Genius Squad

by Catherine Jinks

In this sequel to "Evil Genius," we find 15 year-old Cadel Piggott trying to survive as a protected witness in the Axis Institute investigations while avoiding life-threatening dangers from his imprisoned evil father. Along with his best friend, he joins a group of teenage computer hackers recruited to take down a rotten corporation and finally puts his evil genius training to good use. Full of twists and turns, cyber-espionage and the author's use of great detail, the reader will stay on the edge of their seat!

--Nick C., Student

The Supernaturalist

by Eoin Colfer

Set in a futuristic world where making money is everthing and people are treated as marketing test objects, orphan Cosmo Hill knows that he is living on borrowed time. After an attempt to escape from his orphanage, he is rescued by a group who call themselves the Supernaturalists. They have dedicated their lives to destroying Parasites which feed on the essence of the living. Cosmo joins the group in their attempt to destroy the creatures.

In this book, Colfer does a great job of providing an exciting read with enough twists and turns to keep the reader surprised - but never confused. The author is never afraid to take risks in his novels and in this one he succeeds at good characterization and fun plot.

-- Zack Varvel, Faculty

Thirteen Reasons Why

by Jay Asher

High school senior, Clay Jensen, comes home one day to find a package filled with audiotapes and a map. The tapes contain stories from Hannah Baker, a girl Clay adored from afar and who recently committed suicide. In the tapes Hannah provides 13 reasons why she committed suicide. Among the reasons she describes how her reputation was questioned, her parents were distracted by financial problems, her friends used her, and when she reached out for help, no one stepped forward. Finally, slights and misunderstandings snowballed until she could no longer cope. As Clay listens to her stories and visits the locations she describes, he reflects on how he might have been able to save Hannah. The author does a great job of explaining what it is like to be new in town, instantly gain popularity, but suffer through some tough teen-age problems. In the end, Hannah's final reason for her death may shock you.

--Jacob W., Student

Vampire Academy: Shadow Kiss

by Richelle Mead

This third book in the Vampire Academy series takes us back to St. Vladimir's Academy where Rose Hathaway is close to graduation. In these final stages of training, she is beginning to have terrible headaches, flashbacks, and a feeling that something is very wrong. As she struggles to keep her best friend Lissa, safe, her secret but forbidden love, Dimitri, is mysteriously taken. Soon she must choose between saving her best friends life and loosing her true love forever! With a twist ending that challenges Rose's inner strength, this book is full of action, drama, and romance!

--Kathleen M., Student

Drama High: The Fight

by L. Divine

Like the title of this series, this book is filled with drama! Jayd is a girl living in Compton, CA and attending a predominately white high school in a wealthy part of Los Angeles, where she and 30 other Compton kids get bussed to daily. In this book from the series, Jayd's confronted by her ex-boyfriend's new girl who wants to make sure Jayd understands he's off limits! With the fight set for Friday, Jayd quickly learns who her true friends are, and the enemies to keep an eye on.

--Alex P., Student

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

by Stephen Chbosky

This is an amazing book about a kid named Charlie who's not very popular at his school. The story of this "wallflower" is told through letters that he writes to his unnamed friends. Over the course of the book you learn how Charlie deals with the usual high school problems--sex, drugs, the thuggish football team, and even a friend's suicide. This author does a great job of expressing how it feels to be a high school teenager trying to deal with problems big and small.

--Tyriona H., Student

Black is the New Dead

by Marlene Perez

The Giordano sisters have psychic powers and a way of getting mixed up in mysteries. When Miss Popular, cheerleader Samantha Devereaux, comes back to school with a completely new look - dead, that is - it doesn't seem to bother anyone, and before long looking dead becomes the rage. That's when Daisy Giordano gets suspicious, and she and her sisters get to work investigating the strange events happening at school. Could the culprit really be a vampire? This book provides romance, mystery, adventure, and the supernatural all rolled up in a fast-paced, plot-twisting story that will keep you wanting more!

-- A'bre M., Student

Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City

by Kirsten Miller

Ananka Fishbein lives in Manhattan and is just an average girl leading a mostly boring life. Until one day she wakes up to find the park across the street has become a giant sinkhole. Soon, Ananka meets mysterious Kiki Strike and together they form a group of highly talented girls called The Irregulars. As the girls begin to explore Shadow City, the secret city under New York's subway system, they begin to uncover its mysteries and a dangerous plot to destroy it. On top of it all, they must deal with the one million hungry rats that call Shadow city their home.

-- Philip S., Student

It's Kind of a Funny Story

by Ned Vizzini

After getting accepted into one of New York's most exclusive high schools, 9th grader Craig Gilner struggles to keep up with the pressure. He finds himself falling into a deep depression, and after contemplating suicide, checks himself into a psychiatric hospital. The only space available is on the adult psychiatric wing, and it is here where he finds the help he needs. Filled with humor, sadness, adventure, and hope, this is a great book that will keep you reading all the way through! It actually is a funny story!

