Wolfner :: Recommended Readings :: Bibliographies of Missouri Books :: Youth Missouri Books
Youth Missouri Books
(Updated August 6, 2018)
Clicking on a link below will take you to a listing of books on that topic.
For Senior High
8 Days by Barri L. Bumgarner
DBC06428
The riveting story of a not-so-distant future when four scientists begin the process of cleansing humanity by releasing chemicals on cities around the world. Contains some strong language and violence. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2004.
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
DBC05743
In the not-too-distant future, when biotechnological advances have made synthetic bodies and brains possible but illegal, a seventeen-year-old girl, recovering from a serious accident and suffering from memory lapses, learns a startling secret about her existence. Gateway Award Nominee, 2010-2011. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2009.
All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin
DBC05454
In a dystopian future where chocolate and caffeine are contraband, teenage cellphone use is illegal, and water and paper are carefully rationed, sixteen-year-old Anya Balanchine finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight as heir apparent to an important New York City crime family. Gateway Award Nominee, 2013-2014. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2011.
Article 5 by Kristen Simmons
DBC01405
Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller has perfected the art of keeping a low profile in a future society in which Moral Statutes have replaced the Bill of Rights and offenses carry stiff penalties, but when Chase, the only boy she has ever loved, arrests her rebellious mother, Ember must take action. Violence and some strong language. Gateway Book Award nominee, 2014-2015. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2012.
Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schrieber
DBC05455
Perry's parents insist that he take Gobi, their quiet, Lithuanian exchange student, to senior prom but after an incident at the dance he learns that Gobi is actually a trained assassin who needs him as a henchman, behind the wheel of his father's precious Jaguar, on a mission in Manhattan. Gateway Award Nominee, 2013-2014. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2011.
Beauty Shop for Rent; Fully Equipped, Inquire Within by Laura Bowers
DBC05436
Raised by a great-grandmother and a bunch of beauty shop buddies, fourteen-year-old Abbey resolves to overcome her unhappy childhood and disillusionment with the mother who deserted her. Strong language. Gateway Book Award nominee, 2009-2010. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2007.
Billie Standish Was Here by Nancy Crocker
DBC06094
The river jeopardizes the levee and most of the town leaves; but Miss Lydia, an elderly neighbor, and Billie form a friendship that withstands tragedy and time. Some violence. Gateway Award Nominee, 2009–2010. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2007.
Billy Barnstorm, the Birch Lake Bomber: (and Other Tales of Youthful Disaster) by Joel M. Vance
DBC09696
When a kid starts to become a man he also discovers girls and the kid in this book has more misadventures with his girlfriends than anyone should have to endure. A fun romp through the trials and tribulations of a small-town boy's life, with all the misadventures that go hand in hand with being a 16 year old male with raging hormones, looking for excitement! Some descriptions of sex and some strong language. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2011.
Blank Confession by Pete Hautman
DBC05451
A new and enigmatic student named Shayne appears at high school one day, befriends the smallest boy in the school, and takes on a notorious drug dealer before turning himself in to the police for killing someone. Gateway Award Nominee, 2012-2013. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2010.
The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel
DBC06496
In an apocalyptic future where girls from the losing faction are forcibly married to boys of the winning faction, sixteen-year-old Ivy is tasked to kill her fiancé Bishop, although when she finally meets him, he is not the monster she has been led to believe. Contains some violence. Gateway Book Award Nominee, 2016-2017. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2014.
Bruiser by Neal Shusterman
DBC05690
Award-winning author Shusterman delivers a suspenseful and chilling psychological thriller about friendship, family, and the sacrifices we make for the people we love. Gateway Award Nominee, 2012-2013. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2010.
Called to Courage: Four Women in Missouri History by Nancy Crocker
DBC05372
Profiles the lives and achievements of four women who played important roles in the history of Missouri, including Native American Ignon Quaconisen, pioneer Olive Boone, African-American Martha Jane Chisley, and businesswoman Nell Donnelly. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2002.
Cinnamon: A Teen's Survival and Romance on the Appalachian Trail by Linda Y. Nowak
DBC09665
When Aileen Foster, discovers she doesn't need to take classes during her senior year in high school in order to graduate in June, she decides to use that time to hike the Appalachian Trail. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2005.
Escape from Eden by Elisa Nader
DBC01477
Sixteen-year-old Mia longs to escape from Reverand Eden's cult, of which she has been a member for six years, and finds support from new arrival Gabriel, but their investigation into the groups inner workings yields disturbing discoveries. Contains some explicit descriptions of sex, strong language, and violence. Gateway Book Award Nominee, 2015-2016. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2013.
Everybody Sees the Ants by A. S. King
DBC05458
Overburdened by his parents' bickering and a bully's attacks, fifteen-year-old Lucky Linderman begins dreaming of being with his grandfather, who went missing during the Vietnam War, but during a visit to Arizona, his aunt and uncle and their beautiful neighbor, Ginny, help him find a new perspective. Gateway Award Nominee, 2013-2014. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2011.
The Fixer by Jennifer Barnes
DBC09590
When her grandfather develops dementia, sixteen-year-old Tess, who has been keeping his Montana ranch going, is whisked away to Washington, D.C., by a sister she barely knows and thrown into a world of politics, power, wealth, love triangles, and family secrets. Some strong language and violence. Truman Award Nominee, 2017-2018. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2016.
Free to Fall by Lauren Miller
DBC06489
In a near-future world where everyone is controlled by their smartphones, sixteen-year-old Rory Vaughn suddenly begins listening to the voice within--which kids are taught to ignore--and discovers a terrible plot at the heart of the corporation that makes the devices. Contains some descriptions of sex and some violence. Gateway Book Award nominee, 2016-2017. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2014.
The Girl Who was Supposed to Die by April Henry
DBC01443
When she awakens in a ransacked cabin not knowing who, or where, she is, she only knows that she must follow Cady and Ty to stay alive. Truman Award Nominee, 2015-2016. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2013.
Hate List by Jennifer Brown
DBC05442
Sixteen-year-old Valerie, whose boyfriend Nick committed a school shooting at the end of their junior year, struggles to cope with integrating herself back into high school life, unsure herself whether she was a hero or a villain. Strong Language, violence. Gateway Award Nominee, 2011-2012. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2010.
Hold Still by Nina LaCour
DBC05443
Caitlin wrestles with her feelings of devastation and helplessness after her friend Ingrid commits suicide, and she turns to her family and newfound friends for help while encountering love, broadening her horizons, and using Ingrid's journal to heal. Gateway Award Nominee, 2011-2012. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2009.
The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine
DBC09728
Chosen to be their queen, Elli grows up surrounded by luxury only to be banished when she fails to inherit essential magic, a situation that leads to devastating revelations about her world's magic and the role Elli was meant to play. Truman Award Nominee, 2018-2019. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2016.
Inescapable by Nancy Mehl
DBC01439
After receiving threatening letters from a stalker, Lizzie is forced to return to her childhood Mennonite home and reconsiders her initial judgments of her community and faith only to discover that the danger she ran from is closer than ever. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2012.
Made You Up by Francesca Zappia
DBC09637
"Armed with her camera and a Magic 8-Ball and her only ally (her little sister), Alex wages a war against her schizophrenia, determined to stay sane long enough to get into college." Some strong language. Gateway Award Nominee, 2017-2018. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2015.
Orphan Trains to Missouri by Michael Patrick
DBC05758
Discusses the use of orphan trains to place orphaned or abandoned children in home in nineteenth-century Missouri. For Senior High and Older Readers. 1997.
Playing with Matches by Brian Katcher
DBC06080
Desperate to improve his standing with the girls at Zummer High, Leon Sanders--a junior--seems to be making headway with his long-time crush Amy Green, but when he starts to get to know a social pariah named Melody Sanders, Leon begins to see beyond Melody's disfigurement. Gateway Award Nominee, 2010-2011. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2008.
The Revolution of Ivy by Amy Engel
DBC09721
After failing to fulfill her mission, Ivy is banished to life outside the wall, but when Bishop reappears in her life Ivy must decide if she's ready to take a final stand for what she believes is right. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2014.
The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder
DBC05450
Having spent several years in and out of hospitals for a life-threatening illness, pragmatic sixteen-year-old Cam is relocated by her miracle-seeking mother to a town in Maine known for its mystical healing qualities. Gateway Award Nominee, 2013-2014. For Senior High. 2011.
Sea by Heidi Kling
DBC05453
Despite recurring nightmares about her mother's death and her own fear of flying, fifteen-year-old Sienna accepts her father's birthday gift to fly to Indonesia with his team of disaster relief workers to help victims of a recent tsunami, never suspecting that this experience will change her life forever. Gateway Award Nominee, 2012-2013. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2010.
Something Like Normal by Trish Doller
DBC01418
When Travis returns home from Afghanistan, his parents are splitting up, his brother has stolen his girlfriend and car, and he has nightmares of his best friend getting killed but when he runs into Harper, a girl who has despised him since middle school, life actually starts looking up. Gateway Book Award Nominee, 2014-2015. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2012.
Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick
DBC05692
Amber Appleton, living in a school bus with her mom, refuses to give in to despair and continues visiting the elderly at a nursing home, teaching English to Korean women, and caring for a Vietnam veteran and his dog, but a fatal tragedy may prove to be one burden too many for the seventeen-year-old girl. Gateway Award Nominee, 2012-2013. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2010.
Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum
DBC09688
Sixteen-year old Jessie, still grieving over her mother's death, must move from Chicago to "The Valley," with a new stepfamily but no new friends until an anonymous fellow student emails and offers to help her navigate the school's treacherous social waters. Some descriptions of sex and some strong language. Gateway Award Nominee, 2018-2019. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2017.
This Raging Light by Estelle Laure
DBC09601
Seventeen-year-old Lucille is struggling to get through each day, paying bills and looking after her little sister, Wren, while her father is institutionalized after a breakdown and her mother is "on vacation," but nothing else seems to matter when she is with Digby Jones, her best friend's twin brother. Some strong language. Gateway Award Nominee, 2017-2018. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2015.
Three Little Words: A Memoir by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
DBC05682
Ashley Rhodes-Courter spent nine years of her life in fourteen different foster homes. As her mother spirals out of control, Ashley is left clinging to an unpredictable, dissolving relationship, all the while getting pulled deeper and deeper into the foster care system. Ashley is juggled between caseworkers, shuffled from school to school, and forced to endure manipulative, humiliating treatment from an abusive foster family. In this memoir, Ashley discovers the power of her own voice. Gateway Book Award Nominee, 2010-2011. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2008.
Zeroboxer by Fonda Lee
DBC09623
As seventeen-year-old Carr 'the Raptor' Luka rises to fame in the weightless combat sport of zeroboxing, he learns a devastating secret that jeopardizes not only his future in the sport, but interplanetary relations. Some descriptions of sex, strong language and violence. Gateway Award Nominee, 2017-2018. For Senior High and Older Readers. 2015.