Tayshas Reading List 2005-2006

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Adoff, Jaime.  Names Will Never Hurt Me.  Dutton, 2004.  (YA) Fiction
The first anniversary of a shooting death at Rockville High creates an uneasy atmosphere, heightened by the TV crew camped out to capture the day's events. The star quarterback, an outcast "freak," a biracial girl, and the principal's snitch alternate personal dramas which build toward a violent outcome.

Albom, Mitch.  The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Hyperion, 2003. (AD/YA) Fiction. 
While working routine carnival ride maintenance on his 83rd birthday, Eddie saves a little girl but dies in the process.  In heaven he meets five people who teach him lessons on fate, sacrifice, loyalty, love, and forgiveness.

Alvarez, Julia.  Finding Miracles.  Alfred A. Knopf, 2004. (YA) Fiction
Milly Kaufman's life is rather typical until Pablo, a new student from her native country, inspires her to return to her homeland and search for her birth parents. Along the way, she finds romance, develops a new appreciation for her adopted American family, and learns that her past is connected to her country's recovery from a brutal dictatorship and political corruption.

Armstrong, Jennifer, ed.  What a Song Can Do: 12 Riffs on the Power of Music.  Alfred A. Knopf, 2004.  (YA) Collection
Music pulses through the lives of the prodigies, the unremarkable talents, and the rebellious musicians in this collection of stories about teenagers and music.

Aronson, Marc.  Witch-Hunt: Mysteries of the Salem Witch Trials.  Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2003.  (YA) Nonfiction
In the early 1690s, Salem, Massachusetts, found itself embroiled in a series of local events referred to collectively as the Salem Witch Trials.  Witch-Hunt combines all existing research regarding these accusations, trials, imprisonments, and executions into a critical study of this controversial period.

Bennett, Cherie and Jeff Gottesfeld. A Heart Divided. Delacorte Press, 2004.  (YA) Fiction

When Kate and her family move from New York City to a small town in Tennessee, they are shocked by the use of the Confederate flag as a school symbol. Kate sets out to change it, creating a furor she can’t handle.

Bolden, Tonya. Wake Up Our Souls: A Celebration of Black American Artists. Harry Abrams, 2004. (YA) Nonfiction
Selected artwork from the Smithsonian Museum reflects elements of African-American history from the days of slavery to the present.

Bray, Libba.  A Great and Terrible Beauty.  Delacorte Press, 2003.  (YA) Historical Fiction.

Mystery, dangers, visions, dark family secrets, a long-lost diary, and realms of magic surround Gemma and three of her classmates at Spence Academy, a Victorian boarding school, and thrust them into a life-and-death struggle with evil spirits.

Brugman, Alyssa. Walking Naked. Delacorte Press, 2004 (YA) Fiction.
Megan is the leader of her high school’s most popular clique, in which the girls are ruthless, demeaning others who don’t fit in. When Megan begins to develop a relationship with the school outcast, she must make a choice: Perdita or the group?

Caletti, Deb. Honey, Baby, Sweetheart. Simon & Schuster, 2004. (YA) Fiction. Shy, good girl Ruby has a summer romance with rich, bad boy Travis. While struggling with his reckless, often criminal lifestyle, Ruby becomes involved with her mother’s plot to reunite a senior citizen friend with a lost love.

Calhoun, Dia.  White Midnight. Farrar, Straus and Giroux,  2003 (YA) Fantasy.

While barbarians threaten the land, timid Rose faces her worst fears when her family hires her out as servant to a wicked old man. To her horror, Rose discovers her fate lies with the mysterious, deformed “Thing” locked in the attic.

Cohn, Rachel. Pop Princess.  Simon & Schuster, 2004. (FR) Fiction.

Offered a recording contract at age fifteen, Wonder Blake enters the fast lane to becoming a pop princess, which takes her away from a dead end job at the Dairy Queen, a dysfunctional family, the pain of her older sister’s death, and high school.

Coleman, Michael. On the Run. Dutton Children’s Books, 2004. (YA) Fiction.
When Luke chooses to save the life of a blind girl in a robbery gone wrong rather than to make a clean escape, he is given one last chance to discover what course his life will take.

