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Title Author Genre Year Level Awards/Comments Summary SLHS Library
Watership Down Adams, Richard Fiction 1974 9 YALSA Best of the Best, Guardian Awards for Children's Fiction winners, YALSA 100 Best Books (1950-2000), Carnegie Medal Books Follow the epic Tolkienesque adventures of Fiver, Hazel, and a ragtag lapin band. Rabbits will never seem the same again. Yes
The King's Shadow Alder, Elizabeth  Fiction 1995 12,10 YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults After he is orphaned and has his tongue cut out in a clash with the bullying sons of a Welsh noble, Evyn is sold as a slave and serves many masters, from the gracious Lady Swan Neck to the valiant Harold Godwinson, England's last Saxon king.   
Reservation Blues Alexie, Sherman  Fiction 1995 11,12 Booklist Editors' Choice Award winners   Yes
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven Alexie, Sherman    1993 11   Alexie confronts as much as he depicts modern Native American life in these stories set in and around the Spokane Indian Reservation.  Yes
Daughter of Fortune Allende, Isabelle    1999 11   The story of a young woman's quest for love and fortune during the California Gold Rush in San Francisco.  Yes
The House of Spirits Allende, Isabelle    1985 12   The Trueba family embodies strong feelings from the beginning of the 20th century through the assassination of Allende in 1973.  Yes
The Stories of Eva Luna Allende, Isabelle    1991 12     Yes
Skellig Almond, David  Fiction 1998 12,10 ALA Notable Children's Books, Booklist Editors' Choice Award winners, Carnegie Medal books, Whitbread Award winners (Children's books), Michael L. Printz Honor Books Unhappy about his baby sister's illness and the chaos of moving into a dilapidated old house, Michael retreats to the garage and finds a mysterious stranger who is something like a bird and something like an angel.   
In the Time of the Butterflies Alvarez, Julia  Fiction 1994 12 YALSA Outstanding Books for the College Bound, ALA Notable Adult Books Dede Mirabel tells about her three sisters, Minerva, Patria, and Maria Teresa, who became martyrs during the liberation of the Dominican Republic from Trujillo in 1960.   
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents Alvarez, Julia  Fiction 1991 9,10,11 ALA Notable Adult Books, YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, teacher recommendation The four Garcia girls escape the Dominican Republic and a life of privilege in the 1960s to come to the United States and difficult adjustment.  Yes
Bless Me, Ultima Anaya, Rudolfo A. Fiction 1994 9,10,11 YALSA Outsanding Books for the College Bound, YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, teacher recommendation. A young New Mexico boy comes of age. Yes
Fever 1793 Anderson, Laurie Halse   2000 10 YALSA Best Books for Young Adults In 1793 Philadelphia, sixteen-year-old Matilda Cook, separated from her sick mother, learns about perseverance and self-reliance when she is forced to cope with the horrors of a yellow fever epidemic. Yes
Speak Anderson, Laurie Halse   1999 9,10 YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, Michael L. Printz Honor Books A traumatic event in the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda's freshman year of high school.  Yes
Heart of a Woman, The Ann, Lois    1981   teacher recommendation    
Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers Ann, Lois  Fiction 1996 9   Lovey Nariyoshi grows up in white culture on the island of Hawaii where her Japanese American family is racially segregated from the others.  Yes
Go Ask Alice Anonymous   1971 9,10 YALSA Best of the Best The painful diary of a young girl when she accidentally falls into the contemporary drug scene. Yes
Kissing Tennesse and Other Stories Appelt, Kathi   2000   YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, YALSA Best Books for Young Adults Graduating eighth graders relate their stories of love and heartbreak that have brought them to Dogwood Junior High's magical Stardust Dance.  Yes
Always to Remember: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Ashabranner, Brent Nonfiction 1988 11
The story of Vietnam veteran Jan C. Scruggs's struggle to build a national monument honoring Americans who died or are missing in the Vietnam War. Yes
Handmaid's Tale Atwood, Margaret Fiction 1986 9 YALSA Best of the Best Offred, a handmaid living in a near-future time, endures life in a society in which women able to bear children are used for procreation. Yes
Alias Grace Atwood, Margaret Fiction 1996 9,10 teacher recommendation, ALA Notable Adult Books, Booklist Editors' Choice Award winners Young serving woman is accused of being an accomplice in a brutal double murder in the 1840s.  Yes
Blue Heron Avi Fiction 1993 10 YALSA Best of the Best A solitary blue heron becomes a symbol of strength and peace for 13-year-old Maggie when she discovers a change has come over her father and his new family. Yes
Nothing But the Truth Avi Fiction 1992 9 YALSA Best of the Best It's against regulations to hum the national anthem in school. Philip decides to disobey the rule, and the whole nation watches what happens. Yes
If Beale Street Could Talk Baldwin, James 

      Yes
The Seabirds are Still Alive Bambara, Toni Cade            Yes
Hope Was Here Bauer, Joan Fiction 2000 9 YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, ALA Notable Children's Books When sixteen-year-old Hope and the aunt who has raised her move from Brooklyn to Mulhoney, Wisconsin, to work as waitress and cook in the Welcome Stairways diner, they become involved with the diner owner's political campaign to oust the town's corrupt ma Yes
Thwonk Bauer, Joan Fiction 1995 10 California Young Reader, YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults A cupid doll comes to life and offers romantic assistance to A.J., a teenage photographer suffering from unrequited love.  Yes
Rules of the Road Bauer, Joan Fiction 1999 10 YALSA Best of the Best Seventeen-year-old Jenna's job at crusty Mrs. Gladstone's shoe store leads to her driving Mrs. Gladstone across country to Texas to prevent a company takeover. Yes
Sweet Fifteen Bertrand, Diane Gonzales Fiction 1995 10 YALSA Popular Paperbacks for young adult When seamstress Rita Navarro makes a quinceanera dress for fourteen-year-old Stefanie, she finds herelf becoming involved with the girl's family and attracted to her uncle. Yes
Weetzie Bat Block, Francesca Lia Fiction 1990 10 YALSA Best of the Best Lanky lizards! Punk teens Weetzie and Dirk search for love in a modern fairy tale that is funny, moving, and unlike any book you've read before. Yes
We Are Witnesses: The Diaries of Five Teenagers Who Died in the Holocaust Boas, Jacob Nonfiction 1996 12 YALSA Best of the Best The compelling and poignant diaries of five teenagers who died during the Holocaust tell their tragic, courageous stories. Yes
River Boy Bowler, Tim  Fiction 1997 10 Carnegie Medal Books Knowing that he is dying, Jess's grandfather insists on returning to the river he had known as a boy to finish a special painting and fulfill a life-long dream.   
