Adult Books that Teens might enjoy

Almond, Steve	Candyfreak : A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America	338.4766 ALMOND
The appropriately named Almond goes beyond candy obsession to enter the realm of "freakdom." Right up front, he reveals that he has eaten a piece of candy "every single day of his entire life," "thinks about candy at least once an hour" and "has between three and seven pounds of candy in his house at all times."
Beah, Ismael	A Long Way Gone : Memoirs of a Boy Soldier	YA 966.404 BEAH
Ismael Beah describes his experiences after he was driven from his home by war in Sierra Leone, picked up by the government army at the age of thirteen, and served as a soldier.
Chevalier, Tracy	Girl With a Pearl Earring	YA FIC CHEVALIER
The life of sixteen-year-old Griet is transformed forever when she goes to work as a maid in the home of Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, who develops a fascination for his new maid.
Cullen, Dave	Columbine	YA 373.7888 CULLEN
This definitive account of one of the most shocking massacres in American history, written by an award-winning journalist, offers insight inside the minds of the killers.
Gladwell, Malcolm	Outliers : The Story of Success	302 GLADWELL
Writer Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers" - the best and brightest, the most famous and successful. He asks the question : what makes high-achievers different? His answers can be surprising.
Gladwell, Malcolm	The Tipping Point : How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference	YA 302 GLADWELL
This book presents a new way of understanding why change frequently happens as quickly and as unexpectedly as it does. It is because ideas, behaviors, messages, and products sometimes behave just like outbreaks of infectious disease. They are social epidemics and this book strives to examine the social epidemics that surround us.
Golden, Arthur	Memoirs of a Geisha	YA FIC GOLDEN
Nitta Sayuri, a young Japanese woman who was taken from her home at the age of nine and sold into slavery as a geisha, discovers a rare opportunity for freedom when the outbreak of World War II forces an end to the only life she has ever known.
Gruen, Sara	Water for Elephants	YA FIC GRUEN
This novel traces a pivotal time in the life of Jacob, a young man who runs away with the circus after the death of his parents.
Hemingway, Ernest	For Whom the Bell Tolls	YA FIC HEMINGWAY
This Hemingway classic tells the story of a young American, Robert Jordan, who fights alongside the guerillas during the Spanish Civil War and falls in love with a young revolutionary. It reflects Hemingway's feelings about the nature of war and the meaning of loyalty, drawing on his own experiences with the war.
Hosseini, Khaled	A Thousand Splendid Suns	FIC HOSSEINI
This novel, set against the civil war and Taliban oppressions in Afghanistan, tells the story of Mariam and Laila, two women who grow close despite their nineteen year age difference and abusive husband.
Keneally, Thomas	Schindler's List	FIC KENEALLY
The true story of a man who took incredible risks and spent his considerable fortune to build a factory camp to protect Jews during World War II.
Kidd, Sue Monk	The Secret Life of Bees	YA FIC KIDD
Lily and her caretaker, Rosaleen, flee their home after Rosaleen is victimized by racist police officers. They find a safe haven in Tiburon, South Carolina, at the home of three bee-keeping sisters.
Kluger, Steve	Last Days of Summer	FIC KLUGER
Joey Margolis, a young boy whose father has deserted the family, begins writing to baseball player Charlie Banks and forms a relationship with the third baseman that changes both of their lives for the better.
Krakauer, Jon	Into the Wild	BIO MCCANDLESS
Tells the true story of Chris McCandless, a twenty-four-year-old who walked into the Alaskan wilderness and was found dead of starvation four months later.
Krakauer, Jon	Into Thin Air	796.522095 KRAKAUER
In his attempt to "tell what happened on the mountain accurately and honestly in a sensitive, respectful manner," Krakauer introduces each chapter with philosophical writings of other climbers.
Krakauer, Jon	Where Men Win Glory : The Odyssey of Pat Tillman	BIO TILLMAN
In May 2002, Tillman walked away from his $3.6 million NFL contract to enlist in the United States Army. He was deeply troubled by 9/11 and he felt a strong moral obligation to join the fight against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Two years later, he died on a desolate hillside in southeastern Afghanistan.
Lahiri, Jhumpa	The Namesake	INTERNET
Awkwardness is Gogol's birthright. He grows up a bright American boy, goes to Yale, has pretty girlfriends, becomes a successful architect, but like many second-generation immigrants, he can never quite find his place in the world.
Levitt, Steven D., and Dubner, Stephen J.	Freakonomics	330 Levitt
Offers an alternative view of how the economy really works, examining issues from cheating and crime to sports and child-rearing, offering a very different view on what really matters and what really drives the economy.
Martel, Yann	Life of Pi	FIC MARTEL
Pi Patel, having spent a happy childhood in India as the son of a zookeeper, sets off with his family at the age of 16 to start anew in Canada, but his life takes a marvelous turn when their ship sinks in the Pacific and he is left adrift on a raft with a 450-pound Bengal tiger for company.
McCormick, Patricia	Sold	FIC MCCORMIC
A novel in vignettes in which Lakshmi, a thirteen-year-old girl from Nepal, is sold into prostitution in India.
