Hole in the Sky by Pete Hautman

"I look toward the sound and see a pile of rags on the floor against the far wall. My eyes adjust further and the pile of rags becomes a man hugging his knees to his chest. He coughs, a dry cough that starts high in his throat, then works its way down until it becomes a bubbling chortle."

In the year 2038, only 38 million people are left on Earth. Most have fallen victim to the worst flu in history. Many others have been killed in the aftermath by the warring tribes of people left behind. Some have survived the flu, only to live without hair, or sight, or sanity. Four teens are on their own, trying to survive, and hoping to find a hole in the sky. Told, in turn, from the points of view of all four teens (including the deaf mute) this is a harrowing story of loyalty and hope.

SLJ recommends grades 7 to 10.

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Dead Connections by Charlie Price

"They are not graveyards. I hate it when people say that. They are cemeteries. The one I know best is Forest Grove. I spend most of my time there. That's where most of my friends are. I don't spend much time with the older people. I figure they deserved it. Not deserved it, really, but what could they expect? After forty, you're going to die. The ones my age and the children, they almost all need someone to talk to. I comfort them the best I can. They weren't ready. They'll tell you that. They're not jealous or mean or scary like you might think. Just really lonely. Everybody needs a friend."

Murray spends most of his free time in the local cemetery. It's probably because all of his friends are there. Murray speaks to the dead. Now he's hearing a new voice and doesn't know how to help. Told in many voices from many points of view, this unusual page-turner follows the lives small town residents and their connections to one dead girl.

SLJ recommends grades 8 and up.

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Dragon Head by Minetaro Mochizuki

"I remember the train lurching like it had been hit, and then...screaming...the train started shaking...I was thrown out of my chair...then the lights went out. There was this long noise, like a chainsaw cutting through sheet metal...and then everything went black."

Aoki is on his way home from a school field trip when his train ride is interrupted by a devastating accident in an underground tunnel. Everyone is killed in the crash, except for Aoki and two unstable classmates. Cut off from the outside world, trapped in an oppressively hot tunnel, the trio are all alone...or are they? Mochizuki's story and art combine to evoke the terror of a disaster story, keeping readers on the edge of their seats.

SLJ recommends grades 10 and up.

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Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks

"One moment she was with me--sitting in the back of the Mercedes, looking around the yard--and then the moment suddenly cracked and I was with her, walking a storm-ravaged lane in the middle of a desolate moor. We were cold and wet and tired and scared, and the world was black and empty, and I didn't know why."

When Rueben's sister Rachel is murdered far from home, Rueben knows about it immediately. In fact, due to his psychic abilities, Rueben feels as if he had been there with her. When the police refuse to return Rachel's body to her family until the crime is solved, Rueben and his older brother Cole set off to solve the crime themselves. The more clues they uncover, the stranger the mystery gets. Kevin Brooks uses poetic language to tell his page-turning story. All of the loose ends seem to tie up a bit too quickly in the end, but the book is still well-worth the read.

SLJ recommends grades 9 and up.

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Book Thief by Markus Zusak

" It's just a small story really, about, among other things:
* A girl
* Some words
* An accordionist
* Some fanatical Germans
* A Jewish fist fighter
* And quite a lot of thievery

I saw the book thief three times."

This epic-length novel takes place during World War II in Germany, so you know it will be an emotionally wrenching read. Zusak, ever the creative storyteller, however does not set his story in a concentration camp or on the battlefield. Instead, his story takes place in a small working-class German town and follows the lives of the residents of Himmel Street as they react and respond to the events of the time. Moreover, this story is narrated by an unusual and formidable narrator, Death. The characters in this story share a passion for language and words from the Mayor's wife in her library to the main character Liesel the Book Thief to the Jewish refugee hiding in her basement. All of these characters come to understand that words can inflict pain as well as provide salvation. Zusak's text is embroidered with poetic, evocative language. This, combined with the subject matter, makes for an important novel. Although this book is being marketed to teenagers, there is plenty for an adult audience to appreciate as well.

SLJ recommends grades 9 and up.

Learn more at HCL, Amazon, and here.

What are You Afraid of? Stories about phobias editted by Donald R. Gallo

"Phoebe knelt and held out her hand. But instead of going up to her, the creature padded toward me. As I stood there, trying to decide what to do, he put both his front paws on my leg, stretched, and extended he claws. He stared at me with the cold eyes of a serial killer."

Are you afraid of small spaces (claustrophobia)? How about large spaces (agoraphobia)? Knives (aichmophobia)? Cats (elurophobia)? String (linonophobia)? Everything (panophobia)?!? Everyone is afraid of something! And in 10 short stories written by 10 different authors you can read about some of them. Reading about Will's fear of clowns, will certainly make you feel better about the little terrors that plague your own life! And reading a collection of short stories is always a great way to discover new authors.

