1. In this book an 18 year old Jamie is lonely and shy. She is overlooked by everyone. 18 year old Landon is popular and handsome. When Landon has to decide to take chemistry or drama, he signs up for drama. He ends up with the leading role in the spring play. And oddly enough, Jamie ends up with the female leading role. When seeing her on the stage, Landon realizes he's fallen head over heels for her. When they fall in love, Jamie reveals that she has cancer. Landon, being in love with her realizes he only has one choice, but to ask for her hand in marriage.

2. Rooster is approaching the end of grade 12 in a high school in a small Alberta town. He has friends and a girlfriend and enjoys his life of skipping classes, acting smart with teachers, and partying. His teachers, guidance counselor and principal hold no hope for his future. But one day, near the end of the school year, his principal and counselor give him one last chance. He could volunteer at the nearby recreation centre for adults with mental disabilities. If the group of four adults, called the Strikers, accept him, Rooster will accompany them on their regular visits to a bowling alley. If he succeeds in this volunteer activity, the administration might find a way to see him graduate, and, they think, he might also mature and discover he has a future. Rooster’s first response is a flat “No.” but then, as seen in the excerpt, he is pressured into giving it a try. Mrs. Helmsley [the principal] stared at Rooster for another moment, then she looked at Mrs. Nixon [the guidance counselor], then back at Rooster. “All right,” she said finally. “Get out.”

3. Rooster began to lift himself from off the chair. “Finally someone who listens to me around here.” “But if you go now, you leave this office, you leave this school, and you never come back. Not this year, not next year, not the year after that. You’re through.” She spoke with the power and clarity of a judge sentencing a criminal. “We’ve broken our backs for you in here. We’ve put up with your bad behaviour, your poor performance, your disrespect. Not anymore. If you get off that chair and leave this office, you’re done. That’s it.” Rooster froze in mid-motion. The game had changed to hardball, as his stepdad, Irving, would say, and he was woefully unprepared for it. Mrs. Helmsley continued. “It’s not my wish to fill my hometown with high-school dropouts. But I am not going to stand here and watch you walk away from an opportunity to get it right, for the first time in your life, and say nothing. That’s not my style. So go now and be done for good,or stick around and try to make something of yourself. Take your pick.” Rooster interacts with the bowlers at the recreation centre. It provides Rooster with an occasion to which he may or may not rise. He goes from resenting these unusual adult bowlers to becoming their protector, resenting the way they are treated by the infantilizing staff at the recreation centre and discovering that these adults are unusual and OK just like he is. He begins to see that he is their equal.

4. Twilight, is about a pair of lovers who are supremely star-crossed. Meyer begins with a familiar YA premise (the new kid in school), and lulls us into thinking this will be just another teen novel. Bella has come to the small town of Forks to be with her father. At school, she wonders about a group of five remarkably beautiful teens, who sit together in the cafeteria but never eat. As she grows to know, and then love, Edward, she learns their secret. They are all rescued vampires, part of a family headed by saintly Carlisle, who has inspired them to renounce human prey. Bella adores Edward, and he returns her love. But Edward is having a hard time controlling the blood lust she arouses in him, because--he's a vampire. At any moment, the intensity of their passion could drive him to kill her, and he agonizes over the danger. But, Bella would rather be dead than part from Edward, so she risks her life to stay near him, and the novel burns with the erotic tension of their dangerous and necessarily chaste relationship. For Edward's sake they welcome Bella, but when a roving group of tracker vampires fixates on her, the family is drawn into a desperate pursuit to protect the fragile human in their midst.

5. Imagine you are 16 and trying to fit in. To do so, you decide to help some people who are trying to commit a crime. In Walter Dean Myers’ Monster, this is exactly what happens to Steve Harmon. While on trial and in jail, Steve decides to record everything that happens in his journal in movie format. How does he end up in jail? Well, he agrees to be the look- out for two guys robbing a convenience store but then he has a change of heart and leaves the scene before anything happens. The two guys go ahead with the robbery, however, and end up killing the store owner. Now Steve is guilty by association and on trial for a murder he had nothing to do with. As Steve tells us about the trial in his journal, you start rooting for him, but will the jury agree? Monster makes clear that the choices you make can affect you for a very, very long time.

