Andrew Auseon

Jo-Jo and the Fiendish Lot [grades 9 and up]

Distraught over the murder of his girlfriend, seventeen-year-old Jo-Jo is set to kill himself.  But when he meets a dead girl and tags along with her band, Jo-Jo finds himself in for the ride of his life – or rather, afterlife.

 

 

 

 

Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler

Dream Factory [grades 8 and up]

Ella performs as Disney’s Cinderella at an amusement park summer job.  Luke is Dale the Chipmunk.  In alternating chapters, the two relate their adventures and dream of their futures after high school.

 

 

 

Jonathan Bernstein

Hottie [grades 9 and up]

After a freak accident during plastic surgery, Beverly Hills high-schooler Alison emerges with the ability to shoot fire from her fingertips!  Though she falls from popularity due to her super powers, Alison teams up with the class geek, using her powers to fight crime.

 

 

 

Chris Carlton Brown

Hoppergrass [grades 10 and up]

After being sent to the county jail and the Diagnostic Center, 15-year-old Bowser is now in an institute for juvenile delinquents called The Hill.  When one of the boys whom Bowser befriended is killed, Bowser intends to discover if it was truly an accident.

 

 

 

Brent Crawford

Carter Finally Gets It [grades 8 and up]

Will Carter has ADD and tends to stutter when nervous or stressed.  He’s just started high school and can’t get enough of this new world of girls, football, girls, swimming, girls, and girls.

 

Marjetta Geerling

Fancy White Trash [grades 10 and up]

15-year-old Abby’s life is a bit like a soap opera: both of her unwed sisters, Kait and Shelby, are pregnant, and now her mom is about to have a baby too – by the father of Kait’s child!  Abby is determined to lead a normal, drama-free life, but fears she may be falling in love with her best friend’s older brother, Jackson (who dated her sister a while back …).

 

 

K. L. Going

King of the Screwups [grades 9 and up]

High school senior Liam is a talented athlete with a taste for fashion and girls, though he’s not a great student.  When his abusive father kicks him out of the house, Liam is taken in by his gay, glam-rocker uncle, who lives in a trailer in upstate New York.

 

Catherine Jinks

The Reformed Vampire Support Group [grades 8 and up]

Nina is a vampire and has been stuck as a 15-year-old for over 50 years.  Her boring life is only made a little less so by weekly meetings of the Reformed Vampire Support group, but when one of the members is murdered, Nina and her friends undertake an exciting adventure, trying to solve the crime.

 

 

 

Jeremy Love

Bayou, vol. 1 [grades 7 and up]

Mississippi, 1933.  Lee and her white friend Lily often play together, but when Lily is stolen by a legendary swamp monster, Lee’s father is blamed.  In order to free her father and save her friend, Lee travels to the parallel world of Dixie, where Southern folklore comes to life.

 

 

Michael Northrop

Gentlemen [grades 10 and up]

High school sophomores Mike, Mixer, Tommy, and Bones are pretty tight.  When Tommy goes missing, at first no one is worried, as it’s happened before.  But the boys’ English teacher begins acting strange, and they think Mr. Haberman may be behind Tommy’s disappearance.

 

Philip Reeve

Mothstorm [grades 7 and up]

The interstellar adventures continue as Art Mumby and his sister Myrtle are thrown into another fight to save the universe, this time from Giant Moths.  Sequel to Larklight and Starcross.

 

 

 

Francisco X. Stork

Marcelo in the Real World [grades 10 and up]

17-year-old Marcelo is on the high-functioning end of the autistic spectrum, and has his heart set on spending the summer working with the ponies at his school.  When his father insists that Marcelo work at his law firm over the summer instead, Marcelo finds himself dealing with many eye-opening experiences.

 

Joyce Sweeney

The Guardian [grades 9 and up]

When he was a child, Hunter prayed to the Gabriel, believing the angel was his guardian.  Now, years later, and left in the hands of an abusive foster mother, thirteen-year-old Hunter turns to Gabriel again.  Though his prayers seem to be answered, Hunter finds that his guardian may not be such a good thing after all.

 

N. D. Wilson

Dandelion Fire [grades 8 and up]

When Henry York first found the worlds beyond the cupboards in his attic bedroom, he only shared his discovery with his cousin, Henrietta.  Now, one of those worlds is in trouble, and Henry, his cousins, his aunt, and uncle will have to travel through the cupboards to defeat the witch of Endor.

 

 

Titles compiled by Linda Mediati

 

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. (Gr. 6+)
Before their owner dies, she promises Isobel and her younger sister their freedom. Instead, they are sold as slaves to Loyalists during the Revolutionary War. As Americans struggle for their independence, Isobel battles for her own freedom.


The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong.  (Gr. 7+)
Chloe Saunders sees dead people. When an aggressive ghost haunts her, she freaks out. Her schizophrenic behavior earns lands her in Lyle House, a centre for 'disturbed teens'. Chloe soon realizes that Lyle House nor her housemates are what they seem to be.


Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen. (Gr. 7+)
Abandoned by her mother, Ruby attempts to live by herself. Eventually discovered and turned into child services, she is sent to live with her estranged sister, Cora. Ruby struggles to adjust to a life totally foreign to her and re-connect with a sister she hasn’t seen for 10 years.

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. (Gr. 8+)

While skipping school in favor of LARPing (Live Action Role Play), 17-year-old Marcus is detained and interrogated by the Department of Homeland Security. After his eventual release, Marcus vows to take down the DHS and fight against the newly established police state.

 

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd. (Gr. 6+)
When their cousin Salim comes to visit and then disappears into thin air while on a ride on the London Eye Ferris wheel, Ted and his sister attempt to solve the mystery. Because Ted suffers from a “syndrome”, he thinks differently from other people. He and his sister develop and explore nine possible theories about Salim’s disappearance.

 

How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier. (Gr. 6+)

In a world where people have personal fairies who endow their human with some kind of luck or skill, Charlie is miserable. She is cursed with a parking fairy, which she hates, because everyone makes her ride with them so they can always get a great spot to park. In a series of misadventures, Charlie schemes to rid herself of her noxious fairy.

 

The Disreputable History of Frankie  Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart. (Gr. 7+)
At 16 years old, Frankie Landau-Banks has everything. She has a great figure, a gorgeous boyfriend, and is the criminal mastermind behind an all-male secret society.

What the World Eats by Peter Menzel. (Gr. 6+)

Through photographs, statistics and essays, readers get a glimpse of what people in different countries eat each week. Each country is represented by at least one family photographed in their homes, surrounded by the food they would normally consume in a single week. The food is categorized and listed, and details about their lifestyles are described.

 

The Knife of Letting Go by Patrick Ness. (Gr. 7+)
After colonists battle with aliens on a planet, the male human beings are infected with something called Noise causing their thoughts to be broadcast. In a place where everyone can read everyone else’s thoughts, a secret is hard to keep. On a trip to the swamp, Todd makes a discovery that he can’t hide and is forced to flee his hometown.

 

Geek Magnet: a Novel in Five Acts by Kieran Scott. (Gr. 7+)

KJ Miller, is smart, pretty, and nice enough to attract all the geeks at school. Tama, one of the “popular” girls, takes KJ under her wings and decides to give her lessons in setting boundaries.