Recently Released (2001-present) in Paperback Books for Teens What's New in Young Adult Literature 2002 Conference, Don Gallo, presenting:

• The Adventures of Blue Avenger by Norma Howe "An unusual 16-year-old changes his name, becomes a national hero, bakes the perfect lemon meringue pie, explores the issue of free will vs. biological determinism."

• Alone at Ninety Foot by Katherine Holubitsky "At 14, Pamela is forced to come to terms with her mother's death."

• Backwater by Joan Bauer "When Ivy Breedlove seeks the help of Mountain Mama in locating her aunt Josephine in the Adirondack Mountains, she has no idea how adventurous the journey will be."

• The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci "When one of their schoolmates disappears, most of his peers offer insensitive opinions of why and what happened, until one of them is accused of killing him and hiding his body."

• Crescent Moon by Alden R. Carter "A Touching story about the last logging days of a growing town in upstate Wisconsin in the early 1900s."

• Dave At Night by Gail Carson Levine "An orphan at the Hebrew Home for Boys sneaks out at night and experiences the music and cultrue of the Harlem Renaissance."

• Demon in my View by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes "Seventeen-year-old Altwater-Rhodes once again entertains readers with werewolves and witches in this companion to In the Forests of the Night."

• The Downsiders by Neal Schusterman "A realistically presented story about a society that lives deep under New York City and what happens when a teenage male 'Downsider' ventures above ground and meets a teenage female 'Topsider.'"

• Drawing Lessons by Tracy Mack "Rory, a talented artist, loses her touch when her parents split up and she doesn't think she'll ever be able to draw or paint again without the support of her father."

• Dreamland by Sarah Dessen "After her older sister runs away from home, Caitlin gets involved in a relationship with a 'hot,' secretive, and very intelligent drug dealer who later becomes abusive."

• Eight Seconds by Jean Ferris "After his dad signs him up for rodeo camp, John finds a competition he's good at--riding bulls. That's easy compared to the friendship he has formed with Kit, his rodeo buddy, who is gay."

• Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan "After her father is killed, yound Esperanza and her mother must leave their life of luxury in Mexico for the impverished life in a farm labor camp in southern California during the Depression."

• Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson "Through the eyes of a teenage girl, Anderson lets us experience the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia that killed over 5,000 people in 1793."

• Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry "Lame and orphaned, kira is brought to a special living quarters where she is expected to carry on the tradition of sewing the special robe of the Singer in a future society."

• Gold Dust by Chris Lynch "In Boston in 1975, nothing matters to Richard except baseball, and he's determined to make baseball matter to his new friend from Dominica, Napoleon Charlie Ellis.

• Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger "John and Marisol, two high school misfits, form a friendship after reading each other's zines. Priding himself on being immune to emotions, John breaks all his rules as he rediscovers his feelings through his writings."

• Hidden Talents by David Lubar "At Edgeview Alternative School, Martin and his friends discover they have special abilities that get them into trouble but, controlled, they can be used for positive purposes."

• Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan "In India, Koly is married at 13 to a sickly boy who promptly dies, leaving her a widow and an outcast who has to find a life for herself in an uncaring society."

• Jade Green: A Ghost Story by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor "A recently orphaned 15-year-old disobeys the only condition imposed on her living in her uncle's house, with scary results."

• Joey Pigza Loses Control by Jack Gantos "Not as funny as its predecessor, this sequel shows what happens when Joey spends the summer with his irresponsible father."

• Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix "After Prince Charming discovers the identity of the owner of the glass slipper, Cinderella moves into the castle, discovers how confusing and depressing life is there, and plots her escape."

• King of the Shadows by Susan Cooper "In London to perform in the new replica of the Globe theater, Nat Field goes to bed ill and awakens in 1599 where he performs under the direction of William Shakespeare himself."

• Kit's Wilderness by David Almond "Kit Watson and his parents move back to Stoneygate to take care of his grandfather after his grandmother's death. The abandoned coal mine shafts and the legends buried there bond Kit to his grandfather and to John Askew, the dark-sided artist in Kit's class. A haunting novel."

• The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick "In a future time without hope, Spaz tries to rescue his little sister with the help of Ryter and a proov (genetically perfected) girl who lives in Eden."

• Locked Inside by Nancy Werlin "A 16-year-old millionaire daughter of a dead rock star spends her nights playing adventure games on the Internet at a prestigious boarding school until she is kidnapped. Then the adventure becomes real."

• Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta "A 17-year-old Italian Australian girl meets the father she's never known, discovers the truth behind her grandmother's history, learns to appreciate her mother, and falls in love for the first time in present day Sydney."

• Mind's Eye by Paul Fleischman "Using a play format, Fleischman's two characters--a 16-year-old paralyzed girl and an old blind woman--employ an old guidebook to journey through 1910 Italy in their imagination."