6. Fourteen-year-old Nick has two moms who couldn't be more different. His biological mother, Mom, is dependable and careful; Jo, Mom's partner, is irresponsible and impulsive. As the only child in his class with gay parents, he endures the taunts and prejudices of classmates Nick tells their story in vignettes, including little things, such as the teasing he gets at school, as well as big things, such as Mom's cancer and Jo's alcoholism. Eventually these vignettes turn into a divorce story: Mom finds a new partner; Jo, who has no rights to Nick, struggles on her own

7. Juli Baker devoutly believes in three things: the sanctity of trees (especially her beloved sycamore), the wholesomeness of the eggs she collects from her backyard flock of chickens, and that someday she will kiss Bryce Loski. Ever since she saw Bryce's baby blue eyes back in second grade, Juli has been smitten. Unfortunately, Bryce has never felt the same. Frankly, he thinks Juli Baker is a little weird--after all, what kind of freak raises chickens and sits in trees for fun? Then, in eighth grade, everything changes. Bryce begins to see that Juli's unusual interests and pride in her family are, well, kind of cool. And Juli starts to think that maybe Bryce's brilliant blue eyes are as empty as the rest of Bryce seems to be. After all, what kind of jerk doesn't care about other people's feelings about chickens and trees? Bryce and Juli's rants and raves about each other ring so true that teen readers will quickly identify with at least one of these hilarious feuding egos

8. This is the actual diary of a fourteen-year-old girl who finds herself pregnant. It details her thoughts and feelings about her relationship with a boy two years older than she and the decisions her pregnancy forces her to make. Edited by the same person who did Go Ask Alice, this diary shows the emotional ups and downs of a girl in Annie's situation. Annie is a good girl. She is on the soccer team and wants to please her single mom, but when Danny is interested in her, he becomes her whole world. She starts to lie about where she is, who she is with, and what she is doing. At first Danny treats her well, but when he abuses her and even attempts to rape her, she wants to be his girlfriend so badly that she makes up excuses for him. She begs him to take her back and then lets him run her life. Even after he rejects her when she becomes pregnant, she still says she loves him. Annie feels that her diary is her only friend. She goes to a school for unwed mothers, has her baby, and tries to be a good mother. It portrays a very realistic picture of what teenage pregnancy and motherhood do to a young girl's life.

9. Raintree Rebellion : Heroine 18 year old Blake Raintree Futuristic story set in Canada in the year 2370 Earth people living on another planet “Terra Nova” Toronto experienced 16 years of the Technocaust (apartheid against technology ) The technocaust banned many forms of technology - genetic modification, nano-and bio technology, satellite tracking, and artifical intelligence. She returns to the city of her birth as an aide to a justice council charged with trying to address the wrongs of the technocaust. While there, Blake submits the ID code from the microchip that was implanted in her arm by her parents in infancy, hoping to find out more about her past, and especially her father. What she learns will cause her to question everything she knows about herself. Torn between a terrible anger and a search for the love and acceptance she has been denied her entire life, Blake must face a harsh choice.

10. Suburban, soccer-loving, 12-year-old Alex has everything going for her: supportive parents and a nurturing alternative school where her teacher, Simon, is also a friend. The trouble starts when a new girl, Stacy, a drama queen, points out that Simon is also a hottie. Next, she suggests that Simon is hot for Alex, and vice versa. You'd think that, with all the resources available to her, Alex could figure out a way to quash this. She does make repeated, if vague, efforts to turn to her parents for advice, but they try to joke her out of her discomfort and suggest that Stacy is just "acting out" to cope with the stress of being the new kid. The situation soon gets worse—much worse. Stacy always seems to be on hand to catch Simon with Alex in the midst of a friendly gesture, and she rumor-mongers relentlessly. And when these allegations come to naught (although they do alienate Tim from Alex), she escalates her campaign, claiming that Simon has molested her. The author makes it subtly clear that Stacy's compulsion to sexualize may have its roots in abuse. Frank, whose profession as social worker lends psychological authenticity to her writing. She provides no easy out for her characters. Friction is a bold, perceptive and ultimately unnerving account in which people get hurt.

11. Mole is a young boy who considers himself to be an intellectual, he doesn’t have many friends, reads many of books and strives to be as different as possible from his mother and father, who drink, smoke and don’t do much in the way of earning a living. The Moles are the typical dysfunctional family, and its great to read about Adrian’s life, which he more or less lives from his bedroom in the family home. Adrian goes through a lot on his life, and notes down every last detail. Episodes you'll encounter on your read include: His parents splitting up when his mum runs off with Creep Lucas from next door. His mum coming back Getting suspended from school for wearing the wrong colour socks His dad having an affair and an illegitimate child. His parents splitting up again His mum getting married to a much younger man Finally getting to be with the love of his life, Pandora. Breaking up with Pandora. Spending his entire life trying to get back with Pandora. Running away from home A traumatic school trip to London Being forced to care for a grumpy old man named Bert Baxter when he joins his school volunteer service. Having his home burnt down

