These aren’t your ordinary back to school stories! Don’t forget we have another school-themed bibliography from 2011.
Check out High School Survival (9/2011).
Tanen, Sloane. Appetite for Detention. 2008. YA TAN
Teen chicks Edgar, Marissa, Joey, Helen, and Andrew head off to face another year of high school dramas and dilemmas. You’re going to bust a gut laughing with this one.
Ribar, Lindsay. The Art of Wishing. 2013. YA RIB
When eighteen-year-old Margo learns she lost the lead in her high school musical (Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney Todd) to a SOPHOMORE because of a modern-day genie, she is beyond pissed. Fun fact: Miss Kate is friends with Lindsay, and remembers when this book was tentatively titled “The Fourth Wish.”
Averett, Edward. Cameron and the Girls. 2013. YA AVE
A boy suffering from schizophreniform disorder falls into a love triangle with a girl in his junior high class – and a girl in his head. Touching.
Miller, Ashley Edward and Zack Stentz. Colin Fischer. 2012. YA MIL
SOLVING CRIME. ONE FACIAL EXPRESSION AT A TIME.
Colin Fischer cannot stand to be touched. He dislikes the color blue. He needs index cards to recognize facial expressions.
But when a gun is found in the school cafeteria, interrupting a female classmate’s birthday celebration, Colin is the only one for the investigation. It’s up to him to prove that Wayne Connelly, the school bully and Colin’s frequent tormentor, didn’t bring the gun to school. After all, Wayne didn’t have frosting on his hands, and there was white chocolate frosting found on the grip of the smoking gun…
Fisher, Catherine. Darkwater. 2012, 2000. YA FIS
Sixteen-year-old Sarah sells her soul to reclaim her family’s estate and is given one hundred years to atone for their sins, but as the bargain nears its end, modern-day Tom, yearning to attend the private school that Darkwater Hall has become, gets caught up in the bargain. Cue the scary music.
Telgemeier, Raina. Drama. 2012. YA GRAPHIC TEL
Callie rides an emotional roller coaster while serving on the stage crew for a middle school production of “Moon Over Mississippi,” as various relationships start and end, and others never quite get going. If you loved Smile, you’re going to love this!
Rowell, Rainbow. Eleanor & Park. 2013. YA ROW
Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits – smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.
Carriger, Gail. Etiquette & Espionage: Finishing School, Book the First. 2013. YA CAR
In an alternate England of 1851, spirited fourteen-year-old Sophronia is enrolled in a finishing school where, she is surprised to learn, lessons include not only the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but also diversion, deceit, and espionage. If you love delightfully quirky reads, Carriger will be your new favorite author.
Caine, Rachel. Glass Houses. 2009. EBOOK and eAUDIO
In Morganville, Texas, a town where evil terrorizes the streets under the cover of darkness, Claire Danvers, who has had enough of her sadistic dorm situation, moves off campus and discovers that the town is run by vampires. Deliciously scary, and the first in a series.
Miller, Kirsten. How to lead a life of crime. 2013. YA MIL
A teenaged pickpocket is recruited for Mandel Academy, a school for criminals where only one student survives each semester. Makes your high school seem tame, right?
Sun, Amanda. Ink. 2013. YA SUN
Moving to Japan in the aftermath of a family tragedy, Katie struggles to adjust to an unfamiliar culture and develops feelings for the school’s kendo team star Tomohiro while observing how strange things happen with pens, ink and drawings whenever she is near to him.
MacLean, Jill. Nix Minus One. 2013. YA MAC
More skilled at woodworking than communicating, Nix Humboldt seeks the words to deal with high school expectations, his extroverted sister, and his neighbor’s neglected dog.
Shen, Prudence. Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong. 2013. YA GRAPHIC SHE
The unlikely friendship between basketball team captain Charlie and robotics club president Nate is seriously challenged when Nate declares war on the cheerleaders over funding that will either pay for new uniforms or a robotics competition.
Vaughn, Lauren Roedy. OCD, the Dude, and Me. 2013. YA VAU
Danielle Levin stands out even at her alternative high school – in appearance and attitude – but when her scathing and sometimes raunchy English essays land her in a social skills class, she meets Daniel, another social misfit who may break her resolve to keep everyone at arm’s length.
Konigsberg, Bill. Openly Straight. 2013. YA KON
Tired as being known as “the gay kid,” Rafe Goldberg decides to assume a new persona when he comes east and enters an elite Massachusetts prep school – but trying to deny his identity has both complications and unexpected consequences.
Ostow, Micol. Popular Vote. 2008. YA OST
In an election year, sixteen-year-old Erin Bright sets aside her supporting role as daughter of the mayor and girlfriend of the student body president to stand up for what she believes in and protect an historic park from being replaced by a gas station.
Stiefvater, Maggie. The Raven Boys. 2012. YA STI
Developing her mother’s clairvoyant powers for seeing visions of people who are about to die, Blue is drawn into the life of rich private school boy, Gansey, who has involved three of his classmates in a quest that Blue believes will end with her involvement in Gansey’s death. First in a serious.
Volponi, Paul. Rikers High. 2010. YA VOL
Arrested on a minor offense, a New York City teenager attends high school in the jail facility on Rikers Island, as he waits for his case to go to court.
Hawkins, Rachel. School Spirits. 2013. YA HAW
Fifteen-year-old Izzy, who comes from a long line of monster hunters, investigates a series of hauntings at her new high school.
Korman, Gordon. Schooled. 2007. YA KOR
Homeschooled by his hippie grandmother, Capricorn (Cap) Anderson has never watched television, tasted a pizza, or even heard of a wedgie. But when his grandmother lands in the hospital, Cap is forced to move in with a guidance counselor and attend the local middle school. While Cap knows a lot about tie-dying and Zen Buddhism, no education could prepare him for the politics of public school.
Rutkoski, Marie. The Shadow Society. 2012. YA RUT
Sixteen-year-old Darcy Jones knows little about her past except that she was abandoned outside a Chicago firehouse at age five, but when the mysterious Conn arrives at her high school she begins to discover things about her past that she is not sure she likes. A quick and fast read.
Korman, Gordon. Son of the Mob. 2002. YA KOR
Seventeen-year-old Vince’s life is constantly complicated by the fact that he is the son of a powerful Mafia boss, a relationship that threatens to destroy his romance with the daughter of the FBI agent assigned to shadow his dad. You’ll be dying of laughter.
Barnes, John. Tales of the Madman Underground: (an historical romance 1973). 2009. YA BAR
Forced to be a member of a group that must attend therapy during school hours, Karl is determined to make his senior year his best and so decides to act “normal” in order to break free from the routine, but between his many jobs and his crazy life at home, Karl begins to think that he may never be able to grasp the concept – let alone be it.
Estep, Jennifer. Touch of Frost: a Mythos Academy novel. 2011. YA EST
Some weird things – worse than the usual weirdness – have been going on at Mythos Academy, a school of myths and magic. After mean girl Jasmine Ashton is murdered in the Library of Antiquities, Gwen Frost is determined to figure out what’s going on, especially since she was the one the killer wanted.
Laban, Elizabeth. The Tragedy Paper. 2013. YA LAB
While preparing for the most dreaded assignment at the prestigious Irving School, the Tragedy Paper, Duncan gets wrapped up in the tragic tale of Tim Macbeth, a former student who had a clandestine relationship with the wrong girl, and his own ill-fated romance with Daisy.
Wells, Robison. Variant. 2011. YA WEL
After years in foster homes, seventeen-year-old Benson Fisher applies to New Mexico’s Maxfield Academy in hopes of securing a brighter future, but instead he finds that the school is a prison and no one is what he or she seems.
McMann, Lisa. Wake. 2009, c2008. YA MCM
Ever since she was eight years old, high school student Janie Hannagan has been uncontrollably drawn into other people’s dreams, but it is not until she befriends an elderly nursing home patient and becomes involved with an enigmatic fellow student that she discovers her true power. First in a series.