Whodunnit?

My days of winter break fill up with hours and hours of reading. It is glorious. It's even more glorious when the winter weather gets fierce, and everybody is forced to stay put and stay inside. Ah, what a splendid week!

The Likeness by Tana French was a book Santa stuck in my stocking. It is a sequel of sorts to a book I read last year, so it was intriguing to see what the characters had been up to since I last "saw" them. While it's not a book most kids would enjoy, I really do recommend it (and it's predecessor In the Woods) to grown-ups who enjoy good mysteries.

Knowing how much a good mystery can grab readers and engage them for a wild and thrilling ride, I decided to collect a list of books for teens who like mysteries. It's not exclusive, so let me know if you have others to add.

Here are a few that I found...hope you enjoy! Keep reading, everyone!

First, my favorite new mystery for young adults

Blundell, Judy. What I Saw and How I Lied. 2009.

In 1947, with her jovial stepfather Joe back from the war and family life returning to normal, teenage Evie, smitten by the handsome young ex-GI who seems to have a secret hold on Joe, finds herself caught in a complicated web of lies whose devastating outcome change her life and that of her family forever.

Hiaasen, Carl. Scat. 2009.

Nick and his friend Marta decide to investigate when a mysterious fire starts near a Florida wildlife preserve and an unpopular teacher goes missing.

Grisham, John. The Client. 1993.

Eleven-year-old Mark Sway accidentally witnesses a murder and becomes the target of relentless prosecutors and the mob, and the only person who can save him is Reggie Love, an attorney barely out of law school.

Duncan, Lois. I Know What You Did Last Summer. 1973.

Four teenagers, trying to conceal their responsibility for a hit-and-run accident, are pursued by a mystery figure seeking revenge.

Plum-Ucci, Carol. The Body of Christopher Creed. 2000.

Did he run, was he kidnapped, or was he murdered?

Myers, Walter Dean. Monster. 1999.

Sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon is on trial for murder. As the circumstances unfold, readers get a chance to think carefully about the crime and decide his innocence or guilt.

Konigsburg, E.L. Silent to the Bone. 2000.

Is the British nanny lying when she accuses 13-year-old Bramwell of injuring his baby step-sister? His best friend thinks so, but Bramwell isn't talking. He's gone mute.

From NPR

While I haven't read any of these books, I know lots of smart teens.

Click here to see a trio of books recommended by various contributors to NPR. Three books for smart teens. I love it. Let me know if you check any of them out!

Keep reading!

-stenson

Sleepers.

These books are ones you might have missed. Luckily, we've got America's librarian, Nancy Pearl to point them out. Each of these titles are on my FBL ("Future Book List" for anyone not in my 7th grader Reading class).

Can't wait to peek inside each of these books. Here's the NPR article that gives a little sneak peek into each title. Thanks to NPR for the photos.

When Nancy Pearl says, "read this book", I run to the library to check it out. Hope you do too. And when you do, tell me about it.

Enjoy!
Keep reading-
stenson

More books to make you think.

The latest books from our gifted and talented specialist, Mrs. Donaldson.

These books aren't hard to read, though some of them might be tougher than others. These books will get you think about BIG themes and BIG ideas in life. There's more than just good stories and good characters in these books. We are talking life lessons, people. Life lessons. Keep reading! Enjoy!

Amazon.

John Green told me (well, I guess it's more accurate to say he mentioned it in a blog) that big online book sellers like Borders.com, Barnes and Noble online, and Amazon sell an outrageously large number of books. Like $1.75 billion of books a year. This number is still about half of the business Game Stop does. Sigh...

Anyway, if you are selling that many books, you must be selling good books.

If you click here, you'll see the top sellers for young adults in 2009.

Pick one up, or a few, read them and let me know if you understand why they sold so many books.

Keep reading, everyone!
-stenson