12. Skate Ian McDermott doesn't have much going for him. He has basically raised himself and his young brother, who has fetal alcohol syndrome. Their mother is a deadbeat drug addict who makes rare appearances in their lives. At Morrison High School, things aren't much better; the administration wants him out. The thing is, Ian isn't going to take any guff from anyone. But one day, he loses his cool and ends up breaking Coach Florence's jaw. The teen knows that he and Sammy have to get away fast before the cops catch up with him. They grab some meager supplies and skate out of Spokane toward Walla Walla to search for their estranged father The brothers have high hopes that their father will welcome them into his life, but things do not turn out as planned. They have to survive in the wilderness

13. Sixteen-year-old Amal makes the decision to start wearing the hijab full- time and everyone has a reaction. Her parents, her teachers, her friends, people on the street. But she stands by her decision to embrace her faith and all that it is, even if it does make her a little different from everyone else. Can she handle the taunts of "towel head," the prejudice of her classmates, and still attract the cutest boy in school? Brilliantly funny and poignant, Randa Abdel-Fattah's debut novel will strike a chord in all teenage readers, no matter what their beliefs.

14. Raymond Dunne is in the 10th grade. He can’t change the fact that he’s prone to sneezing, getting nosebleeds, and fainting. He can, however, change the fact that he’s not popular — though it won’t be easy. In this hilarious story about friendship, love, and loyalty, Raymond transforms himself from a lonely geek to the gatekeeper of an underground social club. In the process, he befriends one of the most popular guys in school, sticks up for his fellow nerds, and works up the courage to approach the lovely Janice, his not-so- secret crush. However, with the relentlessly strict principal and the equally vigilant vice- principal hot on his trail, how long will Raymond’s underground club — and his newfound friendships — last?

15. Grade 8-10-High school senior Corey Brennan is looking forward to the start of a new basketball season, hoping that his high school will have a shot at the Miami all-city trophy. As captain, Corey thinks of himself as the leader of the team, but he finds that things start unraveling as soon as the season starts. After a lot of detective work, Corey discovers that the problem is a transfer student, Noah Travers, who will stop at nothing to make the starting squad. His ambition leads him to blackmail, tampering with a player's medications, and planting a gun in a teammate's locker. Eventually, Corey tricks him into admitting his crimes. The novel ends with one last act of revenge, but Noah is foiled in these efforts as well. He is a deliciously nasty villain, with no redeemable qualities

16. Fourteen-year-old Luke begins to realize how much his views of the world and the people in it have changed when he wakes up from a coma after having meningitis. Suddenly he’s seeing two worlds at once through a computer What’s worse is there’s a strange ugly creature on the screen, who calls himself Dreeg. His voice oozes into Luke’s brain, offering to guide him. All Luke’s senses have changed: All senses are blended. He associates days of the week with different colors, and music evokes tastes. He has a newfound way with words and begins seeing his annoying older sister, Laura, as a series of disgusting creatures. Luke is left feeling frightened but intrigued. He seems to be getting better, but his mind is slowly being poisoned by Dreeg. This creature offers him gifts of recovery, the return of his athletic ability, a “dream” girlfriend, and even the power to fly. In return, all Luke has to do is turn against his friends and join in Dreeg’s evil plans.

17. Desert McGraw, daughter of aging rocker Flesh, has moved from L.A. to begin 11th grade in a new school in Miami. She desperately tries to avoid her father's fans, who have always used her (backstage passes), and to find real friends, but is uncertain about whom to trust. When she meets Becca, who claims she has "no life," she tries to hide the truth. Eventually, though, Desert tells her despite the risks. Becca worships Flesh, but the girls get past it Desert also becomes involved with Liam, a nice guy. Becca and Liam help her through the difficult affair between her father and her mother's personal assistant. As the school year progresses, Desert's character grows and develops; she begins to write her own songs and discovers her own gifts and comes to rely on herself to solve her problems. When Becca is in trouble and possibly on the brink of suicide, Desert finally comes to terms with her self- centeredness and starts to act like a true friend

18. Grade 7-9--Teased by bullies in his old school, Elliot is determined to reinvent himself at his new high school by having a cool, unflappable exterior. Ironically, the 14-year-old's aloofness earns the interest of an elite group of bullies, known as the Guardians, whose members target school losers for punishment in cruel and ritualistic ways. In this psychological drama, the outwardly congenial Guardian leaders recruit Elliot using control tactics adopted from their favorite book, George Orwell's 1984. With no way out, he passes the initiation test that requires him to choose a punisher and a victim. Elliot's outward voice alternates with an inner voice written in italics, depicting a battle between right and wrong. Two valuable but tentative friendships disintegrate as Elliot becomes more Guardianlike, and the struggles with his conscience intensify. In an emotion-packed ending, the teen realizes that the strength he had in choosing not to be a victim is the same strength he needs to uncloak the Guardians. Elliot is an appealing protagonist, and his need to fit in will strike a chord with most readers.

