These aren't all nice stories with pretty teenagers. Many of these stories are filled with the grit and drama many young adults face every day. Others will make you laugh, educate you, and open your eyes to history.

• The Absolutely True Story of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
• Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
• The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: Traitor to the Nation. Volume 1, The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson
• The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
• Tangerine by Edward Bloor
• Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac
• After the First Death by Robert Cormier
• Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher
• Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going
• An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
• Boston Jane: an Adventure by Jennifer Holm
• The Giver by Lois Lowry
• Masada: The Last Fortress by Gloria Miklowitz
• The Water Mirror by Kai Meyer
• Monster by Walter Dean Myers
• Sabriel by Garth Nix
• Big Mouth and Ugly Girl by Joyce Carol Oates
• The Angel Experiment by James Patterson
• Horse Thief: a Novel by Robert Newton Peck
• Among the Hidden by Margaret Haddix
• King Dork by Frank Portman
• Mortal Engines: a Novel by Philip Reeve
• The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
• The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
• Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
• Shabanu by Suzanne Fisher Staples
• Chanda's Secrets by Allan Stratton
• Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
• The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
• Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan
• The Road Home by Ellen Emerson White
• Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger
• Welcome To Fred by Brad Whittington
• The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
• Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak