely, setting out on the Oregon Trail just to have regular meals. But the trip is more than they expected...

McKinley, Robin.
Fire: Tales of Elemental Spirits. GP Putnam's Sons/ Penguin Young Readers Group. 2009. 97800399252891. $19.99. Fire in different and subtle interpretations: a phoenix hatched from an egg forgotten in an old museum, a dragon that can't go into Firespace, a hellhound/dog that finds a family.

McKissack, Jr., Frank.
Shooting Star. Simon & Schuster/Atheneum Books. 2009. 978-1-41694-745-5. $16.99. Jomo Rogers,a talented football player, starts taking performance enhancing drugs in order to be a star player, but finds his life imploding with his addiction.

McMann, Lisa.
Fade. Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse. 2009. 978-141695358-6. $15.99. Janie’s ability to see people’s dreams leads police to a predator who is assaulting girls at her high school. But this gift may jeopardize the first love she’s ever known.

McMullan, Margaret.
Cashay. Harcourt/ Houghton Mifflin. 2009. 978-0-547-07656-0. $15.00. After the sudden death of her sister, Cashay is assigned to a mentor that helps her through her hate and grief.




Meminger, Neesha.
Shine, Coconut Moon. Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry Books. 2009. 978-1-4169-5495-8. $16.99. Samar (Sam) is a Sikh ostensibly Americanized, until her uncle shows up, igniting her interest in her culture and past in a post-9/11 world.

Miller-Lachmann, Lyn.
Gringolandia. Curbstone Press. 2009. 978-1931896498. $16.95.


After surviving years of torture as a political prisoner in Chile in the 1980s, Daniel's father rejoins his family in the United States, but his fight for justice isn’t over.

Morris, Paula.
Ruined. Point. 2009. 978-0-545-04215-4. $16.99. Rebecca Brown relocates to New Orleans and learns of an old family curse by interacting with the ghost of a sixteen-year-old African American girl murdered in 1853.

Mourlevat, Jean-Claude.
Winter's End. Candlewick Press. 2009. 978-0-7636-4450-5. $17.99.


After escaping from their oppressive boarding school with government agents in pursuit, Helen and three friends become caught up in the resistance movement that their parents fought and died for.

Myers, Walter Dean.
Dope Sick. Harper Collins/Harper Teen. 2009. 978-0-06-121477-6. $16.00. An undercover cop is shot in a drug sting. Wounded, dealer Lil J is hiding in an abandoned apartment with a stranger and a TV that replays events in Lil J’s life.

Napoli
, Donna Jo.
Alligator Bayou. Random House / Knopf. 2009. 978-0-385-74654-0. $16.99. 14-year-old Calogero emigrates to Louisiana in 1899, where his tiny Sicilian community faces discrimination and worse in a small town where they’re considered neither black nor white.

Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds.
Cricket
Man. Simon & Schuster/Ginee Seo Books. 2008. 978-1-4169-4981-7. $16.99. "Superhero" Cricket Man rescues crickets, fights bullies, saves a drowning child, helps a friend after the birth of her illegitimate baby, and delivers the baby to safety.

Ness, Patrick.
The Ask and the Answer: Chaos Walking: Book Two. Candlewick Press


2009. 978-0-7636-4490-1. $18.99. The story begun in The Knife of Never Letting Go continues as Todd and Viola are separated after reaching New Prentisstown and subjected to psychological warfare by a charismatic dictator.

Northrop, Michael.
Gentlemen. Scholastic. 2009. 978-0-545-09749-9. $16.99. After one of four rough cut high school guys disappears, his friends become suspicious of their teacher Mr. Haberman, who refers to them as gentlemen while teaching Crime and Punishment.

Nuzum, K.A.
The Leanin’ Dog. Harper Collins/Joanna Cotler Books. 2008. 978-0-06-113934-5. $15.99. The only witness at her mother’s death, Dessa Dean is paralyzed with fear and loneliness. She won’t leave the house. A skittish, injured stray dog is her only hope for healing.

Oaks, J. Adams.
Why I Fight . Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books. 2009. 9781416911777. $16.99. For five years, Wyatt travels the country with his drifter Uncle Spade, first as a companion, then as a money-making bare-fisted fighter, until realizing Spade doesn't exactly have Wyatt's best interests at heart.

