 |
| Halo / |
| Adornetto, Alexandra |
| Teen Fiction ADORNET |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
| Bad girls don't die / |
| Alender, Katie |
| A ghost possessing a little girl, a freaky doll, a haunted house. This book would be just like ten million others if it wasn't so dang scary. |
| Teen Fiction ALENDER |
|
|
![Cover Art: Thirteen reasons why [sound recording] : [a novel] /](http://content.hclib.org/perl/syndetics/syndetics.pl?type=xw12&client=hennp&isbn=073935650X/sC.GIF) |
| Thirteen reasons why [sound recording] : [a novel] / |
| Asher, Jay, 1975- |
| They actually have the book version of this in the library, but not in the list for this thing. It's a little weird. I should warn you, this book is PG13. But it's worth reading in a sad sort of way. |
| Teen Fiction ASHER |
|
|
 |
| The case of the case of mistaken identity / |
| Barnett, Mac |
| This book eases you into the weird world of the story without a jolt. Plus, there's ninja librarians. That has to count for something. |
| Children's Fiction BARNETT |
|
|
 |
| The wonderful Wizard of Oz / |
| Baum, L. Frank 1856-1919 |
| Read it! And then read it again! And see the movie! I cannot stress this enough! |
| Children's Fiction BAUM |
|
|
 |
| Hot lunch / |
| Bradley, Alex. |
| Kids rule! Freaky psyco lunch ladies drool! Okay, most lunch ladies are fine once you get to know them, but sometimes they're not. Like this time. |
| Teen Fiction BRADLEY |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
| Beauty queens / |
| Bray, Libba. |
| Oh my gosh, this is my favorite novel ever. Hands down. I warn you though, you have to be openminded to read it. But it's so awesome. Look closely at the cover, and you'll see that the things strapped across her chest are lipstick. |
| Teen Fiction BRAY |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
| How to be popular / |
| Cabot, Meg |
| Most of Meg Cabot's books I can blow through in a day, but that doesn't stop me from picking them up. This one has just enough individualism to give it a spot on this list. |
| Teen Fiction CABOT |
|
|
 |
| The Dark Hills divide / |
| Carman, Patrick. |
| A fantasy dystopia, which you don't see much nowadays. But the twists and turns of this series should keep you going for a while. |
| Children's Fiction CARMAN |
|
|
 |
| Alice in Wonderland / |
| Carroll, Lewis, 1832-1898 |
| No, it isn't enough to see the Disney movie. You really should read the book, and the sequel, Through The Looking Glass And What Alice Found There. |
| Children's Fiction CARROLL |
|
|
 |
| Silent spring / |
| Carson, Rachel, 1907-1964 |
| Basically, this book is a truckload of propaganda about how we're killing all of the earth with pesticides. But if you can slog through the tedious language, it's worth reading. |
| Adult Fiction 632.9 C |
|
|
 |
| And then there were none / |
| Christie, Agatha, 1890-1976 |
| The best book from The Queen of Crime! I swear, you won't be able to tell who did it. I swear. It's a little hard to get into at first, but it's so worth it. |
| Adult Fiction CHRISTIE |
|
|
 |
| Dear Mr. Henshaw / |
| Cleary, Beverly |
| A student writes letters to his favorite author. We never see the author's letters, but this is a very good book. |
| Children's Fiction CLEARY |
|
|
 |
| A week in the woods / |
| Clements, Andrew, 1949- |
| I really like survival stories, so this may just be me, but Andrew Clements is also a great author. |
| Children's Fiction CLEMENT |
|
|
 |
| Frindle / |
| Clements, Andrew, 1949- |
| Children's Fiction CLEMENT |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
| Artemis Fowl / |
| Colfer, Eoin. |
| Pardon me, but to quote another book-list-maker on this site: "...but dang it, Artemis Fowl is too awesome to be ignored." I salute you. |
| Teen Fiction COLFER |
|
|
 |
| The Hunger Games / |
| Collins, Suzanne |
| Yes, I know, but if you haven't read this, you really should. Unless it makes you sick AS YOU ARE READING IT. On the Teenlinks page under the forum, there's a really good argument for reading this book. |
| Teen Fiction COLLINS |
|
|
 |
| Matched / |
| Condie, Allyson Braithwaite |
| I know it's on just about every other list on this site, and I thought it was going be yet other stupid love-V (I'd call it a love triangle, but the boys don't like each other), but it's better than I thought it would be. Deeper, too. |
| Teen Fiction CONDIE |
