The Hunger Games  by Suzanne Collins
Genre:   Science Fiction

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to death before--and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Left Behind: The Vanishings  
by Jerry B. Jenkins & Tim LaHaye
Genre:   Christian Fiction

In one shocking moment, millions around the globe disappear. Those left behind face an uncertain future--especially four kids who now find themselves alone. As the kids search for help and answers, they are told the truth behind the disappearances. But are they ready to believe it? As the world falls in around them, Judd, Vicki, Lionel, and Ryan band together to find faith and fight the evil forces that threaten their lives.

Harry Potter andthe Sorcerer's Stone
by J.K. Rowling
Genre:   Fantasy Fiction

Harry Potter has never played a sport while flying on a broomstick. He's never worn a cloak of invisibility, befriended a giant, or helped hatch a dragon. All Harry knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley. Harry's room is a tiny closet at the foot of the stairs and he hasn't had a birthday party in eleven years. But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to a wonderful place he never dreamed existed. There he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic around every corner, but a great destiny that's been waiting for him... if Harry can survive the encounter.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief  by Rick Riordan
Genre:   Fantasy Fiction

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school . . . again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed in his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns of him betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
by C.S. Lewis
Genre:   Fantasy Fiction

Four adventurers step through a wardrobe door and the into the land of Narnia--a land enslaved by the power of the White Witch. But when almost all hope is lost, the return of the Great Lion, Aslan, signals a change... and a great sacrifice.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Genre:   Science Fiction

If you ain't scared, you ain't human.
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He's surrounded by strangers--boys whose memories are also gone.

Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.
Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It's the only way out--and no one's ever made it through alive.

Everything is going to change.
Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.

Remember. Survive. Run.

The Selection by Kiera Cass
Genre:   Science Fiction

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon. But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks. Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself--and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Genre:   Science Fiction

This is a world divided by blood--red or silver. The Reds area commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like super powers. Seventeen-year-old Red girl, Mare Barrow finds herself working in the Silver Palace, surrounded by the people she hates the most. In a terrifying moment, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. Fearful of her potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance--Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Genre:   Realistic Fiction

According to Ponyboy, there are two kinds of people  in the world: greasers and socs. A soc (short for "social") has money, can get away with just about anything, and has an attitude longer than a limousine. A greaser, on the other hand, always lives on the outside and needs to watch his back. Ponyboy is a greaser, and he's always been proud of it, even willing to rumble against and gang of socs for the sake of his fellow greasers--until one terrible night when his friend Johnny kills a soc. The murder gets under Ponyboy's skin, causing his world to crumble and teaching him that pain feels the same whether a soc or a greaser.

Terror at Bottle Creek by Watt Key
Genre:   Adventure/Survival

The Swamp is the last place to be during a storm like this. When his dad disappears, thirteen-year-old Cort is caught in a battle against a Gulf Coast hurricane. Cort's father is a local expert on hunting and swamp lore in lower Alabama who has been teaching his son everything he knows. But when a deadly Category 3 storm makes landfall, Cort must unexpectedly put his skills and bravery to the test. One catastrophe seems to lead to another, leaving Cort and two neighbor girls to face the storm as best they can. Amid miles of storm-thrashed wetlands filled with dangerous, desperate wild animals, it's up to Cort to win or lose the fight for their lives.

Save Me A Seat by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan
Genre:   Realistic Fiction

A new friend could be sitting right next to you.

Joe and Ravi might be from very different places, but they're both stuck in the same place: School. Joe's lived in the same town all his life, and was doing just fine until his best friends moved away and left him on his own. Ravi's family just moved to America from India, and he's finding it pretty hard to figure out where he fits in.

Joe and Ravi don't think they have anything in common--but soon they have a common enemy (the biggest bully in their class) and a common mission: to take control of their lives over the course of a single crazy week.

Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Genre:   Realistic Fiction

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial difference that prevented him from going to a mainstream school--until now. He's about to enter fifth grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid, then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances?

Refugee by Alan Gratz
Genre:   Historical Fiction

Three different kids. One mission in common: Escape.

Josef is a Jewish boy in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world...

Isabel is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety and freedom in America...

Mahmoud is a Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart by violence and destruction, he and his family begin a long trek toward Europe...

All three young people will go on harrowing journeys in search of refuge. All will face unimaginable dangers--from drownings to bombings to betrayals. But for each of them, there is always the hope of tomorrow. And although Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud are separated by continents and decades, surprising connections will tie their stories together in the end.

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
Genre:   Young Adult Fantasy Fiction

Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire's impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They've seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia's brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire's greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school's finest soldier--and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he's being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined--and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Genre:   Historical Fiction

With the sudden rise of the Berlin Wall, twelve-year-old Gerta finds her family divided overnight. She, her mother, and her brother Fritz live on the eastern side, controlled by the Soviets. Her father and middle brother, who had gone west in search of work, are unable to return home. Gerta knows it is dangerous to watch the wall, to think forbidden thoughts of freedom, yet she can't help herself. She sees the East German soldiers with their guns trained on their own citizens, watching for any sign of escape. Gerta, her family, her neighbors and friends are prisoners in their own city.