Pearson, Mary E.
The Miles Between. Henry Holt. 2009. 978-0-8050-8828-1. October 19th never turns out well, but this year is different as Destiny takes off on a road trip with three classmates in a convertible left by a mysterious stranger.

Peck, Dale.
Sprout. Bloomsbury. 2009. 978-1599901602. $16.99. Sprout Bradford has a secret. But it isn't what you think. His secret has nothing to do with his green hair, his romantic relationships, or even his dysfunctional family life.

Peck , Richard.
A Season of Gifts. Penguin Group/Dial Books for Young Readers. 2009. 978-0-8037-3082-3. $16.99. Twelve-year-old Bob must adapt to all kinds of perils in a new town: a pack of overgrown bullies, a shotgun-toting grandma and the hauntings of an Indian princess.

Pena, Matt de la.
We Were Here. Random House/Delacorte Press. 2009. 978-0-385-73667-1. Miguel, sentenced to a group home for a horrible crime, must overcome his self-hatred while on the run with two other criminals.

Pike, Aprilynne.
Wings. Harper Collins Publishers/HarperTeen. 2009. 978-0-06-166803-6. $16.99. Laurel discovers she is a faerie when a beautiful flower blossoms out of her back, and she and her friend David seek to find out her place in the world.

Poblocki, Dan.
The Stone Child. Random House. 2009. 978-0-375-84254-2. $15.99. Twelve-year-old Eddie Fennicks realizes creatures and supernatural beings featured in his favorite author’s books have come alive to threaten his small town and only he can stop them.

Polak, Monique.
What World Is Left? Orca. 2008. 978-1-55143-847-4. $12.95. When Anneke and her family are sent to Theresienstadt, the "model" concentration camp, she struggles to understand how her father could cooperate with the Nazis in order to improve their family's situation.

Pon, Cindy.
Silver Phoenix. Harper Collins/Greenwillow. 2009. 978-0-06-173021-4. $17.99. Ai Ling heads to the Capitol to find her disgraced father, but demon spirit forces are honing in on her, despite the help of her romantic interest.

Prose, Francine.
Touch. Harper Collins/HarperTeen. 2009. 9780061375170. $17.89. Freshman Maisie is sexually assaulted on the school bus by her three best friends one morning, but was it really assualt, or did she ask for it like everyone says?

Rallison, Janette.
My Fair Godmother. Walker & Company. 2009. 978-0-8027-9780-3. $16.99. Savannah learns to be careful what she wishes for when her fairy godmother sends to the middle ages.

Rapp, Adam.
Punkzilla. Candlewick Press. 2009. 978-0-7636-3031-7. $16.99. Jamie has run away from his family, military school, and his troubled past. He sets out via bus to visit his dying brother, writing letters along the way.

Resau, Laura.
The Indigo Notebook. Random House/Delacorte. 2009. 978-0-375-89384-1. $16.99. Zeeta has lived in a different country every year with her mom Layla. Instead of enjoying their nomadic existence, she wants a boring suburban life and a normal boring dad.

Riordan, Rick.
The Last Olympian. Disney Book Group/Hyperion. 2009. 978-1-4231-0147-5. $17.99. The fifth installment of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series unfolds the long-awaited prophecy and Percy battles for the survival of Western civilization.

Runyon, Brent.
Surface Tension: A Novel in Four Parts. Random House/Alfred A. Knopf. 2009. 978-0-375-84446-1. $16.99. Every summer Luke spends two weeks vacationing at a lake, and every year things are just slightly different.

Ryan, Carrie.
The
Forest of Hands and Teeth. Random House/Delacorte. 2009. 978-0-385-90631-9. $19.99. Mary’s village is protected by a fence keeping out the Unconsecrated-who are undead craving human flesh-until a massive breach launches the teenage girl into a fight for survival.

Schrefer, Eliot.
The School for Dangerous Girls. Scholastic. 2009. 978-0-545-03528-6. $17.99. Angela has been sent to Hidden Oak, a special boarding school for the most difficult girls. The worst ones never leave.