Getting In Boylan, James Finney Fiction 1998 10 Alex Award winners, Booklist Editors' Choice Award winners Boylan takes wicked aim at the college mystique--from admissions interviews to school traditions--in this funny, poignant novel, which has already been optioned for the big screen.  Yes
The Moves Make the Man Brooks, Bruce Fiction 1985 9 YALSA Best of the Best As Jerome, a black athlete, shares his skills and interest in basketball with Bix, a white baseball player, their friendship grows and the game becomes a reflection of both their lives. Yes
Beyond the Myth: The Story of Joan of Arc Brooks, Polly Schoyer Nonfiction 1991 12 YALSA Best of the Best Condemned as a witch but later canonized as a saint, young Joan, inspired by her love of France, leads her countrymen in their battle against the English. Yes
The Face at the Edge of the World Bunting, Eve  fiction 1985 9 California Young Reader Haunted by the suicide of a gifted young Black writer who was his best friend, Jed pursues the reason for it.  Yes
A Sudden Silence Bunting, Eve    1989 9 California Young Reader Jesse Harmon searches for the hit and run driver who killed his brother Bry.  Yes
If I Asked You Would You Stay Bunting, Eve  Fiction 1984 10 California Young Reader When Crow, a seventeen-year-old loner, rescues a troubled young girl from the ocean, his jealously guarded solitary existence is threatened by his first awakening to love.  Yes
Kindred  Butler, Octavia  Fiction   11   Dana, an African-American woman living in 1976, is transported back in time. She finds herself in a world where slavery still exists, and ends up having to struagle to save her family and herself. Yes
The Princess Diaries Cabot, Meg Fiction 2000 10 YALSA Best Books for Young Adults Fourteen-year-old Mia, who is trying to lead a normal life as a teenage girl in New York City, is shocked to learn that her father is the Prince of Genovia, a small European principality, and that she is a princess and the heir to the throne.  Yes
Ender's Shadow Card, Orson Scott fiction 1999 10 Booklist Editors' Choice Award winners, Alex Award winners, YALSA Best Books for Young Adults Card's exploration of the origins and evolution of ethics continues in a story that parallels that of his classic Ender's Game (1984).  Yes
Ender's Game Card, Orson Scott Fiction 1985 10 YALSA Best of the Best Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, a young genius in Battle School, where he is training to fight the alien Buggers, has to put his skills to the ultimate test much sooner than he expected. Yes
So Far From God Castillo, Ana  Fiction 1993       Yes
My Antonia Cather, Willa   1954 11 teacher recommendation Antonia works as a servant for her neighbors after her father's death, elopes, and then returns to marry a Bohemian farmer.  Yes
Girl With a Pearl Earring Chevalier, Tracy Fiction 1999 12 Alex Award winners Booklist Editors' Choice Award winners Inspired by Vermeer's painting of the same name, Chevalier creates an elegant and intriguing story of how a young peasant girl came to have her portrait painted.  Yes
Hero Ain't Nothin but a Sandwich Childress, Alice Fiction 1973 10 YALSA Best of the Best Benjie, a 13-year-old in Harlem, cannot face the reality of his drug addiction or the realization that someone cares for him. Yes
Woman of Hollering Creek Cisneros, Sandra  Fiction 1991       Yes
An Island Like You Cofer, Judith Ortiz  Fiction 1995 12 Pura Belpre Award Winners, YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults Twelve stories about young people caught between their Puerto Rican heritage and their American surroundings.   
