Albom, Mitch. Tuesdays with Morrie.
Maybe you once had a mentor who gave you advice and helped you see the world as a more profound place. For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly twenty years ago. Knowing he was dying, Morrie visited with Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college.

Blume, Judy. Tiger Eyes.
Resettled in the "Bomb City" with her mother and brother, Davey Wexler recovers from the shock of her father's death during a holdup of his 7-Eleven store in Atlantic City.

Brooks, Martha. Two Moons in August.
Kieran, a new boy visiting her small town for the summer, helps Sidonie and her family come together again following the death of Sidonie's mother.

Bunting, Eve. Face at the Edge of the World.
Haunted by the suicide of a gifted young black writer who was his best friend, Jed pursues the reason for it.

Bunting, Eve. A Sudden Silence.
Jesse Harmon searches for the hit and run driver who killed his brother Bry.

Coleman, Hila. Suddenly.
Sixteen-year-old Emily is in the car with her boyfriend when he hits and kills a young boy she knows, and that death has a dramatic effect on them, the boy's family, and Emily's own parents.

Coman, Carolyn. Tell Me Everything.
After her mother dies in a rescue mission on a snowy mountain, twelve-year-old Roz wonders if talking to God, and to the boy for whom her mother died, can help her understand what happened.

Conly, Jane Leslie. Crazy Lady.
As he tries to come to terms with his mother's death, Vernon finds solace in his growing relationship with the neighborhood outcasts, an alcoholic and her retarded son.

Cook, Karin. What Girls Learn.
Two sisters cope with their mother's death by cancer while getting to know her new husband.

Cooney, Caroline. The Terrorist.
Sixteen-year-old Laura, an American living in London, tries to find the person responsible for the death of her younger brother Billy, who has been killed by a terrorist bomb.

Cooney, Caroline. Driver's Ed.
Three teenagers' lives are changed forever when they thoughtlessly steal a stop sign from a dangerous intersection and a young mother is killed in an automobile accident there.

Cormier, Robert. After the First Death.
Events of the hijacking of a bus of children by terrorists seeking the return of their homeland are described from the perspectives of a hostage, a terrorist, an Army general involved in the rescue operation, and his son, chosen as the go-between.

Cormier, Robert. The Bumblebee Flies Anyway.
Sixteen-year-old Barney has only fleeting memories about his past but, as a voluntary patient at the institute for experimental medicine, he knows he is different from the terminally ill patients surrounding him. His involvement with the bitter, slowly dying, Mazzo brings Barney hope, pain, and a moment of heroic glory.

Cormier, Robert. Tenderness.
A psychological thriller told from the points of view of a teenage serial killer and the runaway girl who falls in love with him.

Creech, Sharon. Absolutely Normal Chaos.
Thirteen-year-old Mary Lou grows up considerably during the summer while learning about romance, homesickness, death, and her cousin's search for his biological father.

Crutcher, Chris. Chinese Handcuffs.
Still troubled by his older brother's suicide, eighteen-year-old Dillon becomes deeply involved in the terrible secret of his friend Jennifer, who feels she can tell no one what her stepfather is doing to her.

Deaver, Julie Reece. Say Goodnight, Gracie.
When a car accident kills her best friend Jimmy, with whom she has shared everything from childhood escapades to breaking into the professional theater scene in Chicago, seventeen-year-old Morgan must find her own way of coping with his death.

Deuker, Carl. Heart of a Champion.
Seth faces a strain on his friendship with Jimmy, who is both a baseball champion and something of an irresponsible fool, when Jimmy is kicked off the team.

Draper, Sharon. Tears of a Tiger.
The death of high school basketball star Rob Washington in an automobile accident affects the lives of his close friend Andy, who was driving the car, and many others in the school.

Duncan, Lois. I Know What You Did Last Summer.
Four teenagers who have desperately tried to conceal their responsibility for a hit-and-run accident are pursued by a mystery figure seeking revenge.

Ewing, Lynne. Drive-By.
Twelve-year-old Tito, while helping to care for his little sister, struggles to find his way during the aftermath of his brother's death in a gang-related shooting.

Ewing, Lynne. Party Girl.
The death of her best friend Ana in a drive-by shooting causes fifteen-year-old Kata to question her position in the Los Angeles gang life.

Ferris, Jean. Invincible Summer.
Seventeen-year-old Robin, in treatment for leukemia, falls in love with a boy who also has the disease, and together they attempt to survive their ordeal.

Ferry, Charles. Binge.
When eighteen-year-old Weldon wakes up in a hospital, he must face the tragic consequences of a drinking spree.

Fleischman, Paul. Whirligig.
While traveling to each corner of the country to build a whirligig in memory of the girl whose death he causes, sixteen-year-old Brian finds forgiveness and atonement.

Fox, Paula. Eagle Kite.
Liam's father has AIDS, and his family cannot talk about it until Liam reveals a secret that he has tried to deny ever since he saw his father embracing another man at the beach.

Fox, Paula. A Place Apart.
Shortly after her father's death, Victoria and her mother move to a small village outside of Boston where she meets a wealthy teenage boy who teaches her a valuable but painful lesson about life.

Gilbert, Barbara Snow. Stone Water.
Fifteen-year-old Grant confronts the difficult decision of whether or not to cooperate with his grandfather's wish that he not be placed on life-support systems.