Cooley, Beth. Ostrich Eye. Delacorte Press, 2004.  (YA) Fiction
Ginger finds herself and her little sister in terrible danger when she convinces herself that the man who is following them is the father who left her when she was very young.

Curtis, Christopher Paul. Bucking the Sarge. Wendy Lamb Books, 2004. (YA) Fiction.
Luther and Sparky live to get out of Flint, Michigan, and become rich and famous, even if it means they have to plan tricks to sue big companies or figure out ways to get the best of Luther’s mother who has made her fortune on the hardship of others.

Dessen, Sarah.  The Truth about Forever.  Viking Press, 2004.  (YA) Fiction
Macy has always played it safe and done her best to be perfect. However, after her father dies and her boyfriend leaves for camp, she makes new friends that allow her the freedom to be herself, and she discovers life isn’t about perfection.

Fisher, Catherine.  The Oracle Betrayed.  Greenwillow Books, 2004. (YA) Fantasy.
When Mirany is chosen to be a young priestess, she is unprepared for the treachery that threatens to destroy her kingdom and knows she must somehow stop the conspiracy. Fortunately, she meets Seth, a tomb-robbing scribe who knows the hidden passages of the underground and is willing to help her.

Flake, Sharon G. Who am I Without Him?: Short Stories about Girls and the Boys in their Lives. Jump at theSun/Hyperion Books for Children, 2004 (YA)
Collection. The feeling of not being good enough or pretty enough or smart enough to have a loving relationship is on the mind of most teenagers, so join the characters in these stories as they explore the importance of being loved and loving someone special.

Flinn, Alex.  Nothing to Lose.  HarperTempest, 2004.  (YA) Fiction

Michael refuses to stand by and watch his abusive stepfather hurt him and his mother, so he runs away for a year. When he returns, he finds his mother on trial for murdering her husband.

Frost, Helen. Keesha’s House. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003.  (FR) Fiction

Seven teens tell their stories of pregnancy, closeted homosexuality, and drug and sexual abuse in poetic, powerful dramatic monologues.  They each find a home at Keesha’s house.

Fusco, Kimberly Newton. Tending to Grace. Alfred A. Knopf, 2004.  (YA) Fiction.
Having stammered since grade school, Cornelia rarely speaks, so her passion for language and literature gets lost in the remedial classes she’s given.  Her life changes forever when she’s abandoned by her neglectful mother in a primitive backwoods cottage with an elderly great-aunt.

Giles, Gail.  Playing in Traffic.  Roaring Brook Press, 2004. (YA) Fiction.
Nondescript nice guy Matt unexpectedly finds himself singled out by exotic Goth girl Skye, whose outrageous behavior fuels the high school rumor mill. Secretly thrilled by her erratic charm, Matt can't resist her, until he belatedly learns he's part of a deadly hidden agenda.

Grimes, Nikki. What is Goodbye?  Hyperion, 2004. (YA) Poetry Alternating poems between a brother and a sister detail their grieving process as they attempt to deal with the death of an older sibling.

Haddon, Mark.  The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.  Doubleday, 2003.  (AD/YA) Mystery. Fifteen-year-old Christopher Boone possesses a remarkable talent for math and science, but he is autistic, afraid of people and hates being touched. In spite of his limitations, he is determined to discover the person who killed his neighbor’s “dog in the night-time.”

Hartinger, Brent.  The Last Chance Texaco. HarperCollins, 2004 (YA) Fiction

When Lucy Pitt is sent to the last-chance foster home, she does her best to fit in despite the girl who tries to get her in trouble, the fight she gets into at her new school, and the mysterious car fires that are being set close to the home.

Hobbs, Valerie. Letting Go of Bobby James, or, How I Found Myself of Steam. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004. (YA) Fiction.

When her new husband abandons her in a Florida gas station on a cross-country road trip, sixteen-year-old Jody works as a dishwasher by day and sleeps in a movie theater by night until she can regain her “self of steam.”

Johnson, Maureen.  The Key to the Golden Firebird.  HarperCollins, 2004.  (YA) Fiction.
Three teenaged sisters, Brooks, May, and Palmer, grow apart as each one copes with the sudden death of their baseball-loving father. Panic attacks, alcohol, and overtime threaten to wear them down until an adventure in their dad's beloved firebird unites them.

