TITLE & AUTHOR

SYNOPSIS

Adventure Of Huckleberry Finn

A young boy reaches manhood while fleeing down the Mississippi River with Jim, a runaway slave.

After The Rain*

The story of two dynamic individuals who come to love and respect each other - one clinging to his final days, the other poised on the threshold of womanhood.

After The War*

15-year-old Ruth, the sole member of the family to survive the Holocaust, leads a group of children across Europe to illegally enter Palestine and the only safety they have ever known.

Alas, Babylon

The next Pearl Harbor attack might be atomic. A novel about the end of the world.

Alice In Rapture, Sort Of*

All Quiet On The Western Front

REMARQUE, E

Harrowing account of WW I seen through the eyes of a German soldier.

Am I Blue?

BAUER, M (ed.)

Sixteen short stories about gay adolescent experiences.

America Street: A Multicultural Anthology Of Stories*

MAZER, H

Fourteen short stories introduce readers to the rich differences and striking similarities of growing up in a multicultural world.

American Dragons: Twenty-Five Asian American Voices

YEP, Y (ed.)

A collection of short stories, poems and dramatic pieces on what it is like to grow up Asian American.

And Then There Were None

CHRISTIE, A

A pathological killer systematically murders ten strangers entrapped on an island.

Angela's Ashes

Frank McCourt tells the story of his poverty-stricken childhood years after his family returned to the slums of Limerick, Ireland.

Animal Farm*

A devastating, satirical attack on the avaricious rulers in an imaginary totalitarian state.

Anne Frank: The Diary Of A Young Girl

FRANK, A

Famous diary of a young Jewish girl hiding from the Nazis with seven others in an attic in Amsterdam during World War II.

As I Lay Dying

FAULKNER, W

The harrowing account of a family's struggle to get their mother properly buried.

Autobiography Of Jane Pitman

A fictional biography of a black woman born in slavery whose long life span saw the end of the Civil War and the emancipation of her people.

Autobiography Of Malcolm X

The absorbing personal story of Malcolm X's rise from hoodlum, dope peddler and pimp to dynamic leader of the black revolution.

Bean Trees

KINGSOLVER, B

Taylor Greer flees her harsh life in Appalachia and heads west in this memorable novel of love and friendship, abandonment and belonging.

Beet Queen

When Mary Adare's father dies, and her mother abandons her, the young girl takes a freight train to an aunt and uncle in North Dakota. She lives with them and her cousin Sita as well as a friend of both, Celestine. Years later, her older brother Karl turns up in the town, and fathers a daughter with Celestine.

Bel-Air Bambi And The Mall Rats

Bell Jar

Autobiographical novel about a young woman on the brink of madness and suicide.

Beloved*

In post-Civil War Ohio, the past continues to haunt the ex-slave Sethe, and the surviving members of her family.

Best Stories By Edgar Allen Poe

POE, E

Short stories dealing chiefly with mystery, horror and crime.

Beyond The Chocolate War

Powerful sequel to The Chocolate War, with subtle characterization and a riveting, suspenseful plot.

Black Elk Speaks: Being The Life Story Of A Holy Man Of The Oglala Sioux

NEIHARD, J

The life story and personal vision of a Sioux warrior and medicine man who lived through the Battle of the Little Big Horn, the massacre at Wounded Knee and the death of his people.

Black Notice

Bluest Eye

Haunting story of a young black girl who prays every night for blue eyes, thinking that blue eyes would change her life and make it better.

Bonesetter’s Daughter

LuLing Young searches for the name of her mother, the daughter of the "Famous Bonesetter from the Mouth of the Mountain". Trying to hold on to the evaporating past, she begins to write all that she can remember of her life as a girl in China.

Boy Called "It". One Child's Courage To Survive

Boy Who Drank Too Much

A realistic and dramatic portrayal of a young man torn by alcoholism and the conflicting demands of his father, hockey and his own values.

Bud, Not Buddy*

When his mother dies in 1936, Bud hits the road, convinced that his mother's posters of a jazz band would lead him to the father he has never met.

Call Of The Wild & White Fang.

LONDON, J

Two striking and powerful tales of the savage lawlessness of man and beast.

Catch-22

HELLER, J

A savagely funny war novel: military madness and civilian insanity in WW II.

Catcher In The Rye

SALINGER, J

Holden Caulfield is the typically alienated private school rebel in this 1945 classic.

Cay*

A prejudiced, blind white boy is stranded on a Caribbean Island with an old black man.

Chocolate War

High school politics, cruelty and conformity sparked by the annual fundraising event.

Cider House Rules

The story of Dr. Wilbur Larch - obstetrician, director of St. Cloud's orphanage, ether addict and abortionist - and his favorite orphan, Homer Wells.

Clear And Present Danger

Cold Mountain

A Confederate soldier's trek brings him into intense situations with slaves and marauders, bounty hunters and witches, as he travels on his journey home to the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Cold Sassy Tree

On July 5^th, 1906, Will Tweedy's newly widowed grandfather elopes with Love Simpson, half his age, and a Yankee to boot!

Color Purple

WALKER, A

A triumphant novel of a black woman's life in the South.

Cry The Beloved Country

PATON, A

Beautifully told and profoundly compassionate story set in the troubled and changing South Africa of the 1940's

Day No Pigs Would Die

To a 13-year-old Vermont farm boy whose father slaughters pigs for a living, maturity comes early as he learns "doing what's got to be done," especially regarding his pet pig that cannot produce a litter.

Dolores Clairborne

Folks on Little Tall Island have been waiting 30 years to find out what happened the day Dolores Claiborne's husband Joe died - but the police want to know what happened yesterday, when Dolores's long-time employer died suddenly in her care.

Don Quixote

The unabridged saga of the fabulous knight and his simple squire and their adventure / Survivals in Medieval Spain.

Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde

A bizarre potion transforms the mild-mannered Dr. Jekyll into his alter ego, the psychopathic Mr. Hyde.

Dubliners

Seminal modernist collection of stories describing the moral history of Joyce's community: middle-class Catholic Dublin.

Durango Street

When Rufus Henry gets out of work camp for Grand Theft Auto, he has only one place to go - back to Durango Street. Almost right away, he gets on the wrong side of the Gassers, has to join the rival Moors - and starts running for his life.

Elephant Man

John Merrick, trapped in the ugly body of a circus freak, finds love and becomes the toast of London society.

Fahrenheit 451*

BRADBURY, R

Unsettling view of the future in which all books are banned or burned.

Farewell To Arms

One of Ernest Hemingway's most enduring creations, a tale of love set on the Italian front during WW I.

Farewell To Manzanar

The true story of one spirited Japanese American family's attempt to survive the indignities of forced detention.

Fishing For Chickens: Short Stories About Rural Youth

HEYNEN, J

Seventeen short stories that take readers into the lives of young people growing up in rural America.

Flowers For Algernon

Provocative novel of a dramatic medical experiment and its implication for society. 30-year-old retarded Charlie is turned into a genius.

For Whom The Bells Toll

The epic story of Robert Jordan, who fought, loved and died with the anti-Fascist guerrillas of the Spanish Civil War.

Four Perfect Pebbles: A Holocaust Story

PERL, L

Told through the eyes of a child, the author recounts the harrowing ordeal during WW II as her family lived in refugee, transit and prison camps.

Frankenstein

A genius rejected by society exacts his revenge through the monster he brings to life.

Gathering Of Old Men

In this eloquent novel, set in Louisiana in the 1970's, eighteen old, black men each claim to have shot a white man, and in the process, experience their first taste of power and pride.

Good Man Is Hard To Find, And Other Stories

Flannery O'Conner exposes the underside of life in the rural south of the United States with a keen eye for the dark side of human nature, an amazing ear for dialogue, and a necessary sense of irony.

Grand Opening

Brendan's parents decided to buy a run-down grocery store in a tiny Minnesota town in 1944-45. What they discover about small town idealism, bigotry and good old American values will change them and the town forever.

Great Expectations

The story of young Pip's difficult coming-of-age in the genteel but corrupt world of Victorian society.

Great Gatsby

FITZGERALD, S

Classic novel of life in the 1920's.

Green Mile

Set in the 1930s at the Cold Mountain Penitentiary's death-row facility, The Green Mile is the riveting and tragic story of John Coffey, a giant, preternaturally gentle inmate condemned to death for the rape and murder of twin nine-year-old girls.

Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets (Book 2)

Harry Potter is in terrible danger indeed when he returns to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Chilling, malevolent voices whisper from the walls only to Harry, and it seems certain that his classmate Draco Malfoy is out to get him.

Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire. (Book 4)

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry vies with two other magicians' schools, the stylish Beauxbatons and the icy Durmstrang, in a Triwizard Tournament. Those chosen to compete will undergo three supreme tests. Could Harry be one of the lucky contenders?

Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (Book 3)

Harry Potter "accidentally" causes the Dursleys' dreadful visitor Aunt Marge to inflate like a monstrous balloon and drift up to the ceiling. Fearing punishment, Harry lunges out into the darkness with his heavy trunk and his owl Hedwig.

Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1)

ROWLING, J

Orphan Harry Potter's life changes when destiny calls and he isenrolled at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Hatchet*

Compelling and realistic story of a young boy's survival in the Canadian wilderness.

Hobbit

Tolkien has created a world of fantasy called Middle-Earth, populated by small creatures known as Hobbits. This prelude to Lord of the Rings trilogy chronicles the adventures of Bilbo Baggins.

