Oregon Battle of the Books 2011-2011: 9th-12th Grade Division

The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathon Stroud (2003). Fantasy AR5.9, 800L, 462 pages. Nathaniel, a young magician's apprentice, becomes caught in a web of magical espionage, murder, and rebellion, after he summons the djinni Bartimaeus and instructs him to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from the powerful magician Simon Loveland. ALA Notable Best Books.

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson (2008). Historical Fiction. AR5.2, 780L, 336 pages. After being sold to a cruel couple in New York City, a slave named Isabel spies for the rebels during the Revolutionary War. National Book Award Finalist, Young Readers Choice Award.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon (2003). Realistic Fiction. AR 5.4, 1180L, 226 pages. Despite his overwhelming fear of interacting with people, Christopher, a mathematically gifted, autistic fifteen-year-old boy, decides to investigate the murder of a neighbor's dog and uncovers secret information about his mother. ALA Best Book for Young Adults.

Ender's Game By Orson Scott Card (1985). Science Fiction. AR5.5, 780L, 357 pages. Andrew "Ender" Wiggin thinks he is playing computer games. But in reality he is being trained to be the military genius that the planet needs in its all-out war with an alien enemy. Nebula Award, Hugo Award, ALA Best Book for Young Adults.

The Help by Kathryn Stocket (2009). Historical Fiction. AR 4.5, 464 pages. Limited and persecuted by racial divides in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, three women, including an African American maid, her sassy and chronically unemployed friend, and a recently graduated white woman, team up for a clandestine project.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman (2009) Realistic Fiction AR5.3, 830L, 272 pages While in a coma following an horrific automobile accident that killed her parents and younger brother, seventeen-year-old Mia, a gifted cellist, weighs whether to live with her grief or join her family in death. 2011 Oregon Reader’s Choice Award.