Learn more at HCL, Amazon, and here.

SLJ recommends grades 6 to 9.

Losing Gemma by Katy Gardner

"Isn't it incredible how those tiny apparently minute, spilt-second decisions can change the course of a life? If we had gone with one of the tours, or asked the backpackers how best to get into the city center, or even done the unthinkable and visited the Tourist Information Office, everything might have been different."

Girlhood friends Esther and Gemma are off on a once in a lifetime adventure--backpacking in India. Esther is confident, beautiful, and accomplished, while Gemma is a cautious homebody. Before long, Esther's dream of capriciously wandering around the exotic countryside becomes a tedious chore as she coddles timid Gemma and hides a guilty secret. Eventually Esther is forced to return home, alone. What happened to dear Gemma? And what is Esther supposed to do now? This tale of a friendship past its prime is a riveting page-turner.

Learn more at HCL, Amazon, and here.

Being Dead by Vivian Vande Velde

"My brother, Kevin, may or may not have come back from the dead for any one of several contradictory reasons, depending on which one of my relatives you assume is most reasonable. Personally, I wouldn't consider any of us particularly reliable."

Being Dead is a collection of nine short stories dealing with, well, being dead. All nine are ghost tales...several of them chilling, several sad, several are told from an unique point of view. Brenda's getting phone calls from a disconnected phone line. Emily's having an unearthly romance. And Marjorie won't stop dancing. Fans of spooky tales will love, love, LOVE this collection!

Learn more at HCL, Barnes and Noble, and here.

SLJ recommends grades 7 & up.

All Rivers Flow to the Sea by Alison McGhee

"Because Ivy and I had an accident. It was the end of the winter, dusk in Adirondacks, and we came around a curve. And then Ivy wasn't moving, and she wasn't answering, and was she breathing? Blood. My window was broken and I broke it more. I punched it with my jacket wrapped around my hand, punched and punched, and I crawled out and fell up. We were upside down? How had that happened? I ran."

Rose and Ivy were in a car accident. Ivy now lies in a vegetative state in a nursing home. Rose must cope with survivor's guilt, her mother's growing distance, and the fact that half of herself, her sister Ivy, won't ever return. Rose is still water, trapped behind a dam, and all she wants is to flow to the sea.

Alison McGhee lyrically, yet succinctly, tells the story of one girl's healing process.

(McGhee is the author of several novels for adults, several novels for teens, and one of my favorite picture books, "Countdown to Kindergarten".)

Learn more at HCL, Amazon, and here.

Subjects: Sisters, Traffic Accidents, First Love, Death, Adirondack Mountains (N.Y.)

(SLJ recommends this for 9 & up.)

River Between Us by Richard Peck

At the dawn of the Civil War, a Mississippi steamboat brings a pair of strangers to Grand Tower Illinois--the mysterious and seductive Delphine Duval and her companion Calinda. They quickly become a controversial fixture in the Pruitt household. When Noah Pruitt can no longer resist the lure of battle, Mama sends her daughter, Tilly, and Delphine to bring him home. Secrets are revealed and tragedy falls.

Tilly's story, in itself, is a unique female perspective of the American Civil War and rural life. Delphine's secret adds an additional layer dealing with a little discussed aspect of American life. Tilly's entire recollection is bookended by a future visit to Grand Tower by the Pruitt grandchildren. What the oldest boy discovers about his family tree and his reaction to it provide a final layer for the reader to ponder. Peck's novel gets off to a slow start but quickly gains steam with the Delphine's arrival, coming, in time, to a thoughtful end.

A discussable bookclub choice.

Learn more at HCL and Amazon.

Subjects: Young Adult Fiction, Historical Fiction, Civil War, African Americans, Illinois, New Orleans, Death, Grandparents

(SLJ recommends this book for grades 7 & up)

Where I Want to Be by Adele Griffin

In the last days of her high school career Jane is hit by a car and killed. All her life she had been unable to discern reality from illusion, becoming trapped in a confusing world of her own creation. Her younger, prettier, more likeable sister, Lily left behind and suffering survivor's guilt falls in love for the first time and finally begins to heal. Their story unfolds in alternating first-person chapters, culminating in a mildly supernatural confrontation.

The Lily portions of the book will appeal to chick-lit fans, while Jane's perspective is considerably darker and weirder.

Learn more at HCL, Amazon, and here.

Subjects: Young Adult Fiction, Sibling Rivalry, Death, Ghosts, First Love, Grandparents

(SLJ recommends this book for grades 7 & up.)