The following list contains books from the Virginia's Readers Choice lists, as well as student recommendations. 

 

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult  2004

First sentence:

"When I was little