2011 Best Teen Books
Our list of the best books in 2011 for teenagers and young adults are award winning books that encompass a variety of genres. Click on the links to read more about each book, along with reviews of the books by other readers.
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Ship Breaker A dystopian thriller set one hundred years in the future, in the gulf coast region, after an environmental collapse. Where grounded oil tankers are being dissembled for parts by a rag tag group of workers, we meet Nailer, a teenage boy working the light crew. When an accident leads Nailer to discover an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, and the lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl, Nailer finds himself at a crossroads. |
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Revolution A clever, multi-layered novel that weaves together the stories of two teenagers Andi Alpers, who blames herself for the death of her younger brother Truman and performer Alexandrine Paradis, who is desperate to prevent the murder of ten-year-old Louis-Charles, the son of King Louis XVI during the French Revolution. Donnelly brings together the stories of these two troubled teenagers, born centuries apart, in a truly compelling way. |
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On the cusp of manhood, Finnikin, reluctantly joins forces with an enigmatic young novice and fellow-exile, who claims that her dark dreams will lead them to a surviving royal child and a way to regain the throne of Lumatere. *Note: This book has garnered mixed reviews. Some have found it slow going and not particularly enjoyable. |
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Amy & Rogers Epic Detour After Amy Currys father dies in a car accident and her brother is sent to rehab, her mother wishes to start a new life in Connecticut. With her already on the other side of the country, Amys mother sends her on the road trip to Connecticut with a college guy named Roger, an old family friend. Amy and Roger must both learn to deal with loss while on a road trip across the country which doesn’t go as expected. |
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Hold Me Closer, Necromancer Sam leads a pretty normal life. He may not have the most exciting job in the world, but hes doing all rightuntil a fast food prank brings him to the attention of Douglas, a creepy guy with an intense violent streak. Turns out Douglas is a necromancer who raises the dead for cash and sees potential in Sam. Then Sam discovers hes a necromancer too, but with strangely latent powers. And his worst nightmare wants to join forces . . . or else. |
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Trash In an unnamed Third World country, in the not-so-distant future, three "dumpsite boys" make a living picking through the mountains of garbage on the outskirts of a large city. One unlucky-lucky day, Raphael finds something very special and very mysterious. So mysterious that he decides to keep it, even when the city police offer a handsome reward for its return. That decision brings with it terrifying consequences, and soon the dumpsite boys must use all of their cunning and courage to stay ahead of their pursuers. |
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Bamboo People The story of two boys, Chiko, a child forced into being a soldier for the Burmese government, and Tu Rei, a Karenni boy, whose people the Burmese are attempting to take over. The boys are set up by society to be enemies, but both possess personalities that ultimately draw them into a strange, yet touching friendship. Not only will readers learn a lot about a culture they probably havent heard a whole lot about, as well as an ongoing problem with child soldiers in that region of the world. |
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The Things a Brother Knows Suspense-laden story of 17-year old Levi and how he tracks the whereabouts of his war-stressed ex-Marine brother, Boaz, as Boaz seeks to come to terms with the horrors of war which he has experienced. Can his younger brother Levi help him truly make his way home? |
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Last Night I Sang to the Monster Zach is 18 years old, and instead of spending his senior year in Mr. Garcias English class or hanging out with his friends, hes spending it with Adam, his therapist in rehab. Zach cant, or wont, remember the events that brought him to the clinic. In fact, much of his time is spent trying not to remember anything at all. But the memories of his life before of his loving but alcoholic father, of his distant and sometimes abusive mother, of his troubled older brother Santiago who holds the whole family hostage to his terrible anger keep creeping in. |
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Revolver 1910. A cabin north of the Arctic Circle. Fifteen-year-old Sig Andersson is alone. Alone, except for the corpse of his father, who died earlier that day after falling through a weak spot on the ice-covered lake. His sister, Anna, and step-mother, Nadya, have gone to the local town for help. Then comes a knock at the door. It’s a man, the flash of a revolver’s butt at his hip, and a mean glare in his eyes. |
