Contemporary Reads

Feel Good Books:

Thwonk by Joan Bauer FIC BAU

A cupid doll comes to life and offers romantic assistance to A.J., a teenage photographer suffering from unrequited love.

Teen Idol by Meg Cabot FIC CAB

When teenage heartthrob Luke Stryker shows up at a small-town Indiana high school to do research for a movie role, he persuades junior Jenny Greenley to use her considerable talents to try to change things at school for the better.

13 little blue envelopes by Maureen Johnson FIC JOH

When seventeen-year-old Ginny receives a packet of mysterious envelopes from her favorite aunt, she leaves New Jersey to criss-cross Europe on a sort of scavenger hunt that transforms her life.

Girl, 15, charming but insane by Sue Limb FIC LIM

Fifteen-year-old Jess, living with her mum, separated from her father in Cornwall, and with a best friend who seems to do everything perfectly, finds her own assets through humor.

Year of secret assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty FIC MOR

Three female students from Ashbury High write to three male students from rival Brookfield High as part of a pen pal program, leading to romance, humiliation, revenge plots, and war between the schools.

Diary Queen by Catherine Murdock FIC MUR

After spending her summer running the family farm and training the quarterback for her school's rival football team, sixteen-year-old D.J. decides to go out for the sport herself, not anticipating the reactions of those around her.

One piece, vol 1 by Eiichiro Oda GN ODA

When Monkey D. Luffy accidentally gains the power to stretch like rubber at the cost of never being able to swim again, he and his crew of pirate wannabes set off in search of the "One Piece," the greatest treasure in the world.

Angus, thongs and full frontal snogging by Louise Rennison FIC REN

Presents the humorous journal of a year in the life of a fourteen-year-old British girl who tries to reduce the size of her nose, stop her mad cat from terrorizing the neighborhood animals, and win the love of handsome hunk Robbie.

Flavor of the week by Tucker Shaw FIC SHA

Cyril, an overweight boy who is good friends with Rose but wishes he could be more, helps his best friend Nick woo her with culinary masterpieces which Cyril himself secretly creates. Includes recipes from the story.

Fruits basket, Vol. 1 by Natsuki Takaya GN TAK

Tohru Honda is an orphaned teenager who comes to live with the Sohma family in exchange for housekeeping duties, but she soon comes to know the family secret.

Books about Friendship:

Firegirl by Tony Abbott FIC ABB

A middle school boy's life is changed when Jessica, a girl disfigured by burns, starts attending his Catholic school while receiving treatment at a local hospital.

Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson FIC AND

Eighteen-year-old Ash wants nothing to do with senior prom, but when disaster strikes and her desperate friend, Nat, needs her help to get it back on track, Ash's involvement transforms her life.

The sisterhood of the traveling pants by Ann Brashares FIC BRA

Four best girlfriends spend the biggest summer of their lives enchanted by a magical pair of pants.

The sledding hill by Chris Crutcher FIC CRU

Billy, recently deceased, keeps an eye on his best friend, fourteen-year-old Eddie, who has added to his home and school problems by becoming mute, and helps him stand up to a conservative minister and English teacher who is orchestrating a censorship challenge.

Amandine by Adele Griffin FIC GRI

Her first week at a new school, shy, plain Delia befriends Amandine, not anticipating the dangerous turns their friendship would take.

Far North by Will Hobbs FIC HOB

After the destruction of their floatplane, two teenage boys, a Texan and a Dene, struggle for survival in the wilderness along the South Nahanni River.

Impulse by Ellen Hopkins FIC HOP

Three teens who meet at Reno, Nevada's Aspen Springs mental hospital after each has attempted suicide connect with each other in a way they never have with their parents or anyone else in their lives.

Silent to the bone by E.L. Konigsburg FIC KON

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.

Big mouth & ugly girl by Joyce Carol Oates FIC OAT

When sixteen-year-old Matt is falsely accused of threatening to blow up his high school and his friends turn against him, an unlikely classmate comes to his aid.

Freak the mighty by W.R. Philbrick FIC PHI

At the beginning of eighth grade, learning disabled Max and his new friend Freak, whose birth defect has affected his body but not his brilliant mind, find that when they combine forces they make a powerful team.

King dork by Frank Portman FIC POR

High school loser Tom Henderson discovers that "The Catcher in the Rye" may hold the clues to the many mysteries in his life.

Notes from the midnight driver FIC SON

by Jordan Sonnenblick

After being assigned to perform community service at a nursing home, sixteen-year-old Alex befriends a cantankerous old man who has some lessons to impart about jazz guitar playing, love, and forgiveness.

Wrestling Sturbridge by Rich Wallace FIC WAL

Stuck in small town Sturbridge, Pennsylvania, where no one ever leaves, and relegated by his wrestling coach to sit on the bench while his best friend Al becomes state champion, Ben decides he can't let his last high school wrestling season slip by without challenging his friend and the future.

True believer by Virginia Euwer Wolff FIC WOL

Living in the inner city amidst guns and poverty, fifteen-year-old LaVaughn learns from old and new friends, and inspiring mentors, that life is what you make it--an occasion to rise to.

Emako Blue by Brenda Woods FIC WOO

Monterey, Savannah, Jamal, and Eddie have never had much to do with each other until Emako Blue shows up at chorus practice, but just as the lives of the five Los Angeles high school students become intertwined, tragedy tears them apart.