ALEX AWARDS:
Award-winning Adult Titles for Teens

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FICTION

Upstate
Kalisha Buckhanon (YA BUCKHANON) 256p HS
"Baby, the first thing I need to know from you is do you believe I killed my father?"

Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague
Geraldine Brooks (FIC BROOKS) 308p HS
Faith keeps everyone safe from the plague, until doubt, greed & madness take over the villagers’ lives.

Ender’s Shadow
Orson Scott Card (YA CARD) 379p MS/HS
Ender leads the world’s children in a battle to save Earth from aliens.

The Girl With a Pearl Earring
Tracy Chevalier (YA CHEVALIER) 233p HS
Grie’s life is transformed by her brief encounter with genius ... even as she herself is immortalized in canvas and oil.

The Book of Lost Things
John Connolly (FSF CONNOLLY) 339p HS
As David mourns the death of his mother, the books in his room begin to whisper to him, and reality and fantasy begin to blur.

What Girls Learn
Karin Cook (FIC COOK) 304p HS
Two sisters’ lives change when their mother develops breast cancer.

Wonder When You'll Miss Me
Amanda Davis (YA DAVIS) 259p HS
After she is sexually assaulted under the school bleachers, 16-year old Faith runs away from home, accompanied by The Fat Girl, a taunting imaginary former self. At the circus, Faith finds a safe haven and healing environment.

Whistling Season
Ivan Doig (FIC DOIG) 345p HS
The unforgettable year of a one-room schoolhouse, a housekeeper who "can't cook but don't bite," the promise of a Big Ditch and a visit from Halley's comet.

Peace Like a River
Leif Enger (FIC ENGER) 313p HS
Life turns upside down when Reuben’s older brother kills two intruders.

The Eyre Affair
Jasper Fforde (FIC FFORDE) 374p HS
It’s all business as usual for Literary Detective Thursday Next, until someone begins murdering characters from works of literature.

Anansi Boys
Neil Gaiman (FIC GAIMAN) 368p HS
Imagine finding out that young father is Anasi, the Trickster God, and a brother you never knew you had his powers...and plans to use them...on you.

Stardust
Neil Gaiman (FIC GAIMAN) 238p HS
Tristran’s pledge to fetch for his beloved a fallen star takes him into the land of Fairie, where nothing along the way is really what it seems.

As Simple as Snow
Gregory Galloway (YA GALLOWAY) 308p HS
When Anna goes missing, her boyfriend is left to puzzle out her fate: Runaway? Accident? Murder?

At All Costs
John Gilstrap (FIC GILSTRAP) 452p HS
Travis & his family are on the run from the FBI for murdering 16 people. They must risk death to regain their lives & their freedom.

Water for Elephants
Sara Gruen (FIC GRUEN) 335p HS
An orphan jumps onto a passing train & ends up caring for the menagerie in a second-rate circus.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Marc Haddon (YA HADDON) 226p HS
Christopher, an autistic math wiz, takes his life too literally and can’t relate to others. Inspired by Sherlock Holmes, he investigates the death of his neighbor’s dog and unravels secrets closer to home.

Donorboy
Brendan Halpin (FIC HALPIN) 209p HS
When her lesbian mothers are killed in an accident, 14-year-old Rosalind meets and moves in with her young sperm donor father. With humor and empathy, the author tells a moving story of strangers creating a family.

Snow in August
Pete Hamill (FIC HAMILL) 327p HS
Terrorized by a gang of anti-Semitics, Michael & a rabbi are caught in an escalating spiral of hate for which there's only one way out: a miracle.

Plainsong
Kent Haruf (FIC HARUF) 301p HS
How does a pregnant teen end up living with two gruff cattle ranchers?

The Kite Runner
Khaled Hosseini (FIC HOSSEINI) 324p HS
Set amid the destruction of contemporary Afghanistan, this debut novel follows two boys, linked by love, lies, sacrifice, and betrayal, whose friendship endures, despite different life paths.

Never Let Me Go
Kazuo Ishiguro (FIC ISHIGURO) 288p HS
"You were brought into this world for a purpose...and your futures, all of them, have been decided."