-- Josh H., Student

Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae

by Steven Pressfield

Told in flashback by the sole survivor Xeones, this historical novel tells of the last stand of the famous 300 Spartans along with Greek allies at Thermopylae, "The Gates of Fire," against the massive invading army of the Persians commanded by king Xerxes. This tale reveals the life of Xeones from childhood, through his severe training with the elite Spartan guard and his loyal service as a squire to the Spartan knight Dienekes, ending with his detailed recounting of the heroic Spartan soldiers and their final battle against an overwhelming foe.

Joe Geisendorfer, Faculty

The Watchmen

by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

A comic book? I was hesitant too! But when I picked it up I immediately read the first couple of pages and fell in love with the story. Watchmen is a story about real superheroes from the 1980's and a plot to assassinate them. The story brings out a city's true colors and makes you imagine "What if they existed?"

--John T., Student

Atonement

by Ian McEwan

So much more than a tale of star-crossed lovers torn apart by scandal, lies, and war, Atonement is an example of compelling prose. Set in Great Britain and France and using World War II as a backdrop, the novel follows Briony, Cecilia, and Robbie from the scene of a crime through its tragic denouement. Ian McEwan draws the reader into the minds of each character at different points in their lives in a way that elicits empathy--even when those characters commit terrible acts. Lessons in regret and the ability to forgive--or not--will last with you long after you turn the last page.

--Angela Boatright, Faculty

Twisted

by Laurie Halse Anderson

Tyler Miller was the kind of kid who didn't stand out; that is, until he got busted for tagging the school. After a summer of working outside, Tyler returns to school and finds that he is getting kind of popular and that he has attracted the attention of the super-popular Bethany Milbury. Things go well for awhile, until a series of events upsets everything.

--Sasha B., Student

Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story

by Christopher Moore

Tommy Flood, a budding teenaged writer from Indiana, moved to San Francisco for some inspiration and adventure. Everything changes for Tommy one night while working at Safeway when a beautiful, undead, redheaded woman walks in.

--Philip S., Student

The Hour I First Believed

by Wally Lamb

This story is about a middle-aged high school English teacher named Caelum who is desperately trying to keep his third marriage together. When Caelum discovers that his wife is having an adulterous affair, he attacks her lover with pipe wrench. After Caelum's prosecution for assault, the couple moves to Colorado hoping to make a new start. Both get jobs at Columbine High School just prior to the Harris and Klebold attack. The story follows the couple as they attempt to put their life back together after wittnessing such a life altering event.

--Jeana Khalaf Cheetany, Faculty

Teacher Man

by Frank McCourt

A brilliant book about a high school teaching experience. McCourt, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Angela's Ashes and Tis, has written a memoir of his 30-year career in the New York City Public Schools. The writing is original and witty, and his anecdotes of his experiences in and out of the classroom are often hilarious. Underlying it all, however, is McCourt's love for the profession and what it, ironically, has taught him.

--Josh Curnett, Faculty

The Work of Wolves

by Kent Meyers

The story takes place in South Dakota where four lives are intimately connected in the unfolding drama: Carson Fielding, Earl Walks Alone, Ted Kills Many, and Will Schubert, a German exchange student with a love of all things Lakota. The four attempt to save horses from being starved by Magnus Fielding. Fielding bears the immediate consequences and has the most to lose in facing the wrath of Yarborough, but the four young men are ultimately linked by their actions, their friendship deepening with the desperation of their endeavor.

--Sharon Cobb, Faculty

March

by Geraldine Brooks

Brooks takes the character of the father, Mr. March, from Little Women and tells his story. Mr. March serves with the Union army first as a minister, then as a teacher to ex-slaves on a Southern plantation.

--Christine Avery, Faculty

The Afghan Campaign: A Novel

by Steven Pressfield

2,300 years ago, an unbeaten army from the West, led by Alexander the Great, invaded the tribal homeland of the fierce Afghan people. This is the story of Matthias, an 18 year old Macedonian foot soldier in Alexander's army. Once again, Steven Pressfield has written a harrowing and thought-provoking historical novel that closely parallels the experiences of the Romans, British, Soviets and Americans, and demonstrates his understanding of the realities that continue to influence our world today.

--Joe Geisendorfer, Faculty

Brisingr

by Christopher Paolini

The third installment of the Inheritance cycle continues Eragon and Saphira's adventures as they gallantly fight Galbatroix and the evil empire. Slaying the Ra'zac, fighting Thorn and journeying to places not seen since previous books will keep you on the edge of your seat franticly awaiting book #4.

--Melanie Price, Faculty