Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison

The first book in a popular British series. Sometimes compared with Bridget Jones, 14-year-old Georgia is very funny in her own right and has problems any teenager could relate to

Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini

‘The Corrections” meets ”Fast Times at Ridgemont High” in this realistic high school novel that swerves into satiric fantasy when Jeremy Heere, a nerd, swallows a quantum supercomputer that gives instructions in being cool.

Breakout by Paul Fleischman

At 17, Del escapes her foster home in a used car, heading for freedom on the L.A. freeway. Then an epic traffic jam happens. “The lanes teemed like an Arab bazaar. Del entered and felt herself disappear into the labyrinth.”

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler

Virginia Shreves is tired of being fat, especially compared with her perfect older brother – until she discovers that he’s really not perfect at all. A scathing look at the world of selfish Manhattan parents and snobbish private schools.

If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson

Tragedy is hinted at from the first page, when Ellie, who is white, begins to recall how she fell in love with Jeremiah, who is black. Watching them overcome the distance between them is most of the point – but so is discovering the gaps that can’t be breached.

Life Is Funny by E. R. Frank

A novel about 11 New York City teenagers from whole and broken homes, rich and poor, each speaking in a distinctive language – often harsh, yet eloquent. The action is gritty, and parents rarely help and often hurt.

Looking for Alaska by John Green

When Miles Halter goes away to boarding school in Alabama, he makes his first real friends and falls for a beautiful and troubled girl named Alaska. Much of the novel is a countdown to a tragedy; afterward, Miles and his friends try to make sense of it.

Luna by Julie Anne Peters

As a junior in high school, Regan’s brother, Liam, begins to come to terms with his trangendered identity as ”Luna,” but only Regan knows his secret. Now both have to leave the secrets behind — though it will cost them the family life they have known. A compelling portrait of self-acceptance and sibling solidarity.
 

Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer

When she accepts a summer job as a chauffeur to a strong-willed older woman, Jenna Boller escapes her alcoholic father’s shadow and sets out on a life-changing journey — learning ”great road truths that teenagers aren’t always exposed to.”

Sandpiper by Ellen Wittlinger 

Sandpiper Ragsdale has a bad reputation – only now it isn’t only the boys in her grade who know, everyone seems to. And someone is threatening her. As her mother prepares to remarry, a mysterious new friend shows up to help Piper overcome her past and his own.

Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen

After a fatal motorcycle accident, Halley helps her lifelong friend Scarlett mourn her first love and decide what to do about her surprise pregnancy — while dealing with the fallout from rash decisions of her own.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

When Melinda Sordino is blamed for what happened at an end-of-summer party ”with beers and seniors and music,” she becomes an outcast and stops talking. In the end, she makes herself heard.

Tears of a Tiger by Sharon Draper

A wrenching story written from multiple perspectives in different formats (letters, newspaper articles, documents and so on) in the aftermath of a fiery drunk-driving accident. Andy Jackson, school basketball star, was driving, and now has to cope with the consequences. First book of the Hazelwood High trilogy

Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume

Blume grapples realistically with a girl’s experience after her father dies in a convenience store holdup. A new school and a new state, and her mother’s near breakdown, leads to Davey Wexler finding her own strength to survive

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

In a dystopia where every teenager gets surgery at 16 to become beautiful, a few rebels escape to survive outside the perfect city. A sharp-eyed look at the tyranny of beauty and sameness. First of a trilogy.