Last Days of Summer
Steve Kluger (YA KLUGER) 353p HS
"Dear Mr. Banks, I am a 12-year-old boy & I am dying of an incurable disease."

Crow Lake
Mary Lawson (FIC LAWSON) 293p HS
“When the end came, it seemed to do so completely out of the blue….”

Daughter of the Forest
Juliet Marillier (YA MARILLIER) 400p HS
Sorcha must complete a painful, silent task to save herself & her brothers from a curse.

Gil's All-Fright Diner
A. Lee Martinez (YA MARTINEZ) 268p HS
Being a werewolf and a vampire, Duke & Earl don't expect much of a problem taking care of the local diner's zombie problem. But there are always otherworldly complications.

Black Swan Green
David Mitchell (FIC MITCHELL) 294p HS
One year. One town. One life in small-town England.

The Time Traveler's Wife
Audrey Niffenegger (YA NIFFENEGGER) 546p HS
Henry travels through time and space and meets his bride Clare in all her stages of life, from childhood to old age.

The Rover
Mel Odom (FSF ODOM) 400p HS
Wick experiences adventure when he’s kidnapped by pirates, sold into slavery, rescued by thieves and sent to rob a tomb.

When the Emperor Was Divine
Julie Otsuka (YA OTSUKA) 143p HS
Members of a Japanese-American family, forced to move from a happy California home to cramped, humiliating detention camps set up by the American government, return home after World War II to find suspicious neighbors, a vandalized house, and a broken family.

The Dive From Clausen’s Pier
Ann Packer (FIC PACKER) 369p HS
What do you do when your very survival depends on leaving the one everyone expects you to marry—especially now that he’s paralyzed?

Drinking Coffee Elsewhere
Z.Z. Packer (FIC PACKER) 238p HS
The predominantly African-American characters in this debut collection of short fiction struggle to maintain their sense of self while confronting unexpected life events.

My Sister's Keeper
Jodi Picoult (YA PICOULT) 423p HS
Thirteen-year-old Anna knows that she was conceived in order to provide organs and other life support for her critically ill sister. After enduring multiple surgeries, she sues her parents for the rights to her own body.

Imani All Mine
Connie Porter (YA PORTER) 212p HS
Tasha struggles to reconcile her love and hope for her daughter with the violence that resulted in Imani's conception.

The World Made Straight
Ron Rash (FIC RASH) 289p HS
Tasha struggles to reconcile her love and hope for her daughter with the violence that resulted in Imani's conception.

Antarctica
Kim Stanley Robinson (FSF ROBINSON) 511p HS
The greedy conflict of nations and political extremists who battle for control of the planet's final frontier.

The Thirteenth Tale
Diane Setterfield (FIC SETTERFIELD) 406p HS
Lonely bookseller Margaret is chosen to tell the true tale of the life of the most famous author in England. But to do so she must uncover many secrets, some of which lead to paths best not traveled. .

10th Grade
Joseph Weisberg (FIC WEISBERG) 259p HS
Jeremiah has big plans for 10th grade: to make some friends, and to take a girl’s shirt off….Plans change.

To Say Nothing of the Dog
Connie Willis (FSF WILLIS) 434p HS
A time traveler must correct a mistake before it alters the course of history.

Maisie Dobbs
Jacqueline Winspear (MYST WINSPEAR) 294p HS
In post World War I London, Maisie Dobbs takes her first case as a private investigator and experiences flashbacks to her modest upbringing and doomed wartime romance.

Leave Myself Behind
Bart Yates (FIC YATES) 244p HS
Secrets of the present and past complicate 17-year-old Nick’s life when he falls in love with the boy next door.

NON-FICTION

Nickel & Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
(305.569 HER) 221p HS
Can people survive on minimum wage jobs? The author tried for a year.

Candyfreak: A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America
(338.4766 ALM 2004) 266p MS/HS
Almond’s obsession with candy blends family memoir, reporting, and travelogue in a hilarious, unflinching examination of the world of sweets.