Koertge, Ron. Margaux With an X. Candlewick Press, 2004. (YA) Fiction.
Beautiful but bored Margaux knows the boys are infatuated with her.  So when scrawny, oddball Danny Riley enters her life, Margaux finds that the pain of the past can’t always be contained.

Koja, Kathe. The Blue Mirror.  Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2004.  (FR) Fiction.

Maggy, a gifted young artist with an alcoholic, negligent mother, falls under the spell of Cole, a charismatic homeless boy who pulls her into his dangerous life on the streets.

Koja, Kathe.  Buddha Boy.  Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003.  (FR) Fiction
Justin learns the true meaning of friendship when he’s drawn  to Jinsen, the weird, new, artistic kid who looks like a Buddhist monk.

Korman, Gordon.  Jake, Reinvented.  Hyperion, 2003.  (YA) Fiction
Nerdy Jacob is obsessed with Didi, a beautiful, untouchable girl, so he reinvents himself to attract her attention.

Korman, Gordon. Son of the Mob: Hollywood Hustle. Hyperion, 2004. (YA) Fiction.
Anxious to put distance between himself and his mob boss father, Vince Luca goes off to college in Southern California, only to learn that it’s impossible to escape the “family.”

Lamm, Drew.  Bittersweet.  Clarion Books, 2003.  (YA) Fiction.
Following her mother’s death when she was seven months old, Taylor, now a gifted eleventh-grade artist, was raised by her full-of-life grandmother.  After Grama’s recent stroke, Taylor finds it impossible to create art or life for herself until she begins to rely on the wisdom of her grandmother.

Lawrence, Iain. B for Buster. Delacorte Press, 2004 (YA) Historical Fiction
When Kak is 16, he lies about his age to join the Canadian Air Force, thinking it will be an exciting adventure to fly bombing raids to Germany, but he is not prepared for the horrors of war.

Lawrence, Michael. A Crack in the Line. Greenwillow Books, 2004. (YA) Fantasy.
On the second anniversary of his mother’s death, Alaric, an only child, accidentally transports himself to an alternate reality, one where he finds his mother alive and raising a daughter instead of a son.

LeGuin, Ursula.  Gifts.  Harcourt, 2004.  (YA) Fantasy.
Orrec, of the Upland clan, and Gry, of the clan who can summon animals, both decide not to use their inherited "gifts."  However, refusal to do so can upset the balance of power in the Uplands, where each rival family fears the deadly talents of the others.

Limb, Sue. Girl 15, Charming But Insane. Delacorte Press, 2004. (YA) Fiction.
If nothing else, Jess Jordan is a comic, but her life is full of trials with her mother; Ben, the cutest and most popular guy in school; Flora, her almost perfect best friend; and, of course, Fred, the boy next door.

Mackler, Carolyn, Vegan Virgin Valentine. Candlewick Press, 2004. (YA) Fiction.
Mara Valentine’s life exemplifies the life of a perfect overachiever, right down to her eating habits. So she is totally unprepared for her sixteen-year-old, slutty, pot-smoking niece to come and live with her family, which turns her “perfect” world upside down.

Marchetta, Melina. Saving Francesca. Alfred A. Knopf, 2004.  (YA) Fiction.
Francesca’s life is turned upside down when her mother begins to spiral into a deep depression. Separated from her brother and attending a former boy’s school, Francesca must fight to save her family, her social life, and herself.

Mass, Wendy. Leap Day: A  Novel. Little, Brown, 2004.  (YA) Fiction.
Josie, born on February 29th, celebrates her fourth “official” birthday as she turns sixteen. Josie’s first-person, often humorous, accounts of the day’s events, are each followed by a version told from the point of view of her friends, her family, or her teachers.

Morgenroth, Kate. Jude. Simon & Schuster, 2004. (YA) Mystery.
After witnessing the murder of his drug-dealing father, Jude moves in with the wealthy mother he never knew and faces the challenge of fitting into a new life. After a series of disastrous choices and events, Jude pleads guilty to a crime he did not commit.

Murray, Jaye. Bottled Up: A Novel. Dial Books, 2003. (YA) Fiction.
Sixteen-year-old Pip relies on drugs and alcohol to deal with his dysfunctional family, his abusive parents, and the pressure of his six-year-old brother’s hero worship.  Forced to attend counseling after repeated trouble-making at school, Pip explores the direction his life is taking and the negative influence he is having on the brother he loves.

Myers, Walter Dean. Here in Harlem: Poems in Many Voices. Holiday House, 2004. (YA)
Poetry.Each poem in this anthology highlights the distinctive voice of a Harlem resident well known to the author during his childhood. Illustrations include photographs from the author’s extensive memorabilia collection.

Nye, Naomi Shihab, ed. Is This Forever, or What?: Poems & Paintings from Texas.  Greenwillow Books, 2004. (YA) Poetry Collection. 
Poetry and artwork from Texas authors showcase both the diversity and the universality of daily life in the Lone Star State.

Paulsen, Gary, ed.  Shelf Life: Stories by the Book. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2003. (YA) Short Stories.
Ten short stories in which the lives of young people in different circumstances are changed by their encounters with books.

Perkins, Mitali.  Monsoon Summer.  Delacorte Press, 2004.  (YA) Fiction.
Jazz experiences more of life in India during the monsoon season with her family than she did in her Berkeley, California, home where she and her good friend Steve own a thriving business.  Her time in India helps her discover what love and responsibility truly mean.

Peters, Julie Anne. Luna: A Novel. Little, Brown, 2004. (YA) Fiction.
Sophomore Regan has spent years protecting her transsexual older brother, guarding his secret and constantly tending to his emotional neediness.  However, when Liam decides to publicly "transition" into Luna, Regan resents the complications she faces at home and at school.

Petersen, P. J. and Ivy Ruckman.  rob&sara.com. Delacorte Press, 2004 (YA) Fiction
When Rob, a resident of a juvenile detention home, and Sara, a straight “A” high school student, meet online in a chat room, they begin communicating through e-mail. Eventually they come to love each other, even though they are from different parts of the country and have been raised with different values.

Picoult, Jodi. My Sister’s Keeper: A Novel.  Atria Books, 2004. (AD/YA) Fiction.
When Kate’s parents learn that she suffers from a rare from of leukemia, they conceive another child, Anna, to provide a bone marrow match. However, Anna rebels against the wishes of her parents and jeopardizes the life of her sister.

Rees, Celia.  Pirates!: The True and Remarkable Adventures of Minerva Sharpe and Nancy Kington, Female Pirates. Bloomsbury, 2003.  (YA) Historical Fiction.
Promised in marriage to a cruel ex-buccaneer, heiress Nancy and her slave-friend Minerva flee from him and the horrors of Jamaican plantation life to join the crew of a pirate ship.  Adventurous and romantic, the girls quickly adapt to danger on the high seas, all the while aware that Nancy's scorned suitor steadily pursues them in search of revenge.

Roach, Mary.  Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers.  W. W. Norton, 2003.  (AD/YA) Nonfiction
Death is not boring!  What happens to a body as it decays?  What is the history of medicinal cannibalism?  Explore all the ways dead bodies advance human knowledge and well being as they are used in medical schools, in criminal investigations, in automobile and airplane crash tests, and in weapons development. 

Runyon, Brent. The Burn Journals. Alfred A. Knopf, 2004 (YA) Biography
Sad, depressed, and constantly in trouble, Brent decides to commit suicide by setting himself on fire, but as soon as he lights the match, he wants the pain to stop.  This story chronicles his journey through recovery.

Saenz, Benjamin.  Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood.  Cinco Puntos Press, 2004.  (YA) Fiction
In his last year at Las Cruces High School, Sammy finds that life in his neighborhood of Hollywood, New Mexico, is riddled with violence, broken dreams, and unexpected relationships.

Singer, Marilyn, ed. Face Relations: 11 Stories about Seeing Beyond Color. Simon & Schuster, 2004. (YA) Collection.
In eleven short stories from young adult authors, teens from a wide range of cultures struggle with understanding their identities and with finding their places in a diverse world.

