To win the affection of Victoria Forrester, Trystran Thorne crosses the wall that blocks Wall from Faerie, in search of a fallen star. He is surprised to find that the star is a girl, and must decide what to do after a long and dangerous journey back to Wall.

AR level: UG 6.2
Lexile: 970

Book one of the Lunar chronicles is a future world spin on the Cinderella story. Lots of food for thought with the issues of technological advancement and an effective mixed-genre read.

ARlevel: 5.8 MG+
Lexile: 790

A teenage boy tells the story of what took place during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. This book could serve as a supplemental read when studying the Holocaust and comes from a unique perspective. Illustrated throughout and a good pick for reluctant readers.

AR level: UG 4.1
Lexile: HL510

Just the right amount of scary and suspense, mixed with humor. Coraline finds a door in her new house that leads to a second world, with a second set of her neighbors, and her "other" mother and father. It is fun at first until Coraline realizes things are just a little bit off, and her "other" parents don't want her to leave. Coraline is determined, though, to save herself and the other lost souls stuck in this world.

AR level: 5.1 MG
Lexile: 740

After falling and losing her two front teeth, Raina goes through some hard times. Despite her struggles she is able to find her way and be her true self.

AR level: 2.6 MG
Lexile: 410

AR level: 3.1 LG
Lexile: 470

Karou is an art student with a bothersome ex-boyfriend and a best friend who puts up with more than she should. But she also has secrets. Karou's blue hair is not the only unique thing about her. She is the "errand" girl for the only family she knows, and is allowed wishes by her not quite human caretaker. Karou learns about good and evil, and plays a part in an unusual love story in this fantasy.

AR level: 5.8 UG
Lexile: 850
Recommended for: Teens

Before committing suicide, Hannah made a cassette recording of the reasons she did what she did, and sends them to each of the people she deems integral in her decision, threatening to expose their secrets if they don't listen all the way through. The story is told as one of the recipients, Clay, listens and reacts to Hannah's tapes. The story comes together toward the end with the culmination of events that pushed Hannah to her decision.

Personally, I thought the overall tone was odd for a story told by a suicidal teen- somewhat biting and cocky, and very rationally explained. Does bring up important issues for teens to discuss, though I was unimpressed with the execution.

AR level: 3.9 MG+
Lexile: 550
Recommended for: High school

B is forced to take the zombie takeover seriously when thrust into the middle of an attack. The story is action packed but also touches on issues of racism and B's need to break away from unhealthy family relations.

AR level: 4.4 UG
Lexile: 710
Recommended for:

It's a tradition that just before homecoming a list of the prettiest and ugliest girl in each grade is posted around the school. The story follows each of the girls on the list from the time it is published until the homecoming dance, intertwining the stories and showing the repercussions the list has for each girl. A realistic portrayal of high school life and a readable story.

AR level: 4.8 UG
Lexile: 750
Recommended for: Teens

After noticing that a missing little girl on a milk carton looks very familiar, Janie becomes obsessed with the carton, carrying it with her everywhere she goes. Slowly she begins to have flashbacks, memories of the little girl and this other life, with other parents. Janie battles her thoughts and feelings as she struggles to figure out what happened to that girl in the shopping mall in New Jersey. How could it possibly have been her, when her amazing parents could never be capable of something like kidnapping? But where are these memories coming from if it isn't? With the help of her neighbor and new love interest, Reeve, Janie will discover the truth about the kidnapping, her parents, and the little girl Jennie.

AR level: 4.8 UG
Lexile: 660
Recommended for: teens

Tells of the hilarious, but suspenseful adventure of Jimbo and his friend Charlie as they seek to find out why two of their teachers are secretly speaking a strange language with each other. When they visit Mrs. Pearce's home and find more clues pointing to something amiss, they are on their way. They take their brass bracelets and get ready to visit another land, with reluctant help of Jimbo's older sister.

AR level: 4.1 MG
Recommended for: middle school

When Eleanor first sat with Park on the bus, it didn't seem they could ever be friends, let alone more. But as they share comics, music, and insecurities, what grows between them is very real. Eleanor is still bullied and judged for her unique fashion style, but Park would do anything for her, and she starts to see hope as she spends time with his family, and realizes that she can get away from hers when she needs to. It's a readable story of substance, about love that can't not last forever.