Truth and Beauty: A Friendship
(362.196 PAT) 257p HS
As young writers Patchett and Lucy Grealy began a once-in-a-lifetime friendship that lasted until Lucy’s tragic death. With intimacy, grace, and humor, Patchett’s memoir captures Lucy’s rollercoaster life—her exuberance, partying and childlike affection and her struggle with a cruel disfigurement and insurmountable depression.

Educating Esme: Diary of a Teacher’s First Year
(372.11 COD) 205p MS/HS
Esme’s account of her fight to ensure her students the best possible education.

Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants
(599.3521 SUL) 242p HS
Sullivan spent a year observing the lives and deaths of New York City’s rats in this surprising, graphic, and entertaining natural history.

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
(611 ROA) 303p HS
What happens to human cadavers if they fall into the hands of scientists and researchers? Salon columnist Mary Roach explores this question in her funny, informative, and highly original study.

One! Hundred! Demons!
(741.5 BAR) 225p HS
Whether she’s talking about head lice, old boyfriends, or hippies who “forgot” to pay her wages, Barry playfully explores, in “autobifictionalographical” text and art, those demons common to teens––and to us all.

Persepolis
(741.59 SAT) 153p HS
In graphic novel format, the author describes her youth in revolutionary Iran. From the overthrow of the Shah to the establishment of the new regime, she witnesses heartbreak and struggle as life changes in her country.

My Losing Season
(796.323 CON) 402p HS
“I was born to be a point guard, but not a very good one.”

Counting Coup: A True Story of Basketball & Honor on the Little Big Horn
(796.3236 COL) 420p HS
Follow a team that carries the hopes & dreams of a Native American tribe on its shoulders for an entire season.

Eagle Blue: A Team, a Tribe & a High School Basketball Season in Arctic Alaska
(796.3236 DOR) 323p HS
Follows the season of 6-time regional champs the Fort Yukon Eagles in pursuit of their--and their village's -- dream.

Blind Side: Evolution of a Game
(796.332 LEW) 299p HS
3 stories in 1: an analysis of the NFL; an expose of college recruiting; and a portrait of one man's journey from poverty to fame.

High Exposure: An Enduring Passion for Everest & Unforgiving Places
(796.522 BRE) 319p HS
A mountaineer & filmmaker recounts his dangerous & adventurous life.

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
(796.522 KRA) 293p HS
A true account of survival & death.

Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long-Distance Swimmer
Cox, Lynn (797.21 COX) 323p HS
A long-distance swimmer describes her record-setting swims in the icy waters of the Bering Strait and Antarctica.

True Notebooks: A Writer's Year at Juvenile Hall
(808.042 SAL) 330p HS
While teaching writing to 17-year-olds detained in the Los Angeles Central Juvenile Hall, Salzman was surprised by the boys’ talent. Their heartwarming and funny voices are included in this irresistible and provocative memoir.

Jesus Land: A Memoir
(921 SCHEERES) 356p HS
Jesus is all about love, right? So how come in the midst of "Jesus Land" Julia and her brothers are getting anything but?

Black, White, & Jewish: Autobiography
of a Shifting Self
(921 WALKER) 320p HS
Too black for some; not black enough for others. A recollection about racism, growing up, growing away, and finding yourself.

The Glass Castle
(921 WALLS) 288p HS
"You want to help me change my life? I'm fine. You're the one who needs help. Your values are all confused."

Flags of Our Fathers
(940.542 BRA) 211p HS
Investigates the men who raised the flag on Iwo Jima during WWII.

Shadow Divers
(940.5451 KUR) 375p HS
In this vivid and thrilling account, a journalist recounts the adventures of the two deep-sea divers who discover a WWII German U-boat off the coast of New Jersey and become obsessed with uncovering its story.

The Perfect Storm
(974.45 JUN) 227p HS
Man vs. the sea. The sea wins!

The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition
(989 ALE) 211p MS/HS
A daring polar expedition becomes a fight for survival.

To see the complete list of Alex Awards, go to: www.ala.org/yalsa/bookslists/alex

MS = Most appropriate for middle schoolers
MS/HS = Most appropriate for middle/high schoolers
HS = Most appropriate for high schoolers