40.) Room by Emma Donoghue

“When I was a little kid I thought like a little kid, but now I'm five I know everything”

Room by Emma Donoghue ( Little, Brown and Company, 2010)


Genre: Adult Novel that appeals to teens, General Fiction

Honors: Man Booker Prize Nominee for Shortlist (2010), Orange Prize Nominee for Fiction Shortlist (2011), Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book in Caribbean and Canada (2011), Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction (2010), Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction, Nominee for Favorite Heroine (2010) ALA Alex Award (2011), Indies Choice Book Award for Fiction (2011), Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Award for Hughes & Hughes Irish Novel of the Year (2010), Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2014), Galaxy National Book Award for WHSmith Paperback of the Year (2011), Trillium Book Award Nominee for English-language (2011) [Honors Information found at Goodreads.com]

Review: Told entirely from the point of view of a five-year-old, Room is about a woman who is kidnapped and kept in a small shack in her kidnapper's backyard. In the years she was held captive she gave birth to her son Jack. Jack spent his whole life knowing nothing but the one room, but when she is afraid that her captor's house would be foreclosed and the shack abandoned she needs to make an attempt at escape that would relie on Jack's bravery to venture into a world he knows nothing about.  

Opinion: A very interesting novel that gave me goosebumps to read. I listened to this on audio and the narration was very well done, with several narrators. The suspense of the escape with very nail-biting, but the entire second half of the novel was just okay, but maybe could have been shortened. Regardless, it's a very good book.

Ideas: I would recommend this to anyone who likes good general fiction reads. Also maybe recommend this book to anyone who likes crime books, even though this is not a crime book it is centered around a crime.

28.) Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

“It's like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story.” 

Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (DAW Trade, 2007)
(Kingkiller Chronicles, Book 1)

Genre: Fantasy, Adult Book With Teen Appeal

Honors: ALA Alex Award (2008), The Quill Award for Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror (2007), Sakura Medal for High School Book (2009) [Honors Information found at Goodreads.com]

Review: Told in two timelines Kvothe appears to be a simply inn keeper until demons are found coming closer and closer to his village. This, in conjunction with the appearance of a scribe whose goal is to record historical tales, brings about the truth that he is one of the most powerful magicians in the world. Kvothe decides to give the scribes his entire story taking him all the way back to his childhood, the death of his family, his life living as a beggar child on the street of a big city, and finally joining the University to learn magic in order to tack down and kill the demons that killed his family.

Opinion: The beginning of the story is rather clumsy and confusing. I didn't get into the story until he began telling it to the scribe and taking the reader back to Kvothe's childhood when it gets good.  This portion of the story is good, and perfect for young adults because the character goes from childhood all the way to a teenager. He faces crushes, school teachers, and bullies. The story of his young adult life in unfinished so you have to read the next few books to find out what happens to him to become a great magician and why he is now hiding as a simple inn keeper.

Ideas: Any teen who likes epic fantasy like Robert Jordan or Brandon Sanderson fans would probably like this book. It's definitely appealing to teens because most of the book is about a teen. It's almost like Harry Potter when he goes to The University, so people who are ready to graduate from Harry Potter might like this book.

27.) The Eyre Affair by Jasper FForde

“Governments and fashions come and go but Jane Eyre is for all time.”

The Eyre Affair by Jasper FForde (Penguin Books, 2003)
(Thursday Next, Book 1)

Genre: Adult Fiction that Appeals to Teens, Fantasy, Modern Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction


Honors: Locus Award Nominee for Best Science Fiction Novel (2002), Dilys Award Nominee (2003), ALA Alex Award (2003), Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2006), Locus Poll Award Nominee for Best First Novel (2002)
[Honors Information found at Goodreads.com]

Review: This book is very hard to describe, but in this alternate history Britain is very different and in a long drawn out war against the soviets (?). Thursday Next is a Literary detective in special operations. But when a master criminal threatens many lives Thursday is asked to help. When the Master Criminal then goes after her uncle's invention that can transport people into book for real and change them Thursday must call upon what appears to be some sort of special power she has that she can transport herself into a novel without the help of the machine. She must save Jane Eyre herself.  

