High School Reads!

by Maggie Thrash Genre:  Fantasy, Graphic Novel Maggie doesn't know what has happened to her life...it feels as if everything is collapsing.  She's flunking the 11th grade and feels trapped in her depressing surroundings.  Her mother barely sees her and her father is at work all the time.  The only thing Maggie really cares about is her cat so when he disappears one day, Maggie feels like she has lost everything.  When she sets out to find her cat, Maggie is not prepared for what she does find.  Will Maggie be able to turn her life around?

by Katrina Leno Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Fantasy Georgina and her twin sister Mary have always known that magic existed amongst the female members of their family.  They are supposed to discover their gifts before their 18th birthday.  Mary can float and is trying to learn how to control it.  So far Georgina hasn't figured hers out...and their birthday will be here soon.  The girls are growing up with their mother on a mysterious, slightly magical island, where every summer a bird named Annabella returns to delight the town and tourists who come to visit.  But this summer is different...Annabella hasn't returned on time and their are new visitors to the island.  Neither Georgina or Mary is anticipating the big changes that this summer will bring...

by Jason Reynolds Lexile:  720 Genre: Fantasy, Realistic Fiction, Novel in Verse Will's older brother Shawn is dead.  Shot and killed in the street.  Will knows only 3 rules that have taught him how to respond.  No crying.  No Snitching.  Revenge.  So Will takes his brother's gun and steps onto the elevator.  He is going to find the guy who shot his brother and take revenge.  Little does he know, it is a long way down on this particular day, on this particular elevator.

by Cassandra Clare Lexile:  840 Genre:  Fantasy Mortmain is threatening to destroy all of the Shadowhunters with his army of automatons.  They are nearly invincible, but he still needs Tessa Gray to complete his evil plan.  Jem and Will are both still battling to win her heart and save her from Mortmain.  The consul is trying to remove Charlotte Branwell from the London Institute so no one is listening to her cries for help with regards to just how dangerous Mortmain and his army have become.  If Tessa is to survive, it will be up to Charlotte to lead Jem and Will and the others at the Institute on a mission that will go against the Clave.  Will they find the courage to do what they know is right?

by Cassandra Clare Lexile:  790 Genre:  Fantasy Tessa Gray has found a new life at the Institute with the Shadowhunters now that her brother can no longer be trusted.  But she still doesn't know how she got her power and the other secrets that her parents kept hidden.  And then there is her relationship with Jem and Will.  Jem seems to be falling for her and Will seems to grow more distant.  If they are to protect Charlotte's hold on the Institute, they will have to work together to figure out who the spy is that is helping to keep the evil Magister hidden.

by Cassandra Clare Lexile:  780 Genre:  Fantasy Tessa Gray has grown up in an ordinary world with an ordinary life.  When her Aunt Harriet passed away, it was decided that Tessa would travel to England to live with her older brother, Nate.  But when she arrives, Nate has sent someone else in his place to meet her.  Tessa goes with the sisters thinking that they will take her to Nate.  However, she soon learns that the sisters are members of a secret society and that they have kidnapped her brother and now her.  They tell her that if she doesn't cooperate with their demands, her brother will be killed.  Tessa is about to learn that the normal life she thought she had was nothing more than a life filled with lies and half truths.  Tessa has no idea who she is or the power she now holds.

by Sabaa Tahir Lexile:  670 Genre:  Fantasy A Torch in the Night  is the sequel to  An Ember in the Ashes .  Elias and Laia are on the run, desperate to get to Kauf prison in time to save Laia's brother, Darin.  Helene, Marcus, and the Commandant will do everything in their power to stop them.  Elias and Laia will have to learn to work together if they are going to be able to defeat the evil forces at work that are threatening to destroy the Empire.

by Mary E. Pearson Lexile:  760 Genre:  Fantasy Lia and Rafe have barely escaped from Venda.  But now they disagree on what their next steps should.  Rafe wants to take Lia back to the safety of his kingdom and live happily ever after while Lia feels the need to warn the people of her kingdom about the attack that's sure to come, even though many in her home will see her as a traitor.  Will Lia and Rafe be able to compromise or will they go their separate ways?

by Sabaa Tahir Lexile:  680 Genre:  Fantasy Laia has a great life.  She lives with her grandparents and her beloved older brother.  Her grandfather is training her to be a healer.  But one night, the Martial Empire comes, slaughters her grandparents and takes her brother hostage.  Laia escapes only to be captured by a resistance fighter.  They are willing to bargain with her.  If she spies at Blackcliff, where the Empire's soldiers are trained, they will help get her brother out of prison.  But, if she is discovered, the penalty is death.  Laia doesn't see any other way out.  When she goes under cover as a slave, she meets Elisas, who is a solider at Blackcliff.  Neither of them are truly free and they are going to need each other if they are both to survive.

by Daniel Jose Older Lexile:  690 Genre:  Fantasy Sierra is an artist.  She is working on a colorful mural one day when she notices that an older mural's paint seems to be fading.  And then she thinks that she sees a tear fall from a man's eye in the painting.  Her grandfather keeps telling her he's sorry, over and over again and urges her to find Robbie.  He tells her that only Robbie can help her.  Sierra knows something strange is going on...she can see it and feel it.  But nobody in her family will talk about it.  Until the night when she is almost killed by a creature and her brother comes to her rescue at just the right time.  Sierra isn't going to let him out of her sight until she gets some answers.