My Brother Sam is Dead Collier, James Lincoln    1974 11 California Young Reader Recounts the tragedy that strikes the Meeker family during the Revolution when one son joins the rebel forces while the rest of the family tries to stay neutral.  Yes
Fallen Angels Collier, James Lincoln  Fiction 1988 11 YALSA Best of the Best Seventeen-year-old Richie Perry's stint in Vietnam brings home to him the agony and futility of war as he learns to kill and watches his comrades die. Yes
Corpses, Coffins, Crypts Colman, Penny Nonfiction   11 YALSA Best Books for Young Adults    
Many Stones Coman, Carolyn   2000   YALSA Best Books for Young Adults Berry Morgan's divorced father returns to tell her that her sister has been murdered in South Africa.  Yes
Flight #116 Is Down Cooney, Caroline B. Fiction 1993 9 YALSA Best of the Best A 747 crashes on the grounds of her family's estate, and 16-year-old Heidi, alone and terrified, pulls herself together to help rescue the survivors. Yes
Face on the Milk Carton Cooney, Caroline B.    1990 9 California Young Reader, Young Reader's Choice Award winners A photograph of a missing girl on a milk carton leads Janie on a search for her real identity.  Yes
Flash Fire Cooney, Caroline B.    1995   California Young Reader, YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers   Yes
Some Soul to Keep Cooper, J. California   1987 9   Like Cooper's previous works, this new collection of stories features feisty, determined women whose lifelong struggles for dignity lead to ultimate triumph in spite of adverse circumstances. Yes
The Matter is Life Cooper, J. California   1991 11   Short stories, African-American -- 20th century Yes
Family  Cooper, J. California   1991     A slave mother, distraught that her children, sired by her master, might be sold away from her, attempts to poison them all.  Yes
We All Fall Down Cormier, Robert   1991 9 California Young Reader As The Avenger searches for the teenage boys who trashed a house in his neighborhood , Buddy one of the trashers, increases his drinking in order to cope with his parents' separation and his obsession with the daughter of the owner of the vandalized hous Yes
I Am the Cheese Cormier, Robert Fiction 1977 9 YALSA Best of the Best A victim of amnesia, and under the influence of drugs administered by mysterious and unidentified questioners, teenager Adam searches through haunting memories that must not be recalled or revealed if he is to survive. Yes
Fade Cormier, Robert Fiction 1988 9 YALSA Best of the Best One boy in each generation of the Moreaux family inherits the power--and the curse--of invisibility. Yes
The Chocolate War: A Novel Cormier, Robert Fiction 1974 9 YALSA Best of the Best Sweets abound at Trinity High while a schoolmaster feasts on his students' fear--a bitter story of one student's resistance and the high price he pays. Yes
In the Middle of the Night Cormier, Rorbert  Fiction 1995 9 California Young Reader, YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers Sixteen-year-old Denny lives in the shadow of a deadly accident with which his father was connected when he was Denny's age., a disaster for which some of the survivors still blame his father.  Yes
I Heard the Owl Call My Name Craven, Margaret    1974 12 California Young Reader, YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults A young priest goes into a remote Indian village where he is sensitive to the inevitable passing of the old life and the infiltration of the new, but the villagers eventually accept him.A young priest with a short time to live is sent to a parish of Kwaki Yes
The Wanderer Creech, Sharon       YALSA Best Books for Young Adults   Yes
Children of the River Crew, Linda    1988 10 California Young Reader, International Reading Association Children's Book Award winners, YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults Having fled Cambodia four years earlier to escape the Khmer Rouge army, seventeen-year-old Sundara is torn between remaining faithful to her own people and enjoying life in her Oregon high school as a "regular" American.  Yes
Timeline Crichton, Michael   1999 9 Booklist Editors' Choice Award winners Quantum theory combines with the medieval past in a suspenseful adventure.  Yes
Athletic Shorts: 6 Short Stories Crutcher, Chris Fiction 1992 12 YALSA Best of the Best Tales of love, death, bigotry and heroism are of real people with the courage to stand up to a world that often puts them down.  Yes
Chinese Handcuffs Crutcher, Chris Fiction 1990 9 YALSA Best of the Best A winning triathlete's need to understand his older brother's suicide is complicated by memories and daring challenges. Yes
Ironman Crutcher, Chris Fiction 1996 9 YALSA Best of the Best When he calls his teacher an asshole in class, Bo is forced to attend an anger management program, where he learns to deal with his real problem--his cruel father. Yes
Running Loose Crutcher, Chris Fiction 1983 9 YALSA Best of the Best Louie takes a stand against his coach and playing dirty football, falls in love, and loses his girlfriend in a fatal accident--all in his senior year. Yes
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes Crutcher, Chris Fiction 1994 9 YALSA Best of the Best When the horrific truth about Sarah's past is revealed, only her true friend Eric ("Moby") Calhoun can help her come to terms with her family and plan for her future. Yes
The Hours Cunningham, Michael   1998 12 teacher recommendation, Pulitzer Prize fiction, PEN/Faulkner Award winners, ALA Notable Adult Books Virginia Woolf is brought back to life in an intertwining of her story with those of two more contemporary women. I yes