Opinion: I honestly have no idea why this book got chosen for an Alex Award. From what I have noticed most Alex Award winners have a young adult or child in the story somewhere but Thursday Next is a middle-age woman who is single and pretty pathetic. I was pretty much completely confused the entire time. I listened to it on audio and the woman narrating it was absolutely horrible, which made it much worse. I was very very disappointed in the entire thing. One of the least enjoyable books I read for this assignment. I don't know why it was so highly rated, and regarded. I almost want to read it again, or read more of it to try and figure out what was so great about it. 

Ideas: The only good thing about the story is that it has many cross genres. It is science-ficiton, fantasy, mystery/detective, with elements of military. I guess is someone was really crazy over Jane Eyre then this would be a good book? Not sure, I don't think would recommend it to anyone honestly.

23.) Life of Pi by Yann Martel

“It is true that those we meet can change us, sometimes so profoundly that we are not the same afterwards, even unto our names.”

Life of Pi by Yann Martel (Seal Books, 2001)

Genre: Adult Fiction with Teen Appeal


Honors: Man Booker Prize (2002), Exclusive Books Boeke Prize (2003), Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2005) Hugh MacLennan Prize (2001), CBC Canada Reads Nominee (2003) [Honors Information found at Goodreads.com]

Review: Growing up with a father who owns a zoo in India made for an interesting childhood for Piscine Molitor Patel, aka Pi. But when his father decides to sell the zoo to move to Canada they travel on a boat with many of the animals who are on their way to new homes in North America. When the boat begins sinking Pi ends up on a life raft with the only other survivor from the boat who happens to be a full grown Bengal tiger. The novel is about the physical survival that Pi and Richard Parker (the tiger) endure, but also the spiritual survival that Pi has to face to survive on a life raft for so long.

Opinion: I surprisingly loved this book. I thought it was going to be very boring reading about a boy on a boat, but it was not boring at all. I thought it was actually quite thrilling. I was hesitant about reading it for the class assignment because it is not an actual Alex Award Winner, but Pi is a teenage boy so the story is centered around a teen. I also asked many people and many teachers are having students read this books in high school, so I felt much better about reading it for this assignment. 

Ideas: I found out that many teachers in high schools are teaching this book so it's might be a required reading to some. The book deals with a lot of religious and spiritual searching so teens who are interested in world religions might really enjoy this book. A movie was made of this book so anyone who has seen the movie might also like the book (but I have not seen the movie yet).

Movie Poster

21.) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

“Life takes us to unexpected places sometimes. The future is never set in stone, remember that.”

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (Anchor Books, 2010)

Genre: Adult Fiction With Teen Appeal, Fantasy, Modern Fantasy, Romance


Honors: Locus Award for Best First Novel (2012), Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Nominee for Adult Literature (2012), ALA Alex Award (2012), Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2014), The Reading List Genre Awards for Fantasy (2012) September (2011), The Kitschies Nominee for Golden Tentacle (Debut) (2011) [Honors Information found at Goodreads.com]

Review: The circus shows up without warning. A magical, mysterious show that is beyond imagination. What the public doesn't see is the competition behind the show between the two young magicians who are constantly trying to out due one another by creating more spectacular attractions. 

Opinion: This is one of those books that is right on the border of adult and teen. There is a decent portion that takes place by younger individual.  I have wanted to read this book for a while and since I saw it was an Alex Award Winner I decided to give it a chance. I listened to the audiobook and I'm not sure if it was the audiobook version but it was really not as good as I was hoping since listening to all the hype behind it. 

Ideas: I would recommend this book to any teen looking for an original fantasy type adult book to pick up. If you made a display for adult books with teen appeal this would be a good fit.