MS/HS Library Page - YA/Adult/Parent Recommended Reading List

YA/Adult/Parent Recommended Reading List

Not all books recommended on this page are necessarily in the library, nor are they always recommended for all high school students. These are more recommendations of really good books for adults and mature high school students. CVS Library Dragon maintains that all books on this list are a recommendation and not required reading and that reading them is at your own leisure and risk and (if you are a mature student) at the permission of your parents. Links take you out to Amazon for a description of that book, however, the high school library does have some of these. Asterisks (*) indicate library ownership.

*Catch me if you Can by Frank Abagnale
*The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
*Watership Down by Richard Adams
*A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (This is a foreign book translated and there is a movie that goes with it, both are excellent)
*Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
*The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw ( A must read).
*The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
*In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Red, White, Black, Green, (the Circle Series) by Ted Dekker
*Out of my Mind by Sharon Draper
*Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fanny Flagg
The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon (this is a definite girl series in my opinion because of the love story).
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
A Lesson before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines
Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism by Temple Grandin (Absolutely love this brilliant woman)
The Autistic Brain by Temple Grandin
Killers or the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (Also known as Charlie due to the movie adaptation. This book made some of my students cry in class).
The Stand by Stephen King
*The Green Mile by Stephen King
Revival by Stephen King
*Misery by Stephen King
Cujo by Stephen King
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer (This got tons of good reviews; however, I felt that this book glorified McCandless, the man it is written about and so, please take note, this man, while not an idiot, did not think it through and therefore, caused his own death, sadly. The story is good. McCandless led an interesting life, but made mistakes, one that cost him dearly. Read it with caution).
The Mullendore Murder Case by Jonathan Kwitney (difficult to find)
The Devil in the White City: A Saga of Magic and Murder that Changed America By Erik Larsen
In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larsen
Dead Wake by Erik Larsen
Isaac's Storm by Erik Larsen
Thunderstruck by Erik Larsen
Lethal Passage by Erik Larsen (Sorry, I'm a fan).
*Where the Heart is by Billie Letts
*The Assassin's Blade Series by Sarah J. Maas
*Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas
*Rot and Ruin Series by Jonathan Maberry ( A definite must if you like Walking Dead).
*Game of Thrones Series by George R. R. Martin (especially if you haven't watched the series)
Labor Day by Joyce Maynard
All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien (a must read).
*The Healing by Jonathan Odell
Miss Hazel and the Rosa Parks League by Jonathan Odell
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch (I highly recommend this one)
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick
*Revenge of the Whale: The True Story of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick
*Dead Man Walking by Helen Prejean
The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus by Richard Preston (made me want to never fly again)
Rather Outspoken by Dan Rather (excellent)
The Amistad Rebellion: An Atlantic Odyssey of Slavery and Freedom by Marcus Rediker
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (The woman who changed cancer research)
*Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks
*Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
*The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Nights by John Steinbeck
*The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart
*The Help by Kathryn Stockett
*The Hobbit and the Lord of the Ring Series by J.R.R. Tolkien
Zombie Fallout by Mark Tufo....This series is a hoot. Doesn't take itself too seriously.
Was God on Vacation by Jack Van Der Geest
*Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson
Night Series by Elie Wiesel
Someone Cry for the Children: the Unsolved Girl Scout Murders of Oklahoma and the Case of Gene Leroy Hart (difficult to find) by Michael and Dick Wilkerson
The Shack by William Paul Young