Just a few teen reads I threw together to answer an online reference query earlier this week.  --MAP (2/26/08)

YA HIST ANDERSON

THE ASTONISHING LIFE OF OCTAVIAN NOTHING by M.T. Anderson

An African boy in pre-Revolutionary War Boston is raised as a prince--only to realize he is in actuality a slave and the victim of a diabolical experiment. Gripping.

JSCIFI ANDERSON

WHALES ON STILTS by M.T. Anderson

A girl discovers that her dad's boss isn't what he appears to be and is in fact plotting to take over the world. Insanely stupid and really, really funny.  Remember all the old scifi monster movies as well as the original Nancy Drew (plucky heroine) book series?  This is a great spoof.

YA FANTASY BRAY,L

A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY by Libba Bray

After her mother's mysterious death in India, Gemma is shipped off to a boarding school in Victorian England, only to discover that she has the power to enter a magical realm there and learn the ways of magic. Deliciously gothic.

YA HIST DRAPER,S

COPPER SUN by Sharon Draper

In 1738, two girls, one kidnapped into slavery, another sold into indentured servitude to pay off her parents' debts, escape their cruel master's South Carolina rice plantation and flee south to freedom in Spanish controlled Florida. Absorbing.

YA SCIFI FARMER,N

THE HOUSE OF THE SCORPION by Nance Farmer

Set in the not-too-distant future, a young boy discovers that his patron is a powerful drug lord who has cloned himself and is raising his young clones as future organ donors so that he, the drug lord, can enjoy eternal life. Powerful.

L.P. YA FANTASY MEYER,K

THE WATER MIRROR by Kai Meyer

A German fantasy with a lot of the feel of Cornelia Funke's INKHEART series and Michael Ende's NEVERENDING STORY. Set in an alternate history version of 19th-century Venice, where the mechanized armies of the resurrected Pharoah are conquering the world and the National Geographic Society has discovered that Hell has a physical location on earth. Eerie.

YA HIST MEYER,L

BLOODY JACK by L.A. Meyer

Orphaned at nine, Jacqueline "Jackie" Faber first joins a street gang in 18th-century London, then a few years later, runs away to sea disguised as a boy. The British ship she sails on is hunting down pirates. A rousing historical adventure.

YA FICTION ROSOFF,M

HOW I LIVE NOW by Meg Rosoff

Not too many years from now, Great Britain is attacked by an unnamed enemy, and Daisy, an American teen who visiting her English cousins, finds herself trapped as the army of the occupation ravages the countryside. Intense.

YA SCIFI SHUSTERM

THE DARK SIDE OF NOWHERE by Neal Shusterman

Forgettable title but a compelling story. Teens in a small town in the middle of nowhere begin to suspect that their parents are harboring a terrible secret about their past, one that may have apalling consequences for the teens and, ultimately, the world. A story about loyalty, culture, and what makes us human. Exciting.

YA FICTION SHUSTERM

THE SCHWA WAS HERE by Neal Shusterman

Fourteen-year-old Antsy, a native of Brooklyn, discovers the Schwa, a classmate who is "observationally invisible," meaning that he's so quiet and nondescript that people don't even notice here's around. Ever the businessman, Antsy tries to find ways to leverage his friend's unusual talent--with disastrous consequences. Howlingly funny.

YA FANTASY YANCEY,R

THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ALFRED KROPP by Rick Yancey

Orphaned teenager Alfred Kropp is being quietly raised by his aunt and uncle in Nashville, Tennessee, when he inadvertently discovers that he's the son of the last knight of the Round Table and, by default, the protector of Excalibur, King Arthur's magical sword. Which explains why various teams of secret agents are suddenly trying to kill him. Action-packed, high-tech adventure.