2008 ALA Best Books for Young Adults (Fiction Part 2)
Discover the top 2008 ALA Best Books for Young Adults (Fiction Part 2) with this curated list of must-read titles. Find award-winning young adult fiction that captivates and inspires readers.
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Town Boy
by Lat
Now a teenager at boarding school, Mat explores the possibilites of town life in Malaysia.
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Buried
by Robin Merrow MacCready
In this psychological thriller, Claudine, the daughter of an alcoholic mother, digs for a dark, buried truth.
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The White Darkness
by Geraldine McCaughrean
Taken to Antarctica by the man she thinks of as her uncle for what she believes to be a vacation, Symone--a troubled fourteen year old--discovers that he is dangerously obsessed with seeking Symme's Hole, an opening that supposedly leads into the center of a hollow Earth.
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Miss Spitfire
by Sarah Miller
At age twenty-one, partially-blind, lonely but spirited Annie Sullivan travels from Massachusetts to Alabama to try and teach six-year-old Helen Keller, deaf and blind since age two, self-discipline and communication skills. Includes historical notes and timeline.
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What They Found
by Walter Dean Myers
Fifteen interrelated stories explore different aspects of love, including a dying father's determination to help start a family business--a beauty salon--and the relationship of two teens who plan to remain celibate until they marry.
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Coal Black Horse
by Robert Olmstead
When Robey Childs's mother experiences a premonition about her husband, a Civil War soldier, she sends her only son to retrieve his father from the battlefield, accompanied by a horse that becomes his only companion as he makes his way through the destruc
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Red Glass
by Laura Resau
Sixteen-year-old Sophie has been frail and delicate since her premature birth, but discovers her true strength during a journey through Mexico, where the six-year-old orphan her family hopes to adopt was born, and to Guatemala, where her would-be boyfriend hopes to find his mother and plans to remain.
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
by J. K. Rowling
At a time when the forces of evil seem to be gaining the upper hand, Harry comes of age in the wizarding world, and must take on and defeat Voldemort--or be killed himself.
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The Wednesday Wars
by Gary D. Schmidt
In this Newbery Honor-winning novel, Gary D. Schmidt tells the witty and compelling story of a teenage boy who feels that fate has it in for him, during the school year 1968-68. Seventh grader Holling Hoodhood isn't happy. He is sure his new teacher, Mrs. Baker, hates his guts. Holling's domineering father is obsessed with his business image and disregards his family. Throughout the school year, Holling strives to get a handle on the Shakespeare plays Mrs. Baker assigns him to read on his own time, and to figure out the enigmatic Mrs. Baker. As the Vietnam War turns lives upside down, Holling comes to admire and respect both Shakespeare and Mrs. Baker, who have more to offer him than he imagined. And when his family is on the verge of coming apart, he also discovers his loyalty to his sister, and his ability to stand up to his father when it matters most.
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The Invention of Hugo Cabret
by Brian Selznick
When twelve-year-old Hugo, an orphan living and repairing clocks within the walls of a Paris train station in 1931, meets a mysterious toyseller and his goddaughter, his undercover life and his biggest secret are jeopardized.
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My Mother the Cheerleader
by Rob Sharenow
Thirteen-year-old Louise uncovers secrets about her family and her neighborhood during the violent protests over school desegregation in 1960s New Orleans.
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Notes from the Midnight Driver
by Jordan Sonnenblick
When sixteen-year-old Alex hatches one of his possibly-not-so-brilliant plans to get his parents back together, it ends up backfiring in a major way (as in police officers being called to the scene-major). Now, after being sentenced to do community service at an old folks' home, Alex has one more thing to contend with: Solomon Lewis. Sol is a feisty senior who pours ice water in Alex's lap, tries to hook Alex up with a pixie-ninja master love interest, taunts the other patients, and loves to tell Alex off using inappropriate foreign words. This is the story of Alex Gregory, his guitar, his bestgal pal, Laurie, and the friendship of a lifetime.
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The Arrival
by Shaun Tan
"In this wordless graphic novel, a man leaves his homeland and sets off for a new country, where he must build a new life for himself and his family."--
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One Good Punch
by Rich Wallace
Eighteen-year-old Michael Kerrigan, writer of obituaries for the Scranton Observer and captain of the track team, is ready for the most important season of his life--until the police find four joints in his school locker, and he is faced with a choice that could change everything.
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Converting Kate
by Beckie Weinheimer
After moving from Arizona to Maine, sixteen-year-old Kate tries to recover from her father's death as she resists her mother's dogmatic religious beliefs and attempts to find a new direction to her life.
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Story of a Girl
by Sara Zarr
When she is caught in the backseat of a car with her older brother's best friend, Deanna Lambert's teenage life is changed forever. With subtle grace, complicated wisdom, and striking emotion, this debut novel captures a girl's struggle to redefine herself.
