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Young Adult Books You Want to Read

As you may or may not know, our company, The Book Report Network, has a number of websites about books and authors in addition to Bookreporter.com. Throughout the year, Bookreporter.com features adult books on Teenreads.com, our site for young adult readers, that we think will have definite appeal to a teen audience. In the spirit of sharing, we are now spotlighting a selection of titles each month from Teenreads.com that we believe are great reads that you might enjoy.

If You're Lucky by Yvonne Prinz

October 2015

When 17-year-old Georgia’s brother drowns while surfing halfway around the world in Australia, she refuses to believe Lucky’s death was just bad luck. Then a stranger named Fin arrives in False Bay, claiming to have been Lucky’s best friend. Soon Fin is working for Lucky’s father, charming Lucky’s mother and dating his girlfriend. Georgia begins to wonder if Fin murdered Lucky in order to take over his whole life. She is certain she’s getting closer and closer to the truth, but as she does, her mental state becomes more and more precarious, and no one seems to trust what she’s saying.

The Marvels by Brian Selznick

September 2015

Two seemingly unrelated stories --- one in words, the other in pictures --- come together with spellbinding synergy. The illustrated story begins in 1766 with Billy Marvel, the lone survivor of a shipwreck, and charts the adventures of his family of actors over five generations. The prose story opens in 1990 and follows Joseph, who has run away from school to an estranged uncle's puzzling house in London, where he, along with the reader, must piece together many mysteries.

The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman

September 2015

In this captivating and darkly funny tale, Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell have twisted together the familiar and the new, as well as the beautiful and the wicked, to tell a brilliant version of Snow White's (sort of) and Sleeping Beauty's (almost) stories. This story was originally published (without illustrations) in RAGS & BONES. This is the first time it is being published as an illustrated, stand-alone edition, and the book is a beautiful work of art.

Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M. T. Anderson

September 2015

In September 1941, Adolf Hitler’s Wehrmacht surrounded Leningrad in what was to become one of the longest and most destructive sieges in Western history --- almost three years of bombardment and starvation that culminated in the harsh winter of 1943–1944. Trapped between the Nazi invading force and the Soviet government itself was composer Dmitri Shostakovich, who would write a symphony that roused, rallied, eulogized and commemorated his fellow citizens --- the Leningrad Symphony, which came to occupy a surprising place of prominence in the eventual Allied victory.

Child Soldier: When Boys and Girls Are Used in War by Michel Chikwanine

September 2015

Michel Chikwanine was five years old when he was abducted from his schoolyard soccer game in the Democratic Republic of Congo and forced to become a soldier for a brutal rebel militia. Against the odds, Michel managed to escape and find his way back to his family, but he was never the same again. After immigrating to Canada, Michel was encouraged by a teacher to share what happened to him in order to raise awareness about child soldiers around the world. This book, presented in a graphic novel format, is part of that effort.

Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez

September 2015

New London, Texas. 1937. Naomi Vargas and Wash Fuller know about the lines in East Texas as well as anyone. But sometimes the attraction between two people is so powerful it breaks through even the most entrenched color lines. And the consequences can be explosive. Ashley Hope Pérez takes the facts of the 1937 New London school explosion, the worst school disaster in American history, as a backdrop for a riveting novel about segregation, love, family and the forces that destroy people.

Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx by Sonia Manzano

August 2015

Emmy Award-winning actress and writer Sonia Manzano, who played Maria on "Sesame Street" for an astounding 44 years, plunges us into the daily lives of a Latino family that is loving --- and troubled. This is Sonia's own story rendered with an unforgettable narrative power. Spiced with culture, heartache and humor, BECOMING MARIA paints a lasting portrait of Sonia's resilience as she grows up to become an inspiration to millions.

Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans by Don Brown

August 2015

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina's monstrous winds and surging water overwhelmed the protective levees around low-lying New Orleans, Louisiana. Eighty percent of the city flooded, in some places under 20 feet of water; property damages across the Gulf Coast topped $100 billion; and 1,833 people lost their lives. The riveting tale of this historic storm and the drowning of an American city is one of selflessness, heroism and courage --- and also of incompetence, racism and criminality. Don Brown’s kinetic art and as-it-happens narrative capture both the tragedy and triumph of one of the worst natural disasters in American history.

The Next Big Thing: A History of the Boom-or-Bust Moments That Shaped the Modern World by Richard Faulk

August 2015

We are always hearing about the Next Big Thing. Whether it is a new iPhone or the New World, the freshest and newest inventions, discoveries and fads loom large in the public mind. The impact that everyone thinks these "next big things" will have is often more important than the actual impact it generates. After all, if it fails, it will be almost immediately forgotten. THE NEXT BIG THING searches through 3,000 years of Western culture to find the colorful and key steps (and missteps) that led us to where we are today.

Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls by Lynn Weingarten

July 2015

June and Delia used to be closer than anything. But one night a year ago, everything changed. June, Delia, and June’s boyfriend, Ryan, were just having a little fun. Their good time got out of hand. And in the cold blue light of morning, June knew only this --- things would never be the same again. And now, a year later, Delia is dead. June is certain she was murdered. And she owes it to her to find out the truth…which is far more complicated than she ever could have imagined.