Tween Book Buying Guide- Adventure Seekers

Action. Survival. Danger. All three traits my students are always looking for in their books.  I can never have enough adventure books in our classroom library!

Escape Under the Forever Sky is the newest addition to our class and the waiting list is a page long. My students are tearing through this story of an American teenager kidnapped in Ethiopia. It’s a great mix of survival, action, and interesting information about Ethiopia.

Last year’s Newbery Award winner has plenty of new fans in my class. The Graveyard Book attracts readers looking for a fantastic adventure that involves stretching their imagination. Bod, or Nobody Owens, lives in the graveyard. He has been raised by ghosts since the night his parents and sister were murdered in their beds, and he has learned a few tricks of the trade. He can walk through walls in the graveyard, Fade so that humans can’t see him, and even dreamwalk. But he can’t leave the graveyard because the man who killed his family is still looking for him.

Sometimes my students want an adventure that’s real- something that actually happened. After browsing our non-fiction books they usually come back with The Year We Disappeared: A Father-Daughter Memoir. When Cylin Busby, now a a writer for young readers and former Teen editor, was nine years old she lived a normal live on Cape Cod. Then, overnight, her family’s life changed forever. A policeman in smalltown Falmouth, Massachusetts, her father is shot in the face on his way to work the overnight shift for the local department. The point-blank shots tear off John’s jaw, leaving it laying on the passenger seat of his car. While John is fighting for his life, he is also fighting to bring the perpetrators to justice. He knows that local small town arsonist Raymond Meyer is to blame. However, Meyer holds the town and police department in the palm of his hand, and the investigation goes nowhere. Meanwhile, the family is placed under 24-hr surveillance while doctors struggle to repair his face. He can no longer speak or eat and is forced to spend months in the hopsital. Cylin and her brothers must live with constant police presence, including escorts to school, police officers guarding their classrooms, and a high-tech security system. This eventually leads to no contact with friends, as most of them are too scared to even speak to the family anymore. Worst of all, the shooter is still on the loose.

Do you have your own little Alex Rider? Be sure to get them a copy of the newest book in the series- Crocodile Tears: An Alex Rider Novel.  This one has been making its way around the classroom and it is getting rave reviews from Alex Rider fans.

Finally, if you have readers desperately awaiting the release of the next Hunger Games book (August 24, 2010!), hand them a copy of The Maze Runner . is an action-packed story about a group of teenage boys who are trapped in a strange and mysterious place called The Glade. Just outside The Glade is a massive maze that seems to be impossible to solve. Thomas has just arrived, with no memories other than his name. While he is trying to adjust to his predicament he discovers that there are horrifying creatures that attack the boys in the maze at night. This one will keep you on the edge of your seat!

What are some of your favorite adventure novels?