Research Guides: Readers' Collection: Books by Genre

Mystery/Suspense

Bad Love by Sue Leather
Call Number: Reader PE 1126 .A4 L423 2003
ISBN: 9780521536530
Publication Date: 2006
After the murder of a popular doctor, detective Flick Laine of the Denver Police Department looks for his killer
I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan
Call Number: Reader Duncan
ISBN: 0440228441
Publication Date: 2005, ©1973
They didn't mean to hit the boy in the road. It was an accident and a secret only they knew about it. Until they receive a mysterious message: "I know what you did last summer."
The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe; Daniel Payne (Illustrator)
Call Number: Reader PE 1126 .A4 B36 2002
ISBN: 0194229920
Publication Date: 2002
A must-read for any fan of mystery and detective stories.
Sherlock Holmes and the Sport of Kings by Arthur Conan Doyle; Jennifer Bassett (Retold by); Ron Tiner (Illustrator)
Call Number: Reader Bassett
ISBN: 0194229629
The Rainmaker by John Grisham
Call Number: Reader PE 1126 .A4 L42 1999
ISBN: 0582364124
Rudy Baylor is a newly qualified lawyer with no money and a lot of debts. He takes on a case against a giant insurance company who refused a claim that could have saved a man's life. The case will make him a lot of money; the only problem is, he's never argued a case in court before.

Sci-Fi

Tales of science fiction take us to new worlds that explore science and technolgogy. Often set in the future the possiblities of space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities are all fair game.

Time Machine by David Maule
Call Number: Reader PE 1126 .A4 P44835
ISBN: 1405833491
The time traveller has built a time machine and has gone into the future to the year 802,701.
1984 by George Orwell; Mike Dean (Retold by)
Call Number: Reader PE 1126 .A4 P44655
ISBN: 0582777313
Big Brother is watching you!
Feed by M. T. Anderson
Call Number: Reader Anderson
ISBN: 0763622591
Instant computer access at all times!

Because the "feed" is implanted in your brain.
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Call Number: Reader Keyes
ISBN: 0156030306
An experimental procedure seems to be a scientific breakthrough of paramount importance--until sudden, unexpected deterioration begins. Is this the end...?

Monsters

Monsters, werewolves, and vampires. Oh my!

Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley; Andy Hopkins (Editor); Jocelyn Potter (Editor)
Call Number: Reader PE 1126 .A4 P43447
ISBN: 0582426987
Dr. Victor Frankenstein creates and gives life to a monster who escapes from his lab. Is the monster evil or just misunderstood?
Boys That Bite by Marianne Mancusi; Mari Mancusi
Call Number: Reader Mancusi
ISBN: 0425209423
Sixteen-year-old Sunny is in a race against time as she tries to prevent herself from becoming a vampire permanently.
Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz
Call Number: Reader De la Cruz
ISBN: 0786838922
Teenagers from some of New York City's wealthiest and most prominent families learn a startling secret about their bloodlines.
Peeps by Scott Westerfeld
Call Number: Reader Westerfeld
ISBN: 159514031X
Cal Thompson is a carrier of a parasite that causes vampirism, and must hunt down all of the girlfriends he has unknowingly infected.
The Beast by Carolyn Walker; Philip Prowse (Contribution by)
Call Number: Reader PE 1126 .A4 C3333
ISBN: 9780521750165
There's been talk of strange deaths of sheep and rumors of the return of the legendary Beast of Brynmawr. Susie and Charlie are on vacation in a cottage in Brynmawr, where events grow stranger and stranger until it becomes clear that the beast is after Susie.
The Last Days by Scott Westerfeld
Call Number: Reader Westerfield
ISBN: 159514062X
As an ancient evil stirs beneath the streets of New York City, infecting rats and people like a plague, five quirky teens come together to form a "New Sound" band whose music seems to have paranormal power.

Ghost Stories

The Man with Two Shadows and Other Ghost Stories by Susan Hood; Mark Lemon; J. Sheridan Le Fanu; Tom Hood; Catherine Crowe; Louise Greenwood (Retold by)
Call Number: Reader PE 1126 .A4 P43633
ISBN: 0582416825
A collection of six scary ghost stories!
Be Afraid Be Very Afraid by Jan Harold Brunvand
Call Number: Reader GR 105 .B38 2004
ISBN: 9780393326130
A collection of classic urban myths and legends.
The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
Call Number: Reader Armstrong
ISBN: 9780061450549
Publication Date: 2009-03-31
After fifteen-year-old Chloe starts seeing ghosts and is sent to Lyle House, a mysterious group home for mentally disturbed teenagers, she soon discovers that neither Lyle House nor its inhabitants are exactly what they seem, and that she and her new friends are in danger.
The Room in the Tower and Other Stories by Rudyard Kipling
Call Number: Reader PE 1126 .A4 P42767
ISBN: 0582401429
Publication Date: 1998-11-01

Adventure/Fantasy

The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
Call Number: Reader Tolkien
ISBN: 9780618645619
One Ring to rule them all! Join the hobbits, elves, and wizards on their quest to destroy the ring and stop the spread of the great Sauron's power.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll; Andy Hopkins (Editor); Jocelyn Potter (Editor); Mary Tomalin (Retold by)
Call Number: Reader PE1126 .A4 P42335
ISBN: 0582421233
Follow Alice through a topsy-turvy world where she meets characters both good and bad, silly and serious.
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
Call Number: Reader Tolkien
ISBN: 1594130051
Follow Bilbo Baggins and his company of dwarves on an adventure to raid the treasure of a large and dangerous dragon.
City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende; Margaret Sayers Peden (Translator)
Call Number: Reader Allende
ISBN: 0060535032
Alex is off to the Amazon on an adventure with his grandmother to find the famed "Beast" of El Dorado. Alex will soon discover that the Amazon holds many secrets within its depths.
The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss; Madeleine du Vivier (Retold by)
Call Number: Reader PE 1126 .A4 P43789
ISBN: 0582426642
A family is shipwrecked and lands on an island. How will they survive?
Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
Call Number: Reader PE 1126 .A4 P45766
ISBN: 0582427207
Phileas bets his friends that he can travel around the world in 80 days. Along the way he encounters many dangers. including a detective following his trail, trying to arrest him.

Contemporary Romance

How Moon Fuentez fell in love with the universe by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
Call Number: Reader Vasquez Gilliand
ISBN: 9781534448667
Publication Date: 2021-08-10
A mesmerizing story about unlearning harmful beliefs about yourself and embracing every part of who you are
Better Than Fiction by Alexa Martin
Call Number: Reader Martin
ISBN: 9780593337226
Publication Date: 2022-11-08
Love isn't always by the books in this charming romantic comedy about a bookseller discovering how to be the main character in her story.
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Call Number: Reader Henry
ISBN: 9780593440872
Publication Date: 2022-05-03
A by-the-book literary agent must decide if happily ever after is worth changing her whole life for.
Emergency Contact by Mary H. K. Choi
Call Number: Reader Choi
ISBN: 9781534408968
Publication Date: 2018-03-27
Let's first start with the story, which follows Sam and Penny and how they find comfort from the whirlwind of life in tiny conversations behind a phone screen.
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
Call Number: Reader Yoon Ev 2017
ISBN: 9780553496673
Publication Date: 2017-03-07
The story of a teenage girl who's literally allergic to the outside world. When a new family moves in next door, she begins a complicated romance that challenges everything she's ever known. The narrative unfolds via vignettes, diary entries, texts, charts, lists, illustrations, and more.
Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
Call Number: Reader Hazelwood
ISBN: 9781638084716
Publication Date: 2022-10-01
A new rom-com in which a scientist is forced to work on a project with her nemesis—with explosive results.
One True Loves by Elise Bryant
Call Number: Reader Bryant
ISBN: 9780062982865
Publication Date: 2022-01-04
In this charming novel, an aspiring writer sets out to find some inspiration for her next book through a real-life love story of her own.
A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy; Sierra Simone
Call Number: Reader Murphy
ISBN: 9780063222571
Publication Date: 2022-09-20
A steamy plus-size holiday rom-com!

Friendship & Family

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
Call Number: Reader Brashares
ISBN: 0385730586
Four best friends stay in touch by sharing a single pair of magical pants during their first summer apart.
Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy
Call Number: Reader Binchy
ISBN: 0440211263
Publication Date: 1991, ©1990
Benny & Eve grew up together. They knew the sins and secrets behind every villager's lace curtains...except their own. Long-hidden lies emerge to test the meaning of love and the strength of ties held within the fragile gold bands of a...Circle Of Friends.
The Moves Make the Man by Bruce Brooks
Call Number: Reader Brooks
ISBN: 0064405648
Publication Date: 1987, ©1984
Jerome "Jayfox" Foxworthy likes to think he can handle anything - growing up without a dad, being the first black kid in school, basketball. Then Jerome meets Bix Rivers.
Notes from the Midnight Driver by Jordan Sonnenblick
Call Number: Reader Sonnenblick
ISBN: 0439757819
Publication Date: 2007, ©2006
After being assigned to perform community service at a nursing home, sixteen-year-old Alex befriends a cantankerous old man who has some lessons to impart about jazz guitar playing, love, and forgiveness.

