Paper Towns by John Green

Quentin, one of the high school nerds, has always been in love with his next door neighbor, Margo Roth Spiegelman, one of the cool kids. One night she appears at his window and convinces him to accompany her on a revenge motivated crime spree to get back at her ex-boyfriend. After their night together, Quentin expects to continue their friendship, but Margo disappears. Has she run away or committed suicide? Quentin and his geeky friends find clues to her disappearance and decide to find her, dead or alive. Some of their antics will make adult heads spin. I think teens will identify with Margo as having the guts to do what they would like to try. Older teens.

Whale Talk

TJ Jones, high school senior whose mixed parentage and rough experiences as a neglected child have made him sensitive to anyone who's mistreated in school, decides to help out a younger kid who's being bullied. How to do it? Create a swim team and make the younger kid a successful athlete. The school doesn't have a pool. but that won't stop TJ and his crew of likable misfits.

Shattering Glass by Gail Giles

Simon Glass is the typical nerd of the senior class of a high school in Houston. When popular Rob decides to transform him into the coolest kid in school (as a display of his power), his power trip gets out of hand. Characters in the novel have one-paragraph quotes (told five years later) at the beginning of every chapter, and through these, we learn that Simon will die, and Young Steward, our narrator, will be involved and jailed. Rob, Young, the athletic Coop, and flirtatious Bobster (try keeping those names straight) are each involved in Simon's transformation, pushing him to be class favorite and allowing him to manipulate student computer records to make them look good. After the "Favorites dance" results are manipulated by Simon as a trick on THEM, Rob flips out, taking a baseball bat to Simon, killing him, on the last page of the book. I didn't like this book, hard to put my finger on why...Rob was just a little too much of a caricature, the boys seemed TOO mature for high school.

Nation by Terry Pratchett

Mau, an island boy, is completing his manhood experience on another island when a tidal wave wipes out his entire community. He returns home to nothing and no one. Daphne, a sheltered English girl, is shipwrecked on the same island from the same storm. Together they must cooperate to survive. As other people from neighboring islands arrive, they learn to work together to establish a new Nation. They discover a long lost architectural find which changes their entire way of thinking about their gods.

Diamond Willow by Helen Frost

Willow is a young girl who lives in Alaska and has sled dogs. She was named for the willow stick that forms diamond shapes when the branches fall off. Most of the story is written in verses shaped in a diamond shape. Willow wants to take the sled dogs to Grandma and Grandpa's by herself. It's only twelve miles. Her parents finally decides that she can and she makes the trip successfully, but on the way back, she is going too fast. A tree has fallen on the path and she doesn't see it in time. The dogs run into the tree and Rory, the lead dog, is blinded. She gets him back home, but the vet doesn't think he will ever see again. Willow's parents are trying to decide whether to put Rory to sleep when Willow finds out. She tries to take Rory to her grandparents and she and Kaylie, her friend from school, are caught in a blizzard when they lose the path. Willow finds out that she was actually a twin. Her twin sister was named Diamond and only lived four days. Her ashes were spread where the girls spent the night. Her sisters ashes and Rory who has Diamond's spirit protect them and keep them safe. Rory is saved and becomes a house dog. Only Willow knows that Rory is able to see again and run with the other dogs.

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

In Panem, North America, on Reaping Day, one boy and one girl are chosen from each of the 12 districts to participate in the Hunger Games. The games are televised and everyone must watch the competition to the death. Only one person can win and they must kill all of the others. Katniss's younger sister Primrose is chosen from their district. She is young and inexperienced, so Katniss volunteers to go in her place. Katniss is a hunter, a survivor. She thinks she can survive and perhaps win. The boy who is chosen is Peeta Mellark, the bakers son who has always loved Katniss. Haymitch, the only previous winner from Seam, their home district, is their mentor. He is always drunk, and Katniss and Peeta don't feel like he will be any help to them. As the games develop, Katniss befriends Rue, a 12 year old girl from District 11. Eventually she realizes that Peetah has been helping her and they form an alliance. In the end, they are both chosen as winners, although the Capitol is very angry and tries to kill them. They have fallen in love, but is Katniss really in love or just doing it for the audience? A sequel to follow.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

In the Seven Kingdoms, when a person is born with eyes of two different colors, they possess a Grace. Sometimes the Grace is powerful and sometimes not. Katsa is born with one of the most powerful of all - the grace for killing. She is used by her uncle Randa, King of the Middluns to revenge his enemies. Katsa hates killing, but feels that she has no choice. She has created a council of good to offset her evil deeds. On one of her chosen quests, she rescues the kidnapped father of the King of Lienid. During the quest, she meets Prince Greening (Po), his grandson. He also has a Grace, the grace for fighting. Although they start as enemies,they soon become friends, and eventually lovers. He convinces Katsa that she does not have to follow King Randa's commands. They set off together to find out why Po's grandfather was kidnapped and discover more evil than they can handle in Monsea with King Leck who is graced with the power to alter people's thoughts. He is a very evil man who kills and maims and then convinces others that he is kind and generous. Po and Katsa rescue Bitterblue, King Leck's daughter before he is able to harm her, then they set out to kill King Leck. Although Po is almost killed, Katsa is able to escape and eventually kill Bitterblue's father. Bitterblue becomes Queen of Monsea. Katsa returns to find Po is blind, but has learned to compensate for his blindness by sensing things around him. They marry and everyone lives happily ever after. This book has a slow start, but lots of adventure and action. Very strong female characters. Survival story. First novel by this author.