Scott, Elizabeth.
Love You, Hate You, Miss You. HarperCollins/HarperTeen. 2009. 978-0061122835. $16.99. Seventy-five days after the car crash that killed her best friend Julia, Amy leaves rehab and begins writing a series of letters to her in a journal.

Simner, Janie Lee.
Bones of Faerie. Random House. 2009. 978-0-3758-4563-5. $16.99. Liza is caught in a world where magic is deadly and her powers lead her on a quest to find her missing mother.

Slade, Arthur.
Jolted: Newton Starker's Rules for Survival. Random House/Wendy Lamb Books. 2009. 978-0-385-74700-4. $15.99. Desperate to avoid the family curse that killed his mother and many others by lightning strikes, Newton Starker enrolls in a survival academy in rural Canada.

Slayton, Fran Cannon.
When the Whistle Blows. Penguin Young Readers Group/Philomel. 2009. 9780399251894. For all the years he is a teenager, All Hallows' Eve brings frightening, surprising, life-changing events for Jimmy, third son of a railroad man in the 1940's.

Smith, Andrew.
In the Path of Falling Objects
. Macmillan/Feiwel and Friends. 2009. 9780312375584. $17.99. When their mother abandons them, brothers Jonah and Simon hit the road and make one fatal mistake: they accept a ride from a pretty girl and a dangerous man.

Smith, Jennifer E.
You Are Here. Simon and Schuster. 2009. 978-1-4169-6799-6. $15.99
. Emma and Peter don’t know each other in spite of being neighbors, but this changes with a road trip involving a stolen car, a three legged dog, and the death certificate.

Smith, Sherri L.
Flygirl. Penguin/G.P. Putnam's Sons. 2009. 978-0-399-24709-5. $16.99. During WWII Ida Mae Jones must go against her family and heritage to join the Army’s WASP program and fulfill her dream of being a pilot.

Sniegoski, Tom.
Legacy. Random House/Delacorte. 2009. 978-0-385-73714-2. $15.99. High school dropout Lucas Moore is shaken to learn he’s the son of The Raptor, a superhero sworn to protect Seraph City, who now wants Lucas to fight crime.

Springer, Nancy.
Somebody. Holiday House. 2009. 978-0-8234-2099-5. $16.95. Fifteen-year-old Sherica has moved around the country with her father and brother. Flashbacks and the opportunity to log into the Internet, answers the unanswered questions about her family.

Standiford, Natalie.
How to Say Goodbye in Robot. Scholastic. 2009. 978-0545107082. $17.99. Fringe dwellers Jonas (Ghost Boy) and Beatrice (Robot Girl) use their adopted alter egos to help navigate the difficulties of fractured families and impending adulthood during their senior year.

Stead , Rebecca.
When You Reach Me. Random House / Wendy Lamb Books. 2009. 978-0-385-73742-5. $15.99. The year they are twelve, Sal begins to ignore Miranda and breaks her heart. But Miranda's attention is diverted when she begins to receive urgent, anonymous notes in unexpected places.

Stiefvater, Maggie.
Lament: The Faerie Queen’s Deception. Llewell/Flux. 2008. 978-0-7387-1370-0. $9.95. Shy and ordinary Deirdre finds herself caught up in an ancient struggle in the faerie world when she meets Luke, a sexy musician with a very dark past.

Stiefvater, Maggie.
Shiver. Scholastic Inc./Scholastic Press. 2009. 978-0-545-12326-6. $17.99. Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. She has been particularly drawn to one – a yellow-eyed wolf who, in turn has been watching her intensely.

Stoffels, Karlijn.
Heartsinger. Scholastic/Alfred E. Knopf. 2009. 978-0-545-06929-8. $16.99. Mee, the singer of sorrows, and Mitou, the merrymaker, are destined to meet and change the life of a princess. Can they change one another?

Stork, Francisco X.
Marcelo in the Real World. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine Books. 2009. 978-0-545-05474-4. $17.99. Marcelo—a teen who exhibits Asperger-like behaviors—is forced to leave his job caring for horses to work in his father’s law firm and experience “the real world.”

Stroud, Jonathan.
Heroes of the Valley. Disney Book Group/Hyperion. 2009. 978-1-4231-0966-2. $17.99. Halli lives in the shadow of his brother and the ancient heroes of his homeland, but when his family is threatened, he is unafraid to face enemies - whether human or not.

