Introduction and Expectations for Students

I COULD USE A GOOD LAUGH!

Dunk (David Lubar) Chad, hoping to work out his frustrations and his anger by taking a summer job as a dunk tank Bozo on the boardwalk at the New Jersey shore, comes to a better understanding of himself and the uses of humor as he undergoes training in the fine art of insults.
Absolutely, Positively Not (David LaRochelle) A teenage boy's humorous attempts to fit in at his Minnesota high school by becoming a macho, girl-loving heterosexual.
All American Girl (Meg Cabot) Sophomore Samantha Madison stops a presidential assassination attempt, is appointed teen ambassador to the United Nations, and catches the eye of the very cute First Son. Laugh out loud narration.
Angus, Thongs and Full-frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (Louise Rennison) The humorous journal of a year in the life of a 14-year-old British girl who tries to reduce the size of her nose, stop her mad cat from terrorizing the neighborhood animals, and win the love of handsome hunk Robbie.
Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today Or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door (Lynne Truss) Hilarious rant on the abysmal state of manners in the world today.
Boomsday (Christopher Buckley)

Angry after hearing her father paid for her brother to attend Yale University, an opportunity she missed because he made a bad investment at the same time she was applying, Washington spin doctor Cassandra Devine suggests baby boomers euthanize themselves by the age of seventy-five for an incentive, an idea that catches the nation's attention.

The Absolutely True Story of a Part Time Indian (Sherman Alexie)

Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Native American is the school mascot.

Rat Boys: a Dating Experiment (Thom Eberhardt) Marci and Summer, two somewhat geeky ninth graders, have to come up with the dates they boasted about for the end-of-school dance. A magic ring at a junk shop and a pair of pet rats do the job, but the girls have to keep the rat boys from gnawing everything in sight.
Three Clams and an Oyster (Randy Powell) During their humorous search to find a fourth player for their flag football team, three high school juniors are forced to examine their long friendship, their individual flaws, and their inability to try new experiences.
A Fate Totally Worse than Death (Paul Fleischman)

This takeoff on teen-horror novels is funny, mocking, and a surefire hit. Cliffs, murder, ghosts, and revenge form the core of the plot as three teen girls at Cliffside High draw a bead on Helga, the ravishing Norwegian exchange student who has captivated Drew, a boy whose father is a millionaire.

Blood Sucking Fiends (Christopher Moore)

Office worker, Jodi, wakes up one morning under a dumpster and the sun burns her and she has super human strength. She has never watched vampire movies or read the books, so she doesn't know what to do or how to do it.

Born to Rock (Gordon Korman) Leo Caraway thinks he has his life planned out until he gets falsely accused of cheating on an exam, loses his scholarship to Harvard and discovers his bio-dad is a legendary punk rocker, King Maggot of Purge.
I’m a Stranger Here Myself (Bill Bryson) Bryson’s hilarious and poignant account of his return to America after twenty years in England.
Me Talk Pretty One Day (David Sedaris) Another uproarious collection of essays on life’s weirdness from a man who seems to have lived more of that weirdness than most.

OUT OF THIS WORLD – SCIENCE FICTION FANTASY

The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen accidentally becomes a contender in the annual Hunger Games, a grave competition hosted by the Capitol where young boys and girls are pitted against one another in a televised fight to the death.

Flight (Sherman Alexie)

Follows the life of a troubled teen as he is transported back and forth in time in a search for his true identity.

Graceling (Kristin Cashore)

In a world where some people are born with extreme and often-feared skills called Graces, Katsa struggles for redemption from her own horrifying Grace of killing and teams up with another young fighter to save their land from a corrupt king.

Bonechiller (Graham McNamee)

Four high school students face off against a soul-stealing beast that has been making young people disappear in their small Ontario, Canada, town for centuries.

Ender’s Game* (Orson Scott Card) Ender, who is the result of genetic experimentation, may be the military genius Earth needs in its war against an alien enemy.
Lord of the Rings* (J.R.R. Tolkien) Epic story of Middle-Earth and the battle to save mankind. A great read for those who enjoy interesting characters and fantasy fiction adventure!
A Wizard of Earthsea (Ursula K. Le Guin) A boy grows to manhood while attempting to subdue the evil he unleashed on the world as an apprentice to the master wizard.
Fairest (Gail Carson Levine) In the Kingdom of Ayortha, Aza, an unattractive woman with a magical voice, learns to balance her appearance with her talent. Meanwhile, her singing attracts both Prince Ijori, who cannot resist it, and Queen Ivi, who plots to use it to benefit herself.
Eragon (Christopher Paolini)* In Aagaesia, a 15-year-old boy of unknown lineage called Eragon finds a mysterious stone that weaves his life into an intricate tapestry of destiny, magic, and power, peopled with dragons, elves, and monsters.
Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment* (James Patterson) After the mutant Erasers abduct the youngest member of their group, the "birdkids," who are the result of genetic experimentation, take off in pursuit and find themselves struggling to understand their own origins and purpose.
Life As We Knew It (Susan Beth Pfeffer) Through journal entries 16-year-old Miranda describes her family's struggle to survive after a meteor hits the moon, causing worldwide tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

When Dashti, a maid, and Lady Saren, her mistress, are shut in a tower for seven years for Saren’s refusal to marry a man she despises, the two prepare for a very long and dark imprisonment. As food runs low and the days go from broiling hot to freezing cold, it is all Dashti can do to keep them fed and comfortable. But the arrival outside the tower of Saren’s two suitors—one welcome, and the other decidedly less so—brings both hope and great danger, and Dashti must make the desperate choices of a girl whose life is worth more than she knows.

Endymion Spring* (Matthew Skelton) Having reluctantly accompanied his academic mother and pesky younger sister to Oxford, 12-year-old Blake Winters is at loose ends until he stumbles across an ancient and magical book and which now draws Blake into a dangerous and life-threatening quest.
The Thief* (Megan Whalen Turner) Gen flaunts his ingenuity as a thief and relishes the adventure which takes him to a remote temple of the gods where he will attempt to steal a precious stone.
Uglies* (Scott Westerfeld) Tally is faced with a difficult choice when her new friend Shay decides to risk life on the outside rather than submit to the forced operation that turns 16- year-old girls into gorgeous beauties.
Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley) The “King Arthur” story from the point of view of the women, especially Morgan le Fey.
Wicked (Gregory Maguire) Elphaba, born with emerald green skin, comes of age in the land of Oz, rooms with debutante Glinda at the university, and follows a path in life that earns her the label of Wicked.
On a Pale Horse (Piers Anthony)

Zane belongs to a world in which the scientific revolution has been followed by the revolution of magic, and he is thrust into the role of Death.

The Hitcherhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)

The story of a young man who is rescued by an alien friend seconds before Earth is demolished to make room for a galactic freeway.

Other authors to look for: Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, Gary Paulsen, Lemony Snicket, and Sheri S. Tepper
*Indicates this book is part of a series