19. Elizabeth, Leeza, Hemming is left crippled after a car accident when a rock is thrown down from an overpass. She spends months alone in the hospital for rehabilitation. She finds an unlikely friend in a hospital volunteer named Chad Kennedy (Reef to his friends) who, surprisingly, like her has lost a loved one to cancer. Reef has do community service at the Halifax Rehabilitation Centre because of a serious crime he and his two friends, Jink and Bigger, committed one night. Aker's novel explores the world of random violence and the toll such an act takes on the victim. A twist of fate draws victim and perpetrator together in a tenuous bond that could provide healing or deeper hurt.

20. A funny thing happens to Novalee Nation on her way to Bakersfield, California. Her deadbeat boyfriend, Willie Jack Pickens, abandons her in an Oklahoma Wal-Mart and takes off on his own, leaving her with just 10 dollars and the clothes on her back. Not that hard luck is anything new to Novalee, who is "seventeen, seven months pregnant, thirty-seven pounds overweight--and superstitious about sevens.... Still, finding herself alone and penniless in Sequoyah, Oklahoma is enough to make even someone as inured to ill fortune as Novalee want to give up and die. Fortunately, the Wal-Mart parking lot is the Sequoyah equivalent of a town square, and within hours Novalee has met three people who will change her life: For the next two months, Novalee makes her home in the Wal-Mart, sleeping there at night, exploring the town by day. When she goes into labor and delivers her baby there, however, Novalee learns that sometimes it's not so bad to depend on the kindness of strangers--especially if one of them happens to be Sam Walton, the superchain's founder. Where the Heart Is oddly mixes heart-warming vignettes and surprising, brutal violence. Novalee's story is juxtaposed with occasional chapters chronicling Willy Jack's downward spiral into prison, disappointment, and degradation

21. Sam Foster is entering Grade 9 with the usual worries: he's tall and gawky, he's constantly embarrassed, he tends to fall in love (or lust) with the nearest female. Sam receives unwanted attention because of the flame- decalled crash helmet wedged on his head; What he really wants to do is to attract Madison Dakota, an attractive country pop singer he hears performing at the Hope Springs Fall Fair talent show. However, like Cinderella, Madison slips away before Sam can connect with her, and he spends a good part of the novel involved in Operation Babe Find before discovering that he has actually known “Madison” for some time but under her real name and without a wig and makeup. Sam is the drummer in ADHD, an alternative/grunge trio Sam’s situation in life is also not helped by his father’s being Hope Springs High’s drama teacher. Sam’s embarrassment increases when his father involves him in a new band, one containing adults including a cross- dressing male, a situation guaranteed to lead to new and unflattering comments from the skids. Sam also unwittingly becomes “a poster boy against censorship” and finds himself before the school board defending an English text he does not even like.

22. Born Confused features American-born Dimple Lala, the child of Indian parents who firmly believe in the customs and traditions of their father-land. Dimple is not your typical heroine; she is slightly overweight and battling low self-esteem stemming from her perfect best friend Gwyn. “Not quite Indian, ant not quite American,” Dimple unsuccessfully tries to blend in riding on the coattails of her blue-eyed, blonde best friend, Gwyn. The plot thickens as Dimple’s parents pick a “suitable boy” for her. At first the boy, Karsh, seems boring and she is resigned not to like him. As she gets to know him, though, Dimple likes him more and views him as the artistic person he is. Right on cue, Gwyn swoops in and tries to win Karsh, making Dimple feel used and friendless. Dimple learns more about herself and how special she is. The author integrates descriptions of Indian food, dress, and customs with Dimple’s sarcastic commentary

23. Conception deception: When is your dad not your dad? "You were conceived under exceptional circumstances." Sixteen-year-old Cassidy can hardly believe it. Struggling to understand that she is the product of a 'clean and businesslike arrangement,' her biological father nothing more than an anonymous sperm donor, Cassidy is doubly devastated. Not only has her father just been diagnosed with a fatal disease, but he has also confessed that he's not really her father. Suddenly Cassidy's worries about holding on to her popular boyfriend and her geeky interest in birds no longer seem important. Worse, she gets drunk and blurts out the news of her conception at a party and must face some shocking consequences. On top of it all, Cassidy realizes she may never know who she really is.

24. Four different people find themselves on the same roof on New Year's Eve, but they have one thing in common– they're all there to jump to their deaths. 1. A scandal-plagued talk-show host 2. A single mom of a disabled young man, 3. A troubled teen, 4. An aging American musician soon unite in a common cause, to find out why Jess (the teen) can't get her ex- boyfriend to return her calls. Down the stairs they go, and thoughts of suicide gradually subside. Each character takes a turn telling the story in a distinctive voice. Tough questions are asked–why do you want to kill yourself, and why didn't you do it? Are adults any smarter than adolescents? What defines friends and family? Characters are alternately sympathetic and utterly despicable, talk-show-host Martin, particularly. The narrators are occasionally unreliable, with the truth coming from the observers instead. Obviously, a book about suicide is a dark read, but this one is darkly humorous–as Hornby usually is. Teens will identify with or loathe Jess and musician J. J., but they will also find themselves in the shoes of Maureen and Martin. This somewhat philosophical work will appeal to Hornby's fans but has plenty to attract new audiences as well

25. Like any anxious parent awaiting the birth of their first child, Ellen Schwartz and her husband Jeff were overwhelmed with optimistic dreams and hopes about the future. Their future as a family. Jacob was perfect. Until at about six months they noticed that Jacob seemed oddly withdrawn and unresponsive. Not to worry they were told. Give it some time. With time, however, Jacob seemed only to get worse. After a battery of tests doctors confirmed their worst nightmare: their perfect baby boy had Canavan disease. He would never see. He would never walk. Or talk, or sit up on his own or feed himself. He would never go to school or say mommy or daddy. Jacob would never be able to do anything for himself. He is utterly helpless. This this an alternately heartbreaking and exhilarating portrait by a mother of her severely disabled son, Jacob taught and continues to teach her and everyone around him what it means to live each day to the fullest. Brave and candid, it includes the highs and lows, the buoyant hopes and shattering disappointments, the sorrows and joys. Lessons from Jacob is finally an unforgettably portrait of a courageous boy who sees past his own disability to embrace the simple and everyday beauty that if life.

26. The message on the milk carton reads, "Have you seen this child?" Three-year-old Jennie Spring was kidnapped 12 years earlier, but Janie Johnson, looking at the photo, suddenly knows that she is that child. Fragments of memory and evidence accumulate, and when she demands to know about her early childhood years, her parents confess what they believe to be true, that she is really their grandchild, the child of their long-missing daughter who had joined a cult. Janie wants to accept this, but she cannot forget Jennie's family and their loss. Finally, almost against her will, she seeks help and confides in her parents.

27. One of the worst abuse cases in California's history came to an end on March 5, 1973. Dave Pelzer begins his incredible story as an abused child with his rescue in part on of a series, A Child Called It. Easy to read, but difficult to comprehend how any mother could treat her child this way. Horrific Abuse Besides being horribly beaten, Dave was forced to eat his own vomit, swallow soap, ammonia, and Clorox. This was just the beginning of his mother's "games". Dave's childhood wasn't always a nightmare. There were the "good years" in the beginning and Dave devotes a chapter describing the feelings of warmth and safety provided by his mother. By the age of 4 these feelings were replaced with fear, starvation, and lowliness.

29. In Promise Me, For the past six years Myron has been leading a quiet life, in Livingston, N.J. A new girlfriend, Ali Wilder, a 9/11 widow, is helping to bring him out of his shell. Concerned that Ali's teenage daughter, Erin, and Erin's friend, Aimee Biel, might fall in with the wrong crowd, Myron gives them his contact information in case either of them feels she needs help. Aimee later calls him in the middle of the night for a lift to a friend's house, on condition that her request remain a secret. When Aimee turns up missing in circumstances mirroring those surrounding another vanished girl, Bolitar himself becomes a suspect in her disappearance and must use his wits and martial arts skills to uncover the truth. Many twists! Recommended by many Rideau students

30. The narrator of this book is a 12-year-old named Baby, who is hovering between childhood and the temptations of the adult world. Her father, Jules, takes better care of his heroin habit than he does of her, and Baby learns not to depend on him. Though they live in poverty, she collects the small crumbs of happiness she finds as she navigates the streets of Montreal's red-light district. On the outside, Baby is whipsmart, wickedly funny and has a genius for survival; on the inside, she's as needy and as fragile as any girl entering puberty. She experiences highs and lows during stints in foster care and in a juvenile detention centre, all the while craving love and stability in her life. Baby grows to depend on the charismatic predator Alphonse, a local pimp who is riveted by her blossoming beauty. At the same time, she nurtures a tender and naively passionate friendship with Xavier, a classmate who is clueless about his girlfriend's double life. Lullabies for Little Criminals is a powerful novel, of a young woman who learns to adapt to heartbreaking circumstances, and about the young man who became her parent too early.

