Ponyboy Curtis is a sensitive 14-year-old boy growing up on the wrong side of the tracks in 1960s Oklahoma, An orphan being raised by his two older brothers, Ponyboy tries to stay out of trouble, but when his friend Johnny accidentally kills a boy who picks a fight with them.  Ponyboy and Johnny find themselves on the run, hiding out in an abandoned church, but when a fire puts two children in danger, Ponyboy and Johnny must choose whether to remain hidden or to risk their lives and face the consequences of their actions at home. Loosely based on the real experience of one of her friends, S.E. Hinton creates realistic situations and compelling characters in this coming-of-age book that will never leave you, no matter how old you get.

In a world where people are divided into factions based on whether they place importance on honesty, intelligence bravery, peace or selflessness, Tris Prior doesn’t fit into only one category. She is divergent, and to save her life she must keep this fact a secret or she could become one of the factionless, be imprisoned or even killed. As Tris tries to fit into her new faction, Dauntless, she struggles to keep her secret while being subjected to physical and mental tests, making new friends and falling in love. But when she discovers a plot to control the minds of the brave Dauntless in order overthrow the selfless faction of Abnegation, Tris must use everything she is in order to save her family in Abnegation and her new Dauntless friends. Veronica Roth delivers an electrifying, page-turning story that will keep you reading till the end and then begging for more.

Seventeen-year-old Hazel Grace Lancaster has cancer, which in Hazel’s mind is merely a side effect of dying. Believing she is depressed, her mother sends her to a cancer support group, which she reluctantly attends.  There she meets Augustus Waters, who survived osterosarcoma and who also agrees to read her favorite novel An Imperial Affliction, about a girl with cancer much like her own. However, the novel abruptly ends midsentence, which frustrates Hazel Grace who believes that her own life is tied to the main characters. So August begins an email correspondence with the author’s assistant hoping to find some answers for Hazel. This sets in motion a beautiful but heartbreaking love story as the two of them set out to discover how the novel ends and what made the author stop writing it. John Green tenderly explores the fear and suffering related with the illness and death of a loved one while also proving the importance of fiction in our lives.

In a time when having more than two children requires a special dispensation from the government, Andrew Wiggin is a “third,” and the last child his parents will be allowed to have. Hence his nickname, Ender. At six-years-old Ender is already set apart from his fellow classmates by his brilliance and the electronic monitoring device the government is using to evaluate his suitability for entry into Battle School. When Ender gets into Battle School, Ender is set apart again because of jealousy caused by some praise he receives from Colonel Graff, who is in charge of Battle School. Realizing that Graff is purposefully alienating him from the other children, Ender refuses to ask for help when he is bullied, and as Ender uses his brilliant mind and rises in the ranks at Battle School quickly, Graff believes Ender must be the leader they need to fight their mysterious, alien enemy, called “the buggers.” Orson Scott Card creates a spellbinding world full of fast-paced action that will leave readers gasping for breath to the last page.

Stranded on a island after surviving a plane crash as they were being evacuated during the war, Ralph, Piggy and a group of boys must learn how to survive on their own. However, without any adult supervision, the boys quickly fall into idleness, power struggles and finally violent savagery. William Golding explores the basic nature of man and of war.