by E.K. Johnston Lexile:  930 Genre:  Fantasy Once a dragon slayer finishes high school, they must devote 4 years of service to the Oil Watch. Siobhan has stood by Owen's side to make sure that he can graduate and now he has met that goal and is off for great adventures.  Siobhan has decided to enlist as well.  They commit to the dangerous job of protecting their country from dragons.  Siobhan and Owen, along with friends Emily and Sadie, are hoping for the happy ending where dragons cease to be a problem and their friend Owen becomes the famous dragon slayer of all.  Will they get their happy ending?

by E.K. Johnston Lexile:  1020 Genre:  Fantasy The biggest threat to the town of Trondheim is dragons and each village needs a dragon slayer to keep them safe. Owen Thorskad is destined to be a dragon slayer, but in order to do so he must pass high school. Enter Siobahan McQuaid; who has been hand selected by Owen's aunts to help him do that very thing.  Siobhan isn't sure how she feels about being so closely involved with this famous dragon slaying family.  Her passion is music and she prefers to work alone.  Getting involved with Owen and his family is going to open up a whole new world for her.

by Laura Ruby Lexile:  810 Genre:  Fantasy Bone Gap is a strange place and very hard to describe which is why when a beautiful young girl named, Roza, disappeared, nobody knew quite what to do.  Roza disappeared as mysteriously as she arrived and the O'Sullivan brothers, Sean and Finn, don't know how to move on.  Finn believes that Rosa has been kidnapped, but nobody is really willing to listen to his story.  But his brother has changed, and not for the good, so Finn realizes that he has to find out what happened to Roza so that he can get his brother back.

by E.K. Johnston Lexile:  ??? Genre:  Fantasy Lo-Melkhiin has married 300 times.  And all 300 have died.  Now he is coming to find his next wife. The one he chooses will become a hero as she goes willingly in her sister's place.  Lo-Melkhiin does not know what to make of this and allows her to live so that he may come to better understand her power and learn how it might benefit him.  His new wife lives each day cautiously, not knowing how long she will survive.  She knows she must play the game carefully as she attempts to uncover who the real Lo-Melkhiin is.

by Sally Green Lexile:  680 Genre:  Fantasy Nathan is a half-code:  half White Witch, half Black Witch.  This means he is an embarrassment to his family and a puzzlement to the Council who is not sure what should be done with him.  As his seventeenth birthday approaches, they must decide who should give him his three gifts and they must decide on his classification.  His guardian, Celia, is training him for something, but it is unclear to him just what that something will be.  Nathan must discover for himself whether he is half-bad or half-good.

by Gary Soto Lexile:  810 Genre:  Fantasy Chuy is minding his own business one evening when he makes an innocent comment to the person standing next to him in the bathroom.  The next thing he knows, he is lying dead on the floor and his ghost is observing the impact that his death has on his murderer and the family and friends he left behind.  Chuy soon learns that life as a ghost is far form ordinary as he floats about Fresno, CA watching preparations for his funeral unfold.  Along the way, he meets two other ghosts who are dealing with their untimely deaths in varying ways.  Will Chuy be able to find happiness in the afterlife?

by Maggie Stiefvater Lexile: 740 Genre: Fantasy As a young child, Grace was taken from her backyard and attacked by wolves, but was then saved by one of them. Ever since she has felt a connection to the wolf with the yellow eyes who she sees in the woods quite often. Imagine her surprise one day when she realizes he's actually a boy named Sam. Well, at least part of the time...Sam confides his secret life to her as they realize how much they want to be together. But time is running out!

by Victoria Aveyard Lexile:  740 Genre:  Fantasy The world that Mare Barrow is growing up in is divided between those who are Red and those who are Silver.  Mare is Red until she meets the prince who brings her to the palace and gets her a job. However, it soon comes to light that she is different - more than a Red, but not a Silver either.  In an effort to keep her heritage a secret, the Queen decides to invent a story that conceals the truth about her identity and passes her off as a Silver.  The Queen has warned Mare that her life and the lives of all of her family members are at stake.  If Mare can't pull this off, it will be the end.

by Cassandra Clare Lexile: 770 Genre:  Fantasy Clary, Jace, Simon, Isabelle, and Alec have one last chance to defeat Sebastian and his evil empire. Are they up for the challenge?  Sebastian has taken hostages and delivered ultimatums.  Sebastian is demanding the Clave give up Jace and Clary in exchange for the hostages.  Before the Clave can make a decision, Jace and Clary decide to head underground and fight Sebastian on his own turf. Only one team is going to survive...will the Shadowhunters survive or will life as they know it change forever?  This is the final book in The Mortal Instruments Series.

by J.K. Rowling Lexile: 880 Genre: Fantasy Harry Potter has no idea who he is. All he knows is his miserable life with his aunt and uncle and cousin who took him in after his parents died. He lives in a tiny closet under the stairs and hasn't ever had a fun day in his life. But on his 11th birthday things change. Harry receives a letter inviting him to the Hogwarts school of wizardry. He begins to learn the truth about who his parents were and what he is to become.