31. After rescuing his baby brother from an open window's ledge, 15-year-old David Case concludes "just two seconds were all that stood between normal everyday life, and utter, total catastrophe." Convinced that Fate is toying with him, David tries to elude detection by creating a new identity, starting with his name and his wardrobe. Eventually, he refuses to return home and plunges into an affair with an older girl. He thinks fate is out to get him.

32. This sequel to Holes focuses on Armpit, an African-American It's two years after his release, and the 16-year old is still digging holes, although now getting paid for it, working for a landscaper in his hometown of Austin, TX. He's trying to turn his life around, knowing that everyone expects the worst of him and that he must take small steps to keep Then X-Ray, his friend and fellow former detainee at the juvenile detention center, comes up with a get-rich-quick scheme involving scalping tickets to a concert by teenage pop star Kaira DeLeon, Armpit fronts X-Ray the money. He takes his best friend and neighbor, Ginny, a 10-year-old with cerebral palsy, to the concert and ends up meeting Kaira, getting romantically involved. He becomes a hero by saving her life when her stepfather tries to kill her and frame him. Armpit's relationship with Ginny, the first person to care for him, look up to him, and give his life meaning, is a compassionate one.

33. Janie Johnson first saw her face on a milk carton one year ago. Reeve Shields, her boyfriend, is now a college freshman and dreams of being a talk-show DJ. As he stares at the microphone in the control room of the campus radio station, the story of Janie's kidnapping at the age of three begins to slide out of his mouth and into the airwaves of Boston. Janie, in the meantime, is trying to recover from six months of nonstop confusion in her life, having recently learned about her past. When she accompanies her newfound sister and brother on a trip to visit colleges (and see her boyfriend) in Boston, Reeve's voice on the radio makes their tumultuous lives veer in a completely new direction.

34. Jeremy Heere, hopeless nerd, wants to date beautiful Christine Caniglia. He knows she's way out of his league, until he acquires a squip, which guides him through a physical and mental transformation. Following the squip's instructions on how to dress, speak, kiss, act and exercise, Jeremy rises above his geek status and becomes --- dare he say it --- popular. This, of course, comes with a few problems. Computers, for all their quantum mechanics, can't quite get the hang of human emotions, like love and friendship. They can't understand why Jeremy wants to take his geeky best friend Michael to a party featuring the hottest girls in school. And while they may tell Jeremy what to say to Christine, they can only calculate so many possible outcomes of the conversation. Jeremy's squip eventually leads him to disaster, and he has to figure out what he's going to do all on his own. The larger-than-life characters fit in perfectly with the idea of a pill-sized computer running Jeremy's life at Leni Lenape High School.

35. The controversial novel about the murder of one child by another Looking for JJ is a fictional novel about the murder of a child by another child the same age. It's already won the Booktrust Teenage Prize and has now been shortlisted for this year's Carnegie Children's Book Award.

36. Why would a 10-year-old girl kill her best friend? And how should the justice system treat such a child? Moving from place to place in order to find modeling employment, often leaving Jennifer with her Gram or even alone, Jennifer's beautiful mother Carol finally seems to settle down in Berwick. Jennifer begins an almost normal life, enjoying school and the friends (outgoing, bossy Michelle and mouse-like Lucy.) Jennifer's world unravels slowly as she realizes that her mother is modeling for pornographic photos and may even be a prostitute. She and her two friends are determined to punish Lucy's two brutish older brothers for their rude remarks about Jennifer's mother Once there, however, they find incriminating photos of Carol, and, in an overwhelming rush of loss and anger, Jennifer hits Michelle with a baseball bat and, assuming that she is dead, covers her with branches before she returns home. Of course, Jennifer’s actions are discovered, and the parents and police find Michelle dead, perhaps the victim of the feral cats that live in the park. In Looking for JJ, Jennifer, now 17, and estranged from her greedy, grasping mother, has been released from prison to begin a new life. Known as Alice, she lives in terror of being found out as the newspapers rehash the story because of her supposed release, which actually happened six months earlier. Betrayed by a newshound and her own mother, Alice is forced to move again to another safe house. The story ends with her safe arrival at a university residence as Kate Rickman, where she has to give up all her former supports (Rosie, Frankie and herself as Alice) to begin again.

37. Twelve-year-old Danny Walker is an average kid who loves basketball. Despite his small stature he hopes to someday play on the same travel team as his dad, Richie Walker, who led the team to the national championship when he was Danny's age. Danny's hopes are dashed, however, when he is deemed "too small" to play on the travel team by his dad's childhood adversary, Mr. Ross, who seems to want a winning team based mostly on physical strength rather than wit. Then his dad comes up with a great idea --- Danny can have his own travel team! Danny is at first a little skeptical that his dad can coach a seventh-grade travel team, especially since he has had trouble keeping jobs due to a near-fatal car accident that left him unable to play pro basketball again. Richie, however, is determined to prove that he can help his son fulfill his goal and fight his own inner demons. There's also the problem of finding enough talented players, but with the help of Danny's friends they are able to do just that. Most of all though is the much-needed strength to endure all the obstacles that seem to be keeping them from their ultimate goal --- winning the state championship.

38. Melinda Sordino, a student with good grades and great friends, has made some mistakes. At the end of a summer party she calls the cops, yet when they arrive she doesn’t tell them anything. Back at school the next year, her friends won’t speak to her, and people she doesn’t even know hate her as the fink who wrecked everybody’s party, and her grades start dropping. Her relationship with her parents (which is characterized by post it notes) deteriorates quickly. She becomes sullen, and withdrawn. However this picture is not the whole story. Her parents know something is wrong but cannot get her to open up. Her only hope is her art teacher; he realizes something is very wrong and through the assignments he gives her tries to draw her out. This is a story of a girl who is abused (she was raped by a senior at the summer party), and who doesn’t know how to talk about it, but in keeping it inside she is self -destructing. Can Melinda find her voice and speak of her sorrow, or will her silence destroy her?

39. Prom. Most teenagers spend months, maybe even years, dreaming about this magical night. The dresses! The limos! The dates! Ashley Hannigan, however, is not like most teens. She couldn't care less about prom. Ashley is a self-described "normal kid." Instead of focusing on prom, Ashley is trying to get through her senior year at Carceras High School. She juggles work, family, a boyfriend, and friendships in addition to schoolwork and never-ending detentions. It's not easy. Work involves dressing up in a rat costume and serving pizza to screaming kids at the EZ-CHEEZ-E restaurant. Ashley's boyfriend, TJ, has a habit of mysteriously disappearing. And her family is made up of three rowdy, younger brothers, a father who's always involved with home projects that are never completed, and a mother who always seems to be pregnant! Ashley's world sounds as hectic as it is, but she also has a lot of friends at Carceras High School who are obsessed with prom. At the center of the obsession is Ashley's best friend and next-door neighbor, Natalia Shulmensky. Natalia, the head of the prom committee, is crushed when the faculty advisor is busted for stealing the prom money. In a strange twist of events, Ashley, the "anti-prom queen," finds herself at the helm of a last-minute attempt to pull off the prom on a low budget. T hrough her efforts to help her best friend, Ashley starts to look at things in her life differently and learns more about herself than she can imagine.

40. Imogene Yeck, former gang member and current fairy butt-kicker, is the cool "blue girl" at the center of Charles de Lint's latest urban fantasy novel.Charles de Lint Seventeen-year-old Imogene jumps at the chance to lose her bad girl reputation when her family moves to a new town. She purposely lays low at Redding High, only making friends with Maxine, a shy, studious girl who is Imogene's opposite in every way. Despite a few run-ins with the ruling football jock and his cheerleader girlfriend, Imogene keeps her temper in check and even lends some of her bravado to Maxine, who begins to come out of her straight-A shell. Things are going well for the new friends--until the day Imogene meets Adrian, the benign ghost of a boy who died in the school's parking lot. Adrian and Imogene's unusual connection attracts the unwelcome attention of Redding High's resident Little People, or fairies. Affronted by streetwise Imogene's lack of belief in them, the fairies set into motion a malevolent prank that will not only turn Imogene completely blue from head to toe, but pit her, Adrian and Maxine against some of the most frightening beings of the Otherworld--the soul-sucking Anamithims. Although the action builds slowly, the final scene, involving a bucket of blue paint, a knife fight, and green monster blood, is absolutely worth it.

41. Sequel to Rules of the Road The 17-year-old still likes to be in control is thrown for a loop when her elderly employer, Mrs. Gladstone, hires a young man caught stealing from the shoe store where she works She appoints Jenna as his supervisor. The teen is still dealing with many issues in her own life, including an alcoholic father and a beloved grandmother whose Alzheimer's disease is progressing. Just as it seems that her life is as complicated as she can handle, she discovers that Mrs. Gladstone's son has been secretly utilizing unethical overseas labor tactics to cut costs and downgrade the quality of the shoes. Bauer's strength in characterization is amply evident here.

42. Eleven-year-old Peter finds out he is adopted, strives to gain glimmers of affection from his stoic, insensitive parents He is killed by a car when he runs out of their home in a tearful rage. "Peter always acted without thinking," says his mother at his funeral. But life is not over yet; Peter is granted three chances to get it right before he is permanently dead. In the process he learns to make friends, communicate clearly with his parents about his anxieties and follow his dream of being an artist even though his mother finds it a "waste of time" and his father thinks he should do something more manly. Peter is likable, creative and admirable in his ability to change his behavior. The author examines the idea of time travel and of consciously tampering with the future. When a silly conflict arises because Peter thoughtlessly predicts the future (having lived through the same days several times), its resolution is simple and emotionally truthful.

43. Thirteen-year-old Jules can't believe that her loving father would simply walk out after a particularly angry fight with her mother and not even leave a way for Jules to reach him. In between landing the role of Lyra in a theatrical production and having troubles with her best friend at school, Jules slowly learns the truth. Shortly before Jules's parents' wedding, her mother had had a one-night stand, resulting in Jules's conception, and her father has only just found out. Furious, he sues for damages, including the costs, with interest, that he has incurred in bringing up Jules. The case appears in the paper with Jules's identity masked as "Child X"; shortly thereafter, a newspaper reporter interviews Jules about her role as Lyra, and Jules improbably reveals that she is Child X. Soon Jules is at the center of a media circus, and her plight only worsens when she flips on a TV talk show just in time to watch a guest inform viewers that Jules's natural father is in fact her uncle.

44. This is the story of Charley, a child of divorce who is always forced to choose between his mother and his father. He grows into a man and starts a family of his own. But one fateful weekend, he leaves his mother to secretly be with his father and she dies while he is gone. This haunts him for years. It unravels his own young family. It leads him to depression and drunkenness. One night, he decides to take his life. But somewhere between this world and the next, he encounters his mother again, in their hometown, and gets to spend one last day with her the day he missed and always wished he had. He asks the questions many of us yearn to ask, the questions we never ask while our parents are alive. By the end of this magical day, Charley discovers how little he really knew about his mother, the secret of how her love saved their family, and how deeply he wants the second chance to save his own.

45. Simone, 16, has always known she was adopted but has never had any real desire to meet her birth mother despite the fact that she knows her parents keep in touch. Her family is perfect - Sure, she looks different and has different talents from her parents and younger brother, but that has never mattered. That all changes when Rivka calls and wants to meet her. What had begun as a normal school year changes as Simone must come to terms with who she is and how she fits into both families. When she then learns that Rivka is dying, it becomes a year that challenges her belief in God, a belief she did not know she had. It becomes a year that strains the bonds of friendships and family ties, both old and new. It becomes a year of her first boyfriend, and a year in an impossible life. It also has strong subplots that deal with friendship; with boyfriend/girlfriend relationships, both good and bad; with standing up for what one believes is right; and with struggling to keep up with academics and fit in at school when things seem to be falling apart on a personal level.

46. 12-year-old Nicky Dillon, while snowshoeing hear a small cry that they presume is from a cat. It is followed by the sounds of a car door slamming and then an engine revving along a road in the distance. A moment later they discover that what they had thought was a cat is actually a newborn baby, left in a sleeping bag to die in the woods in the cold. Nicky's mom and baby sister died together in a car accident two years earlier. Dad gave up his job with a prestigious architectural firm in Manhattan, and moved with Nicky to a secluded house in an obscure village where they knew absolutely no one. There he has built furniture, some of which he occasionally sells, while sleepwalking through the tasks of being a father. Father and daughter rescue the baby, deliver the child to the nearby hospital and then settle in for what Nicky expects will be another incredibly pathetic Christmas in their clunky old house in the woods. A 19-year-old stranger appears at the secluded homestead - a young woman who claims to be interested in purchasing a table as a Christmas present. She faints, and it becomes clear that she is the infant's mom. The storm continues, and soon she will be snowbound in the Dillons' small house with Nicky and dad Will dad, who loathes the young mother for her role in the attempted infanticide, turn her in to the police as soon as the roads are clear? Will Nicky, who is desperate for a female role model in her life, see the older teen as someone to emulate or scorn?

47. At First Sight 37-year-old Jeremy Marsh ended up falling in love with Lexie Darnell, the 30-year-old town librarian. Now Lexie is pregnant—but it's true love (and a portable job) that's allowing divorcé Jeremy to move down so they can marry and build a life together. The book centers on the tension-filled runup to the wedding. Sparks pulls out all the smalltown stops—psychic grandmother, meddling mayor, sullen townie ex, jealous best Jeremy starts to experience writer's block (he is a columnist) More compelling are the mysterious e-mails Jeremy receives that suggest Lexie may not be telling the truth (about who the father is, for one thing), and the character of Lexie's psychic grandmother, Doris, who has correctly predicted the sex of every child born in the town. As the wedding gets closer (and house renovations suck more and more money from Jeremy's dwindling savings), Jeremy and Lexie have some serious talking to do. Sparks throws in a substantial zinger at the end. It's majorly manipulative and totally effective. Have plenty of tissues on hand.