Carter House Girls (series) by Melody Carlson
It's a crazy mix of personalities at Mrs. Carter's boarding house for girls.
Catch this series from the beginning:
1. Mixed Bags
2. Stealing Bradford
3. Homecoming Queen
4. Viva Vermont!
5. Lost in Las Vegas
6. New York Debut
7. Bikini Breakdown
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne (2006)
There's more beyond the wire fence than people in pajamas, as Bruno discovers in this Holocaust tale.
Movie:
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Ender believes he is engaged in one more computer war game, but in reality losing this "game" means the actual destruction of Earth.
Briar Rose by Jane Yolen
The tale of Sleeping Beauty and the dark tale of the Holocaust twined together.
The Opposite of Invisible by Liz Gallagher
Alice and Jewel are best friends. But what will happen to their friendship when Alice starts dating popular Simon, who is most definitely the opposite of invisible?
Game by Walter Dean Myers
Drew must put his dreams of playing pro basketball ahead of his pride.
Three Little Words: a memoir by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
Ashley spent 9 years in 14 different foster care homes, some of which were abusive and neglectful. This is her story.
30 Days to Getting Over the Dork You Used to Call Your Boyfriend: A Heartbreak Handbook by Clea Hantman
Bad breakup? Read this, then you better go ahead and read the next one on this list.
Seventeen 500 Style Tips: What to Wear for School, Weekend, Dates & More! by Emily Favilla
It's amazing that all that advice could fit into such a small book. Seriously, it's tiny!
Sun and Moon, Snow and Ice by Jessica Day George
A girl travels east of the sun and west of the moon to free her beloved prince from a magic spell.
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
Four best friends buy a pair of pants that fits each of their vastly different bodies perfectly.
Catch the series from the beginning:
Sisterhood of Traveling Pants
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
Michael feels betrayed when someone at his private school learns of Evgard, a secret fantasy world he and his friends created, but they are in grave danger when a sadistic bully becomes involved in their plan for revenge.
When high-school senior Katie finds herself losing friends and falling victim to her classmates' obsession with the banned bead-snatching game "Gotcha," she knows she must bring an end to this popular but deadly game.
With his father deployed to Afganistan, Ryan hopes to spend time playing "Desert Death" at the gaming cafe, until he meets the game's ultimate champion and finds himself thrown into a world of deceit and risks.
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
High school freshman stands up for his beliefs and suffers the consequences.
Movie:
The Chocolate War
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
"She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest scent of a cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf owl. We did not know what to make of her. In our minds we tried to pin her to corkboard like a butterfly, but the pin merely went through and away she flew."
Sigh. This quick-read is about an eccentric new student in an otherwise typical high school in Arizona. Stargirl carries a rat with her wherever she goes, sings "Happy Birthday" to kids at lunch while strumming her ukulele, decorates her desk with a table cloth and a flower in a vase, and performs random acts of kindness for people, whether she knows them or not. Here are my favorite parts of the book:
-Stargirl scours the newspapers for the fillers: hospital admissions, lost pets and death notices, and she sends strangers homemade cards to cheer them up.
-"Throughout the day, Stargirl had been dropping money. She was the Johnny Appleseed of loose change: a penny here, a nickel there. Tossed to the sidewalk, laid on a shelf or bench. Even quarters. . .
'Do you realize how much you must throw away in a year?' I said.
'Did you ever see a little kid's face when he spots a penny on a sidewalk?' she said."
-If Stargirl were the editor of the newspaper, "crime would be on page 10, ants and old men and painted doors on page 1."
-Stargirl's original name was Susan. But she changes it whenever it doesn't fit anymore. "I'm not my name," she says. "My name is something I wear, like a shirt. It gets worn, I outgrow it, I change it." (She had gone by Pocket Mouse, Mudpie, and Hullygully before Stargirl).
If you haven't already, you should get this book. (And don't be fooled by the title, guys, the protagonist is actually a boy named Leo.)
Tangerine by Edward Bloor
Though legally blind, Paul is a star soccer player but can he see what is going on with his brother?
Buried Onions by Gary Soto
Eddie leaves college to return to his violence-infested home in Fresno.
Parrot in the Oven: mi vida by Victor Martinez
Manny relates his coming of age experiences as a member of a poor Mexican-American family.
Monster by Walter Dean Myers
While on trial as an accomplice to a murder, sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon records his experiences in prison and in the courtroom in the form of a film script as he tries to come to terms with the course his life has taken.
Thirsty by M.T. Anderson
Chris thirsts for the blood of people around him while also struggling to remain human.
Gossip Girl - Season 1 
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers a terrible truth.
In the sequel to The Circuit and Breaking Through, the author describes the many challenges he faced during his quest to continue his education, including poverty, family turmoil, guilt, and self-doubt.
Postcards from No Man's Land by Aidan Chambers
Alternates between two stories--that of Jacob visiting Amsterdam at the request of his English grandmother, and Geertrui relating her experience of British soldiers' attempts to liberate Holland from its German occupation.
Guts, the true stories behind Hatchet and the Brian books by Gary Paulsen
Gross stories from the guy who lived it.
All The Way by Andy Behrens
Seventeen-year-old Ian drives with his best friends from Illinois to South Carolina to meet a girl he met on the Internet.
Movie:
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
After being sold to a cruel couple in New York City, a slave named Isabel spies for the rebels during the Revolutionary War.
Teen.com Book of Poetry: poems of love, family, friendship and life written from the heart by teens around the world edited by Missy Rekos
I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
After capturing a bank robber, nineteen-year-old cab driver Ed Kennedy begins receiving mysterious messages that direct him to addresses where people need help, and he begins getting over his lifelong feeling of worthlessness.
Samurai Mystery (series) by Dorothy Hoobler
Seikei attempts to solve the mystery surrounding his own family. Set in 18th century Japan.
Catch the series from the beginning:
Diary of a Teenage Girl (series) by Melody Carlson
Enter Kim's, Caitlin's, and Chloe's high school worlds by reading their diaries.
Catch this series from the beginning:
Skulls, by Noah Scalin
150 of Scalin's "skulls" made daily out of everything from rice, sand, and duct tape, to toothpaste, soap bubbles, and bubble wrap. From the award-winning blog, www.SkullADay.com .
The Clique by Lisi Harrison
Five girls who belong to The Pretty Committee, the 'A-Lister' clique at an exclusive private school in Westchester, New York.
Catch this series from the beginning:
The Clique
The Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivian Vande Velde
Six alternative versions of the old legend, with sometimes surprising endings.
The Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block
A retelling of favorite tales in which the heroines triumph because of the strength they find in themselves.
Paper Towns by John Green
Quentin "Q" Jacobsen and Margo Roth Spiegelman have been neighbors since they were two. After stumbling upon a dead man in the park as kids, their friendship essentially ends and Q loves Margo from afar. That all changes one month before graduation. Margo shows up at Q's window at midnight and takes him on a "Margo Roth Spiegelman" revenge adventure. Q's boring life is turned upside down the instant Margo disappears the next morning. The police and Margo's parents chalk up her disappearance as one of her "stunts," but Quentin can't let it go, especially when he starts finding the clues Margo left.
I could not finish the book fast enough. The mystery and intrigue will grab you and you will be dying to know what happens to Margo and Quentin. Easily my favorite book of 2008.
All My Life for Sale