Anderson, M.T. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the
Nation; v. 1: The Pox Party. Candlewick Press. 2007 Printz Honor Book
Set in a Utopian, 18^th Century Colonial Boston, the son of an African Princess is subjected to a cruel philosophical experiment in this complex and elegant story of Pre-Revolutionary slavery and morality. First of two parts.

Banks, Steven. King of the Creeps. Knopf.
A fun, light page-turner set in the early 1960s. A nerdy looking boy realizes he looks a lot like the folk singers that girls are going crazy over. Tom's adventure begins when he decides he is a guitar away from having a girlfriend.

Beddor, Frank. The Looking Glass Wars. Dial.
A dark twist on ‘Alice in Wonderland', where Alice Liddell is an exiled heir to a different dimension where her cruel aunt has taken control of the kingdom.

Bell, Hilari. Forging the Sword. Simon & Schulster
Young adults Soraya, Kavi and Kiaan struggle to free their country but they must trust one another to succeed. This, the third volume in the Farsala trilogy is even better than the first two.

Booth, Coe. Tyrell. Push.
While his father is in jail, 15-year-old Tyrell, struggles to cope with life in a Bronx homeless shelter along with his younger brother and incompetent mother. Intense, vivid and gritty life in the hood.

Brooks, Kevin. Road of the Dead. The Chicken House.
A semi-prescient teen and his older brother set out into rural England to solve the brutal rape and murder of their sister. Intense and riveting.

Brown, Dan. The Notorius Izzy Fink. Roaring Brook Press.
New York's Lower East Side was never tougher than in the 1890s when Sam Glodsky needs to keep one step ahead of the gangs, gangsters and Izzy Fink. Can he survive and do what's right.

Cabot, Meg. Avalon High. Harper Collins.
Transplanted High School Junior, Elaine, discovers herself thrust into what seems to be a modern-day Camelot with possibly reincarnated characters from the Arthurian Myths.

Cohn, Rachel & David Levine. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist. Knopf.
This smart and sizzling story follows the surprising relationship between two high school seniors during the course of one wild night in NYC. Told in alternating chapters, Nick and Norah search for music and meaning and maybe romance in this terrific tale.

Craft, Liz and Sarah Fain. Bass Ackwards and Belly Up. Little, Brown.
When Harper, a high school senior, is rejected by the only college she applied to, she pretends to be postponing college to follow her dream of writing-- unwittingly inspiring her three closest friends to follow in her lead. This is their story of self discovery.

de Lint, Charles. Widdershins. Tor Books.
Enter the North American fantasy city of Newford, where magic is afoot and artist Jilly Coppercorn and her musician friends continue their adventures in this journey of magical realism.

Dessen, Sarah. Just Listen. Viking.
Suddenly, everything is falling apart and Amanda has become an outcast. Learn what lies behind her secret and how she finds her voice in this tale of adolescent complexity.

Enthoven, Sam. The Black Tatoo. Razorbill.
When an ancient demon possesses Charles and takes him to hell to fulfill his evil plan, Charlie's best friend Jack and kung fu fighting Esme must follow in order to prevent the end of the world.

Fisher, Catherine. Day of the Scarab. Greenwillow Books.
Conclusion of Fisher's Oracle trilogy. Many of the protagonists, including the insane general Argelin, end up traveling through the underworld.

Fletcher, Christine. Tallulah Falls. Bloomsbury.
17- year-old Debbie reinvents herself and becomes the blond Tallulah who impulsively takes off cross country, to aid her best friend and free spirit, (and bipolar) Maeve. Robbed and stranded in Tennessee, Tallulah rescues a wounded dog and discovers the harsh realities of life and what matters most.

Fletcher, Susan. Alphabet of Dreams. Atheneum.
Mitra's little brother Babak has the power of prophetic dreams. Can he use that gift to regain the family's lost status and what will it cost Mitra if he does?

Freymann-Weyr, Garrett. Stay with Me. Houghton Mifflin
After her older half-sister commits suicide, 16-year-old Leila searches for answers about life and death and love in this complex coming of age story.

Friend, Natasha. Lush. Scholastic.
In order to deal with her feelings about her alcoholic father, 13-year-old Samantha seeks advice from a stranger in the library and gets more than she bargained for.

Gratz, Alan. Samurai Shortstop. Dial.
While obtaining a Western education at a prestigious Japanese boarding school in 1890, 16-year-old Toyo also receives traditional samurai training which has a profound effect on both his baseball and his relationship with his father.

