Are you there God?  It’s Me, Margaret

Blume

Adolescents are often so relieved to discover that someone understands their body-angst that they miss one of the book's deeper explorations: a young person's relationship with God. Margaret has a very private relationship with God, and it's only after she moves to New Jersey and hangs out with a new friend that she discovers that it might be weird to talk to God without a priest or a rabbi to mediate. Margaret just wants to fit in! Who is God, and where is He when she needs Him?

Ender’s Game

Card

This futuristic tale involves aliens, political discourse on the Internet, sophisticated computer games, and an orbiting battle station. Yet the reason it rings true for so many is that it is first and foremost a tale of humanity; a tale of a boy struggling to grow up into someone he can respect while living in an environment stripped of choices. Ender's Game is a must-read book for science fiction lovers, and a key conversion read for their friends who "don't read science fiction."

Heroes

Cormier

The irony of the title will haunt readers of this novel as they delve into the mind of a WWII veteran whose face has been blown off by a grenade. After winning a Silver Star for bravery, 18-year-old Francis Cassavant could return home a hero, but he keeps his identity secret in anticipation of murdering a personal enemy and wanders the streets of his hometown as a lone, grotesque. The man Francis seeks is Larry LaSalle, who was once his mentor and who has also earned a Silver Star. Cormier is once again on top of his game, as he constructs intrigue, develops complex characters and creates an unexpected climax. His story, as dark as any he has written thus far, will hold fans from first page to last, and set them thinking about what really lurks behind the face of a hero.

Is That You, Miss Blue?

Kerr

Flanders definitely puts her finger on the hypocrisy of the Charles School, an Episcopal school, booting out Miss Blue for her religious convictions.  The way that Flanders is first embarrassed by Miss Blue, then impressed by her teaching skills, and ultimately a champion of Miss Blue, is very believably described. It really shows some growth in her thinking. M.E. Kerr seems to show religion in all possible forms - positive, negative, neutral. There are characters that don't mean any harm and just want to live true to their beliefs (such as Miss Blue). Then there are those who treat religion as a business and try to use it to manipulate others.

Little, Little

Kerr

Miss Kerr investigates the relationship between three dwarfs: Sydney Cinnamon, an orphaned hump-backed 17-year-old who has achieved a certain fame in commercials for an exterminating company; Little Little La Belle, also 17, the perfectly proportioned daughter of wealthy parents; and Knox Lionel, a 20-year-old hustler and evangelical preacher. The story revolves around Sydney's efforts to secure the affections of the pretty heiress despite her parents' opposition. While this is essentially a love story, the author gently weaves into the plot the general anguish and specific problems intrinsically bound to a minority world. The work goes beyond an account of ''what it's like to be a dwarf''; it remains a reality-based story of individuals.

What I Really Think of You

Kerr

Quiet Opal Ringer is the daughter of Brother Royal Ringer, who leads a flock of hard-on-their-luck Pentecostalists.  Jesse Pegler is the second (and less-favored) son of millionaire televangelist Guy Pegler. Jesse Pegler's older brother, Bud, has run away and left an ill-suited Jesse as heir apparent to the throne. Opal and Jesse eventually meet and attempt to establish a relationship. Before they can successfully connect with anyone else, however, each must come to terms with his/her own identity crisis and feelings of religious confusion. Other intriguing characters appear. Those who are interested in non-mainline Protestantism, or at least are not totally put off by it, will thoroughly enjoy this book. 

The Arm of the Starfish

L’Engle

When Adam Eddington, a gifted marine biology student, makes the acquaintance of blond and beautiful Kali Cutter at Kennedy International Airport on his way to Portugal to spend the summer working for the renowned scientist Dr. O'Keefe, he has no idea that this seemingly chance meeting will set into motion a chain of events he will be unable to stop.

Many Waters

L’Engle

Those that read the Wrinkle in Time series will remember the twins Sandy and Dennys.  Here they accidentally travel across time and space to a harsh desert where, if they believe in unicorns, they can find unicorns.  A truly remarkable adventure novel where seraphim, nephilim and small, long-lived humans coexist uneasily and the twins discover they have more to do than simply get themselves home.

A Ring of Endless Light

L’Engle

Sixteen-year-old Vicky Austin is suddenly finds two young men vying for her attention when she struggling with the knowledge that her beloved Grandfather has leukemia.  Watching his condition deteriorate is almost more than she can bear.  Only her poetry, in which she is able to express some of the conflict and confusion she feels, and her serious scientific experiments in non-verbal communication with wild dolphins provide solace and brief moments of peace.  As she confronts questions of love and death, of dependence and responsibility, the inevitable crisis comes.  L’Engle has written about the spiritual and moral dimensions of common human experiences.

The Young Unicorns

L’Engle

The Austins, an extremely naive family, lived a perfectly normal life until they move to New York City so Dr. Austin could work in a laboratory. While they are there, they meet and become good friends with their neighbor, Emily Gregory, a blind girl. One day, while walking home from school, the Austin children, Emily, and Dave (a friend of Emily's) meet a mysterious modern-day genie. From that day on, many strange, curious people enter the Austins lives, endangering them all, and throwing them in a whirlwind of trouble, mystery, and confusion. In short, The Young Unicorns is a truly moving account of friends, both old and new, trustworthy and deceitful.

Out of the Silent Planet

Lewis, C.S.

The first book in C. S. Lewis's acclaimed Space Trilogy, which continues with Perelandra and That Hideous Strength, Out of the Silent Planet begins the adventures of the remarkable Dr. Ransom. Here, that estimable man is abducted by aliens and taken via spaceship to the red planet of Malacandra. Once on the planet, he eludes his captors, risking his life and his chances of returning to Earth. First published in 1943, Out of the Silent Planet remains a mysterious and suspenseful tour de force from one of our best-loved writers.

Perelandra

Lewis, C.S.

Dr. Ransom is sent to "Perelandra" (Venus) where he finds a fantastic unspoiled paradise populated by strange and quite friendly animals . . . and a single green woman who seems rather innocent. No sooner do they get to chatting than someone shows up who might just be the agent of the Devil, trying to tempt "Eve" into disobeying "God".  Ransom has to figure out how to put a stop to someone who is not only smarter, older and has lots more experience at this.  The fight between Ransom and the Devil's advocate is one of the most brutal fights seen in an old style SF novel, and Lewis manages to contrast the sheer brutality of the fight with the beauty and splendor of the planet around them.  Be prepared if you read the first book and were expecting more of the same, this is a different tone entirely, more philosophical and searching and definitely more than just a science fictional retelling of the Garden of Eden story.

That Hideous Strength

Lewis, C.S.

This satirical comedy blends brilliant characters with an accelerating plot. The BEST thing is the true-life characterization of the "bad guys" and the "good guys". Lewis' bad guys are killers in disguise: socially acceptable, educated sophisticates who have literally duped themselves, and they all distrust and despise each other. The good guys are human, but trying really hard to do right. The second-best thing is all the spiritual/biblical parallels and symbols. The third-best thing was comedy. This is a funny book, but it's really not a comedy. It’s a book that can bring laughter to the point of tears and loss of bodily function (real-Merlin-fake Merlin and the banquet speeches at Belbury). Read 'em and weep.

Song of the Magdalene

Napoli

With richness of detail and depth of feeling, Napoli introduces the biblical figure Mary Magdalene, who is hardly mentioned in the New Testament. Here, Miriam is the daughter of a well-to-do Magdala widower whose household includes a servant and her crippled son. Because of his physical affliction, the village assumes Abraham is an idiot as well, but Miriam knows him as the bright, sweet young man who teaches her to read and to sing the Song of Songs. Napoli's inclusion of issues of the ancient world--the treatment of women and the infirm, religious practices, societal pressures-- means the book demands a reader who can both comprehend philosophical ideas and appreciate nuance to truly recognize all the story has to offer.

The Promise

Potok

Young Reuven Malter is unsure of himself and his place in life. An unconventional scholar, he struggles for recognition from his teachers. With his old friend Danny Saunders--who himself had abandoned the legacy as the chosen heir to his father's rabbinical dynasty for the uncertain life of a healer--Reuven battles to save a sensitive boy imprisoned by his genius and rage. Painfully, triumphantly, Reuven’s understanding of himself, through the boy’s change, grows as he starts to approach the peace he has long sought.

A Door Near Here

Quarles

Without even noticing, 15-year-old Katherine has become the head of her household. She hasn't had time to notice. Her single mother, an out-of-work alcoholic, has been in bed for weeks, leaving Katherine and her three younger siblings to band together and fend for themselves. But it has gotten harder and harder to maintain any sort of stability. There's no time for housework, food and money are running out, and the kids' teachers are starting to get suspicious. Worst of all, Katherine's youngest sister, Alisa, seems to be losing her grip on reality; she is obsessed with finding a door to the imaginary land of Narnia. And the longer they all struggle to maintain their pretense of normality, the more they have to fear--and to lose. 

Tomorrowland: Stories of the Future

SC (Tom)

The future is broadly considered in this story collection. Some stories deal with characters from the past looking forward in time. Some feature contemporary teenagers confused or enlightened by the new millennium. Others deal with futuristic characters living on Mars or in a domed society. Lois Lowry's powerful "Rage" is among the best of the bunch. 

Armageddon Summer

Yolen & Coville

The world will end on Thursday, July 27, 2000. At least, that's what Reverend Beelson has told his congregation. That's why Marina and Jed and their parents have joined the rest of the Reverend's flock at a mountain retreat to await the end of the world. But this world has only just begun for Jed and Marina, two teenagers with more attitude than faith. Why should the world end now, when they've just fallen in love for the first time?