Teen Reading Club

Haunted is a novel made up of twenty-three horrifying, hilarious, and stomach-churning stories. They're told by people who have answered an ad for a writers' retreat and unwittingly joined a "Survivor" -like scenario where the host withholds heat, power, and food. As the storytellers grow more desperate, their tales become more extreme, and they ruthlessly plot to make themselves the hero of the reality show that will surely be made from their plight. This is one of the most disturbing and outrageous books you'll ever read, one that could come only from the mind of Chuck Palahniuk.

(From back cover)

Guy Montag is a fireman who burns books in a futuristic American city. He encounters a gentle seventeen-year-old girl named Clarisse McClellan, who opens his eyes to the emptiness of his life with her innocently penetrating questions and her unusual love of people and nature. But when she suddenly disappears, Montag is faced with the reality of their society and is faced with one question: to burn books, or not to burn books?

In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury's classic, frightening vision of the future, firemen don't put out fires--they start them in order to burn books. Bradbury's vividly painted society holds up the appearance of happiness as the highest goal--a place where trivial information is good, and knowledge and ideas are bad.

A young runaway boards a raft and sets off down the Mississippi, setting in motion a series of memorable adventures that have intrigued readers of all ages for over a century. Huck Finn and his loyal companion, the escaped slave Jim, form one of literature's greatest friendships. ~Google Books

This book is actually a true story, the diary entries in here are from a real person. She wrote in two diaries about her life on drugs and how they made her feel what they made her do...etc. The names and places have been changed. But the Person who wrote these enteries died just a few weeks after deciding to no longer write them anymore. it was a few weeks after her 18 birthday and her parents came home to find her dead on her bedroom floor. they read the diaries and understood.

All summer, Jess pushed himself to be the fastest boy in the fifth grade, and when the year's first school-yard race was run, he was going to win. But his victory was stolen by a newcomer, by a girl, one who didn't even know enough to stay on the girls' side of the playground. Then, unexpectedly, Jess finds himself sticking up for Leslie, for the girl who breaks rules and wins races. The friendship between the two grows as Jess guides the city girl through the pitfalls of life in their small, rural town, and Leslie draws him into the world of imagination - a world of magic and ceremony called Terabithia. Here, Leslie and Jess rule supreme among the oaks and evergreens, safe from the bullies and ridicule of the mundane world. Safe until an unforeseen tragedy forces Jess to reign in Terabithia alone, and both worlds are forever changed.

Mom's vanishing acts continued --- sometimes lasting for days at a time and the empty wine bottles mounted up. When the day that the theater fired her, I started calling her Celia.

For sixteen year old Bernice Dodd, Black Spurce Lodge is a lucky break. No more roach-infested apartments or bullies in the hallways.  No more avoiding the landlady or sneaking away in the middle of the night because the rent is overdue.  But somethings will never change. Bernice still have to look after her little siblings and her mother, Celia will keep disappearing on drinking binges and find another creep of a boyfriend. Bernice's anger toward Celia will continue to grow day after day and will Bernice find some perspective --- on her emotions, on Jack, the boy next door ond on Tony, the good-looking novelist across the lake?  One thing is sure: rage won't let up without a fight...

In a startling departure from her previous novels ( Lady Oracle , Surfacing ), respected Canadian poet and novelist Atwood presents here a fable of the near future. In the Republic of Gilead, formerly the United States, far-right Schlafly/Falwell-type ideals have been carried to extremes in the monotheocratic government. The resulting society is a feminist's nightmare: women are strictly controlled, unable to have jobs or money and assigned to various classes: the chaste, childless Wives; the housekeeping Marthas; and the reproductive Handmaids, who turn their offspring over to the "morally fit" Wives. The tale is told by Offred (read: "of Fred"), a Handmaid who recalls the past and tells how the chilling society came to be.

This book was deemed inappropriate for young readers because of its profane language and violence.

In this futuristic utopia, everything is controlled, from the number of children people can have to the jobs they must do. Even knowledge is restricted. Only the "Receiver of Memory" is aware that the world was once very different - full of possibilities and not at all safe. When he is chosen to be the next Receiver of Memory and begins to see the dark side of his ideal world, Jonas begins to have doubts. What will he do about them?  Read this thrilling book to find out!

This book was challenged (i.e. somebody thought it should be banned) because it was seen as inappropriate for middle school readers.

Lyra Belacqua lives with her daemon Pantalaimon amongst the scholars at Oxford's Jordan College. A daemon is a creature that lives with each human for their whole life it’s like their best friend. If they get separated the human will most likely die and once the human dies the daemon dies. Lyra is a very wild child, she never really went to school and she learned by getting little pieces of information from scholars.  Lyra encounters many new friends and enemies. Soon enough all the children are counting on Lyra to save their lives. I personally didn't enjoy the book, it was really hard to follow it sometimes got boring too, but if you like a book all about adventure this is the book for you!

JASON CARRILLO: Jock. Good looks. Beautiful girlfriend. Popular. Unsatisfied. KYLE MEEKS: Swim team star. Friendly. Easygoing. Intelligent. Confused. NELSON GLASSMAN: Independent. Opinionated. Defiant. Joker. In love. High school's hard enough as it is without falling in love with your best friend - who's crushing on the most popular guy in school. Or feeling like your parents would throw you out if they knew you were gay. Or being afraid of who you are...

Parents objected to this award-winning title recommended for summer reading on the grounds of its “explicit sexual content”.