Hot Reads
Book Discussion Kits for Teens
Teen book discussion kits feature a range of genres and literary styles, exposing readings to a variety of issues designed to promote thought and discussion.
Each kit contains a set of thirty identical books accompanied by a book discussion guide. Click on a title to find out if it is available and be sure to read the discussion questions!*
We also have Book Discussion Kits for younger kids .
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian By Alexie, Sherman Illustrator Forney, Ellen 2009-04 - Little, Brown Young Readers 9780316013697 Check Our Catalog
Alexie's National Book Award winner chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he thought he was destined to live. Includes poignant drawings that reflect the character's art. …More |
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An Abundance of Katherines By Green, John 2008-10 - Puffin Books 9780142410707 Check Our Catalog
Colin Singleton always falls for girls named Katherine--and he's been dumped by all of them. Letting expectations go and allowing love in are part of Colin's hilarious quest to find his missing piece and avenge dumpees everywhere. …More |
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American Born Chinese By Yang, Gene Luen Illustrator Pien, Lark 2008-12 - Square Fish 9780312384487 Check Our Catalog
A tour-de-force by rising indie comics star Yang, "American Born Chinese" tells the story of three apparently unrelated characters whose lives and stories come together with an unexpected twist in this action-packed modern fable. …More |
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The Diary of a Young Girl By Frank, Anne Translator Mooyaart, B. M. Introduction by Roosevelt, Eleanor 1993-06 - Bantam Books 9780553296983 Check Our Catalog
Discovered in the attic in which she spent the last years of her life, Anne Frank's remarkable diary has since become a world classic -- a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit. In 1942, with Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, they and another family lived cloistered in the "Secret Annex" of an old office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death. In her diary Anne Frank recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during this period. By turns thoughtful, moving, and amusing, her account offers a fascinating commentary on human courage and frailty and a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman whose promise was tragically cut short. …More |
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Chew on This: Everything You Don't Want to Know about Fast Food By Schlosser, Eric Author Wilson, Charles 2007-04 - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) 9780618593941 Check Our Catalog
In this "New York Times" bestseller, Schlosser ("Fast Food Nation") and Wilson unwrap the fast-food industry, offering a behind-the-scenes look at a business that both feeds and feeds off the young. This paperback edition includes a discussion guide, a new Afterword, and supplemental information with healthy eating resources for kids. …More |
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The First Part Last By Johnson, Angela Author Johnson, Angela 2004-12 - Simon Pulse 9780689849237 Check Our Catalog
In this winner of the Printz Medal and Coretta Scott King Award--a companion to the Coretta Scott King Award-winning "Heaven"--Johnson probes right to the heart of the issues involved with teenage pregnancy and fatherhood with precision, grace, and keen insight.) …More |
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The Giver By Lowry, Lois 2006-01 - Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers 9780385732550 Check Our Catalog
Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear of pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the community. When Jonas turns 12 he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back. "From the Paperback edition. …More |
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The Gospel According to Larry By Tashjian, Janet 2003-05 - Laurel Leaf Library 9780440237921 Check Our Catalog
Josh Swensen is not your average 17-year-old. At the age of two, he was figuring out algebraic equations with colored magnetic numbers. He is a prodigy who only wants to make the world a better place. Josh's wish comes true when his virtual alter ego, Larry, becomes a huge media sensation. Larry has his own Web site where he posts sermons on anti-consumerism and has a large following of adults and teens. Meanwhile, Larry's identity is a mystery to everyone. While it seems as if the whole world is trying to figure out Larry's true identity, Josh feels trapped inside his own creation. What will happen to the world, and to Larry, if he is exposed? …More |
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Hatchet By Paulsen, Gary 2007-01 - Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers 9781416936473 Check Our Catalog
Paulsen's Newbery Honor Book tells the story of 13-year-old Brian Robeson, the sole survivor of a plane crash in the Canadian wilderness. This 20th anniversary commemorative edition features a fresh new look and a new reading group guide, along with new content from the author. Illustrations. …More |
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Holes By Sachar, Louis 2000-05 - Yearling Books 9780440414803 Check Our Catalog Winner - 1998 National Book Award for Youth
Stanley Yelnats tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment-and redemption. …More |
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The House on Mango Street By Cisneros, Sandra 1991-04 - Vintage Books USA 9780679734772 Check Our Catalog
Told in a series of vignettes stunning for their eloquence, The House on Mango Street is Sandra Cisneros's greatly admired novel of a young girl growing up in the Latino section of Chicago. Acclaimed by critics, beloved by children, their parents and grandparents, taught everywhere from inner-city grade schools to universities across the country, and translated all over the world, it has entered the canon of coming-of-age classics. |
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The Hunger Games By Collins, Suzanne 2010-07 - Scholastic Press 9780439023528 Check Our Catalog
The acclaimed author of the "New York Times"-bestselling Underland Chronicles series delivers equal parts suspense and philosophy, adventure and romance, in a stunning novel set in a future with unsettling parallels to the present. …More |
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I Am the Messenger By Zusak, Markus 2006-05 - Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers 9780375836671 Check Our Catalog
Meet Ed Kennedy--underage cabdriver, pathetic card player, and useless at romance. He lives in a shack with his coffee-addicted dog, the Doorman, and he's hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence, until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery. That's when the first Ace arrives. That's when Ed becomes the messenger. . . . "From the Hardcover edition. …More |
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The Lightning Thief By Riordan, Rick 2006-03 - Miramax Books 9780786838653 Check Our Catalog
Now in paperback--the first novel of a new series that mixes classic Greek mythology with modern adventure. After learning he is a demigod, Percy Jackson is sent to a summer camp on Long Island, where he meets the father he never knew--Poseidon, god of the sea. …More |
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Maniac Magee By Spinelli, Jerry 1990-03 - Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 9780316807227 Check Our Catalog
Winner - 1991 Newbery Award |
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The Maze By Hobbs, Will 1998-09 - HarperCollins Publishers 9780688150921 Check Our Catalog
Stowing away in the back of a pickup, 14-year-old runaway Rick Walker finds himself at a dead end in the surreal landscape of redrock spires and deep canyons called the Maze. …More |
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Monster By Myers, Walter Dean Illustrator Myers, Christopher A. 2001-05 - Amistad Press 9780064407311 Check Our Catalog
Young, black, 16-year-old Steve Harmon, an amateur filmmaker, is on trial for the murder of a Harlem drugstore owner. Steve copes by writing a movie script based on his trial. But despite his efforts, reality is blurred until he can no longer tell who he is or what the truth is. Illustrations. …More |
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Romiette and Julio By Draper, Sharon M. Illustrator Lowenbein, Adam 2001-05 - Simon Pulse 9780689842092 Check Our Catalog
Like Shakespeare's famous star-crossed lovers, Romiette Cappelle and Julio Montague face strong opposition to their budding romance. In their case, a dangerous gang's disapproval of their interracial relationship puts the two in mortal peril. …More |
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Running Out of Time By Haddix, Margaret Peterson 1997-02 - Aladdin Paperbacks 9780689812361 Check Our Catalog
Believing herself to be a frontier child in 1840, Jessie is shocked when her mother reveals a secret--it's really 1996. After a diphtheria outbreak strikes the village children, Jessie must venture out into the modern world where she faces a wealth of confusing 20th century innovations and the sinister man who will stop at nothing to make sure the village residents remain locked in their 19th century world. …More |
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Slam! By Myers, Walter Dean 2008-05 - Scholastic Paperbacks 9780545055741 Check Our Catalog
Seventeen-year-old Greg "Slam" Harris can do it all on the basketball court. He's seen ballplayers come and go, and he knows he could be one of the lucky ones. Maybe he'll make it to the top. Or maybe he'll stumble along the way. Slam's grades aren't that hot. And when his teachers jam his troubles in his face, he blows up. Slam never doubted himself on the court until he found himself going one-on-one with his own future, and he didn't have the ball. |
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Tangerine By Bloor, Edward 2006-09 - Harcourt Paperbacks 9780152057800 Check Our Catalog
THE TRUTH LIES BENEATH Paul Fisher's older brother is a high school football star, but to Paul he's no hero. Paul's own game is soccer, which he plays even though he has to wear thick glasses because of a mysterious eye injury. When the Fishers move to Tangerine, Florida, Paul tries to make sense of things. But it's not easy. In Tangerine, underground fires burn for years and lightning strikes the same practice field every day. Strange things happen here all the time -- but nothing is stranger than the secrets Paul discovers about his brother, his new group of friends, and his own dangerous past. …More |
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Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time By Mortenson, Greg Author Relin, David Oliver 2007-02 - Penguin Books 9780143038252 Check Our Catalog
The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his humanitarian campaign to use education to combat terrorism in the Taliban's backyard Anyone who despairs of the individual's power to change lives has to read the story of Greg Mortenson, a homeless mountaineer who, following a 1993 climb of Pakistan's treacherous K2, was inspired by a chance encounter with impoverished mountain villagers and promised to build them a school. Over the next decade he built fifty-five schools especially for girls that offer a balanced education in one of the most isolated and dangerous regions on earth. As it chronicles Mortenson's quest, which has brought him into conflict with both enraged Islamists and uncomprehending Americans, "Three Cups of Tea" combines adventure with a celebration of the humanitarian spirit. …More |
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Nation By Pratchett, Terry 2009-10 - HarperCollins 9780061433030 Check Our Catalog
The author of the phenomenally successful Discworld series delivers the mesmerizing story of a boy whose journey to manhood requires the strength to defy expectations and the courage to forge new beliefs. …More |
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Stargirl By Spinelli, Jerry 2004-05 - Laurel Leaf Library 9780440416777 Check Our Catalog
Stargirl. From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of "Stargirl, Stargirl." She captures Leo Borlock's heart with just one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. At first. "From the Hardcover edition. …More |
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Walk Two Moons By Creech, Sharon 1996-09 - HarperTrophy 9780064405171 Check Our Catalog
On a long car trip from Ohio to Idaho, 13-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle regales her grandparents with a story about her friend Phoebe, who receives a message from a potential lunatic and must cope with the disappearance of her mother. Beneath Phoebe's story is Sal's own--and her search for her own mother who left for Idaho one sunny morning and never returned. 1995 Newbery Medal winner. ALA Notable Children's Book of 1995. School Library Journal Best Books of the Year, 1994. 1995 Notable Trade Books in the Language Arts. …More |
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The Wanderer By Creech, Sharon Illustrator Diaz, David 2002-04 - HarperTrophy 9780064410328 Check Our Catalog
Young Sophie joins a surly crew of her three uncles and two cousins on a tireless and physical and emotional journey across the Atlantic as they seek their places in the world. Illustrations. …More |
Take a look at our Book Discussion Kits for younger kids.
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