The following list contains notable, contemporary, young adult titles. For a Cushman, Karen.

Karen. Catherine, Called Birdy Gordon, Roderick & Brian Williams. Tunnels
more comprehensive list of books that includes classic novels, please visit the The thirteen-year-old daughter of an English country knight keeps a journal in Will Burrows has little in common with his strange, dysfunctional family. In
PCS Library Media Center website which she records the events of her life, particularly her longing for fact, the only bond he shares with his eccentric father is a passion for
adventures beyond the usual role of women and her efforts to avoid being archaeological excavation. So when his dad mysteriously vanishes, Will
married off. unearths the unbelievable: a subterranean society that time forgot.
Avi. Crispin: The Cross of Lead
Falsely accused of theft and murder, an orphaned De Mari, Silvana . The Last Dragon Gutman, Dan. The Homework Machine
peasant boy in fourteenth-century England flees his Struggling to survive in a postapocalyptic world after his Four fifth-grade students--a geek, a class clown, a teacher's pet, and a slacker-
village and meets a larger-than-life juggler who holds a village is destroyed, Yorsh, the earth's last elf, must embark -as well as their teacher and mothers, each relate events surrounding a
dangerous secret. on a perilous quest to decipher a powerful prophecy and computer programmed to complete homework assignments.
find the last dragon, who holds the key to saving the world
Bloor, Edward. Tangerine from the Dark Age that has begun. Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Among the Hidden
Twelve-year-old Paul, who lives in the shadow of his football hero brother A government decree allows each family only two children. For Luke, a third
Erik, fights for the right to play soccer despite his near blindness and slowly DiCamillo, Kate. The Tale of Despereaux child, this has meant a lifetime of hiding. But could a stray glimpse of a child
begins to remember the incident that damaged his eyesight. The adventures of Desperaux Tilling, a small mouse of unusual talents, the hiding in the house across the way lead to freedom?
princess that he loves, the servant girl who longs to be a princess, and a
Cashore, Kristin. Graceling (Sequel: Fire) devious rat determined to bring them all to ruin. Hale, Shannon. Book of a Thousand Days
Katsa’s hyper-developed talent, or Grace, makes her feared throughout the Fifteen-year-old Dashti, sworn to obey her sixteen-year-old mistress, the Lady
Seven Kingdoms, but a wicked cute, super-sensitive prince helps her harness DuPrau, Jeanne. The City of Ember Saren, shares Saren's years of punishment locked in a tower, then brings her
it as they solve a mysterious kidnapping together. In the year 241, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a safely to the lands of her true love, where both must hide who they are as they
Messenger to run to new places in her decaying but beloved city, perhaps work as kitchen maids.
Choldenko, Gennifer. Al Capone Does My Shirts even to glimpse Unknown Regions.
A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when Hannigan, Katherine. Ida B: --and her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid
guards' families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary Fleischman, Sid. Escape!: The Story of the Great Houdini Disaster, and (possibly) Save the World
new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister. Biography of the magician, ghost chaser, aviator, and king of escape artists In Wisconsin, fourth-grader Ida B spends happy hours being home-schooled
whose amazing feats are remembered long after his death in 1926. and playing in her family's apple orchard, until her mother begins treatment
Colfer, Eoin. Artemis Fowl Series for breast cancer and her parents must sell part of the orchard and send her to
When a twelve-year-old evil genius tries to restore his family fortune by Funke, Cornelia. Inkheart. public school.
capturing a fairy and demanding a ransom in gold, the fairies fight back with One cruel night, Meggie's father reads aloud from a book called "Inkheart,"
magic, technology, and a particularly nasty troll. and an evil ruler escapes the boundaries of fiction and lands in their living Hawking, Lucy & Stephen. George’s Secret Key to the Universe
room. Suddenly, Meggie is smack in the middle of the kind of adventure she Follows the adventures of a young boy and his neighbor friend as they travel
Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games (Sequel: Catching Fire) has only read about in books. through a computer portal into outer space, where they explore such mysteries
In a science-fiction cliffhanger, Katniss takes her younger sister’s place as one as black holes and the origins of the universe, while trying to evade an evil
of twenty-four youths who are turned over to the Capitol in a deadly annual Funke, Cornelia. The Thief Lord scientist.
reality game in which only one can survive. Two brothers, having run away from the aunt who plans to adopt the younger
one, are sought by a detective hired by their aunt, but they have found shelter Levine , Gail Carson. Fairest
Creech, Sharon. Replay with -- and the protection of -- Venice's "Thief Lord." In a land where beauty and singing are valued above all else,
While preparing for a role in the school play, twelve-year-old Leo finds an Aza eventually comes to reconcile her unconventional
autobiography that his father wrote as a teenager and ponders the ways people Gantos, Jack. Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key appearance and her magical voice, and learns to accept
change as they grow up. Includes the text for the play, "Rumpopo's Porch." Jack Gantos has perfect pitch in capturing the humor, the off- herself for who she truly is.
the-wall intensity, and the serious challenges that life presents
Creech, Sharon. Walk Two Moons to a kid dealing with hyper-activity and related disorders. Kelly, Jacqueline. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
After her mother leaves home suddenly, thirteen-year-old Sal and her Eleven-year-old Calpurnia Virginia Tate and her curmudgeony old
grandparents take a car trip retracing her mother's route. Along the way, Sal Gilbreth, Frank. Cheaper by the Dozen grandfather bond over their interest in the evolution of the species on a Texas
recounts the story of her friend Phoebe, whose mother also left. A dozen red-haired, freckle-faced kids; a dad who is a famous plantation at the turn of the last century.
efficiency expert and believes a family can be run just like a factory; and a
Curtis, Christopher Paul. Elijah of Buxton
mother – dad’s partner in everything except discipline. How they all survive Kinney, Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Followup - Rodrick Rules)
In 1859, eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first free-born child in Buxton,
such escapades as forgetting Frank Jr. in a roadside restaurant will keep you in Greg records his sixth grade experiences in a middle school where he and his
Canada, which is a haven for slaves fleeing the American south, uses his wits
stitches. You can be sure they're not only cheaper, they're funnier by the best friend, Rowley, undersized weaklings amid boys who need to shave twice
and skills to try to bring to justice the lying preacher who has stolen money
dozen. daily, hope just to survive, but when Rowley grows more popular, Greg must
that was to be used to buy a family's freedom.
take drastic measures to save their friendship.
 William Shakespeare and Holling learns much of value about the world he
Law, Ingrid. Savvy lives in.
Recounts the adventures of Mibs Beaumont, whose thirteenth birthday has Professional
revealed her "savvy"--a magical power unique to each member of her family-- Scieszka, Jon. Knucklehead: Tall Tales and Mostly True Stories about
just as her father is injured in a terrible accident. Growing up Scieszka Children’s School
How did Jon Scieszka get so funny, anyway? Growing up as one of six
Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars brothers was a good start, but that was just the beginning. Throw in Catholic
In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie school, lots of comic books, lazy summers at the lake with time to kill,
learns how to be brave and courageous when she helps babysitting misadventures, TV shows, jokes told at family dinner, and the
shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis. result is Knucklehead. Part memoir, part scrapbook, this hilarious trip down
memory lane provides a unique glimpse into the formation of a creative mind
Martin, Ann M. A Corner of the Universe and a free spirit.
The summer that Hattie turns twelve, she meets the childlike
uncle she never knew and becomes friends with a girl who Selznick, Brian. The Invention of Hugo Cabret
works at the carnival that comes to Hattie's small town. When twelve-year-old Hugo, an orphan living and repairing clocks within the
walls of a Paris train station in 1931, meets a mysterious toyseller and his
Mass, Wendy. Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life goddaughter, his undercover life and his biggest secret are jeopardized.
Just before his thirteenth birthday, Jeremy Fink receives a keyless locked box-
-set aside by his father before his death five years earlier--that purportedly Skelton, Matthew. Endymion Spring
contains the meaning of life. Having reluctantly accompanied his academic mother and pesky younger
sister to Oxford, twelve-year-old Blake is at loose ends until he stumbles
Morgenstern, Susie, translated by Gill Rosner. A Book of Coupons across an ancient and magical book, secretly brought to England in 1453 by
A new teacher gives her class a book of coupons for misbehaving that could Gutenberg's mute apprentice to save it from evil forces, and which now draws
really get everyone in trouble! Blake into a dangerous and life-threatening quest.