But one day, Gerta spots her father on a viewing platform on the western side of the wall, pantomiming a peculiar dance. She concludes that her father wants Gerta and Fritz to tunnel beneath the wall, out of East Berlin. However, if they are caught, the consequences will be deadly. No one can be trusted. Will Gerta and her family find their way to freedom?

To All the Boys I've Loved Before
by Jenny Han
Genre:   Young Adult Romance

Lara Jean keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren't love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are the ones she's written. One for every boy she's ever loved--five in all. When she writes, she can pour out her heart and soul and say all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control.

The Light in Hidden Places
by Sharon Cameron
Genre:   Historical Fiction

One knock at the door, and Stefania has a choice to make...

It is 1943, and for four years, sixteen-year-old Stefania has been working for the Diamant family in their grocery store in Przemysl, Poland, singing her way into their lives and hearts. She has even made a promise to one of their sons, Izio--a betrothal they must keep secret since Stefania is Catholic and the Diamants are Jewish.

But everything changes when the German Army invades Przemysl. The Diamants are forced into the ghetto, and Stefania is alone in an occupied city, the only person left to care for Helena, her six-year-old sister. And then comes the knock at the door. Izio's brother Max has jumped from a train headed to a concentration camp. Stefania and Helena make the extraordinary decision to hide Max, and eventually twelve for Jews, too. Then they must wait, every day, for the next knock on the door, the one that will mean death. When the knock finally comes, it is two SS officers, requisitioning Stefania's house for the German Army.

With two Nazis living below, thirteen Jews hidden above, and a little sister by her side, Stefania has one more excruciating choice to make.

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Genre:   Young Adult Mystery

Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But it's not a skill that she's ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI comes knocking: they've begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to close infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie's help.

Cassie moves across the country to train with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own, and who can be as puzzling as the unsolved homicides they have to work together to crack. Cassie's roommate, Sloane, is better with statistics than she is with people, and human lie detector Lia is as prickly as they come. Brooding Dean shares Cassie's gift for profiling, but keeps her at arm's length. Then there's sarcastic, privileged Michael, who ahs a knack for reading emotions and uses his skills to get inside Cassie's head--and under her skin.

No one in the naturals program is what they seem. And when a new killer strikes close to home, danger creeps closer than Cassie could ever have imagined. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a murderer, the Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive.

The Inheritance Games
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Genre:   Young Adult Mystery

Secret passages. Elaborate riddles. Billions at stake.

Avery Gambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her luck changes in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves her virtually his entire fortune. The only catch? Avery must move into his sprawling mansion, full of secret passages, riddles, and codes. Unfortunately for Avery, Hawthorne House is also occupied by the family that was just disinherited. This includes the four Hawthorne grandsons: dangerous, magnetic boys who grew up with every expectation that, one day, they would inherit billions. 

Heir apparent Grayson is convinced that Avery is a con woman, and he's determined to take her down. But his brother Jameson views her as their grandfather's last hurrah: a twisted riddle, a puzzle to be solved. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself just to survive.

Ghost by Jason Reynolds
Genre:   Realistic Fiction

Ghost. Lu. Patina. Sunny. Four kids from wildly different backgrounds with personalities that are explosive when they clash. But they are also four kids chosen for an elite middle school track team--a team that could qualify them for the Junior Olympics if they can get their acts together. They all have a lot to lose, but they also have a lot to prove, not only to each other, but to themselves.

Running. That's all Ghost (real name Castle Crenshaw) has ever known. But Ghost has been running for the wrong reasons--it all started with running away from his father, who, when Ghost was a very little boy, chased him and his mother through their apartment, then down the street, with a loaded gun, aiming to kill. Since then, Ghost has been the one causing problems--and running away from them--until he meets Coach, an ex-Olympic Medalist who sees something Ghost: crazy natural talent. If Ghost can stay on track, literally and figuratively, he could be the best sprinter in the city. Can Ghost harness his raw talent for speed, or will hios past finally catch up to him?

The Canyon's Edge by Dusti Bowling
Genre:   Reaslitic Fiction/Novel in Verse

One year after a random shooting changed their family forever, Nora and her father are exploring a slot canyon deep in the Arizona desert, hoping it will help them find peace. Nora longs for things to go back to normal, like they were when her mother was still alive, while her father keeps them isolated in fear of other people. But when they reach the bottom of the canyon, the unthinkable happens: A flash flood rips across their path, sweeping away Nora's father and all of their supplies.

Suddenly, Nora finds herself lost and alone in the desert, facing dehydration, deadly snakes, venomous scorpions, and worst of all, the Beast who has terrorized her dreams for the past year. If Nora is going to save herself and her father, she must conquer her fears, defeat the Beast, and find the courage to live her new life.

I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
Genre:   Non-Fiction

I am Malala. This is my story.

Malala Yousafzai was only ten years old when the Taliban took control of her region. They said music was a crime. They said women weren't allowed to go to the marked. They said girls couldn't go to school.

Raised in a once-peaceful area of Pakistan transformed by terrorism, Malala was taught to stand up for what she believes. So she fought for her right to be educated. An on October 9, 2012, she nearly lost her life for the cause: She was shot point-blank while riding the bus on her way home from school.

No one expected her to survive.