*And other books in this series.

 

Alcorn, Randy.  Safely Home.  2001.  (Christian Fiction) 

American business executive Ben Fielding travels to China to reunite with his college roommate, but when he arrives, he realizes they have both chosen different paths in life, and that decisions they made may determine the destinies of two families and two nations. 

Austen, Jane.  Emma.   1815.  (Classic; Love Story; Humorous Story) 

Emma, a self-assured young lady in Regency England, is determined to arrange her life and the lives of those around her into a pattern dictated by her romantic fancy. 

Austen, Jane.  Pride and Prejudice.  1813.  (Classic; Love Story) 

In early nineteenth-century England, a spirited young woman copes with the courtship of a snobbish gentleman as well as the romantic entanglements of her four sisters. 

Austen, Jane.  Sense and Sensibility.  1811.  (Classic; Love Story; Humorous Story) 

Two sisters of opposing temperments share the pangs of tragic love. Their mutual suffering brings a closer understanding between the two sisters, and true love finally triumphs. 

Bronte, Charlotte.  Jane Eyre.  1847.  (Classic; Love Story) 

A young governess who suffered a violently abusive childhood finds love unexpectedly with her new employer, but secrets from his past--involving madness and old passions--may prove to destroy her happiness. 

Bronte, Emily.  Wuthering Heights.  1847.  (Classic) 

In early nineteenth-century Yorkshire, the passionate attachment between a headstrong young girl and a foundling boy brought up by her father causes tragedy for them and many others, even in the next generation. 

Chaucer, Geoffrey.  The Canterbury Tales.  1386?  (Classic) 

A company of thirty-one pilgrims tell their stories on the way to the shrine of St. Thomas at Canterbury.  

Collins, Suzanne.  The Hunger Games.  2008.  (Science Fiction; Best Books for Young Adults; Best Books of the Year; Best Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror; Notable Books of the Year; Notable Children's Books; Publisher's Weekly's Best Books of the Year; Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers) 

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen accidentally becomes a contender in the annual Hunger Games, a grave competition hosted by the Capitol where young boys and girls are pitted against one another in a televised fight to the death.   

Conrad, Joseph.  Heart of Darkness.  1899.  (Classic) 

Marlow comes face to face with the corruption and despair that lies at the heart of human existence when he undertakes a journey on behalf of a Belgian trading company up the Congo River in search of the tormented white ivory trader, Kurtz. 

Conrad, Joseph.  Lord Jim.   1900.  (Classic) 

A man who has been branded a coward earns the respect of the Malay people. 

Cooney, Caroline B.  Burning Up.  1999.  (Racism; Fiction) 

When a girl she had met at an inner-city church is murdered, fifteen-year-old Macey channels her grief into a school project that leads her to uncover prejudice she had not imagined in her grandparents and their wealthy Connecticut community. 

Cooney, Caroline B.  Diamonds in the Shadow.  2007.  (Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers; Notable Socioal Studies Trade Books for Young People; Children's Books of the Year; Fiction) 

While his mother and father help a family of African refugees, Jared learns that the people he counts on for doing good deeds are not always praiseworthy and is faced with a decision which may have implications for all.

Cooper, James Fenimore. The Last of the Mohicans.  1826.  (Classic; Historical Fiction) 

In upper New York State during the French and Indian War, a woodsman named Hawkeye and two Mohicans, Chingachgook and Uncas, get entangled in the fighting as they try to save two pioneer sisters abducted by Iroquois tribesmen. 

Covey, Sean.  The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens:  The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide.  1998.  (Nonfiction) 

Describes seven habits teenagers can cultivate to help them improve their self-images, build friendships, resist peer pressure, achieve goals, get along with parents, and make other positive changes in their lives. 

Crane, Stephen.  The Red Badge of Courage.  1895.  Classic; Historical Fiction) 

During his service in the Civil War a young Union soldier matures to manhood and finds peace of mind as he comes to grips with his conflicting emotions about war. 

Davis, Sampson . . . et. al.  We Beat the Street:  How a Friendship Pact Helped Us Succeed.  2005.  (Nonfiction; Collective Autobiography) 

Shares anecdotes from the childhoods, teen years, and young adult lives of three men from Newark, New Jersey, who made a pledge to each other in high school to stay safe from drugs, gangs, and crime, and work to become doctors--a goal they have successfully achieved. 

Defoe, Daniel.  Robinson Crusoe. 1719. (Classic) 

During one of his several adventurous voyages in the seventeenth century, an Englishman becomes the sole survivor of a shipwreck and lives for nearly thirty years on a desert island. 

Dickens, Charles.  David Copperfield.  1850.  (Historical Fiction; Classic) 

A young boy in 19th-century London runs away from an unhappy home, finds employment in a wine factory, and becomes acquainted with a wide variety of characters in the city streets. 

Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist.  1837.  (Classic) 

In nineteenth-century England, a young orphan boy lives in the squalid surroundings of a workhouse until he becomes involved with a gang of thieves. 

Dickens, Charles.  A Tale of Two Cities.  1859.  (Classic; Historical Fiction) 

Charles Dickens' 1859 historical novel set in Paris and London during the French Revolution, in which a French nobleman, Charles Darnay, renounces his position and leaves his country, then returns during the Terror to save the life of a servant, putting himself in grave danger. 

Dostoyevsky, Fyodor.  Crime and Punishment.  1866. (Classic) 

Raskolnikov, an impoverished Russian student, murders a despicable old pawnbroker, reasoning that his evil act is outweighed by humanitarian good, but he discovers the fault in his theory when he is plagued by horror and guilt over his actions. 

Douglas, Lloyd C.  The Robe.  1942.  (Classic) 

The story of Christ's robe and the influence it had on the wealthy young Roman soldier who won it at dice. 

Draper, Sharon.  Copper Sun.  2006.  (Historical Fiction; Coretta Scott King Medal Award; Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People; Children's Books of the Year) 

Two fifteen-year-old girls--one a slave and the other an indentured servant--escape their Carolina plantation and try to make their way to Fort Moses, Florida, a Spanish colony that gives sanctuary to slaves. 

Du Maurier, Daphne.  Rebecca.  1938. (Classic; Suspense; Love Story) 

For months after her death, the memory of Rebecca de Winter continues to dominate everyone at her former home, Manderley, one of the most famous English country houses. 

Dumas, Alexandre.  The Count of Monte Cristo.  1844.  (Classic; Historical Fiction; Adventure) 

After escaping from the island where he has been in prison, Dantes plots his revenge on the people responsible for his imprisonment. 

Dungy, Tony.  Quiet Strength:  the Principles, Practices & Priorities of a Winning Life.  2007.  (Football; Christian Autobiography; Nonfiction) 

NFL football coach Tony Dungy reflects on his personal and professional life; discussing his childhood, family, religious beliefs, coaching practices, Super Bowl victory, and more. Includes photographs. 

Elam, Jason and Steve Yohn.  Monday Night Jihad.  2007. (Christian Fiction; Football; Terrorism) 

"After a tour of duty in Afghanistan, Riley Covington is living his dream as a professional linebacker when he comes face-toface with a radical terrorist gorup on his own home tur.  Drawn into the nightmare around him, Riley returns to his former life as a member of a special ops team that crosses oceans in an attmept ot stop the source of the escalating attacks."--front dust jacket. 

Eliot, George. Murder in the Cathedral.  1935.  (Classic; Verse Drama) 

A drama of the conflict between church and state in 12th century England culminates in the murder of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. 

Elliot, Elisabeth.  Through Gates of Splendor.  1981.  (Christian Biography; Missions)  

Recounts the events surrounding the 1955 murder of five missionaries who were killed after making contact with a Stone Age tribe deep in the jungles of Ecuador. 

Fitzgerald, F. Scott.  The Great Gatsby.  1925.  (Classic) 

Tells the tragic love story of Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan, a dashing, enigmatic millionaire obsessed with an elusive, spoiled young woman. 

Hall, Ron.   Same Kind of Different As Me. (2006; Christian Nonfiction; Biography)

Hollywood art dealer Ron Hall and former Louisiana indentured servant Denver Moore reflect on their lives and the friendship that was established between them thanks to Ron's late wife Deborah's volunteer work at Union Gospel Mission in Fort Worth, Texas.

Hampton, Wilborn. War in the Middle East:  Black September and the Yom Kippur War:  A Reporter's Story.  2007.  (Nonfiction; Military history) 

News correspondent Wilborn Hampton relates his experiences covering two civil wars in the Middle East and discusses the important issues that have plagued the region for decades. 

Harris, Joshua.  Boy Meets Girl:  Say Hello to Courtship.  2005.  New ed.  (Nonfiction) 

A Christian-based guide to courtship that defines the practice, explains how it builds a strong relationship, and discusses such topics as finding support in a community, dealing with past sexual sin, and making decisions for the future. 

Hawthorne, Nathaniel.  The House of Seven Gables.  1851.  (Classic) 

A prominent New England family suffering under a curse is plagued by greed, vengeful acts, and violent death.

Hemingway, Ernest.  The Old Man and the Sea.  1952.  (Puliltzer Prize; Classic) 

An old fisherman battles the sea and sharks to bring home the giant marlin he caught. 

*Herriot, James.  All Creatures Great and Small.  1971.  (Nonfiction; Autobiography) 

An English veterinarian reminisces about his life, career, and animal patients in a small village. 

