Here's a list I sent to a friend, "young adult" books and authors that I've particularly liked, off the top of my head.
Karen Hesse, Brooklyn Bridge or anything else -- she's something special.
Sharon Creech -- many good books, all worth reading. (Except Bloomability, unless I just didn't get it.) She has a really nice upbeat writing style, really enjoyable, besides for the great content.
Laura Amy Schlitz, A Drowned Maiden's Hair -- offbeat but fabulous! It was her first book; see if she's written anything else since.
Jan Siebold, My Nights at the Improv or anything else. As I recall, all I found were two thin books that left me wishing for more.
Katherine Paterson -- some of her (many) books are better than others but all are well written and worth a try. Tell me some titles, I'll tell you which I liked.
Jean Craighead George, My Side of the Mountain. I think the boys will enjoy this one as well. Some sequels and other books, but I don't remember if they were as good.
Gary Paulsen -- outdoorsy boy books. Some of them were very good as I recall, others simply adventury but nothing special to me. Tell me what you see and I'll tell you if I remember it.
(I think there was another author named Paulsen, or something similar, that I really liked as well.)
Gary Schmidt -- The Wednesday Wars was excellent. I seem to remember there were some other good books as well, although I found First Boy disappointing .
Linda Sue Park -- good author with stories based on her Korean heritage. A Single Shard is by far her best, but her other stuff is good too.
Richard Peck -- I happen to own The Teacher's Funeral and it's great. Author of A Long Way From Chicago... great laughs, good stories. He does have some silly books in the mix, though... tell me what you see.
John D. Fitzgerald, the Great Brain books -- I liked them very much but don't remember if you did. His genius brother, Tom, was expert at (among other things) taking advantage of people... very entertaining, unless you find yourself hating his guts!
Andrew Clement -- author of Frindle -- he's written a bunch of books since then, all light and easy reading, and surprisingly original content. Good stuff.
Mary Norton, author of The Borrowers. Did you know there were several more Borrowers books? Check them out when you're in the mood.
Mark Twain -- I don't believe you've read Pudd'nhead Wilson -- fiction, very different, very good -- or Innocents Abroad -- nonfiction, fascinating, a memoir of his travels, including a visit to the Holy Land in the nineteenth century. Check it out.
Jean Fritz -- lots of well written history, great nonfiction books that are truly fun to read. Her autobiography is excellent as well -- an American kid growing up in China before communism.
Karen Hesse, Brooklyn Bridge or anything else -- she's something special.
Sharon Creech -- many good books, all worth reading. (Except Bloomability, unless I just didn't get it.) She has a really nice upbeat writing style, really enjoyable, besides for the great content.
Laura Amy Schlitz, A Drowned Maiden's Hair -- offbeat but fabulous! It was her first book; see if she's written anything else since.
Jan Siebold, My Nights at the Improv or anything else. As I recall, all I found were two thin books that left me wishing for more.
Katherine Paterson -- some of her (many) books are better than others but all are well written and worth a try. Tell me some titles, I'll tell you which I liked.
Jean Craighead George, My Side of the Mountain. I think the boys will enjoy this one as well. Some sequels and other books, but I don't remember if they were as good.
Gary Paulsen -- outdoorsy boy books. Some of them were very good as I recall, others simply adventury but nothing special to me. Tell me what you see and I'll tell you if I remember it.
(I think there was another author named Paulsen, or something similar, that I really liked as well.)
Gary Schmidt -- The Wednesday Wars was excellent. I seem to remember there were some other good books as well, although I found First Boy disappointing .
Linda Sue Park -- good author with stories based on her Korean heritage. A Single Shard is by far her best, but her other stuff is good too.
Richard Peck -- I happen to own The Teacher's Funeral and it's great. Author of A Long Way From Chicago... great laughs, good stories. He does have some silly books in the mix, though... tell me what you see.
John D. Fitzgerald, the Great Brain books -- I liked them very much but don't remember if you did. His genius brother, Tom, was expert at (among other things) taking advantage of people... very entertaining, unless you find yourself hating his guts!
Andrew Clement -- author of Frindle -- he's written a bunch of books since then, all light and easy reading, and surprisingly original content. Good stuff.
Mary Norton, author of The Borrowers. Did you know there were several more Borrowers books? Check them out when you're in the mood.
Mark Twain -- I don't believe you've read Pudd'nhead Wilson -- fiction, very different, very good -- or Innocents Abroad -- nonfiction, fascinating, a memoir of his travels, including a visit to the Holy Land in the nineteenth century. Check it out.
Jean Fritz -- lots of well written history, great nonfiction books that are truly fun to read. Her autobiography is excellent as well -- an American kid growing up in China before communism.