Glenn, Mel. Who Killed Mr. Chippendale?
Free verse poems describe the reactions of students, colleagues, and others when a high school teacher is shot to death as the school day begins.

Grant, Cynthia. Shadow Man.
Charming but reckless eighteen-year-old Gabe, drunk as usual, smashes his truck into a tree and dies, sending waves of shock and grief through his small town.

Guest, Judith. Ordinary People.
The story of how a normal family is shaken when the eldest son dies in an accident.

Hahn, Mary Downing. The Wind Blows Backward.
Although they share a love of poetry and problems with their parents, a shy high school senior's attraction to a popular classmate is tempered by her fear of his moody, self-destructive side.

Hayes, Daniel. Flyers.
While filming a movie for a school project, Gabe and his friends discover mysterious activities at a supposedly vacant house.

Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders.
The struggle of three brothers to stay together after their parent's death and their quest for identity among the conflicting values of their adolescent society.

Hite, Sid. A Hole in the World.
Fifteen-year-old Paul Shackleford experiences an eye-opening and transformative summer living and working on the central Virginia farm belonging to a distant relative, where everyone seems to be haunted by the death of a much-loved and admired farmhand the year before.

Hurwin, Davida. A Time for Dancing.
Seventeen-year-old best friends Samantha and Juliana tell their stories in alternating chapters after Juliana is diagnosed with cancer.

Klause, Annette Curtis. Silver Kiss.
A mysterious teenage boy harboring a dark secret helps Zohe come to terms with her mother's terminal illness.

Lawrence, Iain. The Lightkeeper's Daughter.
When, after a four-year absence, seventeen-year-old Squid returns to her childhood home on a remote lighthouse island off British Columbia with her young daughter in tow, she and her parents try to come to terms with each other and the painful events of the past, especially the death of her older brother.

L'Engle, Madeleine. Ring of Endless Light.
During the summer her grandfather is dying of leukemia and death seems all around, 15-year-old Vicky finds comfort with the pod of dolphins with whom she has been doing research.

Lipsyte, Robert. The Chemo Kid.
When the drugs that he takes as part of his chemotherapy suddenly transform him from wimp into superhero, sixteen-year-old Fred and his friends plot to rid the town of its most lethal environmental hazard, toxic waste in the water supply.

Lowry, Lois. A Summer to Die.
Thirteen-year-old Meg envies her sister's beauty and popularity. Her feelings don't make it any easier for her to cope with Molly's strange illness and eventual death.

Lynch, Chris. Shadow Boxer.
After their father dies of boxing injuries, George is determined to prevent his younger brother, who sees boxing as his legacy, from pursuing a career in the sport.

Mahy, Margaret. Memory.
On the fifth anniversary of his older sister's death, nineteen-year-old Jonny Dart, troubled by feelings of guilt and an imperfect memory of the event, goes in search of the only other witness to the fatal accident and, through a chance meeting with a senile old woman, finds way to free himself of the past.

Mazer, Norma Fox. After the Rain.
After discovering her grandfather is dying, fifteen-year-old Rachel gets to know him better than ever before and finds the experience bittersweet.

McDaniel, Lurlene.
McDaniel's books deal with the sickness and death of loved ones from a teen's point of view.

McDonald, Joyce. Swallowing Stones.
Dual perspectives reveal the aftermath of seventeen-year-old Michael MacKenzie's birthday celebration during which he discharges an antique Winchester rifle and unknowingly kills the father of high school classmate Jenna Ward.

Mori, Kyoko. Shizuko's Daughter.
After her mother's suicide when she is twelve years old, Yuki spends years living with her distant father and his resentful new wife, cut off from her mother's family, and relying on her own inner strength to cope with the tragedy.

Newth, Mette. The Dark Light.
While enduring a bleak existence in a hospital for lepers in Norway during the early 1800s, thirteen-year-old Tora tries to find meaning in a life surrounded by death.

Nolan, Han. Dancing on the Edge.
A young girl from a dysfunctional family creates for herself an alternative world which nearly results in her death but which ultimately leads her to reality.

Paulsen, Gary. The Monument.
Thirteen-year-old Rocky, self-conscious about the braces on her leg, has her life changed by the remarkable artist who comes to her small Kansas town to design a war memorial.

Rodowsky, Colby F. Remembering Mog.
After graduating from a private high school in Baltimore, Annie comes to terms with the loss of her sister who had been murdered two years earlier.

Slade, Arthur. Tribes.
For Percy, the loss of his father and the suicide of his best friend build to a head during the last week before high school graduation.

Warner, Sally. Sort of Forever.
Twelve-year-olds Cady and Nana explore the strengths of their special friendship as they cope with Nana's cancer.

Wolff, Virginia Euwer. Probably Still Nick Swansen.
Sixteen-year-old learning-disabled Nick struggles to endure a life in which the other kids make fun of him, he has to take special classes, his date for the prom makes an excuse not to go with him, and he is haunted by the memory of his older sister who drowned while he was watching.

Zeises, Lara M. Bringing Up the Bones.
Bridget Edelstein mourns the loss of her high school boyfriend who died in a car crash, and rebounds with a new love.

Zindel, Paul. A Begonia for Miss Applebaum.
Discovering that their beloved former teacher Miss Applebaum is terminally ill, fifteen-year-old Henry and his friend Zelda accompany her on her excursions to the colorful parts of New York City and join her in confronting death with quiet courage.

updated 1/2006