Don't Make Me Blush: Clean Reads for Teens

Are you looking for some teen books?  How about teen books that don't contain more explicit or graphic language?  Here are some suggestions for "clean" teen reads . . . .

Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken
Sydelle , an unusually talented weaver, must master her mysterious power and join a young wizard in stopping an imminent war in her land.

Variant by Robison E. Wells
After years in foster homes, Benson applies to the Maxfield Academy in hopes of securing a brighter future, but instead he finds that the school is a prison and no one is what he or she seems.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
In an alternate 1914 Europe, Austrian Prince Alek, on the run from the Clanker Powers who are attempting to take over the globe using mechanical machinery, forms an uneasy alliance with Deryn who, disguised as a boy to join the British Air Service, is learning to fly genetically-engineered beasts.

The Squire's Tale by Gerald Morris
In medieval England, Terence finds his tranquil existence suddenly changed when he becomes the squire of the young Gawain of Orkney and accompanies him on a long quest, proving Gawain's worth as a knight and revealing an important secret about his own true identity.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
Through twists and turns of fate, orphaned Mary seeks knowledge of life, love, and especially what lies beyond her walled village and the surrounding forest, where dwell the unconsecrated, aggressive flesh-eating people who were once dead.


More "Clean" Teen Reads --
Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins
Dangerous by Shannon Hale
Far, Far Away by Tom McNeal
Forgotten: A Novel by Cat Patrick
The Golden Day by Ursula Dubosarsky
I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter
I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Mistwood by Leah Cypess
My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison
Reckless by Cornelia Funke
The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson
Scrambled Eggs at Midnight by Brad Barkley
Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George
Tamar by Mal Peet
Ten Miles Past Normal by Frances O'Roark Dowell

Check out these books on display at the Arnold Branch through May 15, 2015.

Dare to Be Scared (Part 2)

While horror books of all kinds are extremely popular at this time of year, zombies are the creatures that seem to be the most fascinating.  Here are some great zombie books for teens . . .

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

In a post-apocalyptic world where fences and border patrols guard the few people left from the zombies that have overtaken civilization, fifteen-year-old Benny Imura is finally convinced that he must follow in his older brother's footsteps and become a bounty hunter.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Through twists and turns of fate, orphaned Mary seeks knowledge of life, love, and especially what lies beyond her walled village and the surrounding forest, where dwell the unconsecrated, aggressive flesh-eating people who were once dead.

The End Games by T. Michael Martin

In the rural mountains of West Virginia, seventeen-year-old Michael Faris tries to protect his fragile younger brother from the horrors of the zombie apocalypse.

The Infects by Sean Beaudoin

Nero is stranded in the wilderness with fellow juvenile delinquents when their counselors transform into flesh-eating maniacs.

Eat, Brains, Love by Jeff Hart

New Jersey teens Jake Stephenson and Amanda Blake are turning into zombies and, having devoured half of their senior class, they are on the run, pursued by teen psychic Cass, a member of a government unit charged with killing zombies and keeping their existence secret.

It Came from the Library . . . Monstrous Books

Do you like books that give you a few good chills?  Books that you need to read with the lights on?  Then try one of these . . .

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride
Sam LaCroix, a Seattle fast-food worker and college dropout, discovers that he is a necromancer, part of a world of harbingers, werewolves, satyrs, and one particular necromancer who sees Sam as a threat to his lucrative business of raising the dead.

Lord Loss by Darren Shan
Presumably the only witness to the horrific and bloody murder of his entire family, a teenage boy must outwit not only the mental health professionals determined to cure his delusion, but also the demonic forces only he can see.

The House of Dead Maids by Clare B. Dunkle
Eleven-year-old Tabby Aykroyd, who would later serve as housekeeper for thirty years to the Brönte sisters, is taken from an orphanage to a ghost-filled house, where she and a wild young boy are needed for a pagan ritual.

Bloodline by Kate Cary
Nineteen-year-old John Shaw returns from World War One and is haunted by nightmares of not only the battles but the horrifying discovery that his regimental commander is descended from Count Dracula.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
Through twists and turns of fate, orphaned Mary seeks knowledge of life, love, and especially what lies beyond her walled village and the surrounding forest, where dwell the unconsecrated, aggressive flesh-eating people who were once dead.

More Monstrous Books
The Book of Dead Days by Marcus Sedgwick
The Death Collector by Justin Richards
Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales by Deborah Noyes
Raven's Gate by Anthony Horowitz
Bonechiller by Graham McNamee
Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler