The Gospel According to Larry

Author	Matt Whyman
ISBN	0060746653

In the South American town of Medellin, where drug dealers rule and hope is scarce, young assassins are in large supply. Take Shorty and Alberto: two hardened best friends from poor homes whose biggest dream is to see a live soccer match. These boys understand that the one true power they will ever possess...

Author	Jake Wizner
ISBN	0375840850

SHAKESPEARE SHAPIRO HAS ALWAYS hated his name. His parents bestowed it on him as some kind of sick joke when he was born, and his life has gone downhill from there, one embarrassing incident after another. Entering his senior year of high school, Shakespeare has never had a girlfriend, his younger brother...

Author	Laurie Halse Anderson
ISBN	0374311250

The first ten lies they tell you in high school.

"Speak up for yourself—we want to know what you have to say."

From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless, outcast, because...

Author	David Lubar
ISBN	0618439099

To the Bozo, the clown who sits inside the cage above the dunk tank, everyone is a "mark." Once he has zeroed in on his victim, the Bozo comes up with the perfect wisecrack something funny enough to make people stop and listen, and cruel enough to hook the mark. Now the mark is bent on revenge, and he'll buy...

Author	Jordan Sonnenblick
ISBN	0439837073

Meet San Lee, a (sort of) innocent teenager, who moves against his will to a new town. Things get interesting when he (sort of) invents a new past for himself, which makes him incredibly popular. In fact, his whole school starts to (sort of) worship him, just because he (sort of) accidentally gave the impression...

Author	Paul Fleischman
ISBN	0689854021

Assigned to write his autobiography, high school senior Rob Radkovitz decides to "listen" back on his life. As he remembers the voices of his younger self, his quirky family, and his closest friends, one stands apart -- the haunting voice of his long-absent father, left behind on a single tape from one...

Author	Christopher Paul Curtis
ISBN	0440413311

Luther T. Farrell has got to get out of Flint, Michigan.

As his best friend Sparky says, “Flint’s nothing but the Titanic.”

And his mother, a.k.a. the Sarge, says, “Take my advice and stay off the sucker path.”

The Sarge milked the system to build an empire of slum...

Author	Will Leitch
ISBN	1595140697

Everything comes easy for Tim Temples. He’s got a sweet summer job, lots of love from the ladies, and parties with his high school buddies. Why does he need to go to college?

Then Tim falls hard for Helena—a worldly and mysterious twenty-two year-old. Their relationship opens his eyes to...

Author	Cynthia Rylant
ISBN	0060094354

A deeply compelling collection of poems about God and our everyday world from a Newbery medalist.

Cynthia Rylant takes teens on an invigorating spiritual journey as she explores what God's life on Earth might be like. Rylant's reflective and often humorous verse follows God as he tries out...

Author	Gordon Korman
ISBN	0786809205

"You know what punk is? A bunch of no-talent guys who really, really want to be in a band. Nobody reads music, nobody plays the mandolin, and you're too dumb to write songs about mythology or Middle Earth. So what's your style? Three chords, cranked out fast and loud and distorted because your instruments...

Author	Norma Howe
ISBN	0064472256

On his sixteenth birthday, David Schumacher changes his name to Blue Avenger. . .

And things start to happen. Within twenty-four hours, David becomes a national hero, starts dating an extraordinary girl named Omaha Nebraska Brown, and bakes an imperfect pie. And that's not all. A tiny sow...

Author	Brendan Halpin
ISBN	1400062772

Rosalind had two mommies. Now, thanks to a tragic accident involving foodstuffs, she has none. And Sean, the sperm donor responsible for half her DNA (and nothing else), is taking custody. Rosalind finds herself adjusting to a new life that seems both hateful and surreal–she’s an orphan with a...

Author	Kathryn Lasky
ISBN	0152012591

Harper Jessup is an avid reader, and when her parents become “migrants for God” she must keep her books secret. As Harper grows older and realizes how valuable reading is to her, she comes to understand that her parents’ radical efforts in favor of educational censorship are related to a quest...

Author	E.R. Frank
ISBN	0689853858

Most well-known for her devastatingly poignant teen tales of urban desperation and redemption, renowned young adult author E. R. Frank switches gears and narrows her focus to the pivotal events of one 8th grade classroom.

The progressive petri dish of Forest Alternative's middle school...

Author	Ellen Wittlinger
ISBN	0689863357

NOBODY SHOULD HAVE A NIGHT LIKE THIS. 8:30 P.M.: It's been four years since Michelle was killed. Leo can't stand to be at home with his mom -- she's crazy with rage. He's got anger of his own and pictures of his dead sister he can't get out of his head. 9:00 P.M.: Bree parks her mom's car and locks the doors. She's...

Author	Kathe Koja
ISBN	0142402095

The kids at school call Jinsen “Buddha Boy”—he wears oversize tie-dyed dragon T- shirts, shaves his head, and always seems to be smiling. He’s clearly a freak. Then Justin is paired with him for a class project. As he gets to know Jinsen and his incredible artistic talent, Justin questions his...

Author	Chris Crutcher
ISBN	0060502452

Eddie hasn't had an easy year

First his father dies. Then his best friend Billy accidentally kicks a stack of Sheetrock over on himself, breaking his neck and effectively hitting tilt on his Earthgame. Eddie and Billy were inseparable. Still are. Billy isn't going to let a little thing like...

Author	Debra Garfinkle
ISBN	0142407828

The journal of Michael "Storky" Pomerantz tells the tumultuous tale of life as a high-schooler—complete with the fact that the love of his life is dating a high school football player. As he chronicles the highs—and, of course, the most embarrassing lows—of his freshman year in high school,...

Author	Blake Nelson
ISBN	0142405744

Music is Pete's life. He's happiest when playing his Fender P-Bass. He doesn't care about prestige or getting girls; it's the quality of the music that matters. Then he meets the Carlisle brothers. They can't sing and they can barely play, but somehow they have a following. Pete can't resist, and he joins...

Author	Joyce McDonald
ISBN	0440228042

Simon Gray is the ideal teenager — smart, reliable, hardworking, trustworthy. Or is he? After Simon crashes his car into The Liberty Tree, another portrait starts to emerge. Soon an investigation has begun into computer hacking at Simon’s high school, for it seems tests are being printed out before...

Author	Laura McNeal
ISBN	0375830987

Winner of the PEN Center USA Literary Award for Children's Literature
A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
Winner of the 2004 Texas TAYSHAS High School Reading List

When fifteen-year-old Mick Nichols discovers a secret about his stepmother, he comes obsessed with uncovering...

Author

Nancy Werlin

10 December 2008 update added at the end.

Double Helix by Nancy Werlin is young adult mystery which my daughter handed me recently. The main character, Eli Samuels, a recent high school graduate, is at a crossroads in his life in more ways than one. His mother is completely debilitated and dying...

Author	A.M. Jenkins
ISBN	0060290994

I was surprised by how well the second person narrative fit this novel, considering I'd never really seen it done well before. The book tells the story of a high school senior struggling with depression and his relationship with a girl whose father has committed suicide. While the main character, Austin,...

Author	Terri Fields
ISBN	1596432195

Always caution, 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,...