Best Adult Books for High School Students

This year’s list of Best Adult Books for High School Students was selected through the joint efforts of reviewers who worked with Jackie Gropman and Susan Woodcock for many years when the column was centered in Fairfax, VA, and the group now working with me in Berkeley, CA. Both groups have examined the year’s reviewed books looking for the best in terms of literary style, fine characterization, well-told truths, and unusual insights that will engage teen readers. This year’s list is dedicated to the memory of Susan Woodcock.

Blackwell, Unita. Barefootin’: Life Lessons on the Road to Freedom. Crown. Tr $23. ISBN 0-609-61060-0.

Blackwell, the granddaughter of a murdered farm worker, grew up to be the first black woman mayor in the state of Mississippi. This Civil Rights veteran shows how personal responsibility must be accompanied by social support for an individual to become successful. (Sept.)

Cook, K. L. The Girl from Charnelle: A Novel. Morrow. Tr $24.95. ISBN 0-06-082965-6.

The affair between a 16-year-old girl and her father’s poker buddy in a small Texas town, in 1960, is filled with suspense, tragedy, and heartache. An unforgettable coming-of-age story. (June)

Cotterill, Colin. Disco for the Departed. Soho. Tr $23. ISBN 1-56947-428-1.

A Laotian coroner, who is also a spirit host, investigates a possible crime scene at the presidential compound in a remote province while his lab assistant, a capable worker with Down syndrome, sets off on a harrowing journey in order to keep his word to the doctor. This seamless story offers an engrossing mystery, a bit of mysticism, and unusually well-rendered and engaging characters. (Sept.)

Dornstein, Ken. The Boy Who Fell Out of the Sky: A True Story. Random. Tr $23.95. ISBN 0-375-50359-5.

Seventeen years after his older brother, David, died in the airline bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, Dornstein turns to David’s notebooks as a resource to draw out a life lost young and unexpectedly. Both brothers demonstrate skill and warmth as artists of the written word. (July)

Grenville, Kate. The Secret River. Canongate. Tr $24. ISBN 1-84195-797-6.

Sentenced to servitude in Australia after being convicted of theft in 19th-century England, a young man eventually gains his freedom and becomes a homesteader. Unwillingly, he is drawn into an increasingly violent clash between British and Aborigine cultures. (Oct.)

Hager, Thomas. The Demon under the Microscope: From Battlefield Hospitals to Nazi Labs, One Doctor’s Heroic Search for the World’s First Miracle Drug. Harmony. Tr $24.95. ISBN 1-4000-8213-7.

This fascinating account shows how the discovery and early uses of sulfa drugs dramatically changed the treatment of wartime wounded, and informed the protocols by which modern drug testing is undertaken. Military and medical history are melded into a singular narrative. (Nov.)

Jacobson, Sid & Ernie Colón. The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation. illus. by authors. Hill & Wang. Tr $30. ISBN 0-8090-5738-7; pap. $16.95. ISBN 0-8090-5739-5.

Interpreting the official report from the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States in graphic-novel format provides a wide range of readers with the opportunity to understand and consider the Commission’s findings. (Dec.)

Karpyshyn, Drew. Path of Destruction: A Novel of the Old Republic. Del Rey. Tr $25.95. ISBN 0-345-47736-7.

Yoda’s Rule of Two—master and apprentice—is provided with a satisfying history for Star Wars fans. For readers who aren’t as familiar with this universe, Karpyshyn offers an excellent introduction through its backstory for the important character of Darth Bane. (Nov.)

Kashua, Sayed. Let It Be Morning. tr. from Hebrew by Miriam Shlesinger. Black Cat. pap. $13. ISBN 0-8021-7021-8.

Arab-Israelis caught between political affiliations are honestly and compellingly represented in this fast-paced story about a young journalist and family man who returns to his small village after years in Tel Aviv. (Sept.)

McKillip, Patricia A. Harrowing the Dragon. Ace. 2005. Tr $23.95. ISBN 0-441-01360-0.

Elegant, often humorous, prose explores the nature of love, friendship, wisdom, and change in these 15 tales of science fiction and magic, and clever retellings of familiar fairy tales. (Mar.)

Marston, Edward. The Princess of Denmark: An Elizabethan Theater Mystery Featuring Nicholas Bracewell. Minotaur. Tr $24.95. ISBN 0-312-35618-8.

Told from the viewpoint of the book holder in an Elizabethan acting troupe, this story moves swiftly and credibly as the actors are caught in a plot of murder, love, and deception. (Nov.)