Horse Whisperer

Teenager Grace Maclean loses a leg in a terrible accident while riding her horse, Pilgrim. Grace and Pilgrim are both emotionally scarred as well as physically devastated by the accident. Realizing that the fates of her daughter and the horse are linked, Grace's mother launches a campaign to find a '"horse whisperer'", someone who can cure troubled horses with only a calm voice and a soothing touch.

House On Mango Street

CISNEROS, S

Esperanza Cordero, a young girl growing up in the Latino section of Chicago, captures her thoughts and emotions in poems and stories in order to rise above hopelessness and create a space for herself.

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

The moving and beautiful autobiography of a talented black woman confronting her own life with dignity.

In My Hands, Memories Of A Holocaust Survivor

Irene Gut Opdyke was only 17 when she was stripped her of all she loved - her family, her home, her innocence. Fighting back, she uses her Aryan appearance to glean information and to help smuggle Jews to safety.

In The Time Of Butterflies

An eloquent account of the human cost of political oppression, this novel tells the story of life in the Dominican Republic during the Trujillo dictatorship through the eyes of the Mirabal sisters.

Jane Eyre

The love story of a strong, yet gentle, woman and a harsh mannered society man with a mysterious past and a secret hidden in his attic.

Jazz

MORRISON, T

Morrison, in her sixth novel, enters 1926 Harlem, a new black world then (``safe from fays [whites] and the things they think up''), and moves into a love story - with a love that could clear a space from the past, give a life or take one.

Jemmy

Joy Luck Club

Chronicles the lives of four Chinese women, their forty-year friendship, and how the death of one member brings her daughter into the group, creating a new understanding for each.

Jurassic Park

An astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA has been discovered. Creatures extinct for eons now roam Jurassic Park, and the world can visit them for a price - until something goes wrong.

Legend Of Bagger Vance

In the Depression year of 1931, on the golf links at Krewe Island off Savannah's windswept shore, two legends of the game - Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen - meet for a mesmerizing thirty-six-hole showdown. Another golfer will also compete - a troubled local war hero, once a champion, who comes with his mentor and caddie, the mysterious Bagger Vance.

Lesson Before Dying

Set in the 1940's, this is a heartbreaking story of friendship between two black men, one condemned to die.

Life In The Fat Lane

16-year-old Lara, beautiful, thin, smart and popular, begins to gain weight due to a metabolic disorder. She learns first-hand what it means to be overweight in a society obsessed with appearances.

Light In The Forest*

The unforgettable story of a white boy raised by Native Americans and torn between the claims of blood and loyalty.

Like Water For Chocolate

Tita, the youngest of three daughters, is expected to spend her life waiting on Mama Elena and never to marry. When her beloved Pedro becomes engaged to one of her sisters, Tita and he are thrown into tantalizing proximity and manage to communicate their affection through the dishes she prepares for him and his rapturous appreciation.

Lisa, Bright And Dark*

Three teenage friends help Lisa to cope with the mental illness her parents and teachers refuse to acknowledge.

Lone Ranger And Tonto Fistfight In Heaven

ALEXIE, S

Alexie, a Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian, presents contemporary life on the Spokane Indian Reservation through 22 linked stories.

Lord Of The Flies*

A group of English schoolboys, marooned on an island, set up there own society in this classic investigation of the roots of fear and violence.

Lord Of The Rings

TOLKIEN, J

Tolkien's trilogy of the Hobbits of Middle Earth and the Great War of Rings.

Mask

Misery

Missing*

Monster; The Autobiography Of An LA Gang Member

Monster Kody, today known as Sanyika Sakur, spent 16 years as a gang banger in South Central Los Angeles. His account begins at age eleven, when he was inducted into the ranks of the Crips, and ends (hundreds of bodies later) with Scott serving a seven-year prison term for beating a crack dealer.

My Darling, My Hamburger*

A popular young adult book that deals frankly and sympathetically with the growing pains of today's teenagers.

Native Son

Caught up in forces of racism he can't understand or control, Bigger Thomas, a black man living in Chicago in the early 1930’s, turns to violence.

Never Cry Wolf

True story of a brash young scientist's incredible adventure with a family of wolves in the Canadian wilderness.

New Year's Party*

Night Shift

Anthology that features the classic stories "Children of the Corn," "The Lawnmower Man," "Graveyard Shift," "The Mangler," and "Sometimes They Come Back" - which were all made into hit horror films.

October Sky

The author tells the story of growing up in a dying coal town in the 1950's, and how he made his dream of launching rockets into space come true.

Of Mice And Men

Poignant and powerful story of George Milton and mentally retarded Lennie, searching for a better life.

Old Man And The Sea

HEMINGWAY, E

The tragic tale of a Cuban fisherman and the giant marlin he kills and loses.

Oliver Twist

The moving tale of an orphan who must make his way through the horrors of London's sinister underworld.

