Teen Territory

Books about school, life and all the drama that comes with them

Artichoke's Heart by Suzanne Supplee YA/SUP
When she is almost sixteen years old, Rosemary decides she is sick of being overweight, mocked at school and at her mother's beauty salon and feeling out of control. She slowly loses weight, copes 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.

Big Fat Manifesto by Susan Vaught YA/VAU
Overweight, self-assured, high school senior Jamie Carcaterra writes in the school newspaper about her own attitude toward being fat, her boyfriend's bariatric surgery, and her struggles to be taken seriously in a very thin world.

Cheating Lessons by Nan Willard Cappo YA/CAP
When her team is announced as finalists in the state Classics Bowl contest, Bernadette suspects that cheating may have been involved.

Endgame by Nancy Garden YA/GAR
This book chronicles the event leading up to a school shooting. The shooter, fifteen-year-old Gray Wilton, bullied at school and ridiculed by an unfeeling father, explains what led him to this horrible decision in this first person narrative.

Generation Dead by Dan Waters YA/WAT
When dead teenagers who have come back to life start showing up at her high school, Phoebe, a goth girl, becomes interested in the phenomenon, and when she starts dating a "living impaired" boy, they encounter prejudice, fear, and hatred.

Ghostgirl by Tonya Hurley YA/HUR
Charlotte Usher has always felt invisible at her high school. However, after dying during her senior year, she clings to life and refuses to embrace her new afterlife in an alternative high school for dead teens.

The Girls by Amy Goldman Koss YA/KOS
Each of the girls in a middle-school clique reveals the strong, manipulative hold one of the group exerts on the others, and the hurt and self-doubt that it causes them.

How Not to be Popular by Jennifer Ziegler YA/ZIE
Seventeen-year-old Sugar Magnolia Dempsey is tired of leaving friends behind every time her hippie parents decide to move, but her plan to be unpopular at her new Austin, Texas school backfires when other students join her on the path to "supreme dorkdom."

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow YA/DOC
After being interrogated for days by the Department of Homeland Security in the aftermath of a terrorist bombing, Marcus is released. His city has been turned into a police state, and the enraged Marcus decides to start a revolution, using everyday technology such as his Xbox and cell phone.

Open Court by Carol Clippinger YA/CLI
A thirteen-year-old tennis prodigy grapples with her seemingly incompatible desires to be an exceptional athlete and a normal teenager.

Ordinary Ghosts by Eireann Corrigan YA/COR
Emil feels invisible at school and at home. When he finds a master key to his private school, he sneaks in to explore, and finds a reason to become visible.

The Squad: Perfect Cover by Jennifer Barnes YA/BAR
High school sophomore Toby Klein enjoys computer hacking and wearing combat boots, so she thinks it is a joke when she is invited to join the cheerleading squad but soon learns cheering is just a cover for an elite group of government operatives known as "The Squad."

Tangerine by Edward Bloor YA/BLO
Twelve-year-old Paul, who lives in the shadow of his football hero brother Erik, fights for the right to play soccer despite his near blindness and slowly begins to remember the incident that damaged his eyesight.

Th1rteen r3asons Why: A Novel by Jay Asher YA/ASH
Clay Jenkins receives a box in the mail containing thirteen cassette tapes recorded by his classmate Hannah, who committed suicide. He spends a bewildering and heartbreaking night crisscrossing their town, listening to Hannah's voice recounting the events leading up to her death.

The Truth about Truman School by Dori Hillestad Butler YA/BUT
Tired of being told what to write by the school newspaper's advisor, Zibby and her friend Amr start an underground newspaper online where everyone is free to post anything, but things spiral out of control when a cyberbully starts using the site to harrass one popular girl.

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson YA/AND
After finally getting noticed by someone other than school bullies and his ever-angry father, seventeen-year-old Tyler enjoys his tough new reputation and the attentions of a popular girl, but when life starts to go bad again, he must choose between transforming himself or giving in to his destructive thoughts.

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For more Reading Suggestions, check these lists:

The Abraham Lincoln High School Book Award (PDF)
Abe titles are available for check out in the Teen Department. Sign up at the library to vote for your favorite Abe title.

Teen Reads on the OPPL's Website
The following lists change nearly every month: Teen Scene, Picks for Teens and Got Books?

SpeakUp: Online Book Discussion Blog
Orland Park teens can post your favorite titles and comment on the books you have read here.