Tag Archives: Young Adult

Hattie Big Sky

by Kirby Larson

Conditional Recommendation: 16-year-old orphan Hattie Brooks travels to Montana to try her hand at homesteading and prove up a claim of land so that she can have a place to call home.

Age: Young Adult
Series: Hattie, Book One
Pages: 283
Published: 2006
Genre: Historical Fiction

Awards: Newbery Medal (2007), Vermont Golden Dome Book Award (2008), Montana Book Award (2006), California Young Readers Medal for Middle School/Junior High (2009), Missouri Gateway Readers Award (2009)

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The Meeting Place (Song of Acadia #1)

by Janette Oke & T. Davis Bunn

Unconditional Recommendation: In Acadia, a chance meeting creates a strong bond of friendship and faith between an Englishwoman and a Frenchwoman during a time of hostilities and impending war between their homelands.

Age: Young Adult
Series: Song of Acadia, Book 1
Pages: 288
Published: 1999
Genre: Historical Christian Fiction

Awards: Christy Award for North American Historical (2000)

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When Courage Calls (Return to the Canadian West #1)

by Janette Oke and Laurel Oke Logan

Unconditional Recommendation: A young woman leaves behind wealthy living to teach school in a poor, tragedy-stricken, Canadian mining town.

Age: Young Adult
Series: Return to the Canadian West, Book One
Pages: 329
Published: 2014

Genre: Historical Christian Fiction

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Sky’s Bridal Train (A Newly Weds #1)

by Margo Hansen

Unconditional Recommendation: Sky Hoffman travels across the ocean in search of her twin only to find adventure, friends, family, romance, and God on a bridal train to Minnesota.

Age: Young Adult
Series: A Newly Weds series, Book One
Pages: 290
Published: 2011

Genre: Historical Christian Romance

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The Burning Bridge (Ranger’s Apprentice #2)

by John Flanagan

Conditional Recommendation: Ranger apprentice, Will, and his friend Horace are sent as envoys to Celtica in light of the coming war and they find themselves and their training put to the ultimate test.

Age: Young Adult
Series: Ranger’s Apprentice, Book Two
Pages: 304
Published: 2007
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy

Awards: Children’s Book Council of Australia Award, International Success of the Year Award (2007)

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The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger’s Apprentice #1)

by John Flanagan

Unconditional Recommendation: A 15-year-old orphan boy is recruited and trained to become a ranger and must, with his master, track dangerous creatures before evil Morgarath’s bidding results in someone’s death.

Age: Young Adult
Series: Ranger’s Apprentice, Book One
Pages: 249
Published: 2006

Genre: Adventure, Fantasy

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The Runaway King (The Ascendance Trilogy #2)

by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Conditional Recommendation: A clever young king is forced into disguise and a perilous adventure to outsmart his enemies and save his kingdom.

Age: Young Adult
Series: The Ascendance Trilogy, Book Two
Pages: 331
Published: 2013

Genre: Adventure

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The False Prince (The Ascendance Trilogy #1)

by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Conditional Recommendation: Orphan boy uses his cunning and wit to stay alive amidst the treacherous plot of a nobleman in this suspenseful adventure.

Age: Young Adult
Series: The Ascendance Trilogy, Book One
Pages: 352
Published: 2012
Genre: Adventure

Awards: E.B. White Read-Aloud Award Honor Book (2013), Lamplighter Award winner (2014)

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Danger in the Shadows (O’Malley Prequel)

Danger in the Shadowsby Dee Henderson

Unconditional Recommendation: Sharp detail and expertly written characters are woven together in this suspense story of a woman with real fears and a stalker, her brother who protects her, a man who wishes she would let him close enough to love her and a God who is just and does not want us to live our lives in fear.

Age: Mature Young Adult
Series: Prequel to O’Malley series
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Multnomah Publishers, Inc. (1999)
Genre: Christian Suspense/Romance/Contemporary

Awards: RITA Award by Romance Writers of America for Best Inspirational Romance (2000), Booksellers’ Best Award, OKRWA National Readers Choice Award for Inspirational (1999) Continue reading →

The Running Dream

by Wendelin Van Draanen


Unconditional Recommendation: An inspiring story about healing after accidents, learning to live with a disability, and relying on the support of family, friends and teammates through the process; this tale will place you firmly in someone else’s shoes and warm your heart all the way to the finish line.

Age: Young Adult
Series: Stand-alone
Hardcover: 340 pages
Publisher: Alred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books (2011)
Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Award: Schneider Family Book Award

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