Good Reads

2000-2001 Viginia Readers' Choice - High
Jacqueline Woodson - 2006 Margaret A. Edwards Award Winner
CCBC Choices - 1998
Jeremiah feels good inside his own skin. That is, when he's in his own Brooklyn neighborhood. But now he's going to be attending a fancy prep school in Manhattan, and black teenage boys don't exactly fit in there. So it's a surprise when he meets Ellie the first week of school. In one frozen moment their eves lock and after that they know they fit together -- even though she's Jewish and he's black. Their worlds are so different, but to them that's not what matters. Too bad the rest of the world has to get in their way. ...More

2006 Printz Award Winner
2005 Kentucky Bluegrass Award - Grades 9-12
2005 ALA Young Adult Top Ten Selection
Winner - 2006 Michael L. Printz Award
Tayshas Reading List 2006-2007
A BookPage Notable Title
In a stunning debut novel, Miles "Pudge" Halter befriends some fellow boarding school students whose lives are everything but boring. Pudge falls in love with Alaska, the razor-sharp and self-destructive nucleus. But when tragedy strikes, Pudge then discovers the value of loving unconditionally. Young Adult. ...More

BookPage Notable Title
Sold into prostitution, Lakshmi lives a nightmare and gradually forms friendships with the other girls that enable her to survive in this terrifying new world. Then the day comes when she must make a decision to risk everything for a chance to reclaim her life. ...More

Callie's parents and doctors have placed her in a "residential treatment facility" after discovering she obsessively cuts herself. But when the threat of expulsion precipitates another cutting incident that frightens her, Callie finally begins her healing process. ...More

From the author of such lighthearted books as "Frozen Rodeo" comes this new novel of immense depth and warmth that tells the heartwrenching story of friendship, love, and loss. ...More

" IF SHE DIES, I'll die, " are the words 15-year-old Mia Perlman writes in her journal the night her mother is diagnosed with cancer. Nine days later, Mia's mother is dead, and Mia, her older sister, and her father must find a way to live on in the face of sudden, unfathomable loss. But even in grief, there is the chance for new beginnings in this poignant, funny, and hopeful novel. ...More

CCBC Choices - 2001
In this inspiring memoir in graphic novel form, the author relates his friendship with an HIV-positive AIDS activist while they were roommates during the filming of the MTV show "Real World". Pedro Zamora showed how people afflicted with the AIDS virus can live with dignity and humor. Illustrations. ...More

Like many girls her age in India, thirteen-year-old Koly is getting married. When she discovers that the husband her parents have chosen for her is a sickly boy with wicked parents, Koly wishes she could flee. According to tradition, though, she has no choice. On her wedding day, Koly's fate is sealed.

In the wake of her marriage, however, Koly's life takes an unexpected turn, and she finds herself alone in a strange city of white-sariclad widows. Her only choice seems to be to shed her name and her future and join the hopeless hordes who chant for food.

Even then, cast out into a current of time-worn tradition, this rare young woman sets out to forge her own exceptional future. And a life, like a beautiful tapestry, comes together for Koly -- one stitch at a time. ...More

Meet Jordy. He's on his own in New York City. Nobody to depend on; nobody depending on him. And it's been working fine.
Until this girl comes along. She's 18 and blond and pretty-her world should be perfect. But she's seen things no one should ever see in their whole life-the kind of things that break a person. She doesn't seem broken, though. She seems . . . innocent. Like she doesn't know a whole lot. Only sometimes she does.
The one thing she knows for sure is that the world is an ugly place. Now her life may depend on Jordy proving her wrong. So they hit the road to discover the truth-and there's no going back from what they find out.
This deeply felt, redemptive novel reveals both the dark corners and hidden joys of life's journey-and the remarkable resilience of the human soul. ...More

A BookPage Notable Title
From as early as she can remember, Regan O'Neill has known that her brother,Liam, was different. That he was, in fact, a girl. Transgender.Having a transgender brother has never been a problem for Regan until now. Liam (or Luna, as she prefers to be called by her chosen name) is about to transition. What does it mean, transitioning? Dressing like a girl? In public? Does Liam expect Regan to embrace this decision, to welcome his sex change? Shes always kept her brothers secret, always been his confidante, but now Regans acceptance and love will be put to the test. ...More

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Tayshas Reading List 2008-2009
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Winner - 2007 National Book Award for Youth
Based on the authors own experiences, this first young adult novel by bestselling author Alexie features poignant drawings by acclaimed artist Ellen Forney that reflect the characters art as it chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy attempting to break away from the life he was destined to live. ...More