The Dead by Charlie Higson takes place just over a year prior to his first novel, The Enemy. This is when the dangerous disease that turns anyone over the age of 16 into a decaying, flesh eating zombie is just taking over all of the adults. This story follows a group of boys from a private school as they fight to escape their teachers, and make their way through the streets of London, trying to find safety. Along the way, they pick up several other kids who have had their own struggles dealing with losing their parents and friends to this terrible disease. Whether they're called zombies, strangers, sickos or mothers and fathers, the diseased adults are the walking dead - covered in pus filled boils and oozing blood. The only thing they seem to want is children... for dinner! For the children, survival seems bleak and some simple give up. Others create their own religion to give them solace, and still others just take everything one step at a time, becoming leaders despite believing they never could.
Hate List by Jennifer Brown is about Valerie, a high school senior who has never quite fit in. She has been the victim of the meanest school bullies since she started dressing and acting differently in middle school. Valerie found a soul mate in Nick when he moved to town when they were both freshmen. Together, they could weather the bullying. Valerie started the Hate List in a red spiral notebook as a way to vent about being constantly picked on my the other students at school. Each time something happened, she'd write down the bully's name. Eventually, the list grew and grew, with names on the list multiple times. Valerie always thought of the list as a way to get out her pain, but Nick took it to a different level. On May 2nd of their junior year, Nick brought a gun to school and shot several of the students on the Hate List. Valerie, once she realized what Nick was doing, threw herself in front of the last victim and took a bullet in her leg. Immediately after accidentally shooting Valerie, Nick shot and killed himself. Now, Valerie is left to deal with her injury, the loss of a boyfriend she truly loved, and the accusatory attitude of most of the people in her small town - including her own parents. Bravely, Valerie returns to her high school in the fall, only to find that her friends have abandoned her. She does, however, find a friend in the most unlikely place. It takes her awhile to accept it, but Valerie eventually becomes friends with the girl she took the bullet for - the queen bee of the school, the one who was at the top of the Hate List due to her constant bullying and nastiness. With the help of her psychologist Dr. Heiler, her art instructor Bea, and a new notebook filled with her sketches, Valerie learns a lot about herself and her classmates, and realizes that she has never quite looked at anything in her life in a way that allows her to "see" what is really there.
Hothouse by Chris Lynch is about Russ, a high school student who has just suffered a terrible loss: his father, and the father of his best friend DJ, have died fighting a fire. The entire small town is celebrating these two men as heroes, which trickles down to the two boys. It's almost as if they are celebrities. That is, until some terrible news comes out of the investigator's report about the fire. Suddenly, Russ and DJ not only have to deal with the loss of their fathers and their own heroes, but also the wrath of the town who only days before had celebrated their existence.
I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore is about 15 year old John Smith... at least, his name is John Smith for now. John and his guardian, Henri, are on the run and have been moving every few months for the past 11 years. They are running from a murderous race of aliens, the Mogadorians, who are trying to wipe out every last being from the planet Lorien, where John and Henri are from. They've hidden on Earth, along with 8 other kids and their guardians. Watching their planet and all of their people be destroyed by the Mogadorians, these 9 members of the garde (special Loriens who develop supernatural skills called Legacies) and their 9 cepan (guardians who help the garde develop their Legacies) are the planet's only hope for survival. They were bound by an enchantment just before their ship left for Earth - they can only be killed in a specific order. John is number 4... and the first 3 have already been killed. Now, it is extremely important for John and Henri to remain hidden. They choose to do so in a small Ohio town where John finds his first girlfriend, a protective beagle, and the only friend he's ever been able to tell the truth. Will John's Legacies develop before the Mogadorians find him? What will happen to John's friends? Will they ever get back to Lorien? Read I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore to find out!
Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick is about Nora, a typical teen who leads an a-typical life. Her father was killed several months ago and she lives with her single mother in an old farm house on the outskirts of a small Oregon town. Her mother has to travel a lot for her job, so Nora is left alone in the house more often than not. This arrangement was working out just fine until some strange things began happening. First, Nora was paired up with the mysterious transfer student in biology class, Patch, who seemed to know a lot more about her than she had actually revealed. Nora began feeling like someone was watching her and even suspected someone had been in her room! A stranger tried to attack her while driving home one night, but when she was able to escape there was no damage to the car she thought had been smashed up! Things got even more strange when Nora and her best friend Vee met a new student who had previously gone to a fancy prep school in Portland. Elliot and his friend Jules were just a little too interested in hanging out with the two girls. Nora became suspicious of this behavior when she learned that Elliot had been suspected in the death of one of his former classmates and that was the real reason he had left the private school. Nora is convinced Elliot is behind the strange events plaguing her and her friends, while Vee is just as convinced it is Patch causing the problems. Nora is inexplicably draw to Patch, and on the evening of a strange storm learns a lot more about him, Elliot, and Jules than she ever could have thought was possible.
Lockdown: Escape from Furnace by Alexander Gordon Smith is about Alex Sawyer, a troubled teen who was at the wrong place at the wrong time. He and his best friend, Toby, broke into a house to rob it, but were attacked by mysterious looking men in black suits and a monstrous "being" who appeared to be stitched together and wearing a gas mask. The blacksuits shot killed and framed Alex. As a result, Alex was sentenced to life imprisonment in Furnace, a new prison built into a deep rocky crevice especially for violent kids. Every night something new and horrifying awakens Alex from his sleep - skinless, vicious dogs terrorizing and eating the inmates, the "wheezers" marking certain cells and taking the inhabitants after stabbing them with a needle, and of course, the taunts and jeers from the resident gangs within the prison. And the day isn't much better - having to perform "hard labor" chipping rock walls, cleaning toilets, doing laundry, or preparing the prison food which is a mush made from rotten and moldy left-overs. Alex contemplates suicide nearly every day until he and his roommate, Donovan, and friend Zee figure out a plan for escape. If they get caught, they will be killed - they may be killed anyway! But they believe it is worth the risk for just the chance to escape the Furnace.
If I Stay by Gayle Forman is about seventeen year old Mia, a typical high school senior living in Oregon. Mia has a wonderful family including two super-cool parents and an awesome eight year old brother, a perfect best friend, a boyfriend who shares her love of music, and a good chance at getting into Julliard. Everything in Mia's life is pretty great until one fateful morning. Mia and her family woke up to a slight snow storm which caused all of the schools in the area to close. Rather than miss out on a chance to spend quality family time together, everyone decides to hop in the car and head toward Portland where they'll visit with friends, eat dinner with the grandparents, and Mia will round out the evening by watching her boyfriend Adam play in his band. A terrible car accident derails all of those plans, though. Mia's entire family is killed and Mia's body is left in a coma. Her soul, however remains behind to witness all of her remaining loved ones' reactions to the accident. The rest of the story is told through Mia reliving many different moments in her life, all leading up to her big decision... should she stay or let go and join her family?
Acceleration by Graham McNamee is about 17 year old Duncan. He's been having a hard time since last summer, when he witnessed a girl drown and couldn't reach her in time. He feels like it's his fault. Ever since, he's had bone chilling nightmares about that day, and has even lost his girlfriend due to his over-protectedness. Now, Duncan is working at the lost and found in the Toronto subway system. Bored one day, he picks up a leather-bound diary that someone left on one of the trains. What he finds both terrifies and intrigues him. There are journal entries, notes, newspaper clippings, and drawings of all of the terrible things he's done - setting fires, torturing animals - and, worst of all, plans to take it to the next level. Duncan finds detailed plans for harming a woman. Seeing this as his opportunity to make up for not saving the drowning girl, Duncan does his best to try to solve this mystery: Who does the diary belong to? Is he really planning to kill someone? Can he be stopped? With the help of his best friends Vin and Wayne, Duncan does his best to save the victims and stop the madman.
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins is the third book in the Hunger Games Trilogy. In this last installment, Katniss, after having won the Hunger Games with Peeta and escaped the arena during the Quarter Quell, is living in District 13 with the other rebels. Narrowly escaping the destruction in their home district, 12, Katniss's mother and sister, Prim, and also long-time friend, Gale, have made it to District 13 as well. Coin, the leader of the rebels and her council ask Katniss to agree to be the mockingjay - the "face" of the rebellion. She agrees, but only after making a few demands of her own, including immunity for the other former Hunger Games Tributes. Soon after, Katniss finds out that Peeta, who was captured when she was retrieved from the Quarter Quell, is being held and tortured in the Capitol. Desperate to save Peeta and to kill President Snow to whom she attributes all of the country's suffering, Katniss begins training with the rebel army and taking her role as mockingjay more seriously. Eventually, Peeta is rescued, but has been tortured so much he doesn't know what's real and what isn't. His memories of Katniss were distorted and instead of loving her, he wants to kill her! This just fuels Katniss's fire even more, leading her on a televised raid on the Capitol which ends in more trauma than even Katniss could have imagined. Is the Capitol all bad and the rebels all good? Who can be trusted? Will Katniss ever live a normal life or will being the mockingjay eventually consume her?
The Boy in the Basement by Susan Shaw is about Charlie, a 12 year old boy who has been forced by his father to live in the basement as a punishment. Charlie is certain he is a bad child who has been "ruined" and that his harsh punishments are deserved. This is the only life he's ever known. Even when he's not confined to the basement, his father doesn't allow him to attend school, play outside, or interact with any other people. Late one night as Charlie snuck outside the backdoor to relieve himself (he was not allowed to use the bathroom as a part of his punishment), the wind slams the door closed, locking him out. Sick with fever and not knowing what do to, Charlie runs down his street until he collapses. After being rescued, he is taken to the hospital where he begins to learn that his life was not "normal" and that his father's punishments were wrong. Charlie is scared to death of his father and imagines a giant spider pursuing him every tie he does something that would break his father's rules. After he leaves the hospital, Charlie goes to a foster home to live with Mrs. H and Ambrose, another foster child. Charlie desperately misses his mother, who was always helpless to stop his father's abuse - even taking it herself - but he knows his home is with Mrs. H. Still, the spider plagues him and he is terrified to do the things he knows his father wouldn't approve of. As his parents' trial looms closer, more and more people want to question Charlie about his experiences and Charlie begins to learn what it is like to live like a "normal" child.
Tree Girl by Ben Mikaelsen is based on a true story, told to the author by the actual Tree Girl in Guatemala. Gabriela has become known by the other villagers in her Mayan canton as the Tree Girl because of her love of climbing to the tops of the highest trees. She can climb higher and faster than anyone else in the canton! Gabi's life with her large family was going well... she was the only one able to attend school, she was preparing for her quinceanera (a big celebration on her 15th birthday), and the war that was raging on other parts of the country between the soldiers and guerrillas had not yet touched their little village. All that changed during her birthday celebration. Soldiers arrived and took her older brother, Jorge. Her mother became sick and eventually died, leaving sadness and extra responsibilities for Gabi. But worse, soldiers destroyed their canton while Gabi was far away at market and killed nearly everyone. Gabi was able to find her youngest sister, Alicia and her brother Antonio (who died almost immediately). She and Alicia began the long journey to Mexico, hoping to find refuge. Along the way, Gabi and Alicia witnessed unspeakable violence and eventually became separated. All Gabi wanted to do was find Alicia, her only remaining family member and responsibility. She struggled to make it to Mexico alone, foraging for food, finding shelter where she could, and feeling as though she let everyone down because she was unable to protect the ones she loved the most. She felt she was a coward for hiding in a tree while an entire village was massacred in front of her... so Gabi promised herself she would never climb a tree again. Thankfully, things began looking up for Gabi when she arrived in a Mexican refugee camp, found some people she could trust, and was even reunited with Alicia!
Fallen by Lauren Kate is about Luce, a 17 year old girl with a "troubled" past. She ends up in a private boarding school for troubled kids after a strange fire killed the boy she was with. After that, even her parents were afraid of her. Top it all off with the fact that she let it slip that she occasionally sees evil black shadows around her, and she was off to Sword & Cross with 80 other problem children. One particular boy, Daniel catches Luce's attention immediately. He's absolutely gorgeous and seems to want nothing to do with Luce, avoiding her and being downright rude at all costs. Another boy, Cam, also has Luce's attention because of his constant attempts at wooing her. While he is very attractive as well, for some unexplained reason, Luce finds herself drawn to Daniel. She even begins to feel that she somehow knows him from somewhere. Along with her only friend, Penn, Luce begins to delve into Daniel's past, trying to determine who he is, where he came from, and how he ended up at Sword & Cross with the other misfits. What she discovers begins a turn of events too amazing to be believed.
