1	Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Awards 2008
2	Bleachers by John Grisham As the controversial football coach of a small-town Texas high school lies dying, a group of his former players gather to share stories of their glory days under his demanding regime.
3	Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan Paul, who is gay, has the good fortune to attend a high school where the members of the Gay-Straight Alliance outnumber the football team, the cheerleaders ride Harleys, the star quarterback is also the homecoming queen, and the new guy in school turns out to be the love Paul has been waiting for.
4	A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb The spirit of a woman long dead, unable to move on to the afterlife, clings to the physical world until she encounters James, a spirit similarly marooned, who shows he how to inhabit an “empty” body. Overjoyed by their discover of each other, the two soon fall deeply in love.
5	Dropping in with Andy Mac by Andy MacDonald A pro skateboarding legend, known for his rejection of the drugs and alcohol so prevalent among his peers, recounts the story of his long, uphill road to success in his demanding and wildly popular sport.
6	Fault Line by Janet Tasjian When Becky meets fellow comedian Kip at the improv clubs where they both perform, he seems the perfect guy for her – until the relationship turns abusive.
7	The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom 83-year-old Eddie is convinced his life has had little meaning, until his death brings him into the presence of five people who show him the unexpected impact he has had on others.
8	The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls Walls, now an MSNBC columnist, reveals the story of her chaotic youth, during which she and her siblings were mostly left to fend for themselves while her alcoholic father and artist mother moved about the country evading bill collectors and the law.
9	Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Velde A girls is trapped in a virtual reality game when protestors damage the gaming center’s equipment, and losing is no longer an option for her if she hopes to escape unharmed.
10	House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer In a near-future world, Matt learns he is the clone of El Patron, a powerful drug lord who controls a private empire on the U.S.-Mexican border. Though despised by humans, Matt is sure that El Patron loves him, until he learns the true, and horrifying, reason for his existence.
11	Left for Dead: A Young Man’s Search for Justice for the U.S.S. Indianapolis by Pete Nelson The true story of a young boy who spent six years researching the sinking of a U.S. Navy ship in World War II and exposed the Navy cover-up of the rigged court-martial of the ship’s captain.
12	Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson A group of genetically engineered children, part human and part bird, flee the lab where they were created and the pursuit of the brutal Erasers, wolf-like predators sent to eliminate them so their existence will never be discovered.
13	The Meq by Steve Cash Having learned on his 12^th birthday in 1881 that he is not human but an immortal creature known as a Meq, Zianno Zezen embarks on a dual quest to find his soul-mate and to destroy an evil Meq called Fleur-du-Mal
14	Pirates by Celia Rees In 1722, upon her father’s death, 16-year-old Nancy Kington is headed for marriage to a wealthy old man. In desperation, she flees with the slave girl Minerva to join a pirate band.
15	Rock Star, Superstar by Blake Nelson When a high school bass guitar player joins a rock group which is about to make it big, his new focus on his music career forces a crisis in his relationship with his girlfriend.
16	Snow Flower & The Secret Fan by Lisa See A Chinese woman looks back on her youth and young womanhood, reflecting on her laotong (“old sames”) relationship with another girl, and on the ways in which they struggled for some degree of self-determination in a society which oppressed women through such practices as foot-binding and arranged marriages.
17	Tell No One by Harlan Coben Eight years after the police told him a serial killer had murdered his wife, a man receives a message which seems to indicate that she’s alive, but if he tries to uncover the truth, it will endanger his own life.
18	13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson Ginny’s adored Aunt Peg, a free-spirited artist, has died, and her legacy to her niece is a plane ticket to London, and a series of letters which will guide Ginny on the adventure of a lifetime.
19	Tithe by Holly Black With a freewheeling rock musician for a mother and a band of faeries for her childhood friends, Kaye’s life has always been weird, but it becomes weirder and more perilous when she discovers that she herself is a pixie changling with a special destiny to fulfill.
20	24 Girls in 7 Days by Alex Bradley When the love of Jack’s life rejects his invitation to the prom, his friends jump in to “help” by posting an online ad for a date for Jack which results in 24 eager applicants.
21	Twilight by Stephanie Meyer A bored girl in a dreary small town finds her life suddenly much more interesting – not to mention dangerous – when she becomes attracted to an unusual boy who belongs to a family of vampires. Who don’t hunt humans. Usually.
22	Upstate by Kalisha Buckhanon Natasha, a bright, ambitious Harlem teen who intends to become a lawyer, maintains a years-long correspondence with her boyfriend Antonio, who is in prison for involuntary manslaughter.
23	Yossel by Joe Kubert The story, in graphic novel format, of a Jewish teen’s experiences of Nazi brutality in the Warsaw Ghetto which let to the desperate uprising of 1943.