Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

If you like Paris, exclusive boarding schools, and young love, this is the book for you. It's actually the third book of three loosely connected novels, including Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door. In this book we meet Isla, who has had a crush on Josh for years. They meet by chance in Manhattan before returning to school in Paris, and the stage is set for their romance. In spite of the predictable nature of the story, I enjoyed the characters and the settings (New York...Paris...Barcelona) and was happy with the ending. Recommended for high school romantics.

Next by Kevin Waltman

Next is the story of Derrick Bowen, a high school freshmen with the potential to be an NBA player. He lives in Indianapolis and attends his local high school, where basketball is a BIG deal. This book is the story of his freshman year, in which he struggles to make the starting lineup on his team and he considers transferring to a mostly white private school in the suburbs where he might be more likely to win a state championship. This is a book for basketball fans—it is full of the play-by-play of Derrick's games and descriptions of practices and basketball strategy. Don't look for symbolism or deep meaning here—this book is just straightforward narrative. It's easy-to-read and pretty clean, so I would recommend it to hard-core basketball fans who might not otherwise be interested in reading. (Grades 7-9.)

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

My favorite graphic novels tend to be autobiographical. Two excellent ones from the past year are El Deafo and March Book One. Persepolis, written in 2003, is the story of a girl exactly my age growing up in Iran. Up until age 10 she enjoyed much freedom. But after the "Islamic Revolution" her co-ed secular school is closed and she must wear a veil and attend an all-girls school. Marjane is a rebel, though, and this book chronicles the next few years in which she refuses to be silenced. Readers may need to refresh themselves on some Iranian history as she lives through political turmoil and the war with Iraq. In some ways it is a difficult, disturbing story complete that includes torture and war, but at its heart it is a coming of age story of a girl trying to be herself in the midst of a repressive regime. Recommended for readers interested in history, human rights, and knowing more about the world. (High school and up.)