AR level: 3.8 UG
Lexile: HL580
Recommended for: teens, young adults

Kit has mixed feelings about going away to boarding school while her mother and stepfather honeymoon in Europe. There is something strange about the school, despite its splendor. And while her best friend, Tracy, wasn't admitted, she looks forward to meeting other girls to share the Blackwood experience with. When it turns out that only four girls have been admitted, and the Blackwood staff becomes just as scarce, as well as secretive, Kit's suspicions grow. Each of the girls begins showing unknown talents, but the art that they are producing is not their own. Kit and the others need to figure out what is happening at Blackwood... and how to escape.

AR level: 5.3 UG
Lexile: 750
Recommended for: teens

Katherine and Michael's love feels like it will be "forever", until she is forced to spend the summer at camp, separated from him. Her world is shaken up when she begins to have feelings for someone else, despite still loving Michael. This piece of realistic fiction addressed first love and sex through the eyes of a teenager.

Lexile: HL590
Recommended for: teens
*sexual content

The mystery starts when Sunny gets a letter in the mail from her older sister, Jazz... her sister who was presumed dead when her apartment building burned down months ago. Sunny's family has had a difficult time since Jazz's death-- her father is drinking more and her mother can barely get out of bed. A visit from Jazz could be just what is needed to pull the family back together. While Sunny has always been a bit jealous of Jazz, she knows immediately that something is wrong when a "too perfect" Jazz shows up at the door. Taller and maybe a little too well rehearsed. Who is this girl really, and why is she there?

AR BL: 4.0 UG
Lexile: 550
Recommended for: Teens

This trifold story illuminates the struggle of Chinese Americans in the face of adjusting to and being accepted within the American culture, but also staying true to self. The Monkey King, high schooler Jin Wang, and high schooler Danny (popular but embarrassed by visits from his Chinese cousin Chin-Kee), each have engaging stories that intertwine in the end.

Lexile: 530
AR BL: 3.3 MG+
Recommended for: teens

This novel gives account to the worldwide catastrophe that begins after a meteor hits the moon. Miranda and her family in rural Pennsylvania are struggling, as everyone is, for survival. Written in the form of Miranda's diary, the book details the family's struggles with staying warm, fed, and alive through the natural disasters, sickness, and other trials faced. Loyalty to family is one thing they have; will it be enough?

Lexile: 770
AR BL: 4.7 MG+
Recommended for: teens, tweens

Walker, a teenager grieving his brother's death, gets a visit from Jesus after praying for help. He and his mother, who live above the nursing home she runs, have been struggling to deal with Noah's death. This modern day Jesus spends some time with Walker and helps him come to terms with his loss.

This is a very quick read, written in verse, and in a lighthearted, humorous manner despite the heavier content. Good pick for reluctant readers.

Lexile: 390
AR BL: 3.1 UG
Recommended for: teens/tweens

Ed is the "epitome of ordinariness". He never went to college, lied his way into a job as a taxi driver, spends most of his free time playing cards with his friends, and has no vision of making more of his life. When he becomes caught in the middle of a bank holdup and is dubbed a hero, subsequently receiving a mysterious Ace in the mail with messages to deliver to strangers in need, he takes the role. This story follows Ed through his receipt of all four Aces, and the delivery of the messages on each. Even when he doesn't understand exactly what he is doing or why, he knows he has a mission and his life will never be the same again.

I found this title's storyline to flow well throughout and found it a fairly easy read. Many readers will be touched by the relationships that Ed makes and the sense of purpose that he gains as we are shown that the smallest acts of kindness can make all the difference in the world. Humorous scenes are thrown into the mix of mystery and character-building.

I, personally, was unimpressed with many of Ed's messages-whether seemingly insignificant or morally questionable, and found it disconcerting how little he questioned "why?" while using violence and making decisions affecting others' lives. The delivery of many of the messages as well as the language were rough, and in my opinion, the tone was more depressing than hopeful and the main characters weren't terribly likable. It did make me think about ethics and may motivate teen readers to show more push for purposeful lives.
If you read this book, be ready to be thrown by the ending.

Lexile: 640
AR BL: 3.9 UG
Recommended for: older teens
*language, violent and sexual content show less