Sones, Sonya. One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies.  Simon & Schuster, 2004 (YA) Fiction.
After her beloved mother’s death, Ruby reluctantly leaves her Boston friends to move to California to live with the famous movie star dad she’s never met and deeply resents. Behind his rich and glamorous LA lifestyle hides a secret that will affect Ruby’s lonely heart.

Strasser, Todd. Can’t Get There From Here.  Simon & Schuster, 2004.  (YA) Fiction.
Out on the street, the abused and throw-away teens Maybe, Tears, and Maggot form a “family” that has little power against the odds of homelessness.

Updale, Eleanor. Montmorency : Thief, Liar, Gentleman? Orchard Books, 2004. (YA) Historical Fiction.
While serving as a traveling medical exhibit for the physician who saves his life, a clever convict in Victorian London decides that the new underground sewage system holds the key to a successful life of crime.

Werlin, Nancy. Double Helix: A Novel. Dial Books, 2004 (YA) Mystery.
When Eli gets a job at Wyatt Transgenics, his father is dead set against it for some unexplainable reason. After Eli works at Wyatt for a few months, he begins to uncover some disconcerting information about his family’s past.

Westerfeld, Scott. So Yesterday: A Novel. Razorbill, 2004.  (YA) Fiction.
Hunter, a New York City teenager paid to search the streets for the next "cool" trend, meets and falls for Jen, whose innovative shoelaces attract corporate attention. The two stumble into a radical plot to bootleg the perfect shoe.

Whitney, Kim Ablon.  See You Down the Road. Alfred A. Knopf, 2004 (YA) Fiction.
Bridget’s family are Travelers, roaming about the country scamming people for money, Bridget isn’t sure she wants to remain a Traveler, continuing to lie to people and marrying at a young age.

Wild, Margaret. One Night. Alfred A. Knopf, 2004. (YA) Fiction.
Free verse poems tell the story of Gabe, a party-going heartthrob, and Helen, who was born with a disfigured face now restored by surgery. Their one-night stand produces Raphael, whose birth has far-reaching effects on those around him.

Williams-Garcia, Rita.  No Laughter Here.  HarperCollins, 2004.  (YA) Fiction.
When Victoria returns from a summer visit to her African homeland of Nigeria, she has undergone a significant personality change.  The persistence of her truest friend, Akilah, reveals why the lively, intelligent, joyful Victoria is now silent, brooding, and has lost all interest in school, her friends, and life.

Wittlinger, Ellen.  Zigzag.  Simon & Schuster, 2003.  (YA) Fiction
When her college-bound boyfriend leaves for the summer, Robin grudgingly joins her recently-widowed aunt Dory and Dory’s two children on a cross-country car vacation. What started out as torture turns into a journey of personal growth and discovery.

Woods, Brenda. Emako Blue. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2004. (YA) Fiction.
Killed by a random bullet meant for someone else, Emako Blue’s life is cut short, and her friends write how her death affected them and their lives.

Wyatt, Melissa. Raising the Griffin. Wendy Lamb Books,2004 (YA) Fiction
Called home from school one day, Alex finds strange people in his house. His life is turned upside down because his father has accepted the new role of King of Rovenia.

Wyeth, Sharon Dennis.  Orphea Proud.  Delacorte Press, 2004 (YA) Fiction
After the death of her parents, Orphea endures a miserable new life with her stepbrother and his wife until she falls in love with Lissa.  When Liss unexpectedly dies, Orphea is forced to make decisions about her life, family, and society.

Zahn, Timothy. Dragon and Thief. Tor, 2003. (YA) Science Fiction. While running from the law for a crime he did not commit, a young reformed thief meets up with a dragon-like symbiont named Draco.  This unlikely alliance of dragon and thief leads to the uncovering of a plot against a major interstellar company owner.

Zeises, Lara M.  Contents Under Pressure.  Delacorte Press, 2004. (YA) Fiction.
When Lucy begins high school, she has no idea how her life is about to change. One of the cutest boys in the school becomes her boyfriend, her older brother moves back home with his pregnant girlfriend, and Lucy’s life-long friends begin to drift away.

FR = Fast Reads
AD/YA = Mature Books for Young Adult
YA = Books for Young Adult Readers Readers