Hillenbrand, Laura. Unbroken. 2010. (Nonfiction; WWII; Biography)

A biography of Olympic runner and World War II bombardier, Louis Zamperini, who had been rambunctious in childhood before succeeding in track and eventually serving in the military, which led to a trial in which he was forced to find a way to survive in the open sea and as a prisoner of war.

Hurston, Zora Neale.  Their Eyes Were Watching God.  1937.  (Classic) 

An African-American woman searches for a fulfilling relationship through two loveless marriages and finally finds it in the person of Tea Cake, an itinerant laborer and gambler. 

Kidd, Sue Monk. The Secret Life of Bees.  1975.  (Historical Fiction) 

Fourteen-year-old Lily and her companion, Rosaleen, an African-American woman who has cared from Lily since her mother's death ten years earlier, flee their home after Rosaleen is victimized by racist police officers, and find asafe haven in Tiburon, South Carolina, at the home of three beekeeping sisters, May, June, and August. 

LaHaye, Tim and Jerry B. Jenkins. Left Behind.  1995.  (Christian Fiction; First Book in the Left Behind Series) 

Airline captain Rayford Steele, stunned when over one hundred passengers vanish from his plane in the blink of an eye, quickly realizes the Rapture his wife had been telling him about--an event in which Jesus would return to take his followers to Heaven before they die--has happened and he has been left behind. 

*Lewis, C. S.  Out of the Silent Planet.  1938.  (Classic; Science Fiction; First Book in the Space Trilogy) 

Prequel to:  Perelandra.  Dr. Ransom, kidnapped by a megalomaniacal physicist and his assistant, and taken to the red planet of Malacandra as a human sacrifice, escapes and sets out on an adventure in a land very different from Earth. 

*Lewis, C. S.  Perelandra.  1944.  (Classic; Science Fiction; Second Book in the Space Trilogy) 

Sequel to:  Out of the Silent Planet.  Dr. Ranson faces evil when the planet Perelandra is invaded by a dark force who strives to create a new world order.  

Lewis, C. S.  The Screwtape Letters.  1942.  (Christian Allegory) 

C. S. Lewis's mockery of the Devil, which presents advisory letters from a demon to his young nephew explaining how to tempt a man away from God 

*Lewis, C. S.  That Hideous Strength:  A Modern Fairy-tale for Grown-ups.  1945.  (Classic; Science Fiction; Third Book in the Space Trilogy) 

Sequel to: Perelandra.  The brilliant and brave philologist Dr. Elwin Ranson amasses forces to fight against a sinister technocratic organization, secretly controlled by humanity's mortal enemies, that is plotting to "recondition" society. 

Milton, John.  Paradise Lost.   1667.  (Classic; English Poetry) 

Deals with the original sin of Adam and Eve and their temptation by the devil.  

Morley, David.  Healing Our World:  Inside Doctors Without Borders.  2007.  (Nonfiction) 

Presents excerpts from the author's journals depicting his experiences and those of other volunteers as they travel the globe bringing medicines and treatment to those in war-torn areas of the world.  

Myers, Walter Dean.  Sunrise Over Fallujah.  2008.  (Iraq War Fiction) 

Robin Perry, from Harlem, is sent to Iraq in 2003 as a member of the Civilian Affairs Battalion, and his time there profoundly changes him. 

*Oppel, Kenneth. Airborn. 2004.  (Fantasy) 

Prequel to:  Skybreaker.  Matt, a young cabin boy aboard an airship, and Kate, a wealthy young girl traveling with her chaperone, team up to search for the existence of mysterious winged creatures reportedly living hundreds of feet above the Earth's surface. 

*Oppel, Kenneth.  Skybreaker.  2007.  (Fantasy) 

Sequel to:  Airborn.  Matt Cruse, a student at the Airship Academy, and Kate de Vries, a young heiress, team up with a gypsy and a daring captain, to find a long-lost airship, rumored to carry a treasure beyond imagination. 

Orczy, Emmuska Orczy, Baroness.  The Scarlet Pimpernel.  1905.  (Classic; Historical Fiction; Action) 

Sir Percy Blakeney defies the French revolutionaries in order to save innocent men and women from being put to death in the guillotine. 

Orwell, George.  1984. 1949.  (Classic; Political Fiction) 

Winston Smith, a worker at the Ministry of Truth in the future political entity of Oceania, puts his life on the line when he joins a covert brotherhood in rebelling against the Party that controls all human thought and action. 

*Paolini, Christopher. Eldest.  2005.  (Fantasy; Second Book in the Inheritance Trilogy) 

Sequel to:  Eragon.  After successfully evading an Urgals ambush, Eragon is adopted into the Ingeitum clan and sent to finish his training so he can further help the Varden in their struggle against the Empire. 

*Paolini, Christopher.  Eragon. 2002.  (Fantasy; First Book in the Inheritance Trilogy) 

Prequel to:  Eldest.  In Aagaesia, a fifteen-year-old boy of unknown lineage called Eragon finds a mysterious stone that weaves his life into an intricate tapestry of destiny, magic, and power, peopled with dragons, elves, and monsters. 

Pearson, Mary E.  The Adoration of Jenna Fox.  2008.  (Science Fiction; Best Books for Young Adults; Best Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror; Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People; Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers)

In the not-too-distant future, when biotechnological advances have made synthetic bodies and brains possible but illegal, a seventeen-year-old girl, recovering from a serious accident and suffering from memory lapses, learns a startling secret about her existence.

*Pelzer, David.  A Child Called "It":  One Child's Courage to Survive.  1993.  (Nonfiction; Autobiography) 

David Pelzer, victim of one of the worst child abuse cases in the history of California, tells the story of how he survived his mother's brutality and triumphed over his past. 

Petersen, Dennis R.  Unlocking the Mysteries of Creation:  The Explorer's Guide to the Awesome Works of God.  2002.  (Nonfiction) 

Explores the scientific accuracy of the biblical creation account, and reveals the fundamental fallacies of evolutionistic myth. 

Rivers, Francine.  And the Shofar Blew.  2003.  (Christian Fiction) 

Minister Paul Hudson, called to pastor a struggling church in California, becomes so caught up in building attendance and filling church coffers that he loses sight of his mission to save souls, alienating his wife and son, and eventually bringing about his own downfall. 

Rivers, Francine. Leota's Garden.  1999.  (Christian Fiction) 

Eighty-four-year-old Leota, who has trusted in God throughout all of her trials and years of loneliness, nurtures an unexpected relationship with her granddaughter in an attempt to repair the damage caused by family secrets. 

*Rosenberg, Joel.  The Last Jihad.  2002.  (Christian Fiction; Mystery; Suspense) 

Jon Bennett is a top Wall Street strategist turned senior White House advisor. But nothing has prepared him for the terror that he will face. Only a solid Arab-Israeli coalition against Iraq can keep the U.S. and other Western nations from certain devastation. 

Scott, Walter, Sir. Ivanhoe.  1819.  (Classic; Historical Fiction; Love Story) 

Wilfred of Ivanhoe, a warrior just returned from the Crusades, embarks on adventures both treacherous and romantic in his quest to foil Prince John's plan to take Richard the Lion-Hearted's throne. 

Steinbeck, John.  The Grapes of Wrath.  1939.  (Pulitzer Prize; Classic; Historical Fiction)

The story of a farm family's Depression-era journey from the Dustbowl of Oklahoma to the California migrant labor camps in search of a better life. 

Swift, Jonathan.  Gulliver's Travels.  1726. (Fantasy; Classic) 

An Englishman's voyages carry him to Lilliput, a land of people six inches high, and to Brobdingnag, a land of giants. 

Tolan, Sandy.  The Lemon Tree:  An Arab, A Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East.  2006.  (Arab-Israeli Conflict; Collective Biography; Nonfiction) 

Traces the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the parallel stories of Dalia, a Jewish woman whose family of Holocaust survivors emigrated from Bulgaria, and Bashir, a young Palestinian man who returns to see his family home after the Six-Day War of 1967. 

Wallace, Lew.  Ben Hur:  A Tale of Christ. 1880.  (Historical Fiction; Christian Fiction; Classic) 

A wealthy young Jew and his family, experiencing changing fortunes under Roman tyranny, are affected by the life and teachings of a Nazarene named Jesus Christ. 

Wells, H. G.  War of the Worlds.  1898.  (Classic; Science Fiction) 

As life on Mars becomes impossible, Martians and their terrifying machines invade the earth. 

Wiesel, Elie.  (Winner of Nobel Peace Prize.)  Night.  First published 1958.  2006 ed. preferred translation.  (Nonfiction; Autobiography; History) 

Presents a true account of the author's experiences as a Jewish boy in a Nazi concentration camp. 

Wilkerson, David.  The Cross and the Switchblade.  1962.  (Christian literature; Nonfiction) 

A minister who left his small church in Pennsylvania to go to New York City relates his experiences working with street gang members. 

Wolf, Allan.  New Found Land:  A Novel.  2004.  (Historical Fiction) 

The letters and thoughts of Thomas Jefferson, members of the Corps of Discovery, their guide Sacagawea, and Captain Lewis's Newfoundland dog, all tell of the historic exploratory expedition to seek a water route to the Pacific Ocean.