Bud, Not Buddy Curtis, Christopher Paul  Fiction 1999 11 International Reading Association Children's Book Award winners, ALA Notable Children's Books, Coretta Scott King Award Books (Authors), Newbery Medal books, YALSA Best Books for Young Adults Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father--the renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway of Grand Rapids.  Yes
Catherine, Called Birdy Cushman, Karen Fiction 1995 12 YALSA Best of the Best Fighting fleas, unsuitable suitors, and her mother's attempts to make a lady of her, Catherine writes in her diary about her frustrations with her life as a young noblewoman in medieval times. Yes
The Midwife's Apprentice Cushman, Karen Fiction 1996 12 YALSA Best of the Best Beetle, a homeless girl, is found in a dung heap and apprenticed to the village midwife in this sensitive 14th-century tale set in England. Yes
Breath, Eyes, Memory Dandicat, Edwidge  Fiction 1994 9   A young Haitian girl's coming of age under difficult circumstances. "I come from a place where breath, eyes and memory are one, a place where you carry your past like the hair on your head," says narrator Sophie Caco, ruminating on the chains of duty and  Yes
Can You Sue Your Parents for Malpractice? Danziger, Paula   1979 9 California Young Reader Confused about her life at home and at school, 14-year-old Lauren learns the importance of being her own person.  Yes
Dreamland Dessen, Sarah   2000 11 Booklist Editors' Choice Award winners, YALSA Best Books for Young Adults fter her older sister runs away, sixteen-year-old Caitlin decides that she needs to make a major change in her own life and begins an abusive relationship with a boy who is mysterious, brilliant, and dangerous.  Yes
On the Devil's Court Deuker, Carl Fiction 1990 9 YALSA Best of the Best Seventeen-year-old Joe Faust must decide if it's worth selling his soul to the devil for one perfect season of basketball. Yes
Eva Dickinson, Peter Fiction 1990 9 YALSA Best of the Best After a violent auto accident, 13-year-old Eva wakes up in a hospital to find she must learn how to live as a chimpanzee. Yes
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas, Adams Fiction 1980 10 YALSA Best of the Best The hilarious journey of Arthur Dent and his friend Ford Prefect, a space hitchhiker, who escape from earth seconds before it is demolished and travel to a variety of galactic civilizations while gathering information for a hitchhiker's guidebook. Yes
Tears of a Tiger Draper, Sharon M. Fiction 1996 9 YALSA Best of the Best High-school senior Andy Jackson is overcome by guilt after his best friend dies in an automobile accident that happened when Andy was driving drunk. Yes
Forged by Fire Draper, Sharon M.  Fiction 1997 9 YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, Coretta Scott King Award Books (Authors), YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers After surviving a fire, Gerald experiences separation from his mother, the loss of his great aunt, and life with his stepsister's abusive father.  Yes
Killing Mr. Griffin Duncan, Lois  Fiction 1978 9 California Young Reader A teenager casually suggests playing a cruel trick on the English teacher, but did he intend it to end with murder?  Yes
Stranger with My Face Duncan, Lois  Fiction 1981 9 California Young Reader A seventeen-year-old senses she is being spied on and probably impersonated, but when she discovers what actually is occurring, it is more unbelievable than she ever imagined.  Yes
Summer of Fear  Duncan, Lois  Fiction 1976 9 California Young Reader Soon after the arrival of cousin Julia, insidious occurrences begin that convince Rachel she is a witch and must be stopped before her total monstrous plan can be effected.  Yes
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam Edelman, Bernard Nonfiction 1985 11 YALSA Best of the Best In their personal letters, soldiers and civilians reveal the pain, frustration, confusion, and anger that were part of their daily lives in Vietnam. Yes
Like Water for Chocolate Esquivel, Laura  Fiction 1992 12   At the beginning of the 20th century, Tita, the youngest of three daughters, is expected to serve her mother for the rest of her life, but in order to show her love to Pedro, who is engaged to her sister, Tita cooks for him.  Yes
A Girl Named Disaster Farmer, Nancy Fiction 1997 9 YALSA Best of the Best When her family arranges her marriage to a cruel man with three wives, Nhamo escapes by canoe to seek a better future. Yes
The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm Farmer, Nancy Fiction 1995 10 YALSA Best of the Best When General Matsika's three children are kidnapped after they leave the safety of their armed compound, their mother hires the best detective team available in 2194 Zimbabwe--the appropriately named mutant partners--the Ear, the Eye, and the Arm. Yes
Bad Ferris, Jean   1998 9 California Young Reader, YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, YALSA Best Books for Young Adults In an attempt to please her friends, sixteen-year-old Dallas goes along with their plan to rob a convience store and when her father refuses to allow to her to come home, she is sentenced to six months in the Girls' Rehabilitation Center.  Yes
Across the Grain Ferris, Jean   1990 9 California Young Reader Since his mother's death, a 17-year-old has difficulty dealing with his irresponsible older sister and eventually faces a choice of helping her or living his own life.  Yes
White Oleander Fitch, Janet   1999 12 teacher recommendation t the age of 12, Astrid has her world blown away when her mother is sentenced to life in prison for murdering her lover. Sharpened by harsh foster home environments, Astrid remakes herself as a survivor, and ultimately, an artist.  yes