Paulsen, Gary. Hatchet Sonnenblick, Jordan. Zen and the Art of Faking It
After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the When eighth-grader San Lee moves to a new town for the
wilderness, learning to survive initially with only the aid of a hatchet given umpteenth time, he doesn't try to make new friends or be
him by his mother, and learning also to survive his parents' divorce. a loner or play cool. He sits back and devises a plan to be
totally different - a Zen Master.
Philbrick, Rodman. The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg
Homer, an admitted liar and teller of tales, must rescue his brother Harold Spinelli, Jerry. Maniac Magee
after Uncle Squinton Leach sells him to the Union Army. After his parents die, Jeffrey Lionel Magee's life becomes legendary, as he

Riordan, Rick. The Lightning Thief

accomplishes athletic and other feats which awe his contemporaries.
2010 Summer Reading List
After learning that he is the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the Stead, Rebecca. When You Reach Me
sea, twelve-year-old Percy is sent to a summer camp for demigods like Twelve-year-old Miranda must unravel a puzzle involving increasingly
himself, and joins his new friends on a quest to prevent a war between the strange notes warning that someone she knows may die.
gods.
Stewart, Trenton Lee. The Mysterious Benedict Society Entering 6th Graders
Sachar, Louis. Holes After passing a series of mind-bending tests, four children are selected for a
After being sent unjustly to a boys' detention center, Stanley is forced by the secret mission that requires them to go undercover at the Learning Institute for
warden to dig holes everyday. While the warden claims it's to build character, the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules.
it doesn't take Stanley long to realize there's more than character improvement
going on at Camp Green Lake. Stanley decides he needs to dig up the truth Weeks, Sarah. So B. It: A Novel
about what the warden is looking for. 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 PROFESSIONAL CHILDREN’S SCHOOL
Schmidt, Gary. The Wednesday Wars find out who she is. Gladys Brooks Library
During the 1967 school year, on Wednesday afternoons when all his 132 West 60th Street
classmates go to either Catechism or Hebrew school, seventh-grader Holling Whelan, Gloria. Homeless Bird New York, NY 10023
Hoodhood stays in Mrs. Baker's classroom where they read the plays of Kali discovers that the husband her parents have chosen for her is sickly.