Click here for some authors we’ve talked to about their books and their process.

And click below for some recommendations from some authors we trust.

 

Click here for Everyone

Tony DiTerlizzi

is the illustrator of The Spiiderwick Chronicles, The Spider and the Fly, Ted, and many more.  He uses his powers for good.

  • Peter Pan and Wendy

  • J.M. Barrie's classic has surly pirates, bloodthirsty native Americans, a hungry crocodile, feisty faeries and flying kids with weapons . . . what more could you ask for?

  • Watership Down

  • Richard Adams takes you on an incredible quest from a home colony that’s completely eradicated to Shangri la. One the way, there are monsters, villains, allies, oh, and a fascist leader trying to seize the hero's new home . . . and its all told with rabbits. You read that right — rabbits.

  • The Mouse and the Motorcycle

  • Mouse buddy + toy motorcycle = Awesome!

  • The Lorax

  • In my mind, this one of Dr. Seuss’s undisputed classics. Sadly, we need the Lorax now more than ever.

  • Lafcadio: The Lion That Shot Back

  • One of Shel Silverstein's lesser known titles, but one of my all-time favorites. Actually, I learned about this one when my younger brother read it for school and had me help with his book report. It is one of those stories that you will always remember.

Jeff Zentner

Jeff Zentner is a guitarist and songwriter and the author of the starkly beautiful debut YA novel The Serpent King (our full review here).

 

  • The First Time She Drowned
  • Kerry Kletter

  • "An absolutely gorgeous, lyrical, and unflinching story about a girl escaping from under the thumb of a toxic mother and living her own life."

  • How to Hang a Witch
  • Adriana Mather

  • "A delightfully spooky, twist-turny, and gripping mystery set in a haunted present-day Salem, Massachusetts."

  • The Love That Split the World
  • Emily Henry

  • "A beautiful and romantic time travel story set in small-town Kentucky."

  • Kids of Appetite
  • David Arnold

  • (out in September) "A hilarious, quirky, and warm story about murder, first love, and families of choice."

  • Everything, Everything
  • Nicola Yoon

  • "A sweet and swoony story about a girl who's allergic to the world."

  • Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
  • Becky Albertalli

  • "A hilarious, warm, and wise coming-out and coming-of-age story."

  • More Happy Than Not
  • Adam Silvera

  • "A heartbreaking story about a young man running from his own memory."

Jason Reynolds

JASON REYNOLDS is crazy. About stories. After earning a BA in English from The University of Maryland, College Park, he moved to Brooklyn, New York, where you can often find him walking the four blocks from the train to his apartment talking to himself. Well, not really talking to himself, but just repeating character names and plot lines he thought of on the train, over and over again, because he's afraid he'll forget it all before he gets home. When I Was the Greatest is his debut novel. His next, The Boy in the Black Suit, comes out in 2015. He's also the co-author of (in our opinion) the criminally-overlooked poetry/art hybrid memoir My Name is Jason. Mine Too.: Our Story. Our Way.

From his website: "Here's what I know: I know there are a lot - A LOT - of young people who hate reading. I know that many of these book haters are boys. I know that many of these book-hating boys, don't actually hate books, they hate boredom. If you are reading this, and you happen to be one of these boys, first of all, you're reading this so my master plan is already working (muahahahahahaha) and second of all, know that I feel you. I REALLY do. Because even though I'm a writer, I hate reading boring books too."

  • The Young Landlords
  • Walter Dean Myers

  • It's a brilliantly gritty story about a bunch of kids who get swindled into taking over a slum building. Super creative, yet totally feasible in New York City.

  • Kira-Kira
  • Cynthia Kadohata

  • The story takes place in the sixties in the segregated south. Black people know where they stand. White people know where they stand. But what about a Japanese family?

  • Noggin
  • John Corey Whaley

  • Smart and hilarious story about a young man who is dying and his parents decide to cryogenically freeze his head. A few years later, he's back from the dead. And he's still in high school.

  • The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey
  • Walter Mosley

  • One of the gems that flew under the radar because Mosely is so prolific. But it's a sweet, yet biting story about an elder man, Ptolemy Grey, suffering from dementia.

  • Erasure
  • Percival Everett

  • It's a weird book about a stuffy writer and his hatred for the industry. His frustration with his agent wanting him to write a "sellable" book pushes him to pen "street fiction" just as a middle finger to the corporate publishing structure. Madness ensues, and it's downright hilarious.

Eliot Schrefer

Eliot Schrefer is a primate who writes novels about apes.

Eliot Schrefer

  • Homeland
  • R.A. Salvatore

  • "The first fifty pages of the Dark Elf Trilogy have enough swordplay and plot twists to make you gasp."

  • The Tin Woodman of Oz
  • L. Frank Baum

  • "All the Oz books, actually. But I liked the Tin Woodsman the most, so this is the book I'm listing. Let's not psychoanalyze."

  • The Belgariad
  • David Eddings

  • Also, The Mallorean. "When I was the new kid in school, the characters in these books were my buds. Funny, courageous, and there's 1000 pages worth of them."

  • The Princess Bride
  • William Goldman

  • "Funny and clever and full of heart."

  • Dragonlance: Chronicles and Legends

  • by Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman. "I started with the computer game and then turned to the books. Lots of gods and glowy magic and giant spiders rearing in pain! Awesome."

Patrick Jones

is a Senior Librarian at the Hennepin County Library in Minneapolis, MN.  This is what he says:

The Great Eight: great books (kind of) for guys.  Also: Magazines. Anytime I’m asked for booklist, I ask, “What about magazines, don’t they count?” Well, it’s my list so they count.  Read a magazine every month or week.