|
|
 |
| Matilda / |
| Dahl, Roald |
| Pretty much any Roald Dahl book deserves a place on this list, but this one is my all-time favorite. It's just so satisfying. |
| Children's Fiction DAHL |
|
|
 |
| The BFG / |
| Dahl, Roald |
| BFG stands for Big Friendly Giant, and I must say, this is a great British book. Those illustrations don't hurt either. |
| Children's Fiction DAHL |
|
|
 |
| The witches / |
| Dahl, Roald |
| Did you know that witches are everywhere? And they like to turn people into mice? Man, you're probably drowning in Roald Dahl by now. I need to stop. |
| Children's Fiction DAHL |
|
|
 |
| The maze runner / |
| Dashner, James, 1972- |
| A postapocalyptic story with two sequels and a prequel. Read these at your own risk, because they are truly the darkest, most violent books I have yet encountered. |
| Teen Fiction DASHNER |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
| Because of Winn-Dixie / |
| DiCamillo, Kate |
| A girl and her dog...and a changing world because of Winn-Dixie. A great classic. |
| Children's Fiction DICAMIL |
|
|
 |
| Dark life / |
| Falls, Kat. |
| What if we lived underwater? |
| Children's Fiction FALLS |
|
|
 |
| Diva / |
| Flinn, Alex |
| Considering that the protagonist's mother is having an affair with a married guy, that's about all I needed to start reading this. Though the title helped a little too. |
| Teen Fiction FLINN |
|
|
 |
| Bewitching / |
| Flinn, Alex |
| Half the story is nararrated (I'm sorry, I can't spell that) by a teenage girl with a Cinderella-esque story, and the other half by an immortal witch (also a teenage girl) with a bit of attitude. I swear, this book will change your life. |
| Teen Fiction FLINN |
|
|
 |
| The girl who could fly / |
| Forester, Victoria |
| A seriously underrated book, but it's amazing. Truly. The title says it all. |
| Children's Fiction FORESTE |
|
|
 |
| Sophie's world : a novel about the history of philosophy / |
| Gaarder, Jostein, 1952- |
| It made me cry at the end, but it's tied with the other book at the top of my list for the Greatest Book Ever. This is one I suggest you read like RIGHT NOW. It's deep, though. Really deep. |
| Adult Fiction GAARDER |
|
|
 |
| The graveyard book / |
| Gaiman, Neil |
| Scared the pants off me in fifth grade, but a book about a kid who talks with ghosts called "Bod" (short for "Nobody") is awesumm.
|
| Children's Fiction GAIMAN |
|
|
 |
| Sun and moon, ice and snow / |
| George, Jessica Day, 1976- |
| A take on a fairy tale about a polar bear and trolls. It is worth reading, if you're up to it. |
| Teen Fiction GEORGE |
|
|
 |
| Dragon slippers / |
| George, Jessica Day, 1976- |
| What would you do if you were sacrificed to a dragon by your crazy aunt? And the dragon offered you a pair of shoes? |
| Children's Fiction GEORGE |
|
|
 |
| Deep and dark and dangerous : a ghost story / |
| Hahn, Mary Downing. |
| This book won the Maud Hart Lovelace book award a couple years ago, and it deserved it. It might keep you up at night, but only because you're desperate to find out what happens. |
| Children's Fiction HAHN |
|
|
 |
| Princess Academy / |
| Hale, Shannon |
| This book has a sequel, Palace of Stone, if you're interested. Shannon Hale is one of my favorite authors, and I can't help being a bit jealous I can't weave words the same way. |
| Children's Fiction HALE |
|
|
 |
| The goose girl / |
| Hale, Shannon |
| This is a variation on the fairy tale, "The Goose Girl". I would also advise reading this, if only because there are at least three more sequels and the story sticks in your heart. |
| Teen Fiction HALE |
|
|
 |
| The misfits / |
| Howe, James, 1946- |
| Hooray for No Name-Calling Week! |
| Children's Fiction HOWE |
|
|
 |
| Into the wild / |
| Hunter, Erin. |
| The entry book to the amazing Warriors series, which in its entirety spans 24 books, 4 guides, 4 special stories, and a host of graphic novels. Make sure you read this one first. And then keep reading. |
| Teen Fiction HUNTER |
|
|
 |
| Redwall / |
| Jacques, Brian |
| This series has about fifteen books, but they're out of order. I got lost around the fourth one, but the first one is really worth reading. The first, chronologically, is Lord Brocktree, but I don't know what the next one is. This is like the fourth or something. |
| Children's Fiction JACQUES |
|
|
 |
| Evil genius / |
| Jinks, Catherine. |