McKinley, Robin	Sunshine	YA FIC MCKINLEY
They took her clothes and sneakers. They dressed her in a long red gown. And they shackled her to the wall of an abandoned mansion - within easy reach of a figure in the moonlight. She knows he is a vampire.
Mortenson, Greg	Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace - One School at a Time	371.82209549 MORTENSO
The author recounts the experiences he had while trying to help impoverished villages in Pakistan’s Karakoram Himilaya build schools for their children.
Obama, Barack	Dreams From My Father : A Story of Race and Inheritance	YA 305.896073 OBAMA
A memoir by United States President Barack Obama, published in July 1995, as he was preparing to launch his political career.
O'Brien, Tim	The Things They Carried	YA FIC OBRIEN
In this short story collection, weapons and good-luck charms carried by U.S. soldiers in Vietnam represent survival, lost innocence, and the war's legacy.
Orwell, George	Animal Farm	YA FIC ORWELL
The motto of the animal community that satirizes communism is, "all pigs are equal, but some pigs are more equal." The farm is taken over by its overworked and mistreated animals, who set out to create a paradise of progress, justice and equality.
Pausch, Randy	The Last Lecture	170.44 PAUSCH
College professor Randy Pausch, who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, discusses how to overcome obstacles in one's life and achieve one's dreams.
Picoult, Jodi	Nineteen Minutes	YA FIC PICOULT
The people of Sterling, New Hampshire, are forever changed after a shooting at the high school leaves ten people dead. The judge presiding over the trial tries to remain unbiased, even though her daughter witnessed the events and was friends with the assailant.
Pollan, Michael	The Omnivore's Dilemma : a Natural History of Four Meals	394.12 POLLAN
Pollan, in his critical portrayal of the environmental and health flaws of the American diet, suggests ways to help us examine what it is we should be having for dinner.
Ralston, Aron	Between a Rock and a Hard Place	796.522092 RALSTON
Ralston presents the full story behind the 2003 event that became worldwide news : the self-amputation of his right arm after it was caught between a boulder and a canyon wall.
Remarque, Erich Maria	All Quiet on the Western Front	FIC REMARQUE
This classic novel depicts the experiences of a group of young German soldiers fighting and suffering during the last days of World War I.
Rodriguez, Luis J.	Always Running : La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A.	364.1092 RODRIGUEZ
The author tells the story of his painful childhood, growing up in poverty in Los Angeles, his encounters with racism in school and on the streets, his attraction to gang life, and his success at finding an alternative to that violent existence.
Steinbeck, John	The Grapes of Wrath	YA FIC STEINBEC
A family must leave its farm in Oklahoma after the 10-year Dust Bowl drought to become part of the thousands of migrant farmers struggling to feed their families in Depression-Era California.
Stockett, Kathryn	The Help	FIC STOCKETT
Set during the civil rights movement, Eugenia Skeeter Phelan is home from college in Mississippi. Anxious to become a writer, she is advised to begin by writing about what disturbs her. The budding social activist begins to collect the stories of the black maids who are terribly mistreated.
Thoreau, Henry David	Walden	818.303 THOREAU
This American classic reflects Thoreau's personal declaration of independence and his voyage of spiritual discovery, which reads as a manual for self-reliance that parallels America's 19th-century developing identity.
Tolkien, J.R.R.	The Fellowship of the Ring: The First Part of The Lord of the Rings	FIC TOLKIEN
Frodo the hobbit and a band of warriors from different kingdoms set out to destroy the Ring of Power before the evil Sauron grasps control.
Trigiani, Adriana	Viola in Reel Life	YA FIC TRIGIANI
While they are filming a documentary in Afghanistan, Viola's parents send their daughter to Prefect Academy for Young Women. Away from her home and friends in Brooklyn, Viola has resolved to be miserable. Her only comfort is her personal video diary, "The Viola Reels." Viola enters a film competition, and through the help and support of her friends and family, "The Viola Reels" could just be the short film of her dreams.
Voltaire, Francois Marie Arouet de	Candide	FIC VOLTAIRE
Satirizes social injustices in 18th century France through the disastrous adventures in Candide, as the hero attempts to reunite with his lost love. (Recommended by colleges for high school reading.)
Whitman, Walt	Leaves of Grass	811 WHITMAN
This 19th century poetry collection, written by Walt Whitman, the father of modern American poetry, is notable for its delight in and praise of the senses during a time when such candid displays were considered immoral.
Wolff, Tobias	Old School	FIC WOLFF
A young man at a prestigious New England preparatory school, who has spent his entire school career hiding his real self in order to fit in, finds his facade and his world falling apart during his senior year.
Wolff, Tobias	This Boy's Life	BIO WOLFF
Wolff's account of his boyhood and the process of growing up include paper routes, scouting, fistfights, friendship, betrayal, and America in the fifties.
Woods, Teri	Dutch	YA FIC WOODS
When the novel opens, a zealous district attorney is trying to convict Bernard James, aka "Dutch," for a series of brutal murders. Flashbacks reveal Dutch's ruthless rise through the ranks of New Jersey organized crime, but his sense of nobility blurs lines between good and evil.