Adult Books for High School Students

Adult/High School–Set in the same vast time scale and future as Coalescent (2003) and Exultant (2004, both Del Rey), Transcendent can be read independently. Michael Poole is a middle-aged engineer in the year of the digital millennium (2047) and Alia is a recognizably human (but evolved) adolescent born on a starship half a million years later. Michael still dreams of space flight, but the world and its possibilities are much diminished due to environmental degradation. The gifted teen has studied Michael's life, for the Poole family played a pivotal role in creating the human future, and thus her world. Through seemingly supernatural apparitions, Alia bridges time to communicate with Michael as they determine the future of humanity. The Pooles are a troubled family, and readers will appreciate the conflict between Michael and his son as they are forced to find common ground in a struggle to reverse the final tipping point of global warming. Teens will also understand Alia's alarm, and her growing determination to choose her own destiny, when she is selected to join the Transcendents and is rushed into their unimaginable post-human reality. This is visionary, philosophical fiction, rich in marvels drawn from today's cutting-edge science. A typical paragraph by Baxter might turn more ideas loose on readers than an entire average, mundane novel does, but all this food for thought is delivered with humor and compassion. Experienced SF readers will enjoy sinking their teeth into the story, while general readers who have enjoyed near-future, science-based suspense novels such as those by Michael Crichton will discover here that science fiction can set a higher, much richer standard than what they've experienced before.–Christine C. Menefee, formerly at Fairfax County Public Library, VA

Adult/High School–Hailed as The Joy Luck Club of the Arctic, this novel captures the world of the Inupiaq of Alaska. Interwoven with the depiction of Cox's great-grandmother's daily activities are the oral stories of her ancestors. These tales have been kept alive by a group of women who meet regularly during the dark months to share stories. The storyteller weaves the story while the other participants carefully draw symbols, lines, or shapes that help them to remember it. The book is set in the 1920s, but the tales are from the women's youth, around the late 1800s. The stories range from the everyday–favorite recipes–to legends of giants and spiders that live among the people. They are lessons in history, both because these are women who never learned to read and write, and because they record the history of the Alaskan Indians. Their power is that they contain universal themes: family unity, respect for others, welcoming strangers, building up the weak, overcoming difficulty, and wrestling with grief. Readers will learn about the federal government's plan to bring education to the people of Alaska and how the Indians responded. In the end, teens will appreciate the difficulty of life in the far North.–Erin Dennington, Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA

Adult/High School–Written as two stories that come together in a beautiful love story, this novel will appeal to teens on many levels. It follows the life of Ana, raised in Hawaii by a family that includes uncles demoralized by the Vietnam War and addicted to drugs and despair, and women burdened by poverty and child rearing. Determined to break the cycle, Ana manages college and medical school with a ferocity fueled by anger at the mother who left her and by the loving support of her extended family. Nikolai was orphaned as a small child and left to roam the streets of St. Petersburg when his mother died while camping out near the jail where her husband was held as a political prisoner. The young people meet dramatically during a hurricane in Hawaii, and Ana becomes impressed by Nikolai's work as a documentary filmmaker passionately dedicated to exposing the manmade ecological havoc in Russia and in Hawaii. Well-drawn characterizations of the two principals as well as Ana's colorful relatives will capture readers, as will the vivid descriptions of the stark, frozen Russian countryside, its once majestic cities, and the contrasting lush islands of Hawaii.–Jackie Gropman, Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA

Adult/High School–In Forbeck's fantasy kingdom, where the most popular sport–Blood Bowl–is a violent form of gridiron football, anything goes. Dunk Hoffnung is a thrower for the Blood Bay Hackers and was the most valuable player his rookie year. Now it's his second season, and the “play” is bloodier and more violent than ever. This time, though, the stakes are higher as Dunk has to battle not only opposing players, but also his own teammates. The coach, Pegleg, has vowed that his team will no longer be losers. He decides that the Hackers need to find the Far Albion Cup, a trophy that's said to make its owner a winner. The only problem is that the cup has been missing for the last 500 years. That doesn't stop Pegleg, though; after a grueling game in which the team loses 11 players, the boys head over to Albion and meet up with Olsen Merlin, a wizard who just might know where to find the cup. Along the way, the coach becomes possessed by an evil spirit that inhabits it. Readers looking for humorous fantasy along the lines of Robert Asprin's “M.Y.T.H. Inc.” series (Ace) will love the offbeat characters and game. Even better–one doesn't need to be a football fan or know much about the sport to be able to understand the game.–Erin Dennington, Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA

Adult/High School–Vida Avery teaches literature at a New England prep school. She arrived at its doors 15 years earlier with her baby and a mysterious past. She is considered the best English teacher at Fayer Academy and she maintains rigid control of her classroom, tolerating no tangents, personal discussion, or questions. She tries to keep that same control over her life, which is why she shocks everyone, including herself, by marrying Tom Belou, a widower with three children. Her teenaged son, Peter, is thrilled to be moving from their quarters on the campus to a real house with a real family, but he finds that his stepsiblings are still grieving for their mother. His mother's closely guarded emotional world begins to unravel and she suffers a complete breakdown. The 1980 Iran Hostage Crisis provides the backdrop for the story, paralleling Vida's sense of being a captive in her marriage, but the stronger metaphor is Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, the tragic tale of an unwed mother, which Vida begins teaching the Monday after her wedding. Only when she reveals to Peter the truth about their past can any healing begin. King's engaging writing beautifully illuminates the complicated relationships and emotions of everyone involved. It is a story of isolation, patience, and love, and of people trying to find comfort in one another. The author's style is unsentimental and direct, and the compelling story draws readers right in.–Susanne Bardelson, Kitsap Regional Library, WA

Adult/High School–Fifteen-year-old Tessa Lee is on a mission. She and her younger brother have grown up with their grandparents since their mother, Sheila, deserted them seven years earlier. But Tessa Lee is convinced that there is a good reason that her mother had to leave, and that all will work out when they meet again. So when a relative says that he has seen Sheila working at a seaside wax museum a couple of hours away, the teen sets off on a journey to reclaim her mother. The past seven years have turned Sheila into a broken, addicted woman, though, and Tessa Lee is forced to let go of the image she has held onto through her childhood. As the two struggle to come to terms with their new relationship, Tessa Lee must also work through the responsibility that she feels for her brother's recent death. Ever present in the background is Sheila's mother, Lil, who fears making the same mistakes with her granddaughter that she did with her daughter. Reynolds is in top form with these beautifully drawn, flawed characters. Fans of her previous novels will be drawn to her subtle, Southern lyricism, and teens will appreciate her perceptiveness in exploring damaged mother-daughter relationships.–Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Library System, VA

Adult/High School–Teresa Kerrigan never envisioned herself as a twice-divorced mother of four. Somehow, life has conspired against all of her dreams and she is left trying to raise her children in 1970s Florida, surrounded by the Nixon scandals, Apollo launches, and streets of identical ranch houses. Ryan skillfully weaves Teresa's story with those of her children as they try to make it to adulthood intact. Matt, the eldest, barely remembers his father but impulsively goes to live with him at 18. Karen, the only daughter, uses rebellion as a buffer against the dysfunction that permeates the household and openly flouts parental authority. Joe struggles mightily to be the “normal” and good son, but cannot escape feelings of shame and inadequacy over his homosexuality. And Frankie, the youngest, cloaks himself with myriad eccentricities and uses them as a magnet to draw others into his circle. On the outer perimeter, readers glimpse two ex-husbands and the ways that they ebb and flow in their children's lives. In weaving together the strands that make up the stories of one family over four decades, Ryan does not attempt to tie up loose ends or heal all of the resentments that have built up. But he does paint a powerful picture of dysfunction intertwined with humor, love, and hope. Teens will find much to relate to and may even walk away with a deeper appreciation of the quirkiness of their own families.–Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Library System, VA

