Young Adult

Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2008
198 pages
Reading Level unavailable: Lexile 770

When 14-year-old Nazia experiences her father's passing, her life is turned upside-down. From a working-class family, Nazia drops out of school to help her mother and finds herself growing up all too quickly.

Houghton Mifflin, 2006
274 pages
Reading Level: 6.8
Fiction: football, farm life

Sixteen-year-old D.J. runs the family farm due to an injury her father experienced. It's bad enough that her family is dysfunctional and lacks communication with each other, but trying to balance school and the farm work is tough on D.J. When Brian Nelson, the rival football team's QB is sent to work on the farm to get in shape for the football season, unexpected relations begin. A remarkable story about football, farm life, and relationships, readers won't want to put the book down until reading it through the end. Sequel: The Off Season

When high school student, Ben Wolf, is diagnosed with a rare, incurable blood disease during his athletic physical, he decides against treatment...and he decides not to tell anyone. He wants his final year of life to be lived in normalcy while he sets out to accomplish things before his eventual death. Readers will marvel at the young man's apparent brevity and positive outlook on life and what it truly means.

Square Fish, 2008
270 Pages
Reading Level: 5.6
Alcoholism Fiction, Freedom, Interpersonal Relations

Zoe Buckman's father is deceased, and her mother is an irresponsible alcoholic. Tired of trying to take care of her mother, school, work, and every day life, 17-year old high-schooler, Zoe, decides to move out. Her grandmother makes it more difficult for Zoe to make it on her own and continually pressures Zoe to care for her mother. Eventually, the mysterious reason behind her father's death is revealed to the readers, and a different viewpoint of her alcoholic mother comes to the forefront. A compelling book, readers will want to read the book from cover-to-cover in one sitting.

Razorbill, 2007
288 pages
Reading Level: Young Adult
Suicide Fiction, High Schools Fiction, Interpersonal Relationships

Hannah Baker is a new student having difficulty finding her place. Rumors abound, and Hannah unfairly is perceived as having a promiscuous reputation...a reputation that eventually leads to her suicide. She mails a box of 7 cassette tapes to Clay, the boy she likes. On the tapes, Hanna explains the roles individual students and staff members played in her decision to take her own life. This is an absolute must-read for young adults and adults alike.