At a recent ‘Best of the Best’ conference held during the annual ALA (American Library Association) conference, 100 titles were chosen as the best books written for teens in the past 15 years. Click on the title below to see the book in our online catalog:

Fever, 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson, 2000
Sixteen-year-old Matilda survives the 1793 yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia and learns important lessons about self-reliance and perseverance.

Feed by M.T. Anderson, 2002
Teenagers Titus and Violet live in a future where corporations define the lives of American and it’s common for parents to endow their newborns with the Feed – a minicomputer with an Internet connection that’s implanted in a child’s head.

Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer, 2000
Sixteen-year-old Hope and her aunt move from Brooklyn to Mulhoney, Wisconsin, cooking up a storm.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares, 2002
Four lifelong high-school friends and a magical pair of jeans take summer journeys to discover love, disappointment, and self-realization.

Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn, 2002
When 16-year-old Cyd Charisse is sent to New York to stay with her biological dad, she gets to know not only her older brother and the sister who calls her ‘Daddy’s Little Indiscretion,’ but also herself.

The Rag and Bone Shop by Robert Cormier, 2002
When 12-year-old Jason is questioned as a witness in a young girl’s murder investigation, he doesn’t realize that the interrogation, by a skilled detective, will become a matter of life and death.

Getting Away with Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case by Chris Crowe, 2003
Using archival photographs and primary sources, Crowe describes how the Mississippi murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till contributed to the Civil Rights Movement.

Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher, 2001
Multiethnic T.J. leads a high-school swim team of nonconformists on a quest for varsity letter jackets.

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly, 2003
Set in upstate New York in 1906, against the background of a true murder case; Mattie fights her family and the societal constraints of the times to become her own person.

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer, 2002
In a world where clones are a reality and drug lords rule, Matt discovers the horrible secret of his creation and El Patron’s despicable plans for him.

Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story about Brain Science by John Fleischman, 2002
Phineas is never the same after a metal rod enters his head at the chin and comes out his forehead.

Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn, 2001
After Nick’s girlfriend, Caitlin, has a restraining order issued against him, he is forced to come to grips with his anger and low self-esteem.

America by E.R. Frank, 2002
Troubled foster child America reveals the sad confusion of his short life to sympathetic Dr. B, the one adult who may be able to help him.

Life is Funny by E.R. Frank, 2001
Growing up in New York can be agonizing, humorous, and always a challenge for the teens who tell their stories.

Hole in My Life by Jack Gantos, 2002
Gantos reveals how his involvement with drugs and his stint in prison led him to writing.

Shattering Glass by Gail Giles, 2002
When charismatic Rob decides to make Simon, the school nerd, ‘Mr. Popularity,’ nobody believes he can do it. Little do they know…

Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going, 2003
A chance encounter with a homeless teenage punk rocker rescues obese 17 year-old Troy from himself.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, 2003
Christopher, a 15 year-old autistic teen who can solve quadratic equations in his head but can’t bear to be touched, solves the mystery of who murdered his neighbor’s dog.

The First Part Last by Angela Johnson, 2003
Passages that alternate between the past and present tell the story of Bobbie, a teenage father in New York City who first appeared in Johnson’s Heaven.

You Don’t Know Me by David Klass, 2001
John, a 14-year-old social misfit from a small town, copes with an abusive home life and being an outcast at school by living outside himself.

Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman, 2002
Vince wants nothing to do with ‘the family business,’ but he can’t help becoming involved when he discovers that his girlfriend’s dad is the FBI agent assigned to bring his own father to justice.

The Lightkeeper’s Daughter by Iain Lawrence, 2003
A teenage mother returns to reconcile with her lighthouse-keeping parents despite her feeling that it was their lonely lifestyle that led to her brother’s death.

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan, 2003
In a novel set in a mythical, free-spirited high school with many openly gay students, Paul tries to balance a new relationship with Noah while still caring for his ex, Kyle.

Lirael by Garth Nix, 2001
Apprentice librarian Lirael discovers that the library guards’ magic allows her to conjure Disreputable Dog, who accompanies her on a quest to stop the dead from waging war on the living.

East by Edith Pattou, 2003 0152045635
Rose journeys to a land ‘east of the sun and west of the moon’ to break the curse of the Troll Queen.

The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick, 2000
In this futuristic urban dystopia, a chance meeting between an epileptic gang member and a genetically improved girl from the ruling class causes major changes in society.

The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci, 2000
Class freak Christopher Creed is missing. What happened? Why is his small town in an uproar? Where is Chris Creed’s body?

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach, 2003 0393050939
Roach examines the afterlife of human cadavers in this humorous, touching and respectful look at how scientists utilize the human body.

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, 2000 0679886370
Stargirl, an eccentric new student, sees life from a different angle, and her nonconformist behavior changes her classmates and their perceptions of popularity.

The Gospel According to Larry by Janet Tashfian, 2001
Things go awry for Josh, a loner who calls himself ‘Larry’ when he espouses anticonsumerism on his web site.

The Land by Mildred Taylor, 2002
In a prequel to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Cassie Logan’s grandfather, Paul Edward, tells of his heartbreaking but ultimately triumphant struggle to acquire the land that would become the Logan family legacy.

Blankets by Craig Thompson, 2003
This semiautobiographical graphic novel explores a boy’s trails and tribulations as an outcast at a zealous youth Bible cap where he meets the girl of his dreams.

Companions of the Night by Vivian Van de Velde, 2001
Is Ethan really just an innocent college student kidnapped by vampire-hunting crazies? Sixteen-year-old Kerry, who saves him and loves him, finds that the allure of the vampire is alive and well.

True Believer by Virginia Euwer Wolff, 2001
In this poetic sequel to Make Lemonade, LaVaughn finds that her changing goals and relationships bring both pain and joy.