Adult/High School–Scotland Yard Inspector Rutledge, a World War I victim of shell shock, is haunted by those he had to send out of the trenches to horrible deaths. His survivor's guilt is manifested in Hamish, whom he was forced to execute for refusing to fight, and whose ghost is his constant companion, always ready to chide, warn, and offer mocking opinions about the task at hand. The eighth in this acclaimed series finds Rutledge in an isolated rural village north of London, charged with bringing to justice the criminal who has gravely wounded its constable, sending an arrow through his chest while he was investigating a murder. And someone is hunting the inspector himself, leaving engraved cartridge casings behind to torment him. Authentic representations of the post-World War I era and an absorbing plot with twists and turns as challenging as the country roads that Rutledge travels make a gripping story. Well-drawn characters and scenes, wry local humor, and plot details steep the mystery in English country life. Frequent scene changes and puzzling dead ends may be a challenge for some teens, but their perseverance will be rewarded.–Molly Connally, Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA

Adult/High School–Alexander had always dreamed of having his own garden, where he could grow healthy, organic fruits and vegetables. When his family moved to the Hudson Valley, he got his wish–there was more than enough land for his vegetable garden, his apple orchard, his wife's flower garden, and a swimming pool. He had done his research and knew which crops to plant and when, what type of fencing he'd need, and how to defend his garden against predators. What he hadn't counted on were the facts that planting sod around the swimming pool killed the corn, and that planting rosebushes killed the sod. There were also landscaping contractors always behind schedule, a groundhog that figured out how to get through a 10,000-electric-volt fence, and feasting deer. After years of fighting pests, Alexander realized that there was no such thing as an organic garden in the Northeast, and that for each tomato he'd taken from his garden he'd spent $64; ultimately, what was once a hobby became a second full-time job. Throughout the telling, the author manages to maintain a sense of humor, riffing on everything from the ugliness of garden ornaments to the politics of giving away vegetables to friends. This hilarious horticultural memoir manages to impart an existential lesson on the interconnectedness of nature and the fine line between nurturing and killing. Teens looking for a biography, a book on biology, or a humorous read can't go wrong with this title.–Erin Dennington, Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA

Adult/High School–This thorough history in eight essay-style chapters begins at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2001 with CliffyB, a 26-year-old who already had nine years of experience in the industry. The story goes back in time to MIT in the late '50s and the development of the first video game. Moving onward to the present, readers meet developers at Nintendo, the creators of Doom, the developers of the Sims series, and players of Massively Multiplayer Online games. By the book's finish, the arrival of video games as the dominant form of contemporary entertainment could not be made clearer than by the embrace of gaming by two behemoths of industry–the U.S. Military and Microsoft. The essays consist of both first-person interviews and well-noted research and give a holistic picture of how the industry developed the way it did. Lots of numbers and facts back up the popularity of video games–for example, it only took a year for PlayStation2 to appear in 10 million homes, a feat that took the telephone 35 years to accomplish. This immensely readable book will have great appeal with gaming teens, but should also be required reading for librarians interested in learning more about gaming and its role in our culture and our teen-focused libraries.–Jamie Watson, Harford County Public Library, Belcamp, MD

Adult/High School–An enthusiastic introduction to world mythology. As a child, Davis was enthralled by the tales of gods and heroes, and he makes a compelling case for myth's enduring power to awe, inspire, and entertain. Each chapter focuses on a particular country or cultural group. He has included Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, India, China, Japan, sub-Saharan Africa, the Americas, the Pacific Islands, the Celts, and the Norse. A list of questions to pique readers' interest, such as “Was there really a Trojan war?” introduces each chapter. A time line featuring important dates in political, military, religious, and cultural history is accompanied by detailed descriptions of all the major gods. The introductory questions are answered, creation myths are discussed, and fascinating parallels in stories of the destruction of the world by floods are explored. Some of the greatest adventure stories of lesser-known heroes such as Gilgamesh, Finn MacCool, and Sigurd are highlighted. To give readers a taste of the original stories, excerpts of the tales and holy books are included. Using data from recent archaeological finds, Davis shows how our understanding of the past continues to change. Students will find this book useful both as a quick reference source and as a means of gaining greater understanding of complex ancient religions, or learning which events were shaping different countries at the same time.–Kathy Tewell, Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA

Adult/High School–This elegantly written, solidly researched, articulate history is well suited for students who want to understand the tragedy of America's racial past. In the World War II European Theater, 55 of the 70 American servicemen executed for capital crimes were black–in an army less than 9 percent African American. This racial outrage is Kaplan's theme, and she presents the story through the diaries and novels of Louis Guilloux, a French writer and high intellectual who served as an interpreter for the U.S. army while it crossed France on the way to defeating the German army in its homeland. Guilloux wrote in his diary soon after the hanging of a black private first class (James Hendricks) for murdering a French farmer (the crime should have been deemed “manslaughter,” which did not demand execution) and attempting to rape the farmer's wife. Having witnessed racial bias in many trials, Guilloux contrasted Hendricks's inept defense with the polished one of a white captain (George Whittington) who murdered a French underground soldier, yet was acquitted. This moving account belongs in most collections.–Alan Gropman, National Defense University, Washington, DC

Adult/High School–This book is divided into 10 parts, each consisting of 3 to 4 short chapters that focus on a general theme, such as how Napoleon built his empire, how he lost it, why some of his reforms and ideas were so revolutionary, and the impact he had on Europe. Markham also addresses such issues as Napoleon's height, why he was portrayed with his hand in his vest, and whether he really divorced his 47-year-old wife to marry an 18-year-old princess. The author writes as if he were engaged in a conversation with readers rather than as a noted scholar. He keeps the sections in each chapter long enough to convey important information, but short enough to hold casual readers' attention. The text is interspersed with dry humor that takes on a rhythm of its own that, combined with the numerous cartoons that place Napoleon in humorous or absurd situations, will keep readers amused. Numerous high-quality photographs are appropriately placed throughout the text. A useful general reference.–Robert Burnham, Robert E. Lee High School, Springfield, VA

Adult/High School–A longtime James Bond fan, Parker takes a look at the science behind the movies and explains what works and what doesn't, and the basic physics involved. Is it possible to outrun an avalanche? Can a laser beam really cut someone in two? Do X-ray glasses work? The technical explanations are clear and intended for the layperson. Science alternates with movie details and interesting trivia: one of the world's first underwater cameras was used to film Thunderball; an early Bond movie featured snowboarding long before it became a popular sport. The appendix gives the author's opinions and rankings of the “best of” movies, actors, villains, and chase scenes. Parker's intent is not to criticize the films, but rather to share his enthusiasm for them and for physics. A book that's sure to appeal to teens with an interest in gadgets, cars, stunts, trick cinematography, and sports (skiing, bungee jumping).–Sandy Freund, Richard Byrd Library, Fairfax County, VA

Adult/High School–As much a social history of the times as a book about the popular series, this is a fun title that will appeal to older teens who remember the series fondly. In 1930, she arrived in her shiny blue roadster and she has remained a part of the children's book scene ever since. While Nancy may have been the brainchild of Edward Stratemeyer, creator of the successful Stratemeyer Syndicate, it was the devotion of Harriet, his daughter, and syndicate writer Mildred Wirt Benson who brought her to life. The series succeeded beyond anyone's wildest dreams but things were not always peaceful in River Heights. Rehak does a good job of explaining the intricacies of the Stratemeyer Syndicate and the sometimes-rocky relationship between these two strong women, each of whom felt a sense of ownership of the girl detective. Those who followed the many adventures of Nancy Drew and her friends will be fascinated with the behind-the-scene stories of just who Carolyn Keene really was.–Peggy Bercher, Fairfax County Public Library, VA

Adult/High School–From a role on the popular TV show The West Wing to a MacArthur Foundation Award, Smith has attained success as an actress, a playwright, and a director. Her letters are filled with anecdotes and stories about her own successes and failures, giving the book an accessible, conversational feel. While the author primarily focuses on the joys of an artistic life, she also points out how much hard work, persistence, and even luck are necessary to succeed. She gives especially tender advice for those times when progress seems slow or when the review is bad. The book reads breezily front to back but is also divided into categories so it can be easily used as a reference when needing inspiration in specific areas. The one glaring omission is the almost complete lack of attention to promoting one's work. But this is a small complaint for what is otherwise a witty and inspiring guidebook for anyone interested in pursuing an artistic life.–Matthew L. Moffett, Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale