Tales of the Madman Underground: an historical romance 1973 by John Barnes. In September 1973, as the school year begins in his depressed Ohio town, high-school senior Kurt Shoemaker is determined to be "normal," despite his chaotic home life with his volatile, alcoholic mother and the deep loyalty and affection he has for his friends in the therapy group dubbed the Madman Underground.
Tangerine by Edward Bloor. Paul Fisher's older brother has always been the football-playing hero of the family. But when the Fishers move to Tangerine, Florida, Paul enters a place where weird is normal. And suddenly the blind can see.
Going bovine by Libba Bray. After being diagnosed with Creutzfeld Jakob’s (a.k.a. Mad Cow) disease, Cameron Smith sets off on a road trip with a death-obsessed video gaming dwarf he meets in the hospital in an attempt to find a cure.
The perks of being a wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Charlie is a shy, introspective freshman who writes letters to a mysterious person about his rise to semi-popularity, his fall into depression and mental illness, and slow recovery.
Deadline by Chris Crutcher. Given the medical diagnosis of one year to live, high school senior Ben Wolf decides to fulfill his greatest fantasies, ponders his life's purpose and legacy, and converses through dreams with a spiritual guide known as "Hey-Soos."
Crackback by John Coy. Miles barely recalls when football was fun after being sidelined by a new coach, constantly criticized by his father, and pressured by his best friend to take performance-enhancing drugs.
Me, myself and Ike by K.L. Denman. Seventeen-year-old Kit is paranoid, confused and alone, but neither he nor his family and friends understand what is happening to him
Bang! by Sharon G. Flake. A teenage boy must face the harsh realities of inner city life, a disintegrating family, and destructive temptations as he struggles to find his identity as a young man.
Breaking point by Alex Flinn. Fifteen-year-old Paul enters an exclusive private school and falls under the spell of a charismatic boy who may be using him.
Shattering Glass by Gail Giles. When Rob, the charismatic leader of the senior class, turns the school nerd into Prince Charming, his actions lead to unexpected violence.
Looking for Alaska by John Green. Sixteen-year-old Miles' first year at Culver Creek Preparatory School in Alabama includes good friends and great pranks, but is defined by the search for answers about life and death after a fatal car crash.
The last exit to normal by Michael Harmon. Yanked out of his city life and plunked down into a small Montana town with his father and his father's boyfriend, seventeen-year-old Ben, angry and resentful about the changed circumstances of his life, begins to notice that something is not quite right with the little boy next door and determines to do something about it.
Downriver by Will Hobbs. Fifteen-year-old Jessie and the other rebellious teenage members of a wilderness survival school team abandon their adult leader, hijack his boats, and try to run the dangerous white water at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
Slam by Nick Hornby. At the age of fifteen, Sam Jones's girlfriend gets pregnant and Sam's life of skateboarding and daydreaming about Tony Hawk changes drastically.
Damage by Amanda Jenkins. Seventeen-year-old football hero Austin, trying to understand the inexplicable depression that has drained his interest in life, thinks that he has found relief in a girl who seems very special.
You don't know me by David Klass. Fourteen-year-old John creates alternative realities in his mind as he tries to deal with his mother's abusive boyfriend, his crush on a beautiful, but shallow classmate and other problems at school.
Hothouse by Chris Lynch. When their firefighter fathers are both killed, teens D.J. and Russell, lifelong friends and neighbors who had drifted apart, try to help one another come to terms with the tragedy and its aftermath.
Monster by Walter Dean Myers; illustrations by Christopher Myers. "Monster" is what the prosecutor called sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon for his supposed role in the fatal shooting of a convenience-store owner. But was Steve really the lookout who gave the "all clear" to the murderer, or was he just in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Ball don't lie by Matt de la Peña. Seventeen-year-old Sticky lives to play basketball at school and at Lincoln Rec Center in Los Angeles and is headed for the pros, but he is unaware of the many dangers--including his own past--that threaten his dream.
King Dork by Frank Portman. High school loser Tom Henderson discovers that The Catcher in the Rye may hold the clues to the many mysteries in his life.
Bait by Alex Sanchez. Diego keeps getting into trouble because of his explosive temper until he finally finds a probation officer who helps him get to the root of his anger and stop running from his past.
The afterlife by Gary Soto. A senior at East Fresno High School lives on as a ghost after his brutal murder in the restroom of a club where he had gone to dance.
If I grow up by Todd Strasser. Growing up in the inner-city projects, DeShawn is reluctantly forced into the gang world by circumstances beyond his control.
Rats saw God by Rob Thomas. Having failed English, eighteen-year-old Steve York must generate a paper to get credit and chooses to think and write about his own sophomore and junior years of high school, during which he experienced his first love and struggled with family relationships.
I am the messenger by Markus Zusak. After capturing a bank robber, nineteen-year-old cab driver Ed Kennedy starts receiving mysterious messages directing him to addresses where people need help.
