Best Books for Young Adults - 2004 (from YALSA- Young Adult Library Services Association) Available in the Great Lakes Media Center

NONFICTION

Capuzzo, Michael
CLOSE TO SHORE: THE TERRIFYING SHARK ATTACKS OF 1916.
In 1916, mass hysteria grips the Jersey coast when a shark terrorizes the shoreline in this account of one of the first documented shark attacks.

Crowe, Chris
GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER: THE TRUE STORY OF THE EMMETT TILL CASE
Using archival photographs and primary sources, Crowe describes how the Mississippi murder of 14- year-old Emmett Till contributed to the civil rights movement.

Fleming, Candace
BEN FRANKLINS'S ALMANAC: BEING A TRUE ACCOUNT OF THE GOOD GENTLEMAN'S LIFE
Poor Richard's Almanac is the model for this topically organized biography of the printer, writer, scientist, statesman, inventor, and founding father.

Fradin, Dennis Brindell and Fradin, Judith Bloom
FIGHT ON! MARY CHURCH TERRELL'S BATTLE FOR INTEGRATION.
This biography introduces an indomitable fighter against all forms of discrimination, who conducted a successful campaign to integrate Washington, D.C., restaurants and movie theaters.

Freedman, Russell
IN DEFENSE OF LIBERTY: THE STORY OF AMERICA'S BILL OF RIGHTS
Amendment by amendment, Freedman describes how court cases and societal changes have broadened our understanding of the individual freedoms listed in the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution ratified in 1791

Hampton, Wilborn
SEPTEMBER 11, 2001: ATTACK ON NEW YORK CITY
This moving account of the destruction of the World Trade Center is told through the experiences of people who were closely involved.

Murphy, Jim
AN AMERICAN PLAGUE: THE TRUE AND TERRIFYING STORY OF THE YELLOW FEVER EPIDEMIC OF 1793.
In this gripping account, Murphy explores how yellow fever disrupted the federal government, divided the medical establishment, and destroyed the lives of thousands of Philadelphians. The 2004 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner and a Newbery Honor Book.

Murphy, Jim
INSIDE THE ALAMO
Primary sources and lively text describe the events that led to General Santa Anna's victory at the battle of the Alamo.

FICTION

*Donnelly, Jennifer
A NORTHERN LIGHT
Set in upstate New York in 1906, against the background of a true murder case, Mattie fights her family and the societal constraints of the times to become her own person. A 2004 Printz Honor Book.

FIREBIRDS: AN ANTHOLOGY OF ORIGINAL FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION
Ed. by Sharyn November
This collection of previously unpublished sf and fantasy short stories showcases popular and award- winning authors of the genre.

Frank, E. R.
FRICTION
Twelve-year-old Alex tries to decide if the sordid tales told to her about her beloved teacher by a sophisticated new classmate are true.

Frost, Helen
KEESHA'S HOUSE
In this novel, told in sestinas and sonnets, troubled kids who are forced to leave their homes find their way to Keesha's House. A 2004 Printz Honor Book.

Goodman, Alison
SINGING THE DOGSTAR BLUES
With an assassin on her heels, harmonica-playing Joss travels back in time with her dualized alien partner, Mavkel, and unravels a family secret.

Henkes, Kevin
OLIVE'S OCEAN
When Martha's classmate, Olive, is killed in a hit- and-run accident, Martha sets out to accomplish the things that Olive never had the chance to do. A 2004 Newbery Honor Book.

Holt, Kimberly Willis
KEEPER OF THE NIGHT
Against the richly drawn Guam setting, teenage Isabel and her family try to survive and heal after her mother's suicide.

*Johnson, Angela
THE FIRST PART LAST
Passages that alternate between the past and present tell the story of Bobbie, a teenage father in New York City who first appeared in Johnson's Heaven. Winner of the 2004 Michael L. Printz Award and the Coretta Scott King Author Award.

Koja, Kathe
BUDDHA BOY
Justin is shaken from his safe little niche at school when he meets Jinsen, an unusual new student who only smiles when the school's predators abuse him.

Mackler, Carolyn
THE EARTH, MY BUTT AND OTHER BIG ROUND THINGS
When her best friend moves away, Virginia learns how to manage her weight, her love life, and an accusation against her older brother on her own. A 2004 Printz Honor Book.

McNamee, Graham
ACCELERATION
While working a summer job in the subterranean lost-and-found office of the Toronto Transit Commission, Duncan discovers a lost journal containing a man's plans to murder women.

Meyer, L. A.
BLOODY JACK
Reduced to begging and thievery on the streets of historic London, Mary transforms herself into Jacky Faber, ship's boy on the British warship Dolphin.

Naidoo, Beverly
OUT OF BOUNDS: SEVEN STORIES OF CONFLICT AND HOPE
Seven short stories chronicle the stiffening and subsequent collapse of apartheid-the complex system of racial segregation in South Africa.

Osa, Nancy
CUBA 15
Having survived a dragon's attack, Jude befriends caged sideshow freak Jing-wet and begins a quest that imperils them both.

*Pattou, Edith
EAST
Rose journeys to a land "east of the sun and west of the moon" to break the curse of the Troll Queen.

Peck, Richard
THE RIVER BETWEEN US
In 1916, while visiting his father's ancestral home in southern Illinois, Howard Leland Hutchings meets Tilly, who tells him the story of his father's kin during the Civil War era.

Pierce, Tamora
TRICKSTER'S CHOICE
In this high fantasy, teenage Aly is captured by slavers, but she bargains with a god and proves herself a worthy spy in the process.

Pratchett, Terry
THE WEE FREE MEN: A STORY OF DISCWORLD
Armed with an iron frying pan, Tiffany joins the Wee Free Men, who make her their leader in order to rescue her little brother, one of the young people kidnapped by the queen of Fairy

Rees, Celia
PIRATES!
In a swashbuckling adventure set in the 1720s, dire circumstances propel two girls- a wealthy merchant's daughter from England and her father's Jamaican slave-into a life of piracy.

Rowling, J. K.
HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX
In his fifth year at Hogwarts, 15-year-old Harry grapples with teen emotions as he confronts terrifying dreams and faces his nemesis once again.

Spinelli, Jerry
MILKWEED
A resourceful orphan survives the brutal realities of life in the Warsaw ghetto by stealing, joining a boy's gang, and finding refuge with a family.

*Stroud, Jonathan
THE AMULET OF SAMARKAND
In an alternate London, brilliant young Nathaniel conjures up Bartimaeus, a dangerous, sharp-witted djinni, to steal a powerful amulet so that he may exact revenge against other magicians.

Vande Velde, Vivian
HEIR APPARENT
When conservative protestors damage equipment at the arcade, Giannine becomes trapped in a virtual-reality game. Suddenly, she isn't just playing to win; she's playing for her life.

Wittlinger, Ellen
ZIGZAG
While her boyfriend happily travels through Europe, Robin reluctantly drives across the U.S. with her squabbling cousins and discovers her inner strength.

Woodson, Jacqueline
LOCOMOTION
Traumatized after his parents are killed in a fire, 11-year-old Lonnie struggles to reclaim his life in this moving, lyrical novel in verse. A 2004 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book.

Yolen, Jane
SWORD OF THE RIGHTFUL KING
Assassins, treachery, and sorcery abound in this inventive version of King Arthur's early days of rule.

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