Florida Teens Read
13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Clay Jens on receives a mysterious package. Inside are seven cassette tapes that Hannah Baker, Clay's secret crush, recorded before she committed suicide two weeks earlier. Clay is one of 13 people who agonizingly listen to the tapes and discover what part of Hannah thought each of them played in her death.
A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah (mature reader)
Ishmael Beah retells his experiences beginning at age 12 when civil war drives him from his village in Sierra Leone. He is captured by the national army, brainwashed, and forces to commit horrible acts for three years before he is rescued by UNICEF and taken to a rehabilitation center. He is eventually able to flee his country and move to the U.S.
Avalon High by Meg Cabot
When her parents who are medieval scholars go on sabbatical, 17-year-old Ellie Harrison begins her junior year at an unfamiliar school where it seems the King Arthur legend is being reincarnated. The forces of darkness threaten to take over, but Ellie has no intention of letting the past write her future when she finds herself in the midst of similar names, bitter relatives, and an illicit affair.
Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti
While watching the elephants on Seattle's zoo web cam to calm her panic attacks, 17-year-old Jade DeLuna notices a cute boy and knows they are destined to be important to her. She volunteers with the elephants and meets and falls in love with Sebastian, a single dad, but their happiness is threatened when Sebastian's dangerous secret surfaces.
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
When 15-year-old Clary Fray witnesses a murder at a club by creatures no one else can see, she realizes her life will never be the same. Her mother is kidnapped, and she is taken in by a group of demon hunters who help her discover her true heritage. She joins them in the search for the Mortal Cup in hopes of finding her mother and stopping a renegade sector from destroying all nonhuman's.
Deadline by Chris Crutcher
Just before his senior year during a routine sports physical, Ben Wolf finds out he has one year to live. He swears the doctor to secrecy, refuses treatment, doesn't tell anyone about his diagnosis, and decides to do everything he always wanted to do including play football, pursuing his long-time crush, and petitioning to have the main street in his small town named after Malcolm-X, all the while conversing through dreams with a spiritual guide known as "Hey-Sos."
The Christopher Killer by Alane Ferguson
Aspiring forensic pathologist Cameryn Mahoney convinces her father, who is the coroner in a small town, to hire her as an assistant to help him solve the mystery of a serial killer who leaves a St. Christopher medal with each victim. She puts herself in danger when the next victim turns out to be her friend Rachel.
What Happened to Cass McBride? by Gail Giles
After his brother commits suicide, Kyle Kirby kidnaps and buries alive Cass McBride the girl he holds responsible. Cass talks to Kyle through a plastic air tube and frantically tries to get him to set her free. She fights for her life both physically and mentally before time runs out.
Incantation by Alice Hoffman
Set during the Spanish Inquisition, this is the story of two best friends, Estrella and Catalina. Estrella realizes that her family is secretly Jewish, and when Catalina discovers that the man she intends to marry has fallen in love with Estrella, she betrays Estrella's family with tragic consequences.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hossani (mature reader)
This novel, set in Afghanistan during three decades of Soviet occupation, civil war, and Taliban rule, follows Mariam and Laila, two women 19 years apart in age, whose lives are dramatically intertwined by dire circumstances including marriage, childbirth, abuse, and murder.
Firestorm by David Klass
When Jack, who has always been told to blend in, sets his school's rushing record, he puts into motion a course of events finding out his parents aren't really his parents, running for his life from a shape-shifting wolf girl, communicating telepathically with a dog named Gisco, being trained by a ninja babe named Eko, and finding out he is the only one who can save the world from ecological disaster is if he can find "firestorm."
Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
Aislinn has always been able to see the fairies that are invisible to most humans, and she lives by a set of rules to keep her safe from their notice. But when Keenan, the Summer King, targets her to be the next queen, the rules change and the fate of both human and faerie worlds lies in her.
Street Love by Walter Dean Myers
Using a rap beat and rhyme, this Harlem-set story tells of the romance between Damien a straight-A, college-bound, basketball star whose parents want him to date middle class Roxanne, and Juice, a beautiful street-strong young woman trying to keep her family together after her mom is sent to prison.
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeiffer
When an asteroid hits the moon knocking it closer to the Earth and causing a chain of cataclysmic natural disasters, 16-year-old Miranda, through journal entries, tells what happens as her family faces dismal conditions that include power outages, lack of food and water, and outbreaks of disease.
Boot Camp by Todd Stressor
When 15-year-old Garrett refuses to end a relationship with 23-year-old Sabrina, his controlling parents send him to a behavior modification boot camp in hopes that the camp's extreme methods will teach him to be a more respectful son. Garrett struggles to survive cruelty and eventually joins two other teens in a desperate escape attempt. |