What would you do...?

Faced with a difficult decision, how do you come to terms with what you need to do?

The First Part Last by Angela Johnson
Call Number: Reader Johnson
ISBN: 0689849230
It's time for Bobby to grow up and raise his daughter as a single teenage dad.
Lush by Natasha Friend
Call Number: Reader Friend
ISBN: 043985346X
It's tough to be a thirteen. But it's even harder when your father's a drunk. For Samantha, it's something that's been going on for so long that she's almost used to it. Only, you never get used to it. Especially when it starts to get worse...
The Throwaway Piece by Jo Ann Yolanda Hernandez
Call Number: Reader Hernandez
Bounced between foster homes Jewel still finds a way to watch after her mother. But when she’s forced to choose between taking care of her mother and doing what’s right for herself, old habits and loyalties are hard to break. Jewel is sure that this time, she can save her mom. But will she be able to save herself?
Skin by Adrienne Maria Vrettos
Call Number: Reader Vrettos
ISBN: 141690655X
Donnie's life is unraveling. But he does the only thing he knows how to do: He tries to fix things, to make everything the way it was before. Before his parents stopped loving each other, before

But some things are beyond repair, and it will take all Donnie's strength to stop looking back and start moving forward again.
Tyrell by Coe Booth
Call Number: Reader Booth
ISBN: 0439838797
Fifteen-year-old Tyrell, who is living in a Bronx homeless shelter with his spaced-out mother and his younger brother, tries to avoid temptation so he does not end up in jail like his father.
The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin
Call Number: Reader Werlin
ISBN: 0803730012
For Matt and his sisters, life with their cruel, vicious mother is a day-to-day struggle for survival. Then Murdoch comes into their lives and Matt feels a glimmer of hope. But when the time comes to act - will Matt be able to take action and call upon his hero? Or will he have to take measures into his hands?
Sold by Patricia McCormick
Call Number: Reader McCormick
ISBN: 0786851716
Thirteen-year-old Lakshmi leaves her poor mountain home in Nepal thinking that she is to work in the city as a maid only to find that she has been sold into the sex slave trade in India and that there is no hope of escape.

It's Complicated: A Love Story

Sometimes it's meant to be. Other times, it's not quite that simple.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn; David Levithan
Call Number: Reader Cohn
ISBN: 0375835318
Through a chance encounter, Nick and Norah go on an all-night adventure in search of a legendary's band secret show.
Romiette and Julio by Sharon M. Draper; Adam Lowenbein (Illustrator)
Call Number: Reader Draper
ISBN: 0689821808
When you're from two different worlds, it can be tough to come together.
Accidental Love by Gary Soto
Call Number: Reader Soto
ISBN: 0152054979
Marisa and Rene come from two different worlds. But why can't she stay away from him? And what will their families think?
The Making of Dr. Truelove by Derrick Barnes
Call Number: Reader Barnes
ISBN: 1416914390
In order to win back his girlfriend Roxy, Diego Montgomery invents an alter ego known as Dr. Truelove and begins an Internet dating advice column.
Forever... by Judy Blume
Call Number: Reader Blume
ISBN: 9781416947387
Two high school seniors believe their love to be so strong that it will last forever.
Wild Roses by Deb Caletti
Call Number: Reader Caletti
ISBN: 0689864752
Publication Date: 2006-12-21
Seventeen-year-old Cassie learns about the good and bad sides of both love and genius while living with her mother and brilliant, yet disturbed, violinist stepfather and falling in love with a gifted young musician.