Seek Fleischman, Paul     9 YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, ALA Notable Children's Books Rob becomes obsessed with searching the airwaves for his long-gone father, a radio announcer.  Yes
Bull Run Fleischman, Paul Fiction 1994 11
Sixteen individuals voice their hopes and fears in this interwoven collage of "snapshots" set during the first battle of the Civil War.  Yes
Whirligig Fleischman, Paul Fiction 1999 9 YALSA Best of the Best After killing a girl when driving drunk, Brent Bishop learns a lot about himself and life when he's forced to pay for his crime by traveling to the four corners of the U.S. to build whirligigs in her memory. Yes
Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery Freedman, Russel Nonfiction 1994 10 YALSA Best of the Best A compelling photo-biography of Eleanor Roosevelt relates the remarkable story of a shy, lonely girl who grows up to be a powerful force in the fight for world peace and equality and an inspiration to millions of people. Yes
Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane  Freedman, Russel Nonfiction 1992 9 YALSA Best of the Best Freedman tells the fascinating story of how two self-taught bicycle mechanics solve the problems that had baffled generations of scientists and engineers. Yes
Lincoln: A Photobiography Freedman, Russell Nonfiction 1988 9 YALSA Best of the Best This skillfully written, appealing overview of Lincoln's life from boyhood to death, is accompanied by carefully chosen photographs and prints. Yes
The Old Gringo Fuentes, Carlos Fiction 1985 12 teacher recommendation An old American author, perhaps Ambrose Bierce, disappears in Mexico in 1913 where he becomes a father figure to an American governess and a general in Pancho Villa's army. Yes
Barrio Boy  Galarza, Ernesto     9     Yes
Sixteen: Short Stories by Outstanding Writers for Young Adults  Gallo, Donald Fiction 1984 9 YALSA Best of the Best School, friendship, family, and love are all found within this unusual collection of humorous and serious short stories. Yes
One Hundred Years of Solitude Garcia Marque, Gabriel Fiction 1970 10 teacher recommendation At the center of this extraodinarily vast novel is the Buendia family, whose fortunes--or, more commonly, misfortunes--Garcia Marquez chronicles for the one hundred years o the title and whose story ultimaterly encapsulates the entire history of mankind,  Yes
Shadow of the Dragon Garland, Sherry Fiction 1994 12 California Young Reader High school sophomore Danny Vo tries to resolve the conflict between the values of his Vietnamese refugee family and his new American way of life.  Yes
Nora Ryan's Song Giff, Patricia Reilly       YALSA Best Books for Young Adults   Yes
At All Costs Gilstrap, John Fiction 1998 9 Alex Awards Readers who have begun to wonder whether there are any new suspense plots left will rejoice at the publication of this exciting and very plausible thriller by the author of Nathan's Run (1996). Yes
Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time Gurney, James Fiction 1993 9 YALSA Best of the Best A newly discovered, illustrated journal reveals life on the lost island of Dinotopia, where shipwrecked human survivors work and play in harmony with dinosaurs. Yes
Snow Falling On Cedars Guterson, David   1994 10 teacher recommendation, PEN/Faulkner Award winners After returning from internment and trying to get his land back, Kabuo Miyomoto is arrested and tried for the murder of Carl Heine.  Yes
The Friends Guy, Rosa Fiction 1973 9 YALSA Best of the Best Rejected by her classmates because she "talks funny," Phyllisia Cathy, a young West Indian girl, is forced to become friends with poor, frazzled Edith, the only one who will accept her. Yes
Disappearance Guy, Rosa Fiction 1979 9 YALSA Best of the Best Released from jail in the custody of the Aimsley Family, Imamu Jones immediately becomes a prime suspect when Perk, their youngest daughter, disappears. Yes
December Stillness Hahn, Mary Downing   1988 9 California Young Reader Thirteen-year-old Kelly tries to befriend Mr. Weems, a disturbed, homeless Vietnam War veteran who spends his days in her suburban library, though the man makes it clear he wants to be left alone.  Yes
Plainsong Haruf, Kent Fiction 1999   Alex Award winners Booklist Editors' Choice Award winners An unlikely extended family is formed when a high school teacher helps a pregnant student make a home with two elderly bachelor ranchers Yes
Second Star to the Right Hautzig, Deborah    1981 9 California Young Reader As 14-year-old Leslie begins to shed the weight she feels makes her imperfect, she finds it increasingly difficult to reach out for the psychological help she knows she needs.  Yes
Mother of Pearl Haynes, Melinda   1999 10 teacher recommendation Set in a small Mississippi town in the late 1950s, the story revolves around 28-year-old Even Grade, a black man who grew up an orphan, and Valuable Komer, a 15-year-old white girl who is the daughter of the town whore and an unknown father.  Yes
Stones from the River Hegi, Ursula     12 teacher recommendation Trudi, a dwarf librarian, tells about the lives of people in the small German town of Burgdorf from World War I and into the 1950s.  Yes
CrashBoomLove Herrera, Juan Felipe Fiction 1999 11 YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers,  After his father leaves home. Sixteen year old Casar Garcia lives with his mother and struggles through the painful experiences of growing up as a Mexican American high school student.  
All Things Bright and Beautiful Herriot, James    1974   California Young Reader   Yes
Witness Hesse, Karen   2001   ALA Notable Children's Books A series of poems express the views of various people in a small Vermont town, including a young black girl and a young Jewish girl, during the early 1920s when the Ku Klux Klan is trying to infiltrate the town.   
