Life is a steady stream of “new normal”s. Things are ever-changing and hardly slow down as we start to age. In the blink of an eye, another birthday has passed; the experiences we choose to take with us into each new year are bold decisions. Many people find respite within books; they can take us great distances, physically and emotionally, right from within our seats.
Challenge yourself to discover new and exciting books to add to your very own mental library. Books become part of us the moment we finish them!
Teen Girls
- The Hunger Games series by Susan Collins.
The classic dystopian series from our century! Susan Collins has created a drab world in which children compete in a life or death competition, sheerly for the entertainment of the upper class. This series will have you on the edge of your seat the entire way through. If you’ve already read this popular collection, check out some of Collins’ other works!
- The Giver quartet by Lois Lowry.
On the other end of the spectrum, we have a world which appears to be perfect; everyone is happy, and no one questions the status quo… nobody but the new ‘receiver of memories’, that is. In a world where no one remembers the way it was before, Jonas is faced with a difficult journey spurred on by curiosity and a sense of injustice.
- The Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery
A fiery red-headed orphan girl, Anne Shirley is definitely one to keep an eye on. When she arrives the white farmhouse called Green Gables, everyone knows she’ll be trouble. The problem is, Anne wants to stay; she just doesn’t know how to make the right impression. Anne of Green Gables is a classic series you’re sure to love.
- Hattie Big Sky and its sequels by Kirby Larson
“A marvelous story about courage, loyalty, perseverance, and the meaning of home.” –Newbery Award-Winning Author Karen Cushman
The war in Europe is causing problems for Hattie, who just recently inherited her uncle’s homesteading claim out in Montana. Her parents passed away, and she’s the only one who can go out and build a life for herself in the midwest. Join Hattie as she discovers how difficult, and character-building it is to survive on your own.
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Can you even be considered a book lover if you haven’t read the classic, Pride and Prejudice? Maybe so. This timeless tale of wit in courting, originally conceived in 1813, will certainly open your eyes to what it meant to be a woman in 17th century England. Jane Austen challenges the status quo of the time and reminds us what it truly means to love someone.
- Books by Gary D. Schmidt, like Okay for Now; Pay Attention, Carter Jones; and The Wednesday Wars
Schmidt brings full, four-dimensional characters and families into existence in these three similar books. Trouble at home leads Doug Swieteck to seek out friendship and encouragement; Okay for Now is a story about unlikely friends and alliances that will change lives.