Green, John. An Abundance of Katherines. Dutton 2007 Printz Honor Book
A brilliant and very funny story of how a mathematically-inclined former child prodigy overcomes an addiction to girls named Katherine.

Harnett, Sonya. Surrender. Candlewick Press 2007 Printz Honor Book
Haunting and dark psychological tale of a lonely and disturbed boy whose only companions are his dog Surrender and a wild and dangerous boy named Finnigan.

Kennen, Ally. Beast.. Scholastic.
17-year-old Stephen has one month before he leaves his foster home to figure out what to do with his the 12-foot long alligator named Beast that he keeps in a rusty cage by the reservoir.

Korman, Gordon. Born to Rock. Hyperion.
When a super-conservative teen finds out his biological dad may be the most notorious punk rocker ever, he goes on a quest to find his bio-dad-with unexpected results! Funny and intriguing story about finding out that everything is not always what it seems.

Koss, Amy Goldman. Side Effects. Roaring Brook Press.
14-year-old Isabella (Izzy) is diagnosed with late stage Hodgkin's lymphoma. Real kids do get cancer and this story is told with realism and warmth.

Lanegan, Margo. White Time. Eos.
A collection of short stories celebrating the sometimes hard-to-see boundaries between perception and reality. A number of excellently creepy stories within!

Lat. Kampung. Boy. First Second.
Follows the adventures and life of Mat, a Muslim boy growing up in rural Malaysia in the 1950s in this first book in a fictional cartoon series popular in Southeast Asia. Graphic novel.

LeGuin, Ursula. Voices. Harcourt.
Memer is a child of war. The Ald have occupied her city since before she was born. But Memer can do something the occupiers can't-she can read. Could this be the key to her city's freedom?

Lynch, Jim. The Highest Tide. Bloomsbury USA.
Brilliant coming of age story featuring13-year-old Miles, who lives near the coastal tide pools of the Puget Sound. He is small for his age, obsessed with the Sea and Rachel Carson. His best friends are his ex-babysitter (gorgeous18-year-old bipolar punk rocker) and an elderly psychic. One moonlit night he discovers a giant squid and the adventure unfolds.

Madison, Bennett. Lulu Dark and the Summer of the Fox. Razorbill.
Mad-cap teenage mystery adventure, featuring Lulu Dark, girl detective. When her "Important Summer Plans" are disrupted, Lulu goes into action to solve this new mystery.

Meehl, Brian. Out of Patience. Delacorte.
His town smells like cow manure and did I mention the curse? His mortifyingly embarrassing plumber Dad dreams of building a Toilet Museum and there aren't enough kids to play a regulation game of baseball. No wonder 12 -year -old Jake longs to be the first male in his family to leave his home town!

Meyer, Stephanie. New Moon. Little, Brown.
When the Cullens, including her beloved Edward, leave the Forks rather than risk revealing that they are vampires, it's almost too much for 18-year-old Bella to bear. Bella does find solace in her friend Jacob who bears a secret of his own.

Meyer, Stephanie. Twilight. Little, Brown.
New kid in town and school, Bella befriends a group of teens who turn out to be vampires. A passionate vampire fantasy story of star-crossed lovers.

Miller, Kirsten. Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City. Bloomsbury.
Life changes forever for 12-year-old Ananka Fishbein when she falls into a sinkhole across the street from her New York City apartment. There she meets a mysterious girl called Kiki Strike, and discovers a secret city beneath the streets of Manhattan.

Moriarty, Jaclyn. The Murder of Bindy MacKenzie. Arthur A. Levine Books.
When Bindy,- a smug, ‘perfect student'- takes an experimental peer relations class, it turns from being a source of torture, to becoming a lifeline as she uncovers a criminal plot against her in this hilarious sequel to The Year of Secret Assignments.

Murdock, Catherine Gilbert. Dairy Queen. Houghton Mifflin.
After spending the summer running the family farm and training the quarterback for her school's rival football team, 16-year-old D.J. decides to go out for the sport herself, not anticipating the reactions of those around her.

Oppenheim, Joanne. Dear Miss Breed. Scholastic.
A compelling history of WWII told through the letters written to Miss Breed, the children's librarian at the San Diego Public Library from her young interned Japanese patrons.

Paver, Michelle. Spirit Walker. Katherine Tegen Books.
Along with friends Wolf and Renn, 12-year-old Torak races against time to find a cure for the mysterious disease decimating all the forest's clans. Book Two in Paver's Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series which keeps getting better and better.

Pfeffer, Susan. Life As We Knew It. Harcourt.
Through journal entries, 16-year-old Miranda describes her family's struggle to survive in their small town after a meteor hits the moon and causes worldwide destruction, plague and famine.

Portman, Frank, King Dork. Delacorte.
Tom is a brilliant, 14-year-old misfit. Bored, he seeks solace in his music, his quest to understand his mysterious deceased father and his trials as a high school loser. Witty and entertaining.

Reeve, Philip. Larklight or, the Revenge of the White Spiders! Bloomsbury.
Art Mumby and his sister Myrtle are thrust into a series of space faring adventures when their space-born home, Larklight, is attacked by giant spiders...in 1851! A tale that Verne, Wells, etc. might have written if Queen Victoria's empire had reached as far as Jupiter.

Reeve, Philip. Infernal Devices. Eos.
This is the third book in the Hungry City Chronicles. Tom and Hester's teenage daughter is kidnapped, disrupting their peaceful existence. They set off to rescue her in this thrilling adventure.

Reinhardt, Diane. A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life. Wendy Lamb Books.
16- year-old Simone knew she was adopted but she is very happy with her life. She has the perfect family, and great friends. Suddenly her birthmother, Rivka, wants to meet her. This triggers an eventful year for Simone in this powerful coming of age story.

Sage, Annie. Flyte (Septimus Heap, Book 2). Katherine Tegen Books.
Septimus Heap, apprentice to the Extra Ordinary Wizard, continues his adventures in this sequel to Magyk. Septimus attempts to aid Jenna (the rightful heir to the throne) while simultaneously trying to protect his Wizard in this intriguing tale.

Schorr, Melissa. Goy Crazy. Hyperion.
Rachel Lowenstein has all the problems of a typical 15-year-old girl: socially-driven friends, boy trouble and bad hair days. Fed up, she vows her sophomore year will be different. First rule: break the rules, especially the one about not dating a "goyim." Hilarious.

Stroud, Jonathan . Ptolemy's Gate. Miramax.
Three years after the events in The Golem's Eye, the final battle between Djinn and human is about to erupt! A stunning conclusion to a masterful trilogy, it's the best of the three. Many questions are answered and many hard lessons are learned.

Turner, Megan Whalen. The King of Attolia. Greenwillow.
Eugenides, the thief, is now the king of Attolia. Costis, who finds him contemptible, must serve as his bodyguard. Both young men find themselves in danger as the inexperienced king tries to do his job.

Watts, Leander. Beautiful City of the Dead. Houghton Mifflin.
When Zee joins Relly's band it seems like the perfect sound has been born. But Zee's about to find out there's more to their power than just music. Dark, feverish and poetic.

Westerfeld, Scott. Blue Noon (Midnighters III). Eos.
Will the midnight hour last forever as dark forces run amok in Bixby Oklahoma or will the teenage Midnighters prevail in this paranormal mystery series?

Westerfeld, Scott. Last Days. Razorbill.
It's a hot, horrid summer in the City and despite very strange goings on, guitarist Moz and his pal Zahler form a band, with a vampire girl singer and a psychic drummer, that might very well save the world!

Westerfeld, Scott. Specials. Simon Pulse.
The chilling third installment in this Utopian series. Once a rebellious Ugly,16-year-old Tally Youngblood is now a Special, an elite fighting machine designed and programmed to enforce conformity of the Uglies and Pretties. But when the Special Circumstances go to war against the rebels, Tally must face the true feelings buried deep inside her icy exterior and make a choice.

Winterson, Jeanette. Tanglewreck. Bloomsbury.
An absolutely gripping opening leads readers into a wild hunt through time and space to an ending that is happy but also truly tragic. Quite a trick!

Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese. Roaring Brook Press.
2007 Michael L. Printz Award
Using his graphic art and humor Yang depicts these three compelling stories of Chinese American teens trying to fit into Suburban America.

Zuzak, Markus. The Book Thief. Knopf.
2007 Printz Honor Book
Death himself narrates the story of Liesel, a young German girl during WWII who finds the courage to survive in the books she steals and the people who surround her. Powerful and heartbreaking story about the power of words and the remarkable courage of ordinary people.