Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

This one isn't on the Kentucky Book Award list, but if I could add it the curriculum I would. I listened to this book over the summer, and I loved it. It is a true story of one man's mission to educate people in Pakistan, and it gives great insight into the importance of education. This book is a serious MUST READ!

Take a look inside
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0143038257/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link

Read reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0143038257/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer

This one isn't on the Kentucky Book Award list either, but I thought I would include it for the heck of it...

See inside the book
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/031606792X/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link

Read reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/031606792X/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer

This is not on the Kentucky Book Award list this year, but I decided to include it since this is the book I'm on in the series

See inside at Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0316160202/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link

Read some reviews
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0316160202/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

American Born Chinese - on last year's list

This book was a graphic novel on last year's list. It was a fairly popular read, so I decided to include it again this year.

Look inside on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1596431520/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link

Check out some reviews
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/1596431520/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

This is by the author of Speak - which many of you read your freshman year

"After finally getting noticed by someone other than school bullies and his ever-angry father, seventeen-year-old Tyler enjoys his tough new reputation and the attentions of a popular girl, but when life starts to go bad again, he must choose between transforming himself or giving in to his destructive thoughts. " ~Kentucky Book Award

See inside the book at Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0142411841/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link

Read some reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0142411841/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Trigger by Susan Vaught

"Teenager Jersey Hatch must work through his extensive brain damage to figure out why he decided to shoot himself. " ~ Kentucky Book Award

Read some reviews
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/1599902303/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

"When high school student Clay Jenkins receives a box in the mail containing thirteen cassette tapes recorded by his classmate Hannah, who committed suicide, he spends a bewildering and heartbreaking night crisscrossing their town, listening to Hannah's voice recounting the events leading up to her death. " ~ Kentucky Book Award

Take a look inside the book
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1595141715/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link

Read some reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/1595141715/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr

"In the three years since her father caught her in the back seat of a car with an older boy, sixteen-year-old Deanna's life at home and school has been a nightmare, but while dreaming of escaping with her brother and his family, she discovers the power of forgiveness. "~ Kentucky Book Awards

Check out some reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0316014540/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Slam by Nick Hornby

"At the age of fifteen, Sam Jones's girlfriend gets pregnant and Sam's life of skateboarding and daydreaming about Tony Hawk changes drastically." ~Kentucky Book Award

Take a look inside the book at Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1594483450/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link

Check out some reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0399250484/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Red Glass by Laura Resau

"Sixteen-year-old Sophie has been frail and delicate since her premature birth, but discovers her true strength during a journey through Mexico, where the six-year-old orphan her family hopes to adopt was born, and to Guatemala, where her would-be boyfriend hopes to find his mother and plans to remain. " ~ Kentucky Book Awards

Check out reviews on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0385734662/ref=pr_all_summary_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah

"Ishmael Beah, now 25 years old, tells how at the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he'd been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. " ~ Kentucky Book Awards

See inside the book at Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0374531269/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link

Read some reviews
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0374531269/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Gym Candy by Carl Deuker

"Groomed by his father to be a star player, football is the only thing that has ever really mattered to Mick Johnson, who works hard for a spot on the varsity team his freshman year, then tries to hold onto his edge by using steroids, despite the consequences to his health and social life."

Take a look inside the book at Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0547076312/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link

Read some reviews
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0547076312/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

General Winston's Daughter by Sharon Shinn

"Seventeen-year-old heiress Averie Winston travels with her guardian to faraway Chiarrin, a country her father's army has occupied, and once she arrives and is reunited with her fiance, she discovers that her notions about politics, propriety, the military, and even her intended have changed. " ~ Kentucky Book Awards

Check out some reviews on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0670062480/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

First Shot by Walter Sorrells

"As David enters his senior year of high school, a family secret emerges that could solve the mystery of why his mother was murdered two years ago." ~ Kentucky Book Awards

Check out parts of the book on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0525478019/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link

Read a short review
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0525478019/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Firestorm by David Klass

"After learning that he has been sent from the future for a special purpose, eighteen-year-old Jack receives help from an unusual dog and a shape-shifting female fighter" ~Kentucky Book Awards

See parts of the book on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0312380186/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link

Check out some reviews
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0312380186/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Buried by Robin MacCready

"When her alcoholic mother goes missing, seventeen-year-old Claudine begins to spin out of control, despite her attempts to impose order on every aspect of her life. " ~Kentucky Book Awards

Amazon book link
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0142411418/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link

Read reviews
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0142411418/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Before I Die by Jenny Downham

"A terminally ill teenaged girl makes and carries out a list of things to do before she dies. " ~ Kentucky Book Awards

Read reviews
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0385751559/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

Graphic Novel!

"In this wordless graphic novel, a man leaves his homeland and sets off for a new country, where he must build a new life for himself and his family." ~Kentucky Book Awards

See inside the book at Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0439895294/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link

Read some reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0439895294/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - by Serman Alexie

"Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. " ~ Kentucky Book Awards

See inside the book at Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0316013684/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link

Read some reviews
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0316013684/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1