Summers, Courtney.
Cracked Up to Be. St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin. 2009. 978-0-312-38369-5. $9.99. Once a perfectionist cheerleader, Parker Fadley now comes to school drunk and lashes out at classmates and teachers in a hateful voice that masks her inner pain
.

Tamaki, Mariko and Rolston, Steve.
Emiko Superstar. illus. DC Comics/Minx. 2008. 978-1-4012-1536-1. $9.99. Emiko, a geeky suburban teenager, has resigned herself to a boring summer of babysitting until she meets the Freaks and decides she wants to become a performance artist herself.

Tan, Shaun.
Tales from Outer Suburbia. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine Books. 2009. 978-0-545-05587-1. $19.99. Giant floating poetry balls, living stick figures, strange creatures from the sea and an all-knowing water buffalo are some of the wonders found in this lushly illustrated collection of stories.

Taylor, Laini.
Lips Touch: Three Times. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine. 2009. 978-0-545-05585-7. $17.99. Three novellas explore the power of a kiss, and its possible hazards or thrills, especially if the kiss pulls humans and demons together in a lusty embrace.

Thompson, Kate.
Creature of the Night. Roaring Brook Press. 2009. 978-1-59-643511-7. $17.95. Juvenile delinquent Bobby resists his mother’s plan to move to the countryside, but his anger becomes fear as he learns about local history and the creatures who rule the fields.

Valentine, Jenny.
Broken Soup. Harper Collins/Harper Teen. 2009. 978-0-06-085071-5. $16.99. Since Rowan’s brother died, her mother’s been depressed, and she’s been caring for her sister alone. When a stranger insists that a photo negative belongs to her, Rowan’s life changes.

Van Diepen, Alison.
Raven: Death is Inevitable, Passion is Eternal. Simon & Shuster/Simon Pulse. 2009. 978-1-41697899-2. $15.99. Escaping her dreadful family is Raven’s goal when dancing with the crew at Evermore. Raven’s attraction for mysterious Zin leads to an ancient secret and the possibility of eternal love.

Vivian, Siobhan.
Same Difference. Scholastic, Inc./PUSH. 2009. 978-0-545-00407-7. $17.99. Emily commutes between a suburb where everyone tries to fit in and Philadelphia where everyone wants to be unique. Between these two "worlds" Emily tries to navigate between two sets of friends and struggle to find out who she really is.

Volponi, Paul.
Response. Penguin/Viking. 2009. 978-0-670-06283-6. $15.99. After being severely beaten with a baseball bat during a hate crime, seventeen-year-old Noah must determine how he will let the event change him.

Warman , Jessica.
Breathless. Walker & Company. 2009. 978-0802798497. $16.99.


When her schizophrenic brother’s behavior grows violent, Katie parents send her off to boarding school, where she quickly becomes part of the in crowd while harboring a dark secret.

Westerfeld, Scott.
Leviathan. Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse. 2009. 978-1416971733. $19.99. Steampunk novel that is a strange mixture of Victorian times with mechanical inventions. Bio-society countries are at war with mechanical countries in this extremely fresh novel/

Whitcomb, Laura.
The Fetch. Houghton Mifflin. 2009. 978-0-618-89131-3. $17.00. Calder, a 350-year old "Fetch" that accompanies souls to heaven, breaks all his vows for a woman, wreaking havoc in the world of lost souls.

Whitley, David.
The Midnight Charter. Roaring Book Press. 2009. 978-7-59643-381-6. $16.99. In a city where everything – even a life – can be bartered, the destinies of two teens are intertwined as they discover the secrets of Agora’s founders in this dystopian novel.

Williams, Carol Lynch.
The Chosen One. Macmillan/St. Martin’s Griffin. 2009. 978-0-312-55511-5. $16.95. When the Prophet commands thirteen-year-old Kyra to marry her aging uncle, her family is shaken. Desperate to escape, Kyra knows that running away puts them all at risk.

Williams, Suzanne Morgan.
Bull Rider. Simon and Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry Books. 2009. 978-1-4169-6130-7. $16.99. When his older brother returns from Iraq, Cam devises a challenge, to ride Ugly, the meanest bull and bring hope to his brother’s recovery.

Williams-Garcia, Rita.
Jumped. Harper Collins/Harper Teen. 2009. 978-0-06-076091-5. $16.99. When Trina unknowingly insults Dominique in the hallway, she’s in danger of being jumped after school. Leticia could warn her, but she’s reluctant to get involved.

Wolff, Virginia E.
This Full House. Harper Collins/Harper Teen. 2009. 978-0-06-158304-9. $17.99. LaVaughn perseveres through a broken heart while discovering a new love and determining what it means to have character in the face of challenging friendships, conclusion of Make Lemonade trilogy.

Wolfosn, Jill.
Cold Hands, Warm Heart. Henry Holt. 2009. 978-0805082821. $17.99. In a series of letters, 15 year old Dani writes to the brother of a young girl whose heart she received as a transplant.

Wrede, Patricia.
Thirteenth Child: Frontier Magic Book One. Scholastic. 2009. 9780545033428. $16.99. Eff is an unlucky thirteenth child; her twin the seventh son of a seventh son. Both twin's magic is needed to combat prehistoric and magical creatures on the western frontier.

Wyatt, Melissa.
Funny How Things Change. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2009. 978-0-374-30233-7. $16.95. In this coming-of-age novel, Remy must choose between the girl of his dreams and the mountain his family has called home for generations.

Wynne-Jones, Tim.
The Uninvited. Candlewick Press. 2009. 978-0-7636-3984-6. $16.99. When Mimi decides she has to get out of town, she retreats to her father’s cabin in the Canadian wilderness. Unease, mystery, and spookiness decide to follow.

Yang, Gene Luen.
The Eternal Smile. Roaring Brook/First Second. 2009. 978-1-59643-156-0. $16.95. Three tales in one graphic novel show the paper-thin margin that separates fantasy from reality for a warrior, a frog and a girl.

Yoo, David.
Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before. Disney Book Group/Hyperion. 2008.


978-1423109075. $16.99. Albert Kim is a social outcast with a lame summer job, but everything changes when he meets the social queen Mia Stone.

Zadoff, Allen.
Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have. Egmont. 2009. 978-1-60684-004-7. $16.99. Andrew Zansky, a vastly overweight high school kid, breaks out of Model U.N. into football, which isn't everything he thought it would be

Zarr, Sara.
Once Was Lost. Hatchette Book Group/Little, Brown and Company. 2009. 978-0-316-03604-7. $16.99. Samara’s faith is tested as struggles to uphold their perfect family image her father. a pastor, must portray while her mother drinks herself into rehab and a friend goes missing.

Zemser, Amy Bronwen.
Dear Julia. Harper Collins/Greenwillow Book. 2008. 978-0-06-029458-8. $16.99. Sixteen-year-old Elaine Hamilton wants to be a chef like her hero, Julia Child, but her bossy and flamboyant best friend, Lucida Sans, is about to make life much more interesting.

Zink, Michelle.
Prophecy of the Sisters. Hatchette Book Group/Little, Brown. 978-0-316-02742-7. 2009. $17.99. After the sudden and strange death of their father, Lia and her twin sister Alice find themselves pitted against each other as part of an ancient prophecy.

Zulkey, Claire.
An Off Year. Penguin/Dutton. 2009. 978-0-525-42159-7. $16.99. Cecily decides to take a gap year before college and embarks on a journey of self-discovery with wry humor and professional help.

Nonfiction

Bucknell, Tobias (Editor).
Halo
Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Halo Universe. DK Publishing. 2009. 978-0-7566-5549-5. $40.00. The video game world of Halo is detailed with in-depth analysis of characters, history of the conflict and the wide array of weapons used by the UNSC and the Covenant.

Fleming, Candace.
The Great and Only Barnum. Random House/Schwartz and Wade Books. 2009. 978-0-375-84197-2. $18.99. The AMAZING and THRILLING life of the GREAT P.T. Barnum is laid bare in this STUPENDOUS biography. Come one, come all and learn about this truly AMERICAN icon.

