Top Ten Hot Teen Picks
I’ll be speaking this week at the UVSC Forum on Children’s Literature. If any of you are going be sure to stop in my workshop and catch the updated version of these lists. These are the top ten books my students were talking about last year.
Brashares, Ann. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2003.
They were just an ordinary pair of thrift-shop jeans until the four close girlfriends took turns trying them on.
Hale, Shannon. Princess Academy. Bloomsbury, 2005.
The thought of being a princess never occurred to the girls living on Mount Eskel. When it is announced that the prince will choose a bride from their village, Miri, believes this is her opportunity to prove her worth to her father.
Hiassen, Carl. Hoot. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2004.
Roy is the new kid in town, and it’s the same old routine: bullies like Dana pushing him around. But if it wasn't for Dana, Roy might never have seen the running boy, met Beatrice, discovered the burrowing owls, or had the adventure of a lifetime.
Levine, Gail Carson. Ella Enchanted. Harper Trophy, 1998.
At birth, Ella is inadvertently cursed by an imprudent fairy named Lucinda, who bestows on her the "gift" of obedience. Anything anyone tells her to do, Ella must obey. A Cinderella story.
Lewis, C. S. The Chronicles of Narnia series. Harper Collins, 2004.
Four children travel repeatedly to a world in which they are far more than mere children and everything is far more than it seems. One of the few book sets that should be read three times: in childhood, early adulthood, and late in life. (Watch for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian in theaters 2008.)
Meyer, Stephanie. Twilight. Megan Tingley, 2005.
Headstrong, sun-loving, 17-year-old Bella declines her mom's invitation to move to Florida, and instead reluctantly moves to her dad's cabin in the dreary, rainy town of Forks, Washington, where she becomes intrigued with Edward Cullen, a distant, stylish, and disarmingly handsome senior, who is also a vampire.
Paolini, Christopher. Eldest. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2005.
Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have survived the battle at Tronjheim, but their challenges are not over. Galbatorix, the corrupt emperor, still rules Alagaesia and is looking for them. The magically bonded pair must help the rebellious Varden regroup after their leader is slain.
Shan, Darrin. Cirque Du Freak series. Little Brown, 2002.
Evil begins to win when Darren and his buddies find a flier for "Cirque Du Freak," a traveling freak show promising performances by Larten Crepsley and his giant spider, Madame Octa. Darren and his friend Steve wouldn't miss it for the world.
Skye, Obert. Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo (Aladdin, 2006)
Leven can glimpse and manipulate the future. According to the other characters—Winter, a girl who can freeze things instantly; Clover, a foot-high furry creature assigned as Lev's companion; and Geth, the wise but displaced king of Foo—Levan is also the only person who can protect the gateway to Foo, a place whose existence allows humans to dream, hope and imagine.
Westerfield, Scott. Uglies. Scholastic, 2005.
Tally Youngblood lives in a futuristic society that teaches its citizens to believe they are ugly until age 16 when they'll undergo an operation that will change them into pleasure-seeking "pretties." When Tally meets Shay, another female ugly, she has decisions to make that might change her future.
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