The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

After finally getting noticed by someone other than school bullies and his ever-angry father, seventeen-year-old Tyler enjoys his tough new reputation and the attentions of a popular girl, but when life starts to go bad again, he must choose between transforming himself or giving in to his destructive thoughts.

Men of Salt: Crossing the Sahara on the Caravan of White Gold by Michael Benanav

Benanav joined the “Caravan of White Gold” -- so-called because the salt was once literally worth its weight in gold -- on its mission into the deadly heart of the Sahara to haul back gleaming slabs of solid salt for sale at market. He lived for weeks among the camel drivers as they traveled eighteen hours a day for nearly a thousand miles without a map or landmark in sight, through sandstorms and searing heat on a trek worthy of Indiana Jones.

The Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks

Two brothers, sons of an incarcerated gypsy, leave London and travel to an isolated and desolate village, in search of the brutal killer of their sister.

This is What I Did by Ann Dee Ellis

Bullied because of an incident in his past, eighth-grader Logan is unhappy at his new school and has difficulty relating to others until he meets a quirky girl and a counselor who believe in him.

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Having been recently dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl named Katherine, recent high school graduate and former child prodigy Colin sets off on a road trip with his best friend to try to find some new direction in life while also trying to create a mathematical formula to explain his relationships.

Sold by Patricia McCormick

Thirteen-year-old Lakshmi leaves her poor mountain home in Nepal thinking that she is to work in the city as a maid, only to find that she has been sold into the sex slave trade in India and that there is almost no hope of escape.

A Wreath for Emmett Till by Marilyn Nelson

In 1955 people all over the United States knew that Emmett Louis Till was a fourteen-year-old African American boy lynched for supposedly whistling at a white woman in Mississippi. The brutality of his murder, the open-casket funeral held by his mother, Mamie Till Mobley, and the acquittal of the men tried for the crime drew wide media attention. In a profound and chilling poem, Marilyn Nelson tells us of the boy whose fate helped spark the civil rights movement.

Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O’Neill

Motherless, thirteen year old Baby lives with her father, Jules, who takes better care of his heroin habit than he does of his daughter, but her blossoming beauty has captured the attention of a charismatic and dangerous local pimp who runs an army of sad, slavishly devoted girls-a volatile situation even the normally oblivious Jules cannot ignore.

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.

My Mother the Cheerleader by Robert Sharenow

Thirteen-year-old Louise uncovers secrets about her family and her neighborhood during the violent protests over school desegregation in 1960 New Orleans.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

In a future world where those between the ages of thirteen and eighteen can have their lives “unwound” and their body parts harvested for use by others, three teens go to extreme lengths to uphold their beliefs--and, perhaps, save their own lives.

Peak by Roland Smith

A fourteen-year-old boy attempts to be the youngest person to reach the top of Mount Everest.

Knights of the Hill Country by Tim Tharp

In his senior year, high school star linebacker Hampton Greene finally begins to think for himself and discovers that he might be interested in more than just football.

Pride of Baghdad by Brian Vaughan, Illustrated by Niko Henrichon

Based on an actual event, this graphic novel tells the story of a pride of lions who in 2003 escaped from the Baghdad Zoo during an American bombing raid. Lost and confused, hungry but finally free, the four lions roamed the decimated streets of Baghdad in a desperate struggle for their lives.