Give a Boy a Gun by Todd Strasser is about Gary and Brendan and what happened to them as a result of constant teasing and bullying. These two boys were bullied by the jocks and popular crowd every single day. Finally, they'd had enough. They stole guns from a neighbor and made homemade pipe bombs from plans thy found on the Internet. They set up an elaborate plan to eliminate everyone who had ever contributed to their misery - and even those who hadn't. On the last night of their lives, Gary and Brendan crashed a dance at their high school and held everyone hostage, intent on exacting revenge for everything they'd been put through just for existing and being different.
Boot Camp by Todd Strasser is about 15 year old Garrett and his experiences at Lake Harmony, a boot camp for "troubled" teens. Garrett is an incredibly smart boy who falls in love with the wrong girl, his math teacher. Because his high-class, high-power parents think he's an embarrassment and will never stop seeing Sabrina, they hire people to kidnap him in the middle of the night and send him to boot camp. Lake Harmony is anything but harmonious. Garrett is abused - physically and mentally - in hopes of brainwashing him and turning him into the kind of kid his parents always wanted. Garrett is tough, and withstands this atrocious treatment for 7 months before agreeing to an escape plan hatched by the only two prisoners on his side. From there, it only gets worse for Garrett, as his conscious kicks in and forces him to save and protect the very people who are trying to capture him... leading to his eventual return to Lake Harmony, only to endure the worse beatings imaginable. He's made to be an example to the other prisoners of what happens when one tries to escape.
The Unusual Suspects (The Sisters Grimm Series #2) by Michael Buckley is about Sabrina and Daphne, the Grimm Sisters, and their adventures as fairy tale detectives. Along with their Grandmother Relda, their faithful companion Mr. Canis, and the Trickster King (aka Puck), the girls do their best to keep the peace between the humans and the Everafters in their little town. In this adventure, something mysterious is happening at the local elementary school. Daphne, Sabrina, and even Puck work together to find out why all of the school children are exhausted every day, who the strange monsters invading the school and killing teachers are, and what they all have in common with a little boy named Wendell who can control animals with his harmonica! You won't believe the twists and turns in this one!
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson is about Lia, a high school senior who is struggling with anorexia. Until 6 months ago, she and her best friend Cassie experienced their eating disorders together. Six months ago, however, Cassie broke off all contact with Lia, and today Cassie is dead. She died alone in a hotel room after going on a serious food and alcohol binge. That night, she tried to call Lia over 30 times... but Lia didn't answer. Now Lia is dealing with the grief of losing her former best friend, and feeling like it was her fault. Through all this, Lia's anorexia continues to worsen, to the point where her family doesn't know how to help her anymore. Lia's refusal to eat more than 500 calories each day is slowly killing her, but she can't stop.
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold is about the tragic murder of Suzie Salmon, a 14 year old girl. It is told from the perspective of Suzie, through her memories of her family, through her experiences in life, and her reality in heaven. Suzie was survived by her mother, father, 13 year old sister, and 4 year old brother. Each of them deals with her death in their own way. Her father, trying desperately to pin the blame on their neighbor, Mr. Harvey. Her mother, who eventually has to leave the family to escape. Her sister, Lindsey, who tries to distance herself from her own last name and works to solve the mystery of her sister's life and death. And, Buckley, the 4 year old who just wants to move on while keeping Suzie's memory safe. Mr. Harvey, who in fact did kill Suzie in a most brutal way, trying to maintain his innocence while living 2 houses down from the Salmons. Suzie watches from her own version of heaven, seeing her family and friends grow without her. She knows an old acquaintance, Ruth, can feel her presence, but doesn't know how to reach out to her family to help them solve the crime.
