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Afterlife by Gary Soto - A senior at East Fresno High School lives on as a ghost after his murder in the bathroom of a club where he has gone to dance. 
Bang! by Sharon 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.
Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry - Lame and suddenly orphaned, Kira is mysterious removed from her squalid village to live in the palatial Council Edifice, where she is expected to use her gifts as a weaver to do the bidding of the all-powerful Guardians.
I Am Rembrandt's Daughter by Lynn Cullen - In Amsterdam in the mid-1600s, Cornelia's life as the illegitimate child of renowned painter Rembrandt is marked by plague, poverty, and despair at ever earning her father's love, until she sees hope for a better future in the eyes of a wealthy suitor.
Tithe by Holly Black - Sixteen-year-old Kaye, who has been visited by faeries since childhood, discovers that she herself is a magical faerie creature with a special destiny.
Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson - After finally getting noticed by someone other than school bullies and his ever-angry father, seventeen-year-old Tyler enjoys his tough new reputation and the attentions of a popular girl, but when life starts to go bad again, he must choose between transforming himself or giving in to his destructive thoughts.
The Battle of the Books is a competition where teams made up of five teens read the chosen books and then participate in a trivia contest about those books. It’s a fun way to get some recreational reading done and actually get rewarded for it with some great prizes. As a team, you need to assign the books to be read by the various team members. You can have each team member read two books, have all team members read all of the books, or some combination between. It’s up to you. You will need to have a responsible person who’s 18 years of age or older to be your Team Manager. The Team Manager is there to help you get organized and provide transportation on the night of the event. Many teams ask a teacher, a parent, or their school librarian to be their team manager. Here are some of the Rules about checking out Battle Books 1. Books may be borrowed for 1 week and renewed once. 2. A limit of 2 books is allowed on a team member’s card at any given time. 3. The books can only be borrowed on a library card belonging to a team member. Team managers should not check out books for their team members. Copies may be available through your school libraries, Sewickley Public Library, or Moon Public Library. 4. Overdue Fines are $.25 per day for Battle Books. 5. If the library doesn’t have the book because they’ve all been checked out, ask a reference librarian to order one for you from another library. (This service is free all the time.) So what actually happens on the night of the battle you ask? Well here it is in a nutshell: You will need to arrive at the Hansen Library 15 minutes early so that you can sign in and set up your table. Each team will have a pad of paper, a pencil. Your Team Manager will actually be a Team Scorekeeper for another team to be named that night. The Battle Moderator will begin by asking the first question twice. At the end of the second time, the Timekeeper will allow 20 seconds for teams to deliberate and write down their answers. After 20 seconds, one team will have the chance to answer out loud (the answering team will vary every question.) The Battle Moderator will announce the correct answer and the Team Scorekeepers will mark how many points were won. If your team answers correctly you get 4 points plus a bonus point if you can give the last name of the author. This means that each question is potentially worth 5 points. Answers must be specific. The moderator and judges will decide if an answer given is correct, and that decision is final. There will be three rounds with one question from each book per round. At the end of each round, scorecards will be collected and verified. At the end of the third round, the Judges will tally all of the scores. If there is a tie, a special lightning round will take place between the tied teams. Once a clear winner has been made, the Battle Moderator will announce the winners. The top three teams will win prizes. So, are you interested? To get started grab a booklist and a registration form. Both will be available on this blog and in the Teen Area on Monday, December 1. You’ll need to find four friends in your grade group, find a responsible adult to be a Team Manager, create a name for your team, and start reading!!! All final registration forms are due at Sewickley on Monday, January 26th by 9PM or at Moon by 8PM.
Big Mouth & Ugly Girl by Joyce Carol Oates - When sixteen-year-old Matthew is accused of threatening to blow up his high school and his friends turn against him, an unlikely classmate comes to his aid.
Just in Case by Meg Rosoff - Convinced that fate is out to get him, fifteen-year-old David Case assumes a new identity in the hope of avoiding what he believes is certain doom.
