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 THE HARRY POTTER NOVELS
by J.K. Rowling
Since these have been so popular, I�ll toss in a comment. From a purely literary standpoint, their weaknesses are structural. They digress at times, damaging the narrative pace. But the strengths are overwhelming: extraordinary richness and creativity of detail; sensitively drawn characters and relationships; moral and ethical questions explored in meaningful but highly entertaining ways. I admire these books most because they accomplished the near impossible�getting millions of non-reading adolescents to read.
 TWILIGHT
by Stephenie Meyer
Some of my college students raved about this book, so I read it to see what all the fuss is about. I enjoyed it. A high school girls falls in love with a pallid young man who turns out to be a vampire. The first half of the book has a high degree of realism, but the second half drifts towards the gothic. The vampire stuff is a metaphorical way of addressing issues central to adolescents�the temptation and dangers of going �too far,� the fine line between healthy and unhealthy desires, between human and animal responses, between love and lust, etc. The themes are intelligent but delivered with a high level of entertainment.
There are four volumes in this series. I did not find the subsequent volumes as appealing, but most teenagers disagree. Like the Harry Potter books, they deserve credit for getting millions of non-reading adolescents to read.
 THE FAULT IN OUR STARS
by John Green
A wonderful book! But I almost didn�t read it. The protagonist is a teenager with terminal cancer. Yuck. Life is depressing enough without reading that. Right? And yet, I loved it. The book oozes with the irrepressibility of teenagers. I love the voice of the first person narrator. The book also has an intellectual smartness about it. I did fog up two or three times, but overall it wasn�t a depressing read.
 ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS
by Stephanie Perkins
An occasional complaint on my course evaluations is that my booklists are too "boy oriented," so I am always on the lookout for books geared toward girls. Thus, I was attracted to this book, a first novel by Stephanie Perkins. It raises some interesting questions about culture (and you learn a lot about Paris), but mostly it's an irresistable teenage romance full of angst and passion. The characters are extremely likeable--and wouldn't you know, the guys in class liked it as well or better than the girls.
 THE TRUE CONFESSIONS OF CHARLOTTE DOYLE
by Avi
This is a first-rate swashbuckler. Years ago, I read this to my youngest child, and later to one of my �little brothers.� Both were mesmerized. The setting is the 1830�s. A prim English girl is shipped to America. She ends up amid a mutinous crew opposing an cruel captain. The first person point of view is expertly handled. Pacing is terrific. Dialogue is vigorous and nautically colloquial. It�s one of my favorites
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