ValleyReads

Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Through journal entries sixteen-year-old Miranda describes her family’s struggle to survive after a meteor hits the moon, causing worldwide tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.

Wrecked by E. R. Frank

After a car accident seriously injures her best friend and kills her brother’s girlfriend, sixteen-year-old Anna tries to cope with her guilt and grief, while learning some truths about her family and herself.

Pop Princess by Rachel Cohn

Yearning to escape the small Massachusetts town where her family retreated after her sister’s death, Wonder Blake gets her chance when her sister’s manager offers Wonder a record contract on her sixteenth birthday.

Shooter by Walter Dean Meyers

Written in the form of interviews, reports, and journal entries, the story of three troubled teenagers ends in a tragic school shooting.

Candyfreak by Steve Almond

Examines the modern candy industry, investigating the influence of corporate power on what sorts of chocolate bars survive and why many “quirky” ones perish.

In honour of banned books week:

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

A high school freshman discovers the devastating consequences of refusing to join in the school’s annual fund raising drive and arousing the wrath of the school bullies.

The Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Charlie, a freshman in high school, explores the dilemmas of growing up through a collection of letters he sends to an unknown receiver.

Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher

any and all from the Alice series by Phyllis Naylor

The Earth, My Butt and other big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler

Feeling like she does not fit in with the other members of her family, who are all thin, brilliant, and good-looking, fifteen-year-old Virginia tries to deal with her self-image, her first physical relationship, and her disillusionment with some of the people closest to her.

Gossip Girls series by Cecily von Zeigesar

Gossip Girl, an unknown narrator, shares the inside scoop on her friends and foes in a privileged private school in New York City, focusing on the return of the beautiful Serena van der Woodson, who is rumored to have been kicked out of boarding school.

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

An eleven-year-old African-American girl in Ohio, in the early 1940s, prays for her eyes to turn blue so that she will be beautiful.

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Sethe, an escaped slave who now lives in post-Civil War Ohio, has borne the unthinkable and works hard at “beating back the past.” She struggles to keep Beloved, an intruder, from gaining possession of her present while throwing off the legacy of her past.

and in honour of Hallowe’en, Stiff:  The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

Explores how human cadavers have been used throughout history, discussing how the use of dead bodies has benefited every aspect of human existence.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

A traumatic event near the end of the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda’s freshman year in high school.

Meagan Meade’s Guide to the McGowan Boys by Kate Brian

While her military parents are stationed in South Korea, high school junior Megan learns a great deal about boys and herself when moves to Massachusetts to live with family friends who have seven sons.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel–a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.

Izzy, Willy-Nilly by Cynthia Voigt

A car accident causes fifteen-year-old Izzy to lose one leg and face the need to start building a new life as an amputee.

Team Moon:  How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon by Catherine Thimmesh

Chronicles the Apollo 11 mission, the spaceflight that landed the first man on Earth’s moon on July 20, 1969, emphasizing the contributions and reactions of the thousands of people who made the mission successful.