| The first book in a trilogy. Barely worth reading. =P |
| Teen Fiction JINKS |
|
|
 |
| The phantom tollbooth / |
| Juster, Norton, 1929- |
| Another boy-rescues-the-princesses story, but in this one the princesses are Rhyme and Reason. This book uses wordplay literally and you'd better hold on for the ride. Now, every time I think of the word din, I remember the terrible DYNNE. |
| Children's Fiction JUSTER |
|
|
 |
| Schooled / |
| Korman, Gordon. |
| Middle-school kids who are forced to THINK + tribute to the 70s = awesumm |
| Children's Fiction KORMAN |
|
|
 |
| Savvy / |
| Law, Ingrid, 1970- |
| A girl with a magic power breaking loose at the seams, a cross-country trip, and a pink school bus. That alone should convince you to read this book. |
| Children's Fiction LAW |
|
|
 |
| To kill a mockingbird / |
| Lee, Harper. |
| A girl's coming-of-age story complete with racial tension and a spooky neighbor who never comes out. Yet another great classic I urge everyone to read. |
| Adult Fiction LEE |
|
|
 |
| Ella enchanted / |
| Levine, Gail Carson. |
| When Ella is cursed with obedience, she takes life into her own hands on a great adventure. Every time I find this book on a shelf at school, I reread it. |
| Children's Fiction LEVINE |
|
|
 |
| The magician's nephew / |
| Lewis, C. S. 1898-1963. |
| This is, in fictional chronological order, the first of the Narnia books. If you read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe first, like I did, you'll see the connections. If you haven't, it doesn't matter. TLTW&TW is the second book. |
| Children's Fiction LEWIS |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
| The giver / |
| Lowry, Lois. |
| This one made me cry, though it took me forever to read it. |
| Children's Fiction LOWRY |
|
|
 |
| Legend / |
| Lu, Marie, 1984- |
| This story has the most amazing premise, and it would be one of my favorite books if it wasn't so poorly executed. |
| Teen Fiction LU |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
| Judy Moody / |
| McDonald, Megan |
| Yet another kids book series that everyone should read, preferably when they're in elementary school. But if you haven't read it yet, check it out. The firs book you can probably get through pretty quick. |
| Children's Fiction MCDONAL |
|
|
 |
| Over you / |
| McLaughlin, Emma. |
| Currently competing for the #1 spot on my Best Books Ever list! |
| Teen Fiction MCLAUGH |
|
|
 |
| Inside the mind of Gideon Rayburn / |
| Miller, Sarah, 1969- |
| Before ANYONE gets this out, you should know that it's really for mature teens. Intercourse and marijuana are the two main topics of the book. |
| Teen Fiction MILLER |
|
|
 |
| Fablehaven / |
| Mull, Brandon, 1974- |
| The first in an awesome series. It incorporates fantasy creatures from a lot of different cultures, and I suggest you read it right away. This series is on my top ten list of books. |
| Children's Fiction MULL |
|
|
 |
| Ttfn / |
| Myracle, Lauren, 1969- |
| This book's one redeeming quality is that it's written in IMs without leaving anything out. I'm not sure if this is the first book, so if anyone knows, please tell me. |
| Teen Fiction |
|
|
 |
| Sparrow Road / |
| O'Connor, Sheila. |
| "People think we didn't have parents, but we did. Everyone has parents." "What is, or what could be." -Sparrow Road |
| Children's Fiction O'CONNO |
|
|
 |
| Alanna : the first adventure / |
| Pierce, Tamora |
| All Alanna of Trebond wants to do is become a knight, but girls can't train at the palace. So she switches places with her twin brother Thom and takes the palace by storm, pretending to be a boy. This four-book series leads into some five other series you can read if you want. |
| Teen Fiction PIERCE |
|
|
 |
| The golden compass / |
| Pullman, Philip, 1946- |
| Can I admit something? At first, I thought this must be a formula-made paranormal fiction, because they made it into a movie, but really, it's not. I tried to hate it, but I got swept up in the immense awesummness of the story. |
| Children's Fiction PULLMAN |
|
|
 |
| Ish / |
| Reynolds, Peter, 1961- |
| Yes, it's a picture book, but our teacher read it to us in fifth grade and it's truly cool. |
| Easy Picture BookREYNOLD |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
| The lightning thief / |
| Riordan, Rick |
