Category Top Picks For Teens

Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze Elizabeth Foreman Lewis Ages 10-14 When Young Fu arrives with his mother in bustling 1920s Chungking, all he has seen of the world is the rural farming village where he has grown up. He…

Woodsong Gary Paulsen Ages 10-14 Gary Paulsen is no stranger to adventure. He has flown off the back of a dogsled and down a frozen waterfall to near disaster and waited for a giant bear to seal his fate with…

What I Believe Norma Fox Mazer Poetry Vicki’s life had been perfect–now it’s definitely not. When her father is laid off from his job, her family’s familiar comforts slip away. They move to a city apartment, and Vicki has to…

Twelve Angry Men Reginald Rose Classics A blistering character study and an examination of the American melting pot and the judicial system that keeps it in check, Twelve Angry Men holds at its core a deeply patriotic faith in the U.S. legal…

The War Outside Monica Hesse Ages 12+ It’s 1944, and World War II is raging across Europe and the Pacific. The war seemed far away from Margot in Iowa and Haruko in Colorado—until they were uprooted to dusty Texas, all…

The Hero of Room 13B Teresa Toten Ages 12-17 Filled with moments of deep emotion and unexpected humor, this understated and wise novel explores the complexities of living with OCD and offers the prospect of hope, happiness and healing. Perfect…

The Runner Cynthia Voigt Ages 12+ Bullet Tillerman runs. He runs to escape the criticism of his harsh, unforgiving father. He runs to numb the pain of his mother’s inability to express her love. He is the star of the…

The River Between Us Richard Peck Historical Fiction A steamboat whistle splits the air one evening, and with it, all is changed for fifteen-year-old Tilly Pruitt and her family. They’ve been living in a muddy little Mississippi River town in…

The Outsiders S.E. Hinton Classics No one ever said life was easy. But Ponyboy is pretty sure that he’s got things figured out. He knows that he can count on his brothers, Darry and Sodapop. And he knows that he…

Incident at Hawk’s Hill Allan W. Eckert  Ages 12+ Six-year-old Ben is very small for his age, and gets along better with animals than people. One June day in 1870, Ben wanders away from his home on Hawk’s Hill and…