This horror story, by highly acclaimed Stephen King, will give you chills as you read it. It begins when Jack Torrance, a recovering alcoholic, loses his job and is forced to take a job as the winter caretaker at a hotel in the Colorado mountains. Jack, his wife Wendy, and his five-year-old son Danny, move into the Overlook Hotel, and are its only inhabitants for the winter. Danny isn’t a normal five years old boy. He has a very developed mind and vocabulary and is cursed with the horrible power of Shining, or the ability to hear others' thoughts, and is shown visions by his imaginary friend Tony. When they move into the hotel, the cook, who knows about the hotel's dark past, warns Danny and explains that, although bad things have happened at the hotel, they aren’t bad things that could hurt anyone. However, after they move in, Danny has nightmares and dark thoughts that Tony shows him. Jack and Wendy worry about Danny and his well-being after the move into the hotel, but Danny worries about his father’s alcoholism and the thoughts of divorce that loom between his parents. Although the book does have a slow start, it is a well-written book for anyone looking for a terrifying tale to keep you awake at night.

If you enjoyed The Shining you would enjoy the famous film that is based off it, and also The Ring by Koji Suzuki, which is another morbid horror story that is indirectly related to the American film of the same name. 

(Mitchell, ETHS) 

In Murakami’s coming-of-age tale, set in 1969 Tokyo, Toru is a shy university student  who recently found friendship in Naoko. They are both connected by the sudden suicide of a mutual friend years ago. They both adapt to college life differently - Naoko has more trouble dealing with the stress and isolation that it brings. As Toru becomes more and more devoted to Naoko, and she closes herself further and further into her own world, he has trouble staying connected and in touch with her. He makes other friends that help him through his transition to adulthood, including Midori, a very independent young woman, and Nagasawa, an ingenious social student who loves some of the books that Toru does. If you have read one of Murakami’s other books, or are looking for something new to read, than Norwegian Wood, a story of love, friendship, books, and music is for you.
Consider reading one of Murakami’s other books, or another coming-of-age tale such as Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. 

(Mitchell, ETHS) 

You can't really have a normal teen life when you're dying. For sixteen year old Hazel Lancaster, who suffers from lung cancer, that's how it is. Her mother and doctors say she's depressed , a side effect of cancer they say. To her it's a side effect of dying. In her state Hazel rarely leaves her house. Usually to go to school, and a support group which she dreads because her mother wants her to. But, things change when she meets Augustus Waters, a seventeen year old boy who is now cancer free. As their friendship develops they find themselves in an adventure across the sea in search to answers left by an unfinished sentence. The enticing novel will have turning page after page as you laugh, cry and wonder to find out if they will live their dream, or be stopped in their tracks by tragedy.

Find The Fault in Our Stars in the Loft. 

(Amanda) 

The high school football field can be a battlefield. The sport of football has a huge impact on Oregrove High where this story takes place. The price of victory is huge and it is paid on and off the field, people suffer for the win. Football is so important to this school that the program gets away with everything, recruiting, steroid use, and worst of all the cruel hazing that the team captains do. The main character of Leverage is a troubled orphan named Kurt who has witnessed horrible things in his group home and has a terrible stutter. Written with two voices, the book captures two amazing points of view of the haunting things that happen at Oregrove High.
Tough, intense and emotional, Leverage is a great mix of friendship, bullying, and overcoming of extreme obstacles. Danny and Kurt are two amazingly developed characters that complement each other nicely. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes sports. It’s a great mixture of comedy, drama and football. Some scenes are hard to stomach, but still it’s easy to relate to and hard to put down.

(Ian, ETHS) 

Picture yourself stranded at sea. Your family is nowhere to be found and, worst of all, you are sure to be the next meal of a ferocious beast named Richard Parker. Do you think the odds are in your favor? Pi, the unfortunate boy in this situation, sure doesn't. Life of Pi has a riveting and emotional plot that will keep you on your toes through every twist and turn. You will enjoy this book and will feel like you are so involved in the story that you experience all of Pi's struggles. The beautiful descriptions offered for just about everything in this captivating story bring everything together in a realistic and attention-grabbing way. If you like Life of Pi, make sure to check out Lord of the Flies, another tale of unfortunate abandonment.

(Olivia, ETHS) 

An entire town hears a flurry of whispering voices. Widespread nightmares filled with grotesque creatures and the dead call out to the living. Constant headaches and bizarre hallucinations of long dead relatives. A gravity anomaly pulsating directly from deep within the center of the ancient Chicxulub impact crater...

To scientist Michael Altman something has gone very awry, and as government agencies and military corporations alike take interest in the strange pulse from Chicxulub, his suspicions deepen. Upon the discovery of the pulse's origin, Michael realizes the danger is more alien than anybody could have expected.
Brian Evenson’s Dead Space Martyr is a stunningly well written novel based on the popular third person shooter video game, Dead Space. Granted, the book begins somewhat slow, but Evenson’s pacing is otherwise nearly flawless. He has carefully crafted the somewhat simplistic and yet ambitious scientist figure Michael Altman, as well as the wide variety of (often insane) characters he encounters throughout the novel. Evenson establishes and maintains a chilling and shady atmosphere, taking his time to reveal elements and allowing the reader to slowly piece others together while also capturing the dark madness of a broken human mind. For any Dead Space fan or avid science fiction reader alike this is a must read, gruesome, physiological and haunting from start to finish.
Also check out Dead Space Catalyst (2nd series book) by B.K. Evenson

(Henry)