One Fat Summer

Bobby Marks, fat and miserable, takes a strenuous summer job, loses weight and gains respect.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

Cowed by a sadistic nurse, the inmates of a mental hospital are galvanized by a new patient, the free-spirited McMurphy, who enters a pitched battle of wills with the nurse.

One Hundred Years Of Solitude

The everyday and the miraculous blend in this sweeping chronicle of the rise and fall of the mythical town of Macondo, as seen through the eyes of the Buendia family.

Ordinary People

An incisive, unsparing look at family politics among a father, a mother and a son in the wake of a family tragedy.

Outsiders*

Outstanding novel about the tensions between two rival gangs in a city in Oklahoma, told from the point of view of Ponyboy, a young greaser.

Patriot Games

A CIA analyst and his family are targets in the deadliest game of our time: international terrorism. In an explosive wave of violence, an ultra-left-wing faction of the IRA hunts one man for his act of salvation in an assassination attempt.

Pearl

A sensitively told fable of a pearl diver who hoped to buy peace and happiness for his wife and son with The Pearl of the World.

Perfect Storm

In 1991 the forces of nature converged to create a 100-year storm that caught the North Atlantic fishing fleet at sea and unprotected.

Pigs In Heaven

This is a sequel to The Bean Trees. Taylor Greer and her adopted Cherokee Indian daughter, Turtle, are on a trip to the Hoover Dam, where Turtle is the only person to see a man fall over the side. The rescue makes Turtle a heroine, but becoming a heroine engenders a new disaster.

Poisonwood Bible

The story of an American missionary and his family in 1959. A compelling exploration of religion, conscience, imperialist arrogance, and the many paths to redemption.

Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man

Vivid, eccentric picture of 1920's Dublin and a young man's struggle with Catholicism.

Prince Of Tides

Red Badge Of Courage

A young and frightened soldier comes of age under the stress of combat in the Civil War.

Red Pony

Roll Of Thunder, Hear My Cry*

Unforgettable book of black pride and black heritage. Cassie Logan, daughter of a Mississippi sharecropper, is determined to maintain her dignity through a turbulent year.

Separate Peace

Two young prep school roommates learn to cope with the emotions of adulthood when one of them is struck down by a crippling accident.

Shabanu: Daughter Of The Wind*

The second daughter of a Pakistani family, Shabanu has been brought up with more freedom than most Muslim girls. Should she listen to the stirrings of her own heart when her family insists on an arranged marriage?

Sixteen: Short Stories By Outstanding Writers For Young Adults*

GALLO, D (ed.)

Sixteen representative short stories by today's best-known writers for teenagers.

Slaughterhouse Five

Snow Falling On Cedars

In 1954 on the isolated beaches of San Pedro Island in Puget Sound, a local fisherman mysteriously drowns. When a Japanese American is charged with his murder, it becomes clear over the course of the ensuing trial that much more is at stake than one man's guilt.

Song Of Solomon

Macon Dead, an upper-class Northern black businessman, tries to insulate his family the danger and despair of the rank and file blacks with whom he shares the neighborhood. The plan leads his son onto a path exactly opposite the one his father had hoped.

Sophie’s Choice

The story of a young Southerner who wants to become a writer, the turbulent love-hate affair between a brilliant Jew and a beautiful Polish woman, and an awful wound in the woman's past, one that impels Sophie toward destruction.

Tex

A year in the life of a poor high school student in Oklahoma struggling to come to terms with an absent father, a tense older brother and a new girlfriend.

That Was Then, This Is Now

Mark and Bryon were like brothers, joining in gang warfare in their neighborhood. But sudden death and betrayal changes things for Bryon.

Perks Of Being A Wallflower

Things Fall Apart

The tragedy of a leading member of the Obi tribe in Africa in the days when white men were first appearing on the scene.

To Kill A Mockingbird

LEE, H

Magnificent novel of a quiet Southern town rocked by a crisis of conscience.

Tommyknockers*

Twins*

Voices From Vietnam

This high caliber oral history successfully weaves quotations and commentary to tell the story of what it was like in Vietnam.

Waiting To Exhale

MCMILLAN, T

Watsons Go To Birmingham - 1963

An engaging novel of a middle-class black family's trip from Flint, Michigan, to Birmingham, Alabama, in the tumultuous days of the Civil Rights movement.

What Looks Like Crazy On An Ordinary Day

CLEAGE, P

Ava Johnson decides to sell her hair salon in Atlanta and move to San Francisco. On the way, she summers in Idlewild, the small town in northern Michigan where she grew up. Will she be able to move on, however, when her friends and family need her?

White Oleander

Yellow Raft In Blue Water

A fierce saga of three generations of Native American women, beset by hardships and torn by angry secrets, yet inextricably joined by the bonds of kinship.