Min, Katherine. Secondhand World. Knopf. Tr $23. ISBN 0-307-26344-4.

An insightful and engaging Korean American high school student struggles with her perceptions of herself, her parents’ seeming rejection of her as an individual, and the increasing expectations made of her by another outsider, an albino boy. (Oct.)

Miró. Asha. Daughter of the Ganges: A Memoir. Atria. Tr $24. ISBN 0-7432-8672-3.

Adopted from an Indian orphanage by Spanish parents, the author visited her birth country as a teenager and later returned to make a documentary film as she sought any evidence of her roots. Crossing cultures and choices of media with which to investigate her past, Miró offers considerable insight on how adoption affects one’s sense of identity. (Nov.)

Mitchell, David. Black Swan Green. Random. Tr $23.95. ISBN 1-4000-6379-5.

Teens are sure to recognize someone they know in the character of the 13-year-old who battles his stammer, navigates the social hierarchy of his schoolmates, and watches the slow disintegration of his parents’ marriage. An achingly credible, month-by-month account of growing up in a small English town in 1982. (July)

O, Seyeong. Buja’s Diary. tr. from Korean by Moon-ok Lee & Nicholas Devernay. NBM. 2005. pap. $19.95. ISBN 1-56163-448-4.

Thirteen short stories by a master of manhwa (comics) offer an excellent introduction to O’s various black-and-white art styles as well as insight into contemporary Korea’s culture and history. (Mar.)

Rall, Ted. Silk Road to Ruin: Is Central Asia the New Middle East? NBM. Tr $22.95. ISBN 1-56163-454-9.

Cartoon journalist Rall explored the former USSR states up close and with daring personal encounters. His narrative report is incisive, insightful, and complete with graphic novella asides. (Dec.)

Roberts, Jason. A Sense of the World: How a Blind Man Became History’s Greatest Traveler. HarperCollins. Tr $26.95. ISBN 0-00-716106-9.

Blind since the age of 25, James Holman became a well-recognized and admired figure of the early 19th century. His inspiring story of personal accomplishment and unusual (for the time) interest in cultural exploration fell into obscurity until Roberts rediscovered Holman’s journals, by serendipity, more than 150 years later. (Sept.)

Robinson, Kim Stanley. Fifty Degrees Below. Bantam. 2005. Tr $25. ISBN 0-553-80312-3.

In the throes of a deadly, intense climate shift, scientists, governmental agencies, and large corporations all play a role in trying to avert a global disaster. Second in an exciting futuristic trilogy, this captivating eco-adventure may serve many readers as a wake-up call to the serious strains that we put on Earth. (Mar.)

Safina, Carl. Voyage of the Turtle: In Pursuit of the Earth’s Last Dinosaur. Holt. Tr $27.50. ISBN 0-8050-7891-6.

Safina lovingly portrays the migrations, needs, and challenges to the continued presence of Leatherback, Green, and Loggerhead turtles that inhabit both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. (Nov.)

Verne, Jules. The Meteor Hunt: The First English Translation of Verne’s Original Manuscript. tr. from French by Frederick Paul Walter & Walter James Miller. Univ. of Nebraska. Tr $29.95. ISBN 0-8032-4677-3; pap. $15.95. ISBN 0-8032-9634-7.

This newly recovered and restored manuscript by the 19th-century French science-fiction novelist feels fresh and contemporary. Two rival astronomers make the discovery that a giant meteor is hurtling toward us—and it is composed of gold! (Dec.)

Webb, Linda. Beatles Art: Fantastic New Artwork of the Fab Four. Boxigami. pap. $29.95. ISBN 0-9754176-2-2.

With 150 pieces of art by 100 artists inspired by the work and lives of these ever-popular musicians, this volume will inspire teens just beginning to discover the scope and influence of the group and its individual members. (Sept.)

Wilson, Christopher. Cotton. Harcourt. 2005. Tr $24. ISBN 0-15-101123-0.

This imaginative tragicomedy in which one individual experiences life as a black boy, a white man, a white woman, and a black woman in the space of 30 years challenges readers to examine what truly defines our humanity. (Feb.)

Zoellner, Tom. The Heartless Stone: A Journey through the World of Diamonds, Deceit, and Desire. St. Martin’s. Tr $24.95. ISBN 0-312-33969-0.

The grim reality of the politically charged labor, fanciful marketing, and secretive industry established by diamond merchants and myths that they propagated are presented in this warts-and-all exposé that will attract teens in search of honesty over romantic hype. (Sept.)