Multicultural/Immigrant Experiences

Living up the Street by Gary Soto
Call Number: Reader Soto
ISBN: 9780440211709
A Mexican-American boy's coming of age story about growing up in a barrio and falling out of love.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie; Ellen Forney (Illustrator)
Call Number: Reader Alexie
ISBN: 0316013684
Based off the author's true-life experiences, this book tells the story of Junior, a young boy growing up on a reservation who must leave his troubled school on the rez and attend an all-white school.
First Crossing by Donald R. Gallo (Editor)
Call Number: Reader First
ISBN: 9780763632915
Whether coming from Venezuela or Korea, these teens must travel far and face countless challenges on their journeys to America.
The Tequila Worm by Viola Canales
Call Number: Reader Canales
ISBN: 0385746741
Publication Date: 2005
Sofia grows up in the close-knit community of the barrio in McAllen, Texas, then finds that her experiences as a scholarship student at an Episcopal boarding school in Austin only strengthen her ties to family and her "comadres."
Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas
Call Number: Reader F 128.9 .P85 T48 1997
From the streets to prison and back, Piri Thomas tells the story of his life growing up a Puerto Rican in Spanish Harlem.
The Journey of an Immigrant by Khetam Dahi
Call Number: Reader PE 1128 .A2 D34 2012
ISBN: 9781466961111
Publication Date: 2012-10-01
America Street by Anne Mazer (Introduction by)
Call Number: Reader Mazer
ISBN: 0892551909
Fourteen stories by American authors from diverse racial and cultural backgrounds, including Duane Big Eagle, Nicholasa Mohr, Lensey Namioka, and Robert Cormier.

Classics On the Go

Classic stories retold for beginner readers.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens; Andy Hopkins (Editor); Jocelyn Potter (Editor); Latif Doss (Retold by)
Call Number: Reader PE 1126 .A4 P46467
ISBN: 0582419476
Pip is a poor young orphan, living with his sister and her husband Joe, a blacksmith. His life is changed forever by two very different meetings--one with an escaped convict and one with an eccentric old lady and the beautiful girl who lives with her. But who is the mysterious person who leaves him a fortune?
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane; Andy Hopkins (Editor); Jocelyn Potter (Editor); Mary Gladwin (Retold by)
Call Number: Reader PE 1126 .A4 P43754
ISBN: 0582421268
A scared young soldier, Henry, longs to demonstrate his courage on the battlefield.
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett; Andy Hopkins (Editor); Jocelyn Potter (Editor); Anne Collins (Retold by)
Call Number: Reader PE 1126 .A4 P42784
ISBN: 0582426596
Young Mary must leave her home after she is orphaned to live with her uncle. She is sad and feels unloved until the discovery of a secret garden transforms her life.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë; Tricia Hedge (Contribution by); Jennifer Bassett (Contribution by); Clare West (Contribution by)
Call Number: Reader PE 1126 .A4 O9655
ISBN: 0194230880
Follow the story of Jane as she meets a rich man, uncovers his dark secret, and must choose between his love and her self-respect.
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table by Deborah Tempest (Retold by)
Call Number: Reader PE 1126 .A4 P42556
ISBN: 0582421187
Only the next King will be able to pull the sword out of the stone. Who will it be? And will he be a good king?
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Kieran McGovern (Retold by); Oscar Wilde
Call Number: Reader PE 1126 .A4 P44735
ISBN: 0582418089
What is happening? As the years pass, Dorian remains young and handsome while a mysterious picture of him remains locked away.

Biographies

Explore the life of some of history's most fascinating people.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley (As told to); Malcolm X
Call Number: Reader BP 223 .Z8 L57943 1992
ISBN: 0345376714
The gripping saga of Malcolm X's life. From hustling in the streets to preaching on the streets, this book recounts the fascinating life of a controversial Civil Rights leader whose life was tragically cut short.
Ida B. Wells by Dennis Brindell Fradin; Judith Bloom Fradin
Call Number: ELAC-SG Children's Collection ; KID E185.97 .W55 F73 2000
ISBN: 0395898986
This biography follows Ida B. Wells, the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement, who led a lifelong crusade against the practice of lynching.
Queen Cleopatra by Thomas Streissguth
Call Number: Reader DT 92.7 .S88 2000
ISBN: 0822549468
Presents the life of the Egyptian queen who lived from 69 B.C.E. to 30 B.C.E.
George Lucas by Dana White
Call Number: Reader PN 1998.3 .L835 W55 2000
ISBN: 0822549751
Traces the life of George Lucas, the man behind Star Wars, from his childhood in California to his career in film.
The Wright Brothers by Wendie C. Old
Call Number: ELAC Children's Collection ; Kid TL 540 .W7 O43 2000
ISBN: 0766010953
Traces the path of the Wright brothers as they pursued their dream of changing the world of transportation.
Thomas Paine by Harvey J. Kaye
Call Number: Reader JC 178 .V5 K39 2000
ISBN: 0195116275
A biography of the political writer, with an emphasis on his contributions to the struggles of his day and their continuing relevance to modern questions.