Gentle Reads

Fever, 1793
by Anderson, Laurie Halse
In 1793 Philadelphia, fourteen-year-old Matilda Cook, separated from her sick mother, learns about perseverance and self-reliance when she is forced to cope with the horrors of a yellow fever epidemic.

*Pride and Prejudice
by Austen, Jane
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” So begins this witty comedy of manners that features splendidly civilized sparring between the proud Mr. Darcy and the prejudiced Elizabeth Bennet, as they play out their spirited courtship in rural eighteenth-century England.

Backwater
by Bauer, Joan
While compiling a genealogy of her family of successful attorneys, sixteen-year-old history buff Ivy Breedlove treks into the mountain wilderness to interview a reclusive aunt with whom she identifies and who in turn helps her to truly know herself and her family.

*Code Talker
by Bruchac, Joseph
After being taught in a boarding school run by whites that Navajo is a useless language, Ned Begay and other Navajo men are recruited by the Marines to become Code Talkers, sending messages during World War II in their native tongue.

All American Girl
by Cabot, Meg
A sophomore girl stops a presidential assassination attempt, is appointed Teen Ambassador to the United Nations, and catches the eye of the very cute First Son.

*Enders Game
by Card, Orson Scott
The fate of the world rests upon six year old Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, a genius who may be able to defeat the insect-like aliens invading Earth.

Johnny Tremain
by Forbes, Esther
After injuring his hand, a silversmith's apprentice in Boston becomes a messenger for the Sons of Liberty in the days before the American Revolution.

Stormbreaker
by Horowitz, Anthony
After the death of the uncle who had been his guardian, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider is coerced to continue his uncle's dangerous work for Britain's intelligence agency, MI6.

Ella Enchanted
by Levine, Gail Carson
In this novel based on the story of Cinderella, Ella struggles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her.

The Magician’s Nephew
(Book one of The Chronicles of Narnia Series)
by Lewis, C. S.
When Digory and Polly try to return the wicked witch Jadis to her own world, the magic gets mixed up and they all land in Narnia where they witness Aslan blessing the animals with human speech.

Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast
by McKinley, Robin
Kind Beauty grows to love the Beast at whose castle she is compelled to stay and through her love releases him from the spell which had turned him from a handsome prince into an ugly beast.

Anne of Green Gables
by Montgomery, L. M.
Anne, an eleven-year-old orphan, is sent by mistake to live with a lonely, middle-aged brother and sister on a Prince Edward Island farm and proceeds to make an indelible impression on everyone around her.

Private Peaceful
by Morpurgo, Michael
When Thomas Peaceful's older brother is forced to join the British Army, Thomas decides to sign up as well, although he is only fourteen years old, to prove himself to his country, his family, his childhood love, Molly, and himself.

Airborn
by Oppel, Kenneth
Matt, a young cabin boy aboard an airship, and Kate, a wealthy young girl traveling with her chaperone, team up to search for the existence of mysterious winged creatures reportedly living hundreds of feet above the Earth's surface.

A Long Way from Chicago: A Novel in Stories
by Peck, Richard
A boy recounts his annual summer trips to rural Illinois with his sister during the Great Depression to visit their larger-than-life grandmother.

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
by Sheldon, Dyan
In her first year at a suburban New Jersey high school, Mary Elizabeth Cep, who now calls herself "Lola," sets her sights on the lead in the annual drama production, and finds herself in conflict with the most popular girl in school.

Stargirl
by Spinelli, Jerry
In this story about the perils of popularity, the courage of nonconformity, and the thrill of first love, an eccentric student named Stargirl changes Mica High School forever.

Flipped
by Van Draanen, Wendelin
In alternating chapters, two teenagers describe how their feelings about themselves, each other, and their families have changed over the years.

*Uglies
by Westerfeld, Scott
In a world where, upon their 16th birthday, teens get to live in a paradise and receive an operation to make them beautiful, Tally must decide whether she should turn in a renegade friend or risk her chance at beauty and leisure.