Summer Reading

Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn Sent to counseling for hitting his girlfriend, Caitlin, and ordered to keep a journal, sixteen- year-old Nick recounts his relationship with Caitlin, examines his controlling behavior and anger, and describes living with his abusive father.

Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger After starting to publish a zine in which he writes his secret feelings about his lonely life and his parents' divorce, sixteen-year-old John meets an unusual girl and begins to develop a healthier personality.

Monster by Walter Dean Myers While on trial as an accomplice to a murder, sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon records his experiences in prison and in the courtroom in the form of a film script as he tries to come to terms with the course his life has taken.

Safe at Second by Scott Johnsonb Paulie Lockwood's best friend Todd Bannister is destined for the major leagues until a line drive to the head causes him to lose an eye and they both must find a new future for themselves.

Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen Fifteen-year-old Colie, a former fat girl, spends the summer working as a waitress in a beachside restaurant, staying with her overweight and eccentric Aunt Mira, and trying to explore her sense of self.

Hate You by Graham McNamee Nursing hatred for the father who choked her and damaged her voice as a child, seventeen-year-old Alice writes songs she feels she cannot sing and seeks to reconcile her feelings for herself and her father.

Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix In this continuation of the Cinderella story, fifteen-year-old Ella finds that accepting Prince Charming's proposal ensnares her in a suffocating tangle of palace rules and royal etiquette, so she plots to escape.

Never Trust a Dead Man by Vivian Vande Velde In the medieval village of Penryth, seventeen-year- old Selwyn sets out to find the real killer of Farold, a young man he has been wrongfully convicted of murdering, with Farold himself as his only companion, brought back to life in the form of a bat by a cave-dwelling witch.

The Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky Charlie, a freshman in high school, explores the dilemmas of growing up through a collection of letters he sends to an unknown receiver.

The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci Torey Adams, a high school junior with a seemingly perfect life, struggles with doubts and questions surrounding the mysterious disappearance of the class outcast.

Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher Intellectually and athletically gifted, TJ, a multiracial, adopted teenager, shuns organized sports and the gung-ho athletes at his high school until he agrees to form a swimming team and recruits some of the school's less popular students.

Dead Girls Don’t Write Letters by Gail Giles Fourteen-year-old Sunny is stunned when a total stranger shows up at her house posing as her older sister Jazz, who supposedly died in a fire months earlier.

Jade Green by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor While living with her uncle in a house haunted by the ghost of a young woman, recently orphaned Judith Sparrow wonders if her one small transgression causes mysterious happenings.

Night of the Bat by Paul Zindel Teenage Jake joins his father on an expedition to study bats in the Brazilian rain forest and finds the project menaced by a giant brain- eating bat.

Nobody Else has to Know by Ingrid Tomey Fifteen-year-old Webber must either live with guilt or tell the truth about who was driving his grandfather's car when it struck and seriously injured a little girl.

Shades of Simon Gray by Joyce McDonald Seventeen-year-old Simon lies in a coma, finding his space and time overlapping with that of a man who was lynched over 200 years ago, while a member of the cheating ring he has been helping wonders if their actions have caused the plagues assaulting their New Jersey town.

The Exchange Student by Kate Gilmore When her mother arranges to host one of the young people coming to Earth from Chela, Daria is both pleased and intrigued by the keen interest shown by the Chelan in her work breeding endangered species.

Compass in the Blood by William E. Coles Jr. While working with a Pittsburgh television journalist on a project to uncover the truth about the 1902 Katherine Soffel scandal, college student Dee Armstrong learns about different types of betrayal.

Close to a Killer by Marsha Qualey Seventeen-year-old Barrie finds herself involved in a string of murders that are somehow connected to her mother's hair salon.

Jason’s Gold by Will Hobbs When news of the discovery of gold in Canada's Yukon Territory in 1897 reaches fifteen-year- old Jason, he embarks on a 10,000- mile journey to strike it rich.

145 th Street: short stories by Walter Dean Myers Ten stories portray life on a block in Harlem.

Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman Fourteen-year-old Shawn McDaniel, who suffers from severe cerebral palsy and cannot function, relates his perceptions of his life, his family, and his condition, especially as he believes his father is planning to kill him.

Hidden Talents by David Lubar When thirteen-year- old Martin arrives at an alternative school for misfits and problem students, he falls in with a group of boys with psychic powers and discovers something surprising about himself.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson A traumatic event near the end of the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda's freshman year in high school.

Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty Sixteen-year-old Jessica Darling is devastated when her best friend moves away and leaves Jessica to face the trials of high school on her own.