Teen Books That Don't Make You Blush

Books that are fun to read and appeal to all teens. Whether your interest is clowning around or singing in the choir, there is something here for you. Selected by the Young Adult Library Services Association.

Abbott, Hailey. The Bridesmaid. 2005.

Abby is dismayed when her older sister Carol suddenly gets engaged and turns into "Bridezilla."
YPBK A (Main)

Bauer, Joan. Backwater. 2000.

While compiling a genealogy of her family, Ivy treks into the mountain wilderness to interview a reclusive aunt.
YA FICT BAUER, JOAN Backwate; YPBK B (IO, ES, PP)

Cabot, Meg. All-American Girl. 2003.

A sophomore girl stops a presidential assassination attempt, is appointed Teen Ambassador to the UN, and catches the eye of the very cute First Son.
YA CABOT MEG All; YA LT CABOT MEG All; YPBK C (Main, BW, EFP, ES, FP, IO, MS, PP)

Cappo, Nan Willard. Cheating Lessons. 2003.

When her team is announced as a finalist in the state Classics Bowl contest, Bernadette suspects that cheating may have been involved.
YA CAPPO NAN Cheating; YA LT CAPPO NAN Cheating; YPBK C (Main, BW, EFP, MS, SA)

Ferris, Jean. Love Among the Walnuts . 1998.

Sandy is shocked when he and his family become victims of a vicious plot by his greedy uncles to incapacitate them and take their money.
YPBK F; JPBK F (ES, IO, LI, PP)

Karr, Kathleen. The Boxer . 2004.

Having learned how to box while in prison, Johnny sets out to discover if he can make a living as a fighter in late 19th-century New York City.
YAFICT KARR, KATHLEEN Boxer; YPBK K (Main)

Lubar, David. Dunk . 2002.

Chad works at an amusement park, a clown getting dunked by ball-throwing kids. When illness strikes a friend and he meets a girl he yearns to know better, this Bozo must find the heart beneath his wisecracks.
YAFICT LUBAR DAVID Dunk; YPBK L (Main)

Oppel, Kenneth. Airborn . 2005.

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.
YA OPPEL KENNETH Airborn; YA LT OPPEL KENNETH Airborn; YPBK O (Main, EFP, IO, PP)

Rabb, M. E. The Rose Queen . 2004.

Teen orphans Samantha and Sophie, sisters who flee their New York City home to escape their stepmother, become prime suspects in the disappearance of an obnoxious local beauty queen.
YPBK R (SA)

Rallison, Janette. All's Fair in Love, War, and High School . 2005.

Cheerleader Samantha thinks that her only hope for college admission is to win the election for student body president, but her razor wit and acid tongue make her better suited to dishing out insults than winning votes.
YPBK R (MS)

Schindler, Nina. An Order of Amelie, Hold the Fries . 2004.

In this lighthearted romance written in a creative graphic format, Tim pursues Amelie in an exchange of e-mails, news clippings, text messages, and notes written on toilet paper, hotel registration forms, and take-out menus.
YPBK S (Main, MS, SA)

Sheldon, Dyan. Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen . 2005.

In her first year at a new high school, Mary Elizabeth sets her sights on the lead in the annual drama production and finds herself in conflict with the most popular girl in school.
YA FICT SHELDON, DYAN Confessi; YA LT SHELDON DYAN Confessi; YPBK S (Main, BW, ES, IO, LI, MS, PP, FP, SA)

Van Draanen, Wendelin. Flipped . 2003.

In alternating chapters, two teenagers describe how their feelings about themselves, each other, and their families have changed over the years.
JF VANDRAAN WENDELIN Flipped; YAFICT VANDRAAN WENDELIN Flipped; JPBK V; YPBK V (Main, BW, EFP, FP, IO, MS, PP, SA)

Weaver, Will. Memory Boy . 2003.

Miles and his family must flee their home and begin a new life in the wilderness after cataclysmic volcanic explosions put their lives in danger.
YAFICT WEAVER, WILL Memory b (LI)

Westerfeld, Scott. Uglies . 2005.

In a futuristic society that requires each 16-year-old to undergo an operation to change her into a pleasure-seeking "Pretty", Tally is torn: her best friend Shay has run away to a rebel settlement of Uglies who question the rules.
YPBK W (Main, EFP, FP, IO, MS, PP)