• Miracle's Boys by Jacqueline Woodson "After their mother dies, young Lafayette tried to understand how his older brother Ty'ree keeps the family together and middle brother Charlie is so mean and angry."

• Nobody's There by Joan Lowery Nixon "Assigned to community service with an elderly lady, Abbie has to figure out who has attacked the old woman and why."

• On the Edge: Stories at the Brink edited by Lois Duncan "A dozen new stories from writers such as Alden R. Carter, Terry Davis, Margaret Paterson Haddix, and Ellen Wittlinger about teenagers on various edges: the edge of sanity, the edge of family, the edge of a ravine, the edge of annihilation."

• The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky "Writing letters to an anonymous reader, Charlie discusses his life in high school, his feelings about his divorced and undemonstrative parents, dating, drugs, etc."

• Places I Never Meant to Be edited by Judy Blume "Twelve well-written short stories dealing with characters who find themselves in unexpected short stories dealing with characters who find themselves in unexpected situations and places, by writers such as Chris Lynch, Walter Dean Myers, and Katherine Paterson."

• The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot "The humorous diary of Mia's first month in high school when she becomes the princess of a European principality--the novel on which the 2001 feature film is based."

• The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner "Eugenides, the Thief of Eddis, schemes to conquer Attolia and its queen."

• Rats by Paul Zindel "You may find the blood and gore too disturbing and the situation too unrealistic, but middle school boys will devour this book with as much relish as the rats devour the population of Staten Island in this novel."

• Saying It Out Loud by Mindy's mother is dying and her fatheris so preoccupied that he has no time for her. When he is available, they can't speak openly with each other. So Mindy must find her own way to deal with life."

• Shiva's Fire by Suzanne Fisher Staples "When Parvati, a young Indian girl, is chosen to study classical dance, her mystical powers change her future."

• Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson "Melinda describes her freshman year in high school at the end of a summer in which she was sexually assaulted and so traumatized that she can't talk about it. Assisted by a supportive art teacher, she slowly begins to give voice to her feelings."

• Stick and Whittle by Sid Hite "An orphan and a Civil War veteran meet up in the old West and become partners on an adventurous mission."

• Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman Completely incapacitated by cerebral palsy, 14-year-old Shawn has no way to express what he thinks or feels, and he begins to suspect that his father wants to put him out of his misery."

• Tangerine by Edward Bloor "Paul is legally blind and won't tell anyone about how he got that way."

• Time Capsule: Short Stories About Teenagers Throughout the Twentieth Century edited by Donald R. Gallo "Each of ten hand-picked writers, from Richard Peck and Trudy Krisher to Bruce Brooks and Alden R. Carter, place their characters in historical situations that reveal highlights of each decade of the century, with historical introductions by the editor."

• Tomorrowland: 10 Stories about the Future edited by Michael Cart "Two of these imaginative stories are set in the past, a few in the present, and the rest in the future--all looking at future problems and possibilities concerning the environment, alienation, responsibility, and family relationships."

• Tribute to Another Dead Rock Star by Randy Powell "In Seattle to attend a musical tribute to his dead mother, a former rock star, 15-year-old Grady Grennan must also deal with his retarded half-brother Louie and Louie's extremely religious mother."

• Turnabout by Margaret Peterson Haddix "Two 15-year old girls in 2085 examine their lives and plan for their limited futures that resulted from a scientific experiment that reverted their aging process in 2001 when they were old women."

• Two Suns in the Sky by Miriam Bat-Ami "A 15-year-old Jewish boy and his family escape from Yugoslavia in 1944 and settle in Upstate New York where he meets Christine, whose family refuses to allow their love to develop."

• Vanishing by Bruce Brooks "Although the age of the main character (eleven) seems completely unbelievable, her thoughts and experiences are horrifyingly on target as she attempts to starve herself to death instead of returning to her dysfunctional family."

• When Jeff Comes Home by Catherine Atkins "Even though Jeff Hart's kidnapper has released him after two and a half years, the horror, fear, and guilt don't go away, and Jeff doesn't feel he can talk about it with anyone."

• When Kambia Elaine Flew in From Neptune by Lori Aurelia Williams "Shayla Dubois befriends the very odd girl next door, Kambia Elaine, while her own family falls apart after her sister is thrown out of the house and her estranged father moves back in."

• When Zachary Beaver Comes to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt "Toby Wilson thinks nothing exciting ever happens in Antler, Texas, until his mom wins a chance to sing at the Grand Ole Opry, his best friend's brother writes home from Viet Nam, and Zachary Beaver, the fattest boy in the world, comes to town."

• Whitechurch by Chris Lynch "Successive stories, along with prose poems, make up this powerful novel about the intense and fragile friendship among two boys in a small depressed New England town."

Books to Make Teens Smile, Chuckle, and Laugh Out Loud What's New in Young Adult Literature 2002 Conference, Don Gallo, presenting: