The pressure to conform is at the heart of this tale about high school. The title character, Stargirl, refuses to be "normal." She is decidedly different from everyone in her new high school. This leads young Leo to fall head over heels in love with--and he is just one of many. However, soon the tide turns and the student body hates Stargirl for the very personality that they once loved. Will she conform in order to be accepted or be blissful in her differences?
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Melinda is a friendless outcast at her high school. As an in-coming freshman, she called the police while at an end-of-summer party. Now no one will talk to her--not even her oldest friends. As time passes, she practically stops talking altogether. As the story unfolds, it becomes painstakingly obvious what frightened Melinda so much. Through another violent encounted at school, she finds her voice.
During the first summer that they will ever spend apart, four teenage girls vow to share a pair of thrift-store jeans. The pants travel around the globe and witness all the trials of growing up.
Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
If you haven't read any of the Harry Potter books, then now is a good time to start! These books are guaranteed to be loved--even by someone who hates to read. Harry Potter is a young wizard who goes off to begin school at Hogwart's. Each novel documents his adventures in wizardry with great imagery. Step into the novel and escape reality!
Great for older teens or adults, this book is based on the events surrounding the burning of Columbia, South Carolina during Sherman's March to the Sea at the end of the Civil War. Ellen Wayward and her younger sister are forced to deal with the Yankees on their own during the War. One Yankee in particular gives them some trouble--Major John Arledge, sent to Columbia to investigate war crimes. Ellen and Major Arledge are increasingly drawn to one another as the story progresses in a deadly but romantic game of cat and mouse.