Out of the Dust Hesse, Karen   1997   Newbery Medal books, YALSA Best Books for Young Adults In a series of poems, fourteen-year-old Billie Jo relates the hardships of living on her family's wheat farm in Oklahoma during the dust bowl years of the Depression.  Yes
Kissing Doorknobs Hesser, Terry Spencer Fiction 1999 10 YALSA Best of the Best Tara struggles to live with her obsessive-compulsive behavior, but before her condition is diagnosed, her relationships with family and friends begin to crumble. Yes
October Sky Hickman, Homer S.       teacher recommendation   Yes
Rumblefish Hinton, S.E.    1975 9 California Young Reader A junior high school boy idolizes his older brother, the coolest, toughest guy in the neighborhood, and wants to be just like him.  Yes
Downriver Hobbs, Will Fiction 1992 10 YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, YALSA 100 Best Books (1950-2000) Fifteen-year-old Jesse and other rebellious teenage members of a wilderness survival team abandon their adult leader, steal his van and rafts, and run the dangerous whitewaters of the Grand Canyon. Yes
Far North Hobbs, Will Fiction 1997   YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, YALSA 100 Best Books (1950-2000) Stranded in the Canadian wilderness, two boys endure a brutal sub arctic winter of bear, wolf, and moose attacks while they repeatedly struggle to escape. Yes
Bearstone Hobbs, Will    1989 10 California Young Reader A troubled teenage Indian boy goes to live with an elderly rancher whose caring ways help the boy become a man.  Yes
When Zachary Beaver came to Town Holt, Kimberly Willis Fiction 1999 9 YALSA Best Books for Young Adults   Yes
The Adventures of Blue Avenger Howe, Norma    1999 10 California Young Reader, YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, YALSA Best Books for Young Adults On his sixteenth birthday, still trying to cope with the unexpected death of his father, David Schumacher decides--or does he--to change his name to Blue Avenger, hoping to find a way to make a difference in his Oakland neighborhood and in the world.  Yes
A Time for Dancing Hurwin, Davida Wills Fiction 1996 11 YALSA Best of the Best Seventeen-year-old best friends Juliana and Samantha share a passion for dance, for life, and for each other--then Jules is diagnosed with cancer and must travel a path Sam cannot follow. Yes
Pay It Forward Hyde, Catherine Ryan   1999 9   Twelve-year-old Trevor McKinney takes on an extracredit assignment for his social studies class: think of an idea for world change and put it into action.  Yes
A Widow for One Year Irving, John       teacher recommendation   Yes
Place My Words Are Looking For: What Poets Say About and Through Their Work Janeczko, Paul B Nonfiction 1991   YALSA Best of the Best Writers share their poems and give insights into their craft and life. Yes
Breaking Through Jimenez, Francisco  Nonfiction 2001 9 or 10 Pura Belpre Honor Books, Booklist Editors' Choice Award winners, YALSA Best Books for Young Adults Having come from Mexico to California ten years ago, fourteen-year-old Francisco is still working in the fields but fighting to improve his life and complete his education.   
Heaven  Johnson, Angela  Fiction 1998 9 or 10 Coretta Scott King Award Books (Authors), YALSA Best Books for Young Adults Fourteen-year-old Marley's seemingly perfect life in the small town of Heaven is disrupted when she discovers that her father and mother are not her real parents.   
Toning the Sweep Johnson, Angela  Fiction 1993 9 YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, ALA Notable Children's Books, Coretta Scott King Award Books (Authors), YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults On a visit to her grandmother Ola, who is dying of cancer in her house in the desert, fourteen-year-old Emmie hears many stories about the past and her Black family's history and comes to a better understanding of relatives both dead and living.  Yes
Scissors, Paper, Rock Johnson, Fenton      11   Eleven episodes explore the history of the Hardin family of Strang Knob, Ky., a fading community hidden away in the Appalachians. This beautifully realized story paints an elegiac but unflinching portrait of a gay son's alienation from his harsh parent, e Yes
The Boxer Karr, Kathleen   2000 9 YALSA Best Books for Young Adults Having learned how to box while in prison, fifteen-year-old Johnny sets out to discover if he can make a decent living as a fighter in late nineteenth-century New York City.  Yes
The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro Fiction 1989 12 Russ Tomlin contemporary multicultural list, Booker McConnell Prize for Fiction winners, ALA Notable Adult Books Stevens, an elderly butler, hopes to rise to the top of his profession, and he remains stoic and unemotional at his father's death and neglects the opportunity to pursue a relationship with a former housekeeper.  Yes
Deliver Us from Evie Kerr., M.E.   1994 10 California Young Reader, YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults Sixteen-year-old Parr Burrman and his family face some difficult times when word spreads through their rural Missouri town that his older sister is a lesbian, and she leaves the family farm to live with the daughter of the town's banker.  Yes
Annie John Kincaid, Jamaica   1985 12 Russ Tomlin contemporary multicultural list Episodes from the young life of Annie John, aged 10 to 17, as she grows up on the Caribbean island of Antigua. Yes
Lucy Kincaid, Jamaica   1990 12 Russ Tomlin contemporary multicultural list Lucy Josephine Potter, 19, has left her home in Antigua for life as an au pair in a northern city, determined never to return. Yes
The Bean Trees Kingsolver, Barbara Fiction   10 teacher recommendation Taylor Grrer hits the road wanting only to get as far away from Kentucky as possible, ending up in Arizona with a 3 year-old Cherokee.  
Pigs in Heaven Kingsolver, Barbara Fiction 1993 11 Los Angeles Times Book prize winners, teach recommendation Feeling alienated from everyone during her mother's terminal illness, Zoe comes under the spell of Simon, a vampire doomed to live until he avenges the death of his mother 300 years earlier.  
The Silver Kiss Klause, Annette Curtis Fiction 1990 9 YALSA Best of the Best Feeling alienated from everyone during her mother's terminal illness, Zoe comes under the spell of Simon, a vampire doomed to live until he avenges the death of his mother 300 years earlier. Yes
The Arizona Kid Koertge, Ron Fiction 1988 9 YALSA Best of the Best Working one summer at a racetrack, living with his gay uncle, and falling madly in love make wimpy, short, tenth-grader Billy Kennedy more self-confident and wiser in the ways of the world. Yes
Silent to the Bone Konisburg, E.L. Fiction 2000 9 Booklist Editors' Choice Award winners, YALSA Best Books for Young Adults When he is wrongly accused of gravely injuring his baby half-sister, thirteen-year-old Branwell loses his power of speech and only his friend Connor is able to reach him and uncover the truth about what really happened.  Yes
Into Thin Air Krakauer, Jon Nonfiction   12      
Kiss the Dust Laird, Elizabeth Fiction 1993 9 YALSA Best of the Best It's Iraq, and Tara's family are Kurds. "He" has put out the word, and they must flee for their lives. Yes
She's Come Undone Lamb, Wally Fiction 1992 11 teacher recommendation    
The Band Never Dances Landis, J.D.  Fiction 1989 10 California Young Reader Working through the anguish of her beloved brother's suicide and trying to forge an identity of her own, sixteen-year-old Judy goes on tour as drummer for the hot new rock band Wedding Night and forms love-hate relationships with two handsome musicians.  Yes
Pageant  Lasky, Kathryn Fiction 1986 10 California Young Reader Sarah Benjamin, a Jewish teenager on the brink of Kennedy's New Frontier, wonders if she can endure four more years of Stuart Hall, Indianapolis's most exclusive, very Christian, and impossibly stuffy school for girls.  Yes
Ghost Boy Lawrence, Iain Fiction 2000 9 ALA Notable Children's Books, YALSA Best Books for Young Adults An albino teenage boy strives to find acceptance in a circus.  Yes
Crazy Lebert, Benjamin   2000 10 YALSA Best Books for Young Adults Written by a 16-year-old, this first novel, a sensation in Germany, chronicles the adventures of a boy (the same age as the author) at boarding school.  Yes
Who Killed Palomino Molero Llosa, Mario Vargas  Fiction 1987 12 Russ Tomlin contemporary multicultural list In the 1950s, someone crucifies Peruvian Air Force recruit Palomino Molero, and the subsequent investigation reveals the problems in Molero's life.  Yes
Jewel Lott, Brett Fiction 1999 9 teacher recommendation When Brenda Kay is born in 1943, Jewel gives thanks for a healthy baby, last-born and most welcome. But an unforeseen event can set a life on a course without reason or compass, and this is the story of Jewel's devotion to a child who is both her burden a  
Freewill Lynch, Chris Fiction 2001 9 Michael L. Printz Honor Book, YALSA Best Books for Young Adults  A teenager trying to recover from the tragic death of his father and stepmother believes himself to be responsible for the rash of teen suicides occurring in his town  Yes
The Time and the Place  Mafouz, Naguib    1991 12 Russ Tomlin contemporary multicultural list This collection of short stories by the Egyptian Nobel Prize winner expands on the writer's characteristic world and style.  Yes
The Changeover: A Supernatural Romance Mahy, Margaret Fiction 1984 9 YALSA Best of the Best With the help of an older boy who loves her, Laura "changes over" into a witch to fight the evil forces that are attacking her little brother. Yes
Tomorrow, When the War Began Marsden, John Fiction 1996 9 YALSA Best of the Best When they return from a wilderness camping trip, Ellie and her friends are shocked to discover Australia has been invaded and soon find fighting and surviving have become their way of life. Yes
Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida Martinez, Victor  Fiction 1996 10 National Book Award winners, Pura Belpre Award winners, Americas Award winners Manny relates his coming of age experiences as a member of a poor Chicano family in which the alcoholic father only adds to everyone's struggle.   
