The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

Death has touched Liesel Meminger. Our first image of her is when the nine-year-old girl stands in the snow next to her dead brother. And so the narrator comes calling, because the narrator is death himself.

Liesel steals her first book that night, the "Gravediggers Handbook" belonging to the worker who will bury her brother. Then she's shipped off to a foster family, and her foster father teaches her to read with this book.

As she bears witness to the ravages of war on her country, her town, and her street, Liesel gets to know an unusual cast of characters -- from her friend who paints himself black and runs around the track pretending to be Jesse Owens to her own foster mother, an outwardly brutish character who cusses like a truck-driver.

Friends, colleagues, and family had begged me to read this book. As soon as I read death describing the way he sees colors, I knew that this was a masterpiece of innovative storytelling.

Bibliotherapeutic value: Many of the scenes are brutal, depressing, and harsh -- this is raw-boned life in the middle of a war. However, any teen will benefit from seeing war through the eyes of an "enemy" citizen. Also a strong reminder that first impressions can be deceiving. About how people cope with extreme grief over death and abandonment.

Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2006.

ISBN: 0375831003. $17.99.

Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers

Probably the best book about war written specifically for teens, Walter Dean Myers' Fallen Angels follows Perry, a Harlem kid who enlists and is promptly sent into the thick of battle in Vietnam. Crestfallen because his dream of going to college wasn't realized, he fled New York, but -- as he's flown into the middle of a blistering, confusing war zone -- he quickly realizes that he had no idea what he was getting into.

In Vietnam, Perry (who spent the flight over innocently flirting with a nurse) realizes that the war is not petering out like he believed. His first night in camp is a horrifying wake up call. What follows is traumatic and eloquent, a war story that throws all of the problems of American culture -- homophobia, machismo, racism, poverty, class warfare -- into high relief.

One of the saddest, most brilliant, most real YA books that I've ever read.

Bibliotherapeutic value: In order to make this book feel so real, Myers had to include profanity and violence. The book, through its depiction of a unit filled with disparate and sundry characters, underscores the value of every human life. A sympathetic portrait of many different types of people and a clear-eyed look at how status quo American culture dehumanizes its "enemies" as much as war does.

Myers, Walter Dean. Fallen Angels. New York: Scholastic Books, 1988. (First published in 1984.)

ISBN: 0545055768. $6.99.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

It’s Melinda Sordino’s first day of high school, and, from across the room, her best friend mouths to her, “I hate you.” Everyone seems to know who she is, and everyone seems to hate her, too.

Infamous for being the girl who ruined the best party of the summer, Melinda quickly retreats into her own world. All she wants is to be left alone, but she is keeping a terrible secret, a secret that, if told, would destroy the insular little cocoon that Melinda has wrapped around herself.

Dark and sarcastic, Melinda’s take on high school is smart and piercing. She watches from the outside – an angry ghost. But the truth of what happened that night needs to be told, eventually.

Bbliotherapeutic value: Writer Anderson emphasizes that victims must expose the victimizer to break the cycle of rape and abuse. An affecting tale of violence and healing.

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux. 2009.

ISBN: 0142414735. $11.99.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Sixteen-year-old Katniss is a survivor, but she might not be able to survive this. 

In this world of the future, the capitol of the U.S. is a place called Panem – a place completely immersed in intense entertainment and ridiculous high fashion. In the rest of the districts, most of the people forage and scramble not to starve to death. Ruling with a wicked iron fist, Panem controls all of the districts by putting on the annual Hunger Games, a reality television show in which two kids are plucked from each district to battle each other in a brutal fight to the death. Only one can live.

Volunteering in her sister’s place, Katniss will fight, and probably die, in this year’s games.

Intense and brutal at times, the teens in the games must outthink the game-master’s and other opponents. The political background bolsters an action-packed story about power and control. Though she wants to live, Katniss struggles to maintain her humanity.

Last year, I’d picked this book up and, unwilling to delve into this depressing world, put it down. This year, a student begged me to give it another try – by the time they were on the train, I was hooked. It’s almost impossible NOT to finish this book in a day. A serious page-turner.

Bibliotherapeutic value: Hunger Games is a story about toughness, resiliency, and fostering one’s strengths. It’s a survival story about staying strong even when faced with abysmal odds.

Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic Press, 2008.

ISBN: 978-0439023481. $17.99.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Ender is only a child, but he’s a brilliant kid, physically tough but mainly a master at strategy. Sweet and sensitive, but a born warrior, he’s plucked from his semi-normal life to begin another at a space station battle school. His adult instructors are watching all of the kids there, hoping to find the next great leader, a military commander who can help them vanquish the Buggers, aliens who are regrouping for another stab at Earth. This time, the Buggers will be different, stronger, smarter; a great Leader might be their only chance.

Even for those who don’t like war novels, Ender’s story is brilliant and addictive. The high-tech games – either computer or live action – are incredibly real-feeling. Ender battles the school’s bullies and tries to keep his own inner demons in check. He knows that he’s a smart strategist, but is he a killer? Can he control his own worst impulses, or is he just being controlled by reacting?

My husband and a friend (who is in the CIA) were discussing this book, which they had read as kids, and it seemed to have really stuck with them as one of the smartest and most morally complicated books they'd ever read. I’ve recently had a parent tell me to stop buying books in this series for his son; he felt that they were too violent and a bad influence.

Bibliotherapeutic value: Although many criticize this book for glorifying war and violence, it’s actually a philosophical meditation on the causes of war and violence. Ender is forced to contemplate whether it’s possible to face one’s bullies without becoming like them. He also has to figure out if, by playing his commanders games and doing well, is he controlling the game, or is he just a pawn?

Card, Orson Scott. Ender’s Game. New York: Tor Science Fiction. 1999.

 ISBN: 0812550706. $6.99.

Raiders Night by Robert Lipsyte

Matt and his fellow football players enter the gym, pound metal, and then head for the back room for their injections. In the opening sceene of Raider's Night, you are delivered a world in which kids are willing to do just about anything to win -- and the coaches and parents are willing co-conspirators.

Riding an emotional roller coaster -- partially caused by the drugs, partially caused by the tough, warlike jock culture that keeps him cut off from his feelings and from connecting with any girlfriend -- team co-captain Matt goes off to football camp, eager to focus on the game. Only a harrowing hazing gone wrong makes him question everything that's made life worth living.

No mere football book, Lipsyte's gripping and at times terrifying novel is a serious critique of macho masculinity. This is a deep, powerful read about all the things that can keep boys and men focused on the strength of the body at the expense of the soul.

This was a class assignment, and I assumed I wouldn't be interested. Boy, was I wrong.

Bibliotherapeutic value: Though shocking at times, this is a brilliant exploration of sports/guy culture. It sends a strong message to the reader that friendship is more important than fighting and winning. Underneath it all, there's a sense that Matt's main problem is that he can't acknowledge his own feelings -- rather than making him a winner, it's threatening to undermine his entire life.

Lipsyte, Robert. Raiders Night. New York: HarperTempest, 2006. 

ISBN 0-06-059946-4. $15.99.