The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

The Outsiders is the first Young Adult Literature novel I ever read. I read it when I was nine and hardly understood the concepts it taught, I was just proud that I could read it. I've read it again since many times over. It's a gripping novel about friends, social pressures, violence, and growing up. The novel begins with the main character, Ponyboy Curtis, coming out of a movie theater with hardly a care in the world. We quickly learn that he is part of a gang called "the Greasers." They are part of the lower socioeconomic class and they are sworn enemies to a gang of spoiled rich kids, called "the Socs" (pronounced so-shez). The Greasers and the Socs both feel that the other has no place in this world and feel it their duty to remove them. Ponyboy, who is usually caught up in this rivalry, is moved when he meets a couple of nice girls in the Soc crowd. Quickly after that his best friend kills a young Soc out of self-defense. His world is shaken and he is caught up trying to sort out what is right and what is wrong, who is right and who is wrong.

It is by far my favorite young adult literature book. I recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it

Athletic Shorts: Six Stories by Chris Crutcher

Each short story published in Athletic Shorts is, of course, about something athletic. However, the athletic element of each story is merely just the platform for deeper, more important and life changing subjects. Each story is focused on weighty issues many young adults are faced with daily. Issues such as divorce, homosexuality, relating to parents, racism, loss of loved ones, loss in general, and more. Each story is interesting and entertaining. Even if you are not into athletics, you will be into this book.

The stories are funny and heartfelt. I would recommend it to lots of people; the stories are easy to relate to, no matter who you are or what you do.

Friction by E.R. Frank

Friction (noun) - 1. The scientific notion of energy created by two object rubbing together. Used in repelling to slow or speed movement. 2. I dissension or conflict between persons, nations, etc., because of differing ideas, wishes, etc. 3. The rubbing of the surface of ones body against that of another.

For Alex and her friends the word "friction" is nothing but innocent until the new girl shows up. Stacy, the strange and rebellious new girl causes commotion in the innocent    Middle School she comes to. At fourteen, she is older than the rest of the kids, she has a tongue ring, and she has a crude sense of humor. While learning to repel in preparation for their upcoming class camping trip Stacy makes a casually fowl joke about "friction." This joke leads her to tease Alex that their teacher wants to explain a very crude type of friction to her. What begins as a joke turns into constant torment, and later turns into an incrementing accusation about their teacher. Alex is young and confused, and is trying to sort out what is right and what is wrong. The story is engrossing. It will have you wondering what the truth is too.

I would recommend it, but only to some. It's a little controversial at points. I liked it, but I know some people wouldn't.

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

"If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book." This, the very first line in the entire novel (and series) could not be more serious. Although this book, with the author's commentary, is subtly hilarious, it is nothing but sad. From cover to cover the novel is unhappy. Right away we find out that the three children the story follows have just lost there parents in a terrible fire and are now found homeless and without family. After all seems lost, a very distant relative takes them in. Their happiness is quickly erased after they actually move in with their "uncle" Count Olaf. He is a vile, disgusting, evil character who treats the children awfully and is only after their inheritance. The novel will make you miserable. And just when you think everything is going to get better, hang in there, because it won't. It only gets worse for the poor orphans. It is truly a bad beginning.

It's a wonderful, exciting book although it's incredibly unhappy. I tell everyone to read it, with the warning that they will want to read all of them and there are thirteen.  

The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean

I was obsessed with this novel, a novel ironically about the dangers of obsession. Right away we see how overwhelmingly obsessed the main character, a young girl named Sym, is with a dead man. Not only is this man dead, he has been dead for hundreds of years. She became obsessed with this man, the arctic explorer "Titus" Oates, at a young age and has had him as her constant, imaginary companion ever since. She is simultaneously obsessed with his fatal expedition to Antarctica and the polar region itself. Her uncle is also obsessed with the region. But his obsession takes an extreme - an extreme than divulges itself slowly and immediately after he kidnaps her and takes her on their own expedition to the deep south. The novel is gripping. It will have you wondering what is about to happen to them the entire way through.

I had a hard time with the writing style, but once I got past it the book was a quick read. The twists in the tale, although not my favorite, I admit, were surprising. It's an interesting book. I'd recommend it only to a select few.

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

The novel begins with a boy named Gem trapped in the King's prison. The crime? Stealing from the king. How he got caught? He bragged about it to the whole entire town, even displaying the item he stole as a token of his mastery in thievery. Clearly this was not the brightest idea. Or maybe... maybe it was. After being half starved and refused any sort of shower for an unquantifiable length of time, the King's guards release him into the hands of the Kings adviser, Magus. Magus has a special task for Gen, a secret item to steal from a neighboring country for an unknown reason. The book is thrilling and intense. The mysteries continue to reveal themselves throughout the entire novel, even until the very last page.

This type of fiction usually isn't my type, but I was absolutely absorbed in this book. I loved it. I would recommend it to anyone.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Set in the future, Brave New World is about a Dystopian society breaded through an assembly line of reproductive technology. Along this assembly line each person's intelligence, physical ability, and social class is determined. The members of this society are blinded to their sin and faults by a brainwashing "sleep-learning" therapy they participate in since birth. That and the drugs they indulge in called "Soma" leave them blissful ignorant to their inhuman way of life. One of the upper class men disturbs the order of life by rebelling against the so-called norm. He refuses Soma and indulges himself in the ups and downs of real emotions. Because of this he is generally rejected by society. He takes a trip to a primitive area in America that has not conformed to this way of life. They live almost a completely opposite life that the New World does. While visiting this world he finds a very important young man that will not only change his life, but the lives of many of the blinded masses. It is a dramatic story with important plot twists. It is full of creative imagery and important moral questions.

I know a lot of people don't like this book, but I thought it was great. It really made you question what is truly of worth and just exactly how worldly you are. It was incredibly creative and fascinating. I would warnt hat it has some sexual context. Other than that, I recommend. 

The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin

This is a haunting, yet hopeful tale of a boy, his two younger sisters, and their physically and verbally abusive mother. Matt, the narrator and protagonist, has lived in fear his entire life and has learned to deal with it. He has created his own, conscious and subconscious, rules for him and his sisters to survive their mother's tyranny. He uses these survival mechanisms every day without really realizing this way of life is even wrong. That is until one day when he sees a man in a grocery st...more  
This is a haunting, yet hopeful tale of a boy, his two younger sisters, and their physically and verbally abusive mother. Matt, the narrator and protagonist, has lived in fear his entire life and has learned to deal with it. He has created his own, conscious and subconscious, rules for him and his sisters to survive their mother's tyranny. He uses these survival mechanisms every day without really realizing this way of life is even wrong. That is until one day when he sees a man in a grocery store defend an abused child. This encounter creates a sudden shift in Matt's mind about what is and is not right and what he has to do about it. The story twists and turns, always engaging the reader while at the same time explaining that the ending is a happy one.

I liked this book a great deal. It addressed a serious and uncomfortable topic in a tasteful way. I really liked that in never made you wonder if they might not get out. It was always hopeful, yet still gripping. I would recommend it.