At Home in the World Maynard, Joyce     12 teacher recommendation   yes
After the Rain Mazer, Norma Fox  Fiction 1987 9 California Young Reader, ALA Notable Children's Books, Newbery Honor Books  after discovering her grandfather is dying, fifteen year old Rachel gets ti know him better than ever before and finds the experience bittersweet. yes
The Color of Water McBride, James     11 teacher recommendation    
Dragonsinger McCaffrey, Anne Fiction 1977 9 YALSA Best of the Best With the help of Master-harper, Menolly and her fire lizards overcome the prejudice against a woman's becoming a harper the planet Pern. Yes
Makes Me Wanna Holler: A Young Black Man in America McCall, Nathan Nonfiction 1995 10 YALSA Best of the Best McCall remembers his journey from a working-class African American neighborhood to prison to a prestigious position on the WASHINGTON POST. Yes
Angela's Ashes McCourt Frank Nonfiction 1996 11 National Book Critics Circle Award winners The true story of Frank Mccourt poor childhood in Ireland, and his immigration to America. Deals with issiues of prejudice, alcoholism, and struggling families.  
Thousand Pieces of Gold McCunn, Ruthanne Lum Fiction 1981 12 teacher recommendation The family of Polly Bemis (Lalu Nathoy) sells her to bandits and a Chinese saloon keeper, but she ends up married to an American and homesteading in Idaho.  yes
The Dark-thirty McKissack, Pat  Fiction 1992 9 ALA Notable Children's Books, Coretta Scott King Award Books (Authors), Newbery Honor Books A collection of ghost stories with African American themes, designed to be told during the Dark Thirty--the half hour before nightfall--when ghosts seem all too believable.   
The War Between the Classes Miklowitz, Gloria  Fiction 1985 10 California Young Reader Seventeen-year-old Emiko, brought up in a strict Japanese-American family, is in love with handsome blond Adam, although she realizes her old-fashioned father expects her to find a Japanese husband.  Yes
The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea Mishima, Yukio  Fiction 1965 12 teacher recommendation Japaness fiction--20th century  
Spring Snow  Mishima, Yukio  Fiction   12     Yes
Song of Solomon Morrison, Toni Fiction   12 teacher recommendation, National Book Critics Circle Award winners Morrison, author of The Bluest Eye, unravels the mysterious chain of being in a black American family in this book of genealogical revelations.  Yes
Beloved Morrison, Toni Fiction 1987 12 Pulitzer Prize fiction, YALSA outstanding Books for the college Bound After the Civil War ends, Sethe longingly recalls the two-year-old daughter whom she killed when threatened with recapture after escaping from slavery 18 years before. Yes
Bluest Eye, The  Morrison, Toni Fiction 1970 11 teacher recommendation Eleven year old Pecola Breedlove, an African-American girl in an America whose love blond, blue eyed children can devastate all others, prays to her eyes will turn blue, so that she will be beautiful, people will notice her, and her world will be differen Yes
Jazz Morrison, Toni Fiction 1992 12 ALA Notable Adult Books In Harlem, 1926, Joe Trace, a door to door salesman in his fifties, kills his tennage lover. A prefound love story which depicts the sights ad sounds of Blaxck urban life during the Jazz Age. After Joe Trace shoots his 18 year old lover in Harlam during 1 Yes
The Middleman and other stories Mukherjee, Bharati  Fiction 1988 11 or 12 National Book Critics Circle Award winners The Middleman and Other Stories, portrays the lives of immigrants adjusting to American society.   
Jasmine Mukherjee, Bharati  Fiction 1989 11 or 12   Jasmine was born in a small Indian village, witnessed her young husband's assassination there, came to the U.S., and now lives with a middle-aged banker in a small Iowa town. Try as she might, Jasmine can't quite shrug off all the traditions and memories  Yes
145th Street Short Stories Myers, Walter Dean Fiction 2000 9 or 10 YALSA Best Books for Young Adults Ten stories portray life on a block in Harlem.  Yes
Monster Myers, Walter Dean Fiction 1999 9 YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, Michael L. Printz Award winners While on trial as an accomplice to a murder, sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon records his experiences in prison and in the courtroom in the form of a film script as he tries to come to terms with the course his life has taken.  Yes
Hoops Myers, Walter Dean Fiction 1981 9 or 10 YALSA Best of the Best Lonnie and the rest of his Harlem ghetto basketball team learn the fine art of playing and winning like pros from Cal, who once was one. Yes
Slam Myers, Walter Dean Fiction 1997 9 or 10 YALSA Best of the Best Slam Harris is a talented basketball player whose dreams of fame and fortune in the NBA can come true--if he can control his anger. Yes
Somewhere in the Darkness Myers, Walter Dean Fiction 1993 9 or 10 YALSA Best of the Best Jimmy is shocked when an unexpected visitor turns out to be his father, who has been in prison for eight years and now wants Jimmy to drive with him to Chicago. Yes
A Step from Heaven Na, An Fiction 2001 11 or 12 Michael L. Printz Award Tells the tale of Young Ju as she grows from a toddler in Korea to a high-school graduate in California desperately trying to be a 'true' American while her immigrant parents try to make her stay close to her Korean heritage.  Yes
The Other Side of Truth Naidoo, Beverley Fiction 2001 12 Booklist Editors' Choice Award winners, Carnegie Medal Books, YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, ALA Notable Children's Books Smuggled out of Nigeria after their mother's murder, Sade and her younger brother are abandoned in London when their uncle fails to meet them at the airport and they are fearful of their new surroundings and of what may have happened to their journalist f Yes
Mama Day Naylor, Gloria  Fiction 1988 11   Focuses on the relationship of the people in an isolated social comm