| Yet another popular fiction I insist you read because it's sweet. Even if you already know everything about Greek mythology, like me, you may as well read this. It's great. |
| Children's Fiction RIORDAN |
|
|
 |
| The encyclopedia of me / |
| Rivers, Karen, 1970- |
| A teenage girl relates the generally chaotic events of the summer in encyclopedia entries, most notably "Boy, Blue-Eyed, Who Just Moved In Next Door". |
| Teen Fiction RIVERS |
|
|
 |
| For your eyes only! / |
| Rocklin, Joanne. |
| Told in the form of two diaries, when a straight-laced girl and her nemesis, a misbehaved boy, both find out about a family of ducks living in their apartment complex pool. This book is especially refreshing as it's not a love story, in a sense, but is heartbreaking and wonderful. |
| Children's Fiction ROCKLIN |
|
|
 |
| Harry Potter and the sorcerer's stone / |
| Rowling, J. K. |
| I don't care if you haven't read it, read the first book and THEN tell me how you feel. No excuses. This is a great book for anyone uncertain about reading. |
| Children's Fiction ROWLING |
|
|
 |
| The dragon of Lonely Island / |
| Rupp, Rebecca. |
| Three stories about dragons from various cultures as told by three heads of a dragon to three children staying on Lonely Island. |
| Children's Fiction RUPP |
|
|
 |
| Alcatraz versus the evil librarians / |
| Sanderson, Brandon. |
| If Beauty Queens by Libba Bray is my number one book, this one is fighting hard to unseat it. Alcatraz is funny, cool, and perplexing at the same time - everything I look for in a book. Don't blame me if you can't put it down. |
| Children's Fiction SANDERS |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
| The Schwa was here / |
| Shusterman, Neal. |
| This is a great book that makes you think about invisible people. |
| Teen Fiction SHUSTER |
|
|
 |
| Unwind / |
| Shusterman, Neal. |
| When kids reach a certain age, they can be 'unwound', their parts grafted onto other people. This book has three protagonists but is still freaky cool. |
| Teen Fiction SHUSTER |
|
|
 |
| After ever after / |
| Sonnenblick, Jordan. |
| The only good book about a kid with autism/cancer/put debilitating illness here. Not to say these things aren't hard to deal with, but this is the only good book I've ever read about a kid with one of those. |
| Children's Fiction SONNENB |
|
|
 |
| Stargirl / |
| Spinelli, Jerry. |
| One of those awesome, incredible books that makes you think different and turns your head in a different direction. I love Jerry Spinelli. |
| Teen Fiction SPINELL |
|
|
 |
| Maniac Magee : a novel / |
| Spinelli, Jerry. |
| "Everyone knows the story of a kid is one parts truth, one part legend, and one part snowball." -Maniac Magee |
| Children's Fiction SPINELL |
|
|
 |
| The emerald atlas / |
| Stephens, John, 1972- |
| A fantastic beginning to a series. Now if only it was a stand-alone book... |
| Children's Fiction STEPHEN |
|
|
 |
| The mysterious Benedict Society / |
| Stewart, Trenton Lee |
| Four impossible kids, a weird house, a set of tricky tests, a brainwashing academy, a narcoleptic good guy and his evil twin...what could be better on a rainy day? |
| Children's Fiction STEWART |
|
|
 |
| YuYu Hakusho. Vol. 1, Goodbye, material world! / |
| Togashi, Yoshihiro |
| True, it's 'backwards' because it's Japanese, but it just takes a little practice. I swear, this is the most amazing manga of all time. It spans everything from death to demons. Whoo hoo! Read all 19 volumes and I'll proclaim you a Manga Champion. |
| Teen Fiction TOGASHI |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
| Three times lucky / |
| Turnage, Sheila. |
| Yet another teenage mystery! But it's awesumm! |
| Children's Fiction TURNAGE |
|
|
 |
| Tom Sawyer ; and, Huckleberry Finn / |
| Twain, Mark, 1835-1910 |
| Classics like this are meant to be read. And read again. Seriously, Tom Sawyer crashes his own funeral. Again, that alone should convince you to read this as soon as possible. |
| Adult Fiction TWAIN |
|
|
 |
| The boxcar children / |
| Warner, Gertrude Chandler, 1890-1979 |
| Maybe it's kind of a kids book, but it was one of my favorites. Another one I reread every time I get the chance. |
| Children's Fiction Boxcar children mysteries #1 |
|
|
 |
| Absolutely Maybe / |
| Yee, Lisa. |
| Sometimes the protagonist can be frustrating, but this is a book I really like. Even if it will never reach top ten in my mind. |
| Teen Fiction YEE |
|
|
