Bradley, Kimberly B.  For Freedom:  The Story of a French Spy.  Delacorte Books for Young
Readers, 2003.
A teenager in Cherbourg, France continues her training to be an opera singer while taking on the role as courier for the French Resistance.

Crutcher, Chris.  King of the Mild Frontier:  An Ill-Advised Biography.  Greenwillow Books,
2003.
The popular author tells of growing up in Cascade, Idaho where his many misadventures and his rocky relationship with his family while growing up in Cascade, Idaho influenced his eventually becoming a writer.

Donnelly, Jennifer.  A Northern Light.  Harcourt Children’s Books, 2003.
In 1906, Mattie takes a job at a summer inn to earn money for college against the wishes of her father and fiance and discovers the truth about the death of an inn guest.

DuPrau, Jeanne.  The City of Ember.  Random House Books for Young Readers, 2003.
Lina and Doon become messengers on Assignment Day and begin an adventure to save their decaying city and its people.

Going, K.L.  Fat Kid Rules the World.  G.P. Putnam Publishers Group Juvenile, 2003.
Depressed and weighing over 300 pounds, Troy tries to commit suicide but is rescued by a homeless teenage guitarist who wants him to be the drummer for his punk band.

Grimes, Nikki.  Bronx Masquerade.  Dial Books for Young Readers, 2002.
While studying the Harlem Renaissance, students at a Bronx high school read aloud their poems revealing their innermost thoughts and fears.

Hale, Shannon.  Goose Girl.  Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2003.
On her way to marry a prince she has never met, Ani is betrayed by her guards and lady-in-waiting and must take on the guise of a goose girl to survive until she can reclaim her crown.

Halliday, John.  Shooting Monarchs.  Margaret K. McElderry, 2003.
Two teenage boys who grow up under difficult circumstances turn out very differently; one becomes a hero and the other a serial killer.

Hartinger, Brett.  Geography Club.  HarperTempest, 2003.
A group of gay and lesbian teenagers find mutual support when they form the “Geography Club” at their high school.
 
 

Hautman, Pete.  Sweetblood.  Simon & Schuster, 2003.
Lucy has gone from model student to being in trouble at school, meeting with the proto-vampires she has met on the Internet, and refusing to control her diabetes.

Holt, Kimberly Willis.  Keeper of the Night.  Henry Holt & Company, Inc., 2003.
Thirteen –year-old Isabel, living on Guam, assumes the role of head of the house after her mother commits suicide.

Jennings, Richard.  My Life of Crime.  Houghton Mifflin/ Walter Lorraine Books, 2002.
Fowler only wants to free a pathetic looking parrot free from its cage at school but his good intentions instead set off an adventure filled with ethical and legal implications.

Johnson, Angela.  The First Part Last.  Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, 2003.
Teenager Bobby’s life changes forever when he becomes a father and must care for his baby daughter.

Koja, Kathe.  Buddha Boy.  Farrar Strauss & Giroux, 2003.
For a school project, Justin teams up with Jinsen, a Buddhist who is tormented by bullies but finds that his admiration for Jinsen’s devotion to faith sparks a need to start thinking about his own beliefs.

Korman, Gordon.  Son of the Mob.  Hyperion Press, 2002.
Vince, the son of a powerful Mob leader, begins dating Kendra, the daughter of an FBI agent.

Lubar, David.  Dunk.  Clarion Books, 2002.
While working at the boardwalk dunk tank and hoping to become the bozo, Chad faces the possibility of losing his best friend to serious illness and finding that he is a loser like his father.

Mackler, Carolyn.  The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things.  Candlewick Press,
2003.
Feeling that she does not fit in with her family, Virginia struggles with her self-image, her first physical relationship and disillusionment with some of the people closest to her.

Martin, Ann.  A Corner of the Universe.  Scholastic, 2002.
The summer she turns twelve, Hattie meets an autistic uncle she never knew and a girl who works at the carnival that comes to town.

Murphy, Jim.  An American Plague:  The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever
Epidemic of 1793.  Clarion Books, 2003.
A well-researched narrative history of the Yellow Fever epidemic of Philadelphia in 1793 that draws on first hand accounts of the people who endured it.
 
 

Nolan, Han.  When We Were Saints.  Harcourt Children’s Books, 2003.
Archie accompanies deeply faithful Claire on a pilgrimage to the Cloisters in New York City to see if he really is a saint as his grandfather said he was.

Paolini, Christopher.  Eragon.  Knopf, 2003.
Eragon finds a stone that throws him into a life of the magic and power of dragons, elves and monsters.

Pattou, Edith.  East.  Harcourt Children’s Books, 2003.
Rose travels on the back of a white bear who is a victim of an enchantment to a distant castle where she is nightly confronted with a mystery.

Peck, Richard.  The River Between Us.  Dial Books for Young Readers, 2003.
In the early days of the Civil War, the Pruitt family takes in two mysterious young ladies who have fled New Orleans to seek refuge in the north.

Simmons, Michael.  Pool Boy.  Roaring Book Press, 2003.
Brett’s life changes drastically when his father is jailed for insider trading and he finds himself cleaning the pools of his former neighbors.

Spinelli, Jerry.  Milkweed.  Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2003.
An orphan boy in Nazi-occupied Warsaw during World War II faces heartbreak, hope and the chance of survival.

This is the same list in a different order!

TN VSBA- YA
Reading List for Schools
2005-2006
 

Middle School Interest

Bradley, Kimberly B.  For Freedom:  The Story of a French Spy.  Delacorte Books for Young
Readers, 2003.
A teenager in Cherbourg, France continues her training to be an opera singer while taking on the role as courier for the French Resistance.

DuPrau, Jeanne.  The City of Ember.  Random House Books for Young Readers, 2003.
Lina and Doon become messengers on Assignment Day and begin an adventure to save their decaying city and its people.

Hale, Shannon.  Goose Girl.  Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2003.
On her way to marry a prince she has never met, Ani is betrayed by her guards and lady-in-waiting and must take on the guise of a goose girl to survive until she can reclaim her crown.

Holt, Kimberly Willis.  Keeper of the Night.  Henry Holt & Company, Inc., 2003.
Thirteen –year-old Isabel, living on Guam, assumes the role of head of the house after her mother commits suicide.

Jennings, Richard.  My Life of Crime.  Houghton Mifflin/ Walter Lorraine Books, 2002.
Fowler only wants to free a pathetic looking parrot free from its cage at school but his good intentions instead set off an adventure filled with ethical and legal implications.

Korman, Gordon.  Son of the Mob.  Hyperion Press, 2002.
Vince, the son of a powerful Mob leader, begins dating Kendra, the daughter of an FBI agent.  (Also of High School interest.)

Martin, Ann.  A Corner of the Universe.  Scholastic, 2002.
The summer she turns twelve, Hattie meets an autistic uncle she never knew and a girl who works at the carnival that comes to town.

Murphy, Jim.  An American Plague:  The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever
Epidemic of 1793.  Clarion Books, 2003.
A well-researched narrative history of the Yellow Fever epidemic of Philadelphia in 1793 that draws on first hand accounts of the people who endured it.

Paolini, Christopher.  Eragon.  Knopf, 2003.
Eragon finds a stone that throws him into a life of the magic and power of dragons, elves and monsters.  (Also of High School interest.)
 

Pattou, Edith.  East.  Harcourt Children’s Books, 2003.
Rose travels on the back of a white bear who is a victim of an enchantment to a distant castle where she is nightly confronted with a mystery.  (Also of High School interest.)

Spinelli, Jerry.  Milkweed.  Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2003.
An orphan boy in Nazi-occupied Warsaw during World War II faces heartbreak, hope and the chance of survival.
 

High School Interest

Crutcher, Chris.  King of the Mild Frontier:  An Ill-Advised Biography.  Greenwillow Books,
2003.
The popular author tells of growing up in Cascade, Idaho where his many misadventures and his rocky relationship with his family while growing up in Cascade, Idaho influenced his eventually becoming a writer.

Donnelly, Jennifer.  A Northern Light.  Harcourt Children’s Books, 2003.
In 1906, Mattie takes a job at a summer inn to earn money for college against the wishes of her father and fiance and discovers the truth about the death of an inn guest.

Going, K.L.  Fat Kid Rules the World.  G.P. Putnam Publishers Group Juvenile, 2003.
Depressed and weighing over 300 pounds, Troy tries to commit suicide but is rescued by a homeless teenage guitarist who wants him to be the drummer for his punk band.

Grimes, Nikki.  Bronx Masquerade.  Dial Books for Young Readers, 2002.
While studying the Harlem Renaissance, students at a Bronx high school read aloud their poems revealing their innermost thoughts and fears.

Halliday, John.  Shooting Monarchs.  Margaret K. McElderry, 2003.
Two teenage boys who grow up under difficult circumstances turn out very differently; one becomes a hero and the other a serial killer.

Hartinger, Brett.  Geography Club.  HarperTempest, 2003.
A group of gay and lesbian teenagers find mutual support when they form the “Geography Club” at their high school.

Hautman, Pete.  Sweetblood.  Simon & Schuster, 2003.
Lucy has gone from model student to being in trouble at school, meeting with the proto-vampires she has met on the Internet, and refusing to control her diabetes.

Johnson, Angela.  The First Part Last.  Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, 2003.
Teenager Bobby’s life changes forever when he becomes a father and must care for his baby daughter.
 

Koja, Kathe.  Buddha Boy.  Farrar Strauss & Giroux, 2003.
For a school project, Justin teams up with Jinsen, a Buddhist who is tormented by bullies but finds that his admiration for Jinsen’s devotion to faith sparks a need to start thinking about his own beliefs.

Lubar, David.  Dunk.  Clarion Books, 2002.
While working at the boardwalk dunk tank and hoping to become the bozo, Chad faces the possibility of losing his best friend to serious illness and finding that he is a loser like his father.

Mackler, Carolyn.  The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things.  Candlewick Press,
2003.
Feeling that she does not fit in with her family, Virginia struggles with her self-image, her first physical relationship and disillusionment with some of the people closest to her.

Nolan, Han.  When We Were Saints.  Harcourt Children’s Books, 2003.
Archie accompanies deeply faithful Claire on a pilgrimage to the Cloisters in New York City to see if he really is a saint as his grandfather said he was.

Peck, Richard.  The River Between Us.  Dial Books for Young Readers, 2003.
In the early days of the Civil War, the Pruitt family takes in two mysterious young ladies who have fled New Orleans to seek refuge in the north.

Simmons, Michael.  Pool Boy.  Roaring Book Press, 2003.
Brett’s life changes drastically when his father is jailed for insider trading and he finds himself cleaning the pools of his former neighbors.