Young Adult Choices 2006

Alosha
By Pike, Christopher, 1961-  
Ali Warner stumbles on a plot by a neighboring dimension to invade and destroy the earth and finds out that she has been chosen to intervene and save the human race.

Are we alone? : scientists search for life in space
By Skurzynski, Gloria.  
Presents a study of space and the possibility of extraterrestrial civilizations and discusses UFO sightings throughout the twentieth century, crop circles, and other paranormal occurrences.

Backstage pass
By Triana, Gaby.  
After moving to Miami, Florida, sixteen-year-old Desert McGraw, whose life as the daughter of a rock star has been anything but normal, determines to make a permanent home for herself and her family--even if it means breaking up the band.

The Beckoners
By Mac, Carrie.  
Zoe, unhappy to be moving once again, falls in with the Beckoners, a group of bullies at her new school, but soon finds herself trying to get free from the gang whose actions against their favorite target, a girl they call Dog, are escalating to violence.

The boy who couldn't die
By Sleator, William.  
When his best friend dies in a plane crash, sixteen-year-old Ken has a ritual performed that will make him invulnerable, but soon learns that he had good reason to be suspicious of the woman he paid to lock his soul away.

The burn journals
By Runyon, Brent.  
Presents the true story of Brent Runyon, who at fourteen set himself on fire and sustained burns over eighty percent of his body and describes the months of physical and mental rehabilitation that followed as he attempted to pull his life together.

Can't get there from here
By Strasser, Todd.  
Tired of being hungry, cold, and dirty from living on the streets of New York City with a tribe of other homeless teenagers who are dying, one by one, a girl named Maybe ponders her future and longs for someone to care about her.

Contents under pressure
By Zeises, Lara M.  
Lucy, a fourteen-year-old high school freshman, experiences the happiness and confusion of dating a popular older boy, changing relationships with life-long friends, and sharing a bedroom with her older brother's pregnant girlfriend.

Crank
By Hopkins, Ellen.  
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 lead down a desperate path that threatens her mind, soul, and her life.

Cruise control
By Trueman, Terry.  
A talented basketball player struggles to deal with the helplessness and anger that come with having a brother rendered completely dysfunctional by severe cerebral palsy and a father who deserted the family.

The dragon's son
By Weis, Margaret.  
The uneasy relationship between dragons and humans is further exacerbated by the birth of twin sons to a high priestess--one fully human in form but blessed with dragon magic, and one half-man and half-dragon.

The dragonriders of Pern
By McCaffrey, Anne.  
Three tales about the fantasy world of Pern, where a kitchen drudge battles dragonmen, a tiny fire-dragon causes big problems and a bored Lord trains to conquer a threatening force.

Emako Blue
By Woods, Brenda (Brenda A.)  
Monterey, Savannah, Jamal, and Eddie have never had much to do with each other until Emako Blue shows up at chorus practice, but just as the lives of the five Los Angeles high school students become intertwined, tragedy tears them apart.

Fighting the current
By Waldorf, Heather.  
Theresa Stanford's life is forever changed when her father is hit by a drunk driver and left with the mind of a five-year-old, leaving Theresa to face a new future without the guiding force in her life.

Going for the record
By Swanson, Julie A.  
Seventeen-year-old Leah's quest to make the national soccer team does not seem so important when she learns that her father has cancer and may only have months to live.

Guitar girl
By Manning, Sarra.  
As her band, The Hormones, becomes an international sensation, seventeen-year-old Molly begins to question the high cost of fame.

How my private, personal journal became a bestseller : a novel
By DeVillers, Julia.  
A young woman accidentally turns in a private story from her journal instead of an English assignment and becomes a best-selling author almost overnight.

Jude
By Morgenroth, Kate.  
Still reeling from his drug-dealing father's murder, moving in with the wealthy mother he never knew, and transferring to a private school, fifteen-year-old Jude is tricked into pleading guilty to a crime he did not commit.

Leap day : a novel
By Mass, Wendy, 1967-  
On her fourth Leap birthday, when she turns sixteen, Josie has a number of momentous experiences, including taking her driver's test, auditioning for a school play, and celebrating with her family and friends.

Nothing to lose
By Flinn, Alex.  
A year after running away with a traveling carnival to escape his unbearable home life, sixteen-year-old Michael returns to Miami, Florida, to find that his mother is going on trial for the murder of his abusive stepfather.

One of those hideous books where the mother dies
By Sones, Sonya.  
Fifteen-year-old Ruby Milliken leaves her best friend, her boyfriend, her aunt, and her mother's grave in Boston and reluctantly flies to Los Angeles to live with her father, a famous movie star who divorced her mother before Ruby was born.

Princess in pink
By Cabot, Meg.  
In a series of humorous diary entries, high school freshman and Genovian Princess Mia tries to get her reluctant boyfriend to take her to the prom.

Remember D-day : the plan, the invasion, survivor stories
By Drez, Ronald J., 1940-  
Discusses the events and personalities involved in the momentous Allied invasion of France on June 6, 1944.

The Schwa was here
By Shusterman, Neal.  
A Brooklyn eighth-grader nicknamed Antsy befriends the Schwa, an "invisible-ish" boy who is tired of blending into his surroundings and going unnoticed by nearly everyone.
The Schwa was here
By Shusterman, Neal.  
A Brooklyn eighth-grader nicknamed Antsy befriends the Schwa, an "invisible-ish" boy who is tired of blending into his surroundings and going unnoticed by nearly everyone.

The secret hour
By Westerfeld, Scott.  
Upon moving to Bixby, Oklahoma, fifteen-year-old Jessica Day learns that she is one of a group of people who have special abilities that help them fight ancient creatures living in an hour hidden at midnight; creatures that seem determined to destroy Jess.

So B. It : a novel
By Weeks, Sarah.  
After spending her life with her mentally retarded mother and agoraphobic neighbor, twelve-year-old Heidi sets out from Reno, Nevada, to New York to find out who she is.

Vegan virgin Valentine
By Mackler, Carolyn.  
Mara's niece, who is only one-year-younger, moves in bringing conflict between the two teenagers because of their opposite personalities.

Who am I without him? : short stories about girls and the boys in their lives
By Flake, Sharon.  
Presents twelve short stories about teenage girls struggling with issues of self-worth.

Worlds afire
By Janeczko, Paul B.  
In this novel written as a collection of eyewitness poems, the excitement and anticipation of attending the circus on July 6, 1944 in Hartford, Connecticut, turns to horror when a fire engulfs the circus tent, killing nearly 180 people, mostly women and children.

The year of secret assignments*
By Moriarty, Jaclyn.  
Three female students from Ashbury High write to three male students from rival Brookfield High as part of a pen pal program, leading to romance, humiliation, revenge plots, and war between the schools.