Tween Booklists

Meet Scarlett, a smart, sarcastic fifteen-year-old, ready to take on crime in her hometown. When Scarlett agrees to investigate a local boy's suicide, she figures she's in for an easy case and a quick buck. But it doesn't take long for suicide to start looking a lot like murder.

When Japanese American Claire Takata finds out that her deceased father was once a member of the yakuza, a Japanese crime syndicate, danger enters her life that could end up killing someone

Best friends Libby Deaton and May Harper invented Princess X when they were in fifth grade, but when the car Libby is in goes off a bridge, she is presumed dead, and the story came to an end--except now, three years later, Princess X is suddenly everywhere, with a whole underground culture focused on a webcomic, and May believes her friend must be alive.

A hiking trip in the woods in upstate New York is out of the comfort zone for sixteen-year-old city girl Callie Velasquez, but she wants to bond with her new friends Lissa and Penelope, not to mention her new boyfriend, Jeremy--however, nothing could have prepared her for the true human darkness that waits for her in the wood.

The journey begins on a ship at sea in 1766, with a boy named Billy Marvel. After surviving a shipwreck, he finds work in a London theatre. There, his family flourishes for generations as brilliant actors until 1900, when young Leontes Marvel is banished from the stage. Nearly a century later, Joseph Jervis runs away from school and seeks refuge with a reclusive uncle in London. Albert Nightingale's strange, beautiful house, with its mysterious portraits and ghostly presences, captivates Joseph and leads him on a search for clues about the house, his family, and the pas

What waits Beneath? Pat O'Toole has always idolized his older brother, Coop. He's even helped Coop with some of his crazier plans -- such as risking his life to help his big brother dig a tunnel underneath their neighborhood in the suburbs of Washington, DC. Coop is . . . different. He doesn't talk on the phone, doesn't use email, and doesn't have friends. He's never really cared for anything but the thrill of being underground and Pat. So it's no surprise to anyone -- even Pat -- that after a huge fight with their parents, Coop runs away. Exactly one year later, Pat receives a package containing a digital voice recorder and a cryptic message from his brother. He follows the clues to New York City, and soon discovers that Coop has joined the Community, a self-sufficient society living beneath the streets. Now it's up to Pat to find his brother -- and bring him home.

Maggie Bowers thinks she knows what to expect her junior year of high school, but when she and her out-of-the-closet best friend Nash have feelings for the same boy she wonders if winning someone's heart means losing her soulmate.

s Trent Zimmerman struggles to move past a traumatic event that took place several months earlier, he befriends class outcast Fallon Little, who helps him understand that he can move on

When Christian, a boy she knows only through Facebook, posts a lot of nasty comments on her page, fifteen-year-old Lara tries to kill herself--but that is only the beginning of the backlash for her sister, Sydney; her former friend Bree; and her classmates.

Paige Hancock starts junior year with a list of ways to take back her life, rather than spending another year as "The Girl Whose Boyfriend Drowned," and finding out that Ryan Chase, her long-term crush, is available again might be the key.

Jack, 12, tells the gripping story of Joseph, 14, who joins his family as a foster child. Damaged in prison, Joseph wants nothing more than to find his baby daughter, Jupiter, whom he has never seen. When Joseph has begun to believe he'll have a future, he is confronted by demons from his past that force a tragic sacrifice

As Bridge makes her way through seventh grade on Manhattan's Upper West Side with her best friends, curvaceous Em, crusader Tab, and a curious new friend--or more than friend--Sherm, she finds the answer she has been seeking since she barely survived an accident at age eight: "What is my purpose?"

Fourteen-year-old social outcast Charlie Han, known as "the short Chinese kid" at school, searches for a talent to improve his popularity, but when he discovers skateboarding, much to the disapproval of his overprotective mother, he also uncovers a huge family secret.

Thirteen-year-old Ginger investigates a series of weird events taking place in her home town of Flinkwater, Iowa, beginning with people falling into comas while using their computers.

Discover the horrible fate of Jonathan York as he sets out on his journey through a spooky forest with an alarming party of travelmates! Jonathan York has led a boring life - a pointless degree from the community college, a lackluster job at the General Store, and never any desire for something more exciting. But when fate leaves him stranded in a sinister land, he finds himself seeking an adventure of his own. Along the way he encounters ghoulish thieves, ravenous swamp monsters, a dastardly ice cream conspiracy, and a necromancer bent on human sacrifice.

Thirteen-year-old brilliant but socially-challenged Stewart and mean-girl Ashley must find common ground when, two years after Stewart's mother died, his father moves in with his new girlfriend--Ashley's mother, whose gay ex-husband lives in their guest house.

The Newbery Honor–winning author of Hatchet and Dogsong shares surprising true stories about his relationship with animals, highlighting their compassion, intellect, intuition, and sense of adventure

When she is accidentally discovered by a modeling agent, fifteen-year-old Harriet jumps at the chance to transform herself from a geek to a fashion model.

A young boy and his father take in a lost girl, who the villagers suspect may be German.

When the Berlin Wall went up, Gerta, her mother, and her brother Fritz are trapped on the eastern side where they were living, while her father, and her other brother Dominic are in the West--four years later, now twelve, Gerta sees her father on a viewing platform on the western side and realizes he wants her to risk her life trying to tunnel to freedom.

After seeing his brother murdered by the British, William leaves home to join the Patriot effort. While on a mission to deliver a secret message, William meets Rebecca, posing as a boy. Together they embark on a cross-colony journey through a secret network of Patriot spies that leads them on a quest to find General Washington himself

Fourteen-year-old Joan Skraggs, just like the heroines in her beloved novels, yearns for real life and true love. But what hope is there for adventure, beauty, or art on a hardscrabble farm in Pennsylvania where the work never ends? Over the summer of 1911, Joan pours her heart out into her diary as she seeks a new, better life for herself--because maybe, just maybe, a hired girl cleaning and cooking for six dollars a week can become what a farm girl could only dream of--a woman with a future.

Leander and Polly are two teenage Union soldiers who carry deep, dangerous secrets. Leander is underage when he enlists and Polly follows her father into war disguised as his son. The war proves life changing for both as they survive incredible odds. Leander struggles to be accepted as a man and loses his arm as a consequence. Polly mourns the death of her father, endures Andersonville Prison, and narrowly escapes the Sultana steamboat disaster.

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina's monstrous winds and surging water overwhelmed the protective levees around low-lying New Orleans, Louisiana. Eighty percent of the city flooded, in some places under twenty feet of water. Property damages across the Gulf Coast topped $100 billion. One thousand eight hundred and thirty-three people lost their lives. The tale of this historic storm and the drowning of an American city is one of selflessness, heroism, and courage -- and also of incompetence, racism, and criminality.

After shunning Jaime, the school nerd, on her first day at a new middle school, Penelope Torres tries to blend in with her new friends in the art club, until the art club goes to war with the science club, of which Jaime is a member.

This biography in graphic format presents the story of the ultimateAmerican entrepreneur, who brought us Apple Computer, Pixar, Macs, iPods, iPhones and more, this unique and stylish book is sure to appeal to the legions of readers who live and breathe the techno-centric world Jobs created.

A graphic novel adventure about a girl who discovers roller derby right as she and her best friend are growing apart

The Junior Braves of Tribe 65 return from a camping trip to find swarms of bloodthirsty mutants have overrun their town, bringing death and destruction everywhere they go! With their families missing and their homes destroyed, these plucky kids must use all their scouting talents, combined smarts, and teamwork to survive the end of the world! Junior Braves: A Brave is Brave is the beginning of an exciting, new, young adult graphic novel series that is one part Goonies and one part The Walking Dead, full of zombies, adventure, and handy tips for wilderness survival!

Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren't the heroes everyone thinks they are. But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimona's powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit

When a scheming lord tears Jess's family apart, she must rely on her unlikely friendship with Kal, a high-ranking Patron boy, and her skill at Fives, an intricate, multi-level athletic competition

In post-World War I England, eleven-year-old Triss nearly drowns in a millpond known as "The Grimmer" and emerges with memory gaps, aware that something is terribly wrong

In the scorching land of Darhan, fifteen-year-old Raim is forced to live as an outcast from his people when he breaks a magical oath he doesn't remember making.

Rapunzel believes she is the luckiest person in Tyme, because Witch tells her so, but when Jack climbs into her tower to steal an enchanted rose, he hints that Witch is not telling the whole truth.

An entertaining short-story collection from author Garth Nix, including an Old Kingdom novella, a short story set in the same world as Shade's Children, and another story set in the world of A Confusion of Princes.

A historical fiction novel in verse detailing the life of Clara Lemlich and her struggle for women's labor rights in the early 20th century in New York.

In this ... memoir, Margarita Engle, the first Latina woman to receive a Newbery Honor, tells of growing up as a child of two cultures during the Cold War

In 1969 twelve-year-old Mimi and her family move to an all-white town in Vermont, where Mimi's mixed-race background and interest in "boyish" topics like astronomy make her feel like an outsider.

Young Timothy is sentenced to house arrest after impulsively stealing a wallet, and he is forced to keep a journal into which he pours all his thoughts, fears, and frustrations.

A collection of "poems through history inspired by objects--earthly and celestial--reflecting the time in which each poet lived"

As tensions rise between the English settlers and the Native peoples on Roanoke Island, twelve-year-old Alis forms an impossible friendship with a native girl named Kimi.

Sixteen-year-old Cordelia and her family move into the house they just inherited--a former insane asylum the locals call Hysteria Hall. Delia may not last long.

When Michael Malone saves a dog, he discovers that he has paranormal abilities, which bring him to the attention of a secret organization, UNICORNE.

When Luke Manchett's estranged father dies suddenly, he leaves his son a dark inheritance: a host of eight unique, powerful, and restless spirits.

When a talented mechanic in 1818 Geneva brings his brother back from the dead using clockwork parts, the citizens of Geneva think they may have inspired the recently published novel Frankenstein.

When Jack enters a deserted house in his neighborhood, he finds a group of people who invite him to take the thirteenth chair in the room and share a story--in the house where the ghosts meet.

On the run with his mother, Cameron is disturbed by their latest refuge, a creepy, deserted farmhouse where a mysterious figure watches him from a nearby barn

Nixy Bauer, a sixteen-year-old self-made video-game bounty hunter, gets in over her head when she attempts to rescue a game developer's son from a virtual trap

In a future where few places are still habitable and people share their entire lives on the Web, Mila illegally enters the Isles, is captured and has a telephone implanted in her brain, and escapes--but government agents are after her and her greatest asset is a seven second delay from the time she acts until they receive the signal.

A twelve-year-old boy is chosen to join a four-person applicant team to work towards membership in the Confederation of United Planets, and stumbles across conspiracies resembling science fiction he's been a fan of his entire life

Phee Van Zant, an orphaned street-racer on the corrupt planet Castra, gets swept up in the corporate rally circuit and an even bigger revolution.

Alina's spent her seventeen years imprisoned for the crimes of her past self, as shown by soul-fingerprinting when she was a newborn, but when a group of people with questionable motives helps her escape, she discovers she may not be as innocent as she believes and must wonder if she's fated to repeat her past.

In this futuristic high-stakes adventure, humanity clings to cities on the highest mountain peaks above the deadly Fog, and airships transport the pirates of the skies. Daring 13-year-old tetherboy Chess and his salvage crew must face the dark plans of Lord Kodoc and work to save their beloved Mrs. E

Learn about outrageous, politically-perilous, funky, disgusting, regrettable, and life-threatening creations people have worn throughout human history, all the way up to the present day.

Describes the ships, battles, and daily lives of pirates during the golden age of piracy, and discusses famous pirates, the end of the era and modern piracy.

Looks at the young acrobatic members of Circus Harmony in St. Louis, comprised of inner-city and suburban youth, and the Galilee Circus in Israel, comprised of Jews and Arabs.

Shares the authors' first-hand encounters with snakes, edible worms, Mongolian wrestlers, and more, in their travels through five continents.

The amazing story of John James Audubon's career and the beautiful images that are his legacy.

Catch the thrill of the cosmos and space science through the life of Neil deGrasse Tyson--the popular astrophysicist, science communicator, and host of FOX-TV's Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey.

where his father grew up, he quickly falls in with punk girl Cara and her charismatic twin brother, Devon. But the town has a dark secret, and the twins are caught in the middle of it.

Sixteen-year-old Skylar joins forces with Cal, Dana, and Milo on a quest to rescue Sasha from the Organization that kidnapped her because, according to Dana, Sky and Sasha both have special abilities.

Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly—but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden

Douglas Ashe keeps a weekly record of historical and personal events in 1968, the year he turns seventeen, including the escalating war in Vietnam, assassinations, rampant racism, and rioting; his first girlfriend, his parents' separation, and a longed-for sister.

When Sydney's charismatic older brother is sent to jail, she struggles to find her place at home and the world until she meets the Chathams, including gentle, protective Mac, who makes her feel seen for the first time.

After a brush with the law, Ben must take up a new hobby and chooses knitting, an activity at which he excels but must try to keep secret from his friends, enemies, and sports-obsessed father.

Cynthia Rothschild has discovered that the new, very goodlooking librarian is a demon and it is up to her to save her best friend Anne, who has become a librarian monitor, from the evil Mr. Gabriel.

On the ruined planet Earth, Deedra comes across a beautiful boy named Rose, who is somehow able to find comfort and life from their dying planet.

Seventeen-year-old Kevin tries to reinvent himself when he runs away from home and the father he hates, but living with a mysterious uncle and befriending two homeless girls just adds more complications

Althea and Oliver, high school juniors who have been friends since age six, find their friendship changing because he has contracted Kleine-Levin Syndrome.

Living in a Brooklyn neighborhood known for guns and drugs, Ali, his sister Jazz, and their neighbors stay out of trouble until they go to the wrong party, where one gets badly hurt and another leaves with a target on his back.

A graphic novel memoir depicting the author's teenage experiences at summer camp where she fell in love with an older girl.

Having moved to Ethiopia to avoid the prejudices of 1930s America, Emilia Menotti, her black adoptive brother Teo, and their mother Rhoda are devoted to their new country even after war with Italy looms