Modern Classics 
 
Books Your Teacher May Want to Read 
Go ask Alice
by Anonymous

The real-life diary of a teenager whose life is dominated by her drug problems follows her experiences from her indoctrination into the world of drugs to three weeks before her death. Reprint.
Things fall apart
by Chinua Achebe

The contemporary African writer's classic novel depicting the destruction of traditional tribal life by the white man
The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy
by Douglas Adams

Chronicles the journeys, notions, and acquaintances of reluctant galactic traveler Arthur Dent, accompanied by never-before-published material from the late author's archives as well as commentary by famous fans
The house of the spirits
by Isabel Allende

Traces the lives of the Truebas, beginning with clairvoyant Clara del Valle's summoning of the man she intends to marry, ambitious Esteban Trueba, and following their participation in the history of their times which is their destiny
Skellig
by David Almond

With all the tragedy and problems facing his family, Michael's excitement about moving into his new home is all but gone, yet his encounter with the creature in the garage is certain to put a spark back into his life in more ways than he had ever expected. Reprint.
I know why the caged bird sings
by Maya Angelou

The critically acclaimed author and poet recalls the anguish of her childhood in Arkansas and her adolescence in northern slums. Reissue.
Weetzie Bat
by Francesca Lia Block

Follows the wild adventures of Weetzie Bat and her Los Angeles friends, Dirk, Duck, and My-Secret-Agent-Lover-Man
Fahrenheit 451
by Ray Bradbury

An anniversary edition, featuring a new introduction by the author, follows the classic tale of one man's experience of reawakening in a world beset by oppression and censorship in which books have been outlawed and reading is punishable by death. 15,000 first printing.
In cold blood : a true account of a multiple murder and its consequences
by Truman Capote

A special anniversary edition presents Capote's masterful account of the senseless 1959 murders of four members of a farm family in Holcomb, Kansas, and the search for the killers, Richard Eugene Hickock and Perry Edward Smith. Reissue. 10,000 first printing.
Ender's game
by Orson Scott Card

A veteran of years of simulated war games, Ender believes he is engaged in one more computer war game when in truth he is commanding the last fleet of Earth against an alien race seeking the complete destruction of Earth
The house on Mango Street
by Sandra Cisneros

For Esperanza, a young girl growing up in the Hispanic quarter of Chicago, life is an endless landscape of concrete and run-down tenements, and she tries to rise above the hopelessness
The alchemist
by Paulo Coelho

A fable about undauntedly following one's dreams, listening to one's heart, and reading life's omens features dialogue between a shepherd boy and an unnamed being, in a new keepsake edition of the modern classic. Reissue.
The midwife's apprentice
by Karen Cushman

A homeless medieval waif who names herself Alyce is taken in by the village midwife, befriends a cat, learns about delivering babies, and confronts failure when an infant dies. By the author of Catherine, Called Birdy. Reprint. Newbery Medal Winner.
The chocolate war
by Robert Cormier

A high-school freshman who refuses to participate in the annual fund-raising chocolate sale is forced to defend his convictions
Guns, germs, and steel : the fates of human societies
by Jared M. Diamond

An intriguing study of the rise of civilization argues that human development is not based on race or ethnic differences but rather is linked to biological diversity, discussing the evolution of agriculture, technology, writing, political systems, and religious belief. Tour.
Whirligig
by Paul Fleischman

Upset by a recent event at school, Brent sets out to kill himself, but when he accidentally kills an innocent bystander with his car, he is forced to make reparations to her parents by taking a cross-country journey setting up whirligigs in her memory. Reprint.
One hundred years of solitude
by Gabriel García Márquez

Tells the story of the Buendia family, set against the background of the evolution and eventual decadence of a small South American town
Lord of the flies : a novel
by William Golding

The classic study of human nature which depicts the degeneration of a group of schoolboys marooned on a desert island
Catch-22
by Joseph Heller

Presents the contemporary classic depicting the struggles of a United States airman attempting to survive the lunacy and depravity of a World War II airbase
The outsiders
by S. E. Hinton

A revealing account of the tensions, fears, and frustrations of gang life from a teenage boy's point of view
The giver
by Lois Lowry

Living in a "perfect" world without social ills, a boy approaches the time when he will receive a life assignment from the Elders, but his selection leads him to a mysterious man known as the Giver, who reveals the dark secrets behind the utopian facade
Song of Solomon
by Toni Morrison

Macon Dead, Jr., called Milkman, son of the richest Negro in town, moves from childhood into early manhood, searching, among the disparate, mysterious members of his family, for his life and reality
The crucible : a play in four acts
by Arthur Miller

A play revealing the Salem witch trials of the late seventeenth century and the problem of guilt by association
Monster
by Walter Dean Myers

While on trial as an accomplice to a murder, sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon records--as a film script--his experiences in prison and in the courtroom as he tries to come to terms with the course of his life.
Jacob have I loved
by Katherine Paterson

Feeling deprived all her life of schooling, friends, mother, and even her name by her twin sister, Louise finally begins to find her identity
Hatchet
by Gary Paulsen

Headed for Canada to visit his father for the first time since his parents' divorce, thirteen-year-old Brian is the sole survivor of a plane crash, with only the clothes he has on and a hatchet to help him live in the wilderness. A Newbery Honor Book. Reprint.
True grit : a novel
by Charles Portis

Pursuing a cunning murderer who has escaped with his band deep into Indian Territory, U.S. Marshal Rooster J. Cogburn teams up with a bounty-hunting Texas Ranger and Mattie Ross, a cantankerous young lady who is bent on revenge. Reprint.
The chosen
by Chaim Potok

A baseball game between two different Jewish schools becomes the catalyst that starts a bitter rivalry between two boys and their fathers. Reissue.
The catcher in the rye
by J. D. Salinger

After leaving prep school Holden Caulfield spends three days on his own in New York City
The complete Persepolis
by Marjane Satrapi

Collects a groundbreaking two-part graphic memoir, in which the great-granddaughter of Iran's last emperor and the daughter of ardent Marxists describes growing up in Tehran, a country plagued by political upheaval and vast contradictions between public and private life. Original. 50,000 first printing.
The Joy Luck Club
by Amy Tan

Encompassing two generations and a rich blend of Chinese and American history, the story of four struggling, strong women also reveals their daughter's memories and feelings
The color purple
by Alice Walker

The lives of two sisters--Nettie, a missionary in Africa, and Celie, a southern woman married to a man she hates--are revealed in a series of letters exchanged over thirty years
Night
by Elie Wiesel

Recalls the Nobel laureate's war years
The autobiography of Malcolm X
by Malcolm X

The Black leader discusses his political philosophy and reveals details of his life, shedding light on the ideas that enabled him to gain the allegiance of a still growing percentage of the Black population
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