Gray, Theodore.
The Elements: a visual exploration of every known atom in the universe. Black Dog & Leventhal. 2009. 9781579128142. $29.95. The 118 elements of the periodic table are photographed and described with humor, style and authority.

Gutman, Dan (Editor).
Recycle This Book: What You Can Do to Save the World! 100 Top Children’s Book Authors Tell You How to Go Green. Random House/Yearling. 2009. 978-0-385-73721-0. $5.99. Favorite authors of children’s and young adult books reveal interesting habits and history while suggesting ways to conserve energy, recycle, and protect our environment.

Heiligman, Deborah. Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith. Henry Holt and Company. 978-0-8050-8721-5. $18.95. This lively biography of Charles Darwin focuses on the family life of one of the world’s most famous scientists, including the impact differing religious beliefs had on the family’s relationships.

Holbrook, Sara and Allan Wolf.
More Than Friends: Poems from Him and Her. Boyd's Mill Press/Wordsong. 2008. 9781590785874. $16.95. In a variety of forms of poetry in this slender book, a boy and a girl move from friendship to love and back to friendship again.

Hoose, Phillip M.
Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. 2009. 978-0-374-31322-9. $19.95. As a teen, Claudette Colvin sparked the protest that led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott and desegregation of public facilities by refusing to relinquish her seat to a white woman.

Mann, Charles C.
Before Columbus:
The Americas of 1491. Simon & Schuster/Atheneum. 978-1-4169-4900-8. $24.99. 2009. Well before the arrival of Columbus, there were highly advanced civilizations in the Americas. More native people died from their germs than at the hands of the Europeans.

Murphy , Jim.
A Savage Thunder: Antietam and the Bloody Road to Freedom. Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry Books. 2009. 978-0-689-87633-2. $17.99. The epic Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day in American military history, dramatically changed the course of the Civil War.

Murphy , Jim.
Truce: The Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting. Scholastic. 2009. 978-0-545-13049-3. $16.99. Bored and miserable after months in the trenches along Europe’s Western Front during WWI, German and Allied soldiers brought fighting to a halt to celebrate Christmas together in 1914.

Partridge, Elizabeth.
Marching for Freedom: Walk Together, Children, and Don't You Grow Weary. Penguin Group/Viking.2009. 978-0-670-01189-6. $19.99. In a tense, day-by-day account of the Freedom March of 1965, teen voices are crucial to the spirit and drive of the march.

Sandler, Martin W.
The Secret Subway: The Fascinating Tale of an Amazing Feat of Engineering. National Geographic Society/National Geographic Children’s Books. 2009. 978-1-4263-0462-0. $17.95. Alfred Beach’s invention of the first NYC subway and engineering vision of a subway system beneath the ground paved the way for today’s mass transit in the Big Apple.

Small, David.
Stitches: A Memoir. W.W. Norton & Co. 2009. 9780393068573. $24.95. In stunning graphic memoir format, Caldecott winning artist David Small tells the story of his difficult childhood and his journey into adolescence and adulthood.

Smithson, Ryan.
Ghosts of War: The True Story of a 19-Year-Old GI. Harper Collins/Harper Teen. 2009. 978-0-06-166468-7. $16.99. After joining the Army Reserves at age 17, Ryan Smithson describes his experiences at boot camp and being deployed to Iraq as 19-year-old soldier.

St. George, Judith.
The Duel: The Parallel Lives Of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. Penguin Group/Viking. 2009. 978-0-670-01124-7. $16.99. This book is an entertaining and insightful biography of the men behind the most famous duel in American history.

Stone, Tanya Lee.
Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream. Candlewick. 2009. 978-0-7636-3611-1. $24.99. The story of the “Mercury 13” women who paved the way for females in space and aeronautics by challenging the political and social culture behind NASA’s unwritten rule that astronauts must be male.

Swanson, James L.
Chasing Lincoln’s Killer. Scholastic Press. 2009. 978-0439903547. $16.99. Much more than just Lincoln’s killing went on that night of the Ford Theater assassination, this book will inform and entertain you with the gory details.

Walker, Sally M.
Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland. Lerner/Carolrhoda Books. 2009. 978-0-8225-7135-3. $22.95. This book offers an incredible look at how ancient bones can reveal the details about the daily lives of colonial Americans.