Counterfeit Son by Elaine Marie Alphin	This book is a glimpse into what it would be like to have your mind messed with by a serial killer. It hurts to read it, but do it anyway.	Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson	When I opened this book, I stopped noticing I was on my bed, reading. I felt like I was really living in the story. I don't want to ruin it for anybody, but when he did the right thing, I had this bad feeling in my stomach. You just know he isn't going to be rewarded for it.
Sarah Aronson	I didn't want to be the character in this book, who stupidly loses control of a car while drunk and ends up in a wheelchair, a paraplegic for life. But Sarah Aronson is such a skillful writer, that I was him, every step of the way. I made the same mistakes he did, and I found out the real meaning of life, too.	Funny Little Monkey Andrew Auseon	I loved the depths of this character, how he could be funny one moment, then dark, then tender, then blazingly angry and vengeful.
Boy Proof by Cecil Castellucci	I loved Egg (aka Victoria) and her obsessiveness. I was so obsessive when I was a teenager, and it's nice to see a book that shows how to come out of the shell a bit, so to speak.	Queen of Cool by Cecil Castellucci	Libby Brin is your typical snotty, spoiled brat teenager--who undergoes a major and yet completely believable transformation.
Beige by Cecil Castellucci	I love Katy and her struggle with her dad, who is so NOT cool. And how can you not love a book with a band in it named "Suck"?	I loved the characters and the ideas. I loved the art. And I loved the message that art is important. It is a need, as much as food and water and shelter.
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko	This is the book I wanted to write about autism. I marvel at Choldenko's ability to make an autistic child so sympathetic. And funny!	this is what i did by Ann Dee Ellis	A story about what to do when you don't know what to do.
The Christopher Killer by Alane Ferguson	An Edgar nominee for best mystery, this book will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page	Dead Girls Don't Write Letters by Gail Giles	After I read this book, I decided that anything that comes out by Gail I will read. This is a scary book about a family who has lost a daughter and the girl who comes to convince them they haven’t. Who wouldn’t want to believe?
First Part Last by Angela Johnson	This is a book about a young man who is trying to be a father to his motherless daughter. He is trying to be so many things to so many people he doesn’t have time to be himself. But being yourself is the most important job of being an adolescent. How else can you go on to be an adult?	Haunted Sister by Lael Littke	A thriller about a girl whose twin sister died years before, but comes back in a mysterious and dangerous way.
Sold by Patricia McCormick	This is such a great book written in poems. It could be too horrifying to read, but the author offers only little glimpses and allows the reader to imagine as much more as we can bear. About a girl who is sold into sexual slavery, as so many are in second and third-world countries. But also about her courage to demand freedom for herself once more.	Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt	This is one of the first young adult novels I read as an adult, and I remember thinking how sparse the writing was, and how deeply I felt Dicey's every experience. I had looked down on such novels for far too long, and Cynthia Voigt was the teacher to show me how wrong I had been. I still think she is one of the best.
Killer's Cousin by Nancy Werlin	This was an amazing book. I loved how the author kept me guessing. What had happened? Who had done it? Why did they not know it themselves? And the way the two characters come together in the end—genius. It’s about two cousins, and one of them is a killer. Now go read the rest.	Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin	I read this out loud to my kids, and they couldn't stand it when I stopped. This is told by an older brother to his younger sister, to explain what she may or may not remember about her childhood with their abusive mother, and the man who had the courage to save them all.
Reacing for Sun by Tracie Vaugh Zimmer	This is about a girl who has cerebral palsy, but it's really about everyone who needs love and freedom and the chance to be seen truly. Written with achingly beautiful poetry. Great for reluctant readers.	Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr	This is the story of a girl who makes a big mistakes and pays for it every day of her life afterwards. Other people have trouble forgiving her, but she has trouble forgiving herself most of all. There is a wonderful series of journal entries that are really poetry and one of the last is about rescue. For everyone who ever wanted to be rescued and wasn't, this book is for you.
i am the messenger by Marcus Zusak	There should be more books like this one in the world today. Fun, engrossing, utterly un-put-downable. But it's also at heart, a story about morality.	The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak	A heartbreaking story of a gypsy girl who loses her mother and her brother during Hitler's reign, then finds friendship with a Jewish man hiding in the basement of her foster parents. Unforgettable, and told by Death himself.

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