Born for Adventure by Kathleen Karr

In 1887, as assistant to Henry Morton Stanley, renowned explorer of the African continent, sixteen-year-old Tom Ormsby makes a perilous trek to help rescue the kidnapped Emin Pasha, learning much about leadership, African people, and himself along the way.

The Kingdom of Strange by Shula Klinger

An English class project to find one’s audience as a writer by posting original works on a blog leads fourteen-year-old Thisbe on a journey of self-discovery and new friendship.

Passion and Poison by Janice M. Del Negro

Contains eight short stories about female ghosts, all authored by Janice Del Negro: The bargain — Rosie Hopewell — Skulls and bones, ghosts and gold — The severed hand — Rubies — Sea child — Hide and seek.

Hot Scots, Castles, and Kilts by Tammy Swoish

Sixteen-year-old Sami and her romance-writer mother spend a month in Scotland fixing up an old farm as a tourist destination, while Sami and her new friend Fiona hunt for the resident ghost and Sami helps resolve a centuries-old feud.

The Possibilities of Sainthood by Donna Freitas

While regularly petitioning the Vatican to make her the first living saint, fifteen-year-old Antonia Labella prays to assorted patron saints for everything from help with preparing the family’s fig trees for a Rhode Island winter to getting her first kiss from the right boy.

The Traitor Game by B.R. Collins

Fifteen-year-old Michael and his friend Francis both feel betrayed when someone at their private school learns of Evgard, a secret fantasy world they created together, but when a sadistic bully becomes involved in Michael’s plan for revenge, the boys and Evgard itself face grave danger.

Smiles to Go by Jerry Spinelli

Will Tuppence’s life has always been ruled by science and common sense but in ninth grade, shaken up by the discovery that protons decay, he begins to see the entire world differently and gains new perspective on his relationships with his little sister and two closest friends.

Artichokes Heart by Suzanne Supplee

When she is almost sixteen years old, Rosemary decides she is sick of being overweight, mocked at school and at Heavenly Hair–her mother’s beauty salon–and feeling out of control, and as she slowly loses weight, she realizes that she is able to cope with her mother’s cancer, having a boyfriend for the first time, and discovering that other people’s lives are not as perfect as they seem from the outside.

Outside Beauty by Cynthia Kadohata

Thirteen-year-old Shelby and her three sisters must go to live with their respective fathers while their mother, who has trained them to rely on their looks, recovers from a car accident that scarred her face.

The Trouble with Cupid by Laura Langston

All Erin has to do is train the school mascot to perform on cue, and she will be a hero. But none of her dog-training experience has prepared Erin for Cupid, the laziest, most unlovable dog that ever woofed.

The Summer of Naked Swim Parties by Jessica Anya Blau

Fourteen-year-old Jamie will never forget the summer of 1976. It’s the summer when she has her first boyfriend, cute surfer Flip Jenkins; and it’s the summer that forever changes the way Jamie sees the things that matter: family, friendship, love, and herself

I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder

When her recently deceased boyfriend, Jackson, reappears as a ghost, Ava is thrilled to have him in her life in any way she can, but when she finally begins to move on with her life, Jackson must find a way to let her go.

Love and Lies by Ellen Wittlinger

When Marisol, a self-confident eighteen-year-old lesbian, moves to Cambridge, Massachusetts to work and try to write a novel, she falls under the spell of her beautiful but deceitful writing teacher, while also befriending a shy, vulnerable girl from Indiana.

Oh My Gods by Tera Lynn Childs

When her mother suddenly decides to marry a near-stranger, Phoebe, whose passion is running, soon finds herself living on a remote Greek island, completing her senior year at an ancient high school where the students and teachers are all descended from gods or goddesses.

Ten Mile River: A Novel by Paul Griffin

Having escaped from juvenile detention centers and foster care, two teenaged boys live on their own in an abandoned shack in a New York City park, making their way by stealing, occasionally working, and trying to keep from being arrested.

Dragon Flight by Jessica Day George

Young seamstress Creel finds herself strategizing with the dragon king Shardas once again when a renegade dragon in a distant land launches a war against their country, bringing an entire army of dragons into the mix.

The Sky Inside by Clare B. Dunkle

After the disappearance of his sister, Cassie, and other children who ask questions about their carefully choreographed life in a domed suburb cut off from the outside world, Martin and his intelligent dog investigate.

The Day I Killed James by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Seventeen-year-old Theresa tries to get past the guilt she feels over the death of a neighbor who loved her, first through a journal her therapist tells her to keep, then by transforming herself and starting a new life.

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Ninth Grade Slays by Heather Brewer

While half-vampire Vlad, his best friend Henry, and Henry’s cousin Joss make their way through their freshman year at Bathory High, a hired vampire slayer seeks to destroy Vlad.

Evernight by Claudia Gray

Sixteen-year-old Bianca, a new girl at the sinister Evernight boarding school, finds herself drawn to another outsider, Jared, but dark forces threaten to tear them apart and destroy Bianca’s entire world.

Take Me There by Susane Colasanti

Three New York high school students try to sort out their emotions as they deal with relationships, crushes, their families, and planning for the future.

Non-Fiction

• Words in Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam by Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz
• Peterson’s Scholarships, Grants & Prizes
• Inventors and Inventions by Samuel Colt (5 Volumes)