Fifteen year-old Tally's eerily harmonious, post-apocalyptic society gives extreme makeovers to teens on their sixteenth birthday. However, a top-secret agency threatens to leave Tally ugly forever unless she spies on runaway teens. She reluctantly agrees to infiltrate the SMOKE, a colony of refugees from the "tyranny of physical perfection." Readers will sink their teeth into the provocative, image-obsessed society, and the ethical quandaries of a mole-turned ally.

Recommended by Susan

Move over Alice! Neil Gaiman's novel, Coraline, is a modern Through the Looking Glass for the adventurous young reader. It begins with a locked door and a curious girl. When the adventurer, Coraline, is faced with the problem of a locked door in her family's new house, she simply must find a way to open it. But the world she finds on the other side is not at all what she had hoped for. Long have I been a fan of Neil Gaiman's extraordinary collection of novels, graphic novels and screenplays (Stardust and Mirror Mask). But, it would be a shame to forget this wonderful, eerie classic of our time, Coraline. Recommended by Leighanne I inadvertently read this book on a dark and stormy night in early autumn--as a child it would have given me welcome shivers; but as an adult Coraline has left me with recurring glimpses into the nightmarish head of Neil Gaiman. Strangely enought, these vivid dreamscapes have left me unwittingly searching for a secret door that I might open and then stumble into a frightening adventure of the Coraline sort. Recommended by Katie

Imagine late 1800’s Arctic exploration with a sudden twist of the Sci-Fi and a garnish of theology and philosophy and you might just begin to understand the complex and wonderful world of The Golden Compass. Deeply imaginative and thoughtfully written, The Golden Compass, part one of the trilogy His Dark Materials, takes the reader into the heart of the mud wars of Jordan college, to the far north and into the realm of the armored bears, and eventually into another world beyond the sky, past witches and daemons and Texan aeronauts. . .an absolutely wonderful series worth reading and re-reading. Recommended by Leighanne (and just about everyone else around here)

This is a young adult novel unlike any you'll likely encounter again, and won't soon forget. The reader is led through the confused final days of a girl who has reached the end of her rope, and the tragic consequences her death has on those whom she names as the 13 reasons why she chose to end her life. Hannah is the girl who gives voice to her pain. Clay is the boy who fell for her. And one night, their stories collide. Recommended by Katie

A chilling glimpse into the future of biological science, freedom of choice and human relationships. The story unfolds with the reader fully aware of Matt's creation from the DNA of an all-powerful dictator--no mystery there. Instead, the mystery lies in how Matt is to escape El Patron's country alive, and if he does, how he can possibly find people who will believe all that he has witnessed. Recommended by Katie

Travel to a world in which nothing more than a manmade wall divides the Old Kingdom from the New. The New Kingdom exists in a time and place eerily familiar; the Old Kingdom is home to Dark Magic, enchanted creatures and the secret to Sabriel's strange upbringing -- a secret which will inevitably determine her future. As the two worlds begin to collide, Sabriel must accept her role as necromancer and travel to the deepest level of Death if she is to save all that she holds dear. Recommended by Katie

It's very rare that I encounter a book that so forcibly makes me think, "this should be required reading for the entire population." Trouble is that book. It's the story of the Smith family (especially Henry and his dog), of grieving, of the unexpected, of a town consumed by prejudice and revenge, of Mount Katahdin, and of what happens when folks believe that Trouble can't possibly find them. This deeply-felt story secures Gary Schmidt's undeniable rank at the top of young adult literature. Recommended by Katie

Meet Shakespeare Shapiro. That's right . . . Shakespeare. His parents thought that giving him a name to live up to would encourage their son to strive for excellence. (By the way, his brother is named Gandhi.) Shakespeare does not strive for excellence. In fact, he strives mostly to overcome daily high school embarrassment at the hands of his younger brother. And he strives for girls. Like his namesake, however, Shakespeare can write. Actually, he can really write -- really well. And it doesn't take long before he discovers just how mighty his pen is. You'll love to hate, and hate to love, Shakespeare Shapiro! Recommended by Katie

I find this book exceedingly difficult to talk about, simply because there is no comparison. It is a dark, forested fairy tale of the sort the brothers Grimm may have imagined . . . but more unsettling because of the many truths it reveals about human nature. Liga is a young, unwed mother of two girls, who has suffered years of abuse at the hand of her father. Upon his death, she and her daughters are transported to a parallel world in which they are able to exist in peace. But when a bear with eerily human mannerisms stumbles from the woods one day, Liga begins to question whether or not this safe haven is simply an invention of her own mind. Filled with magical characters, surprising philosophical references, and a timeless story of good and evil, Tender Morsels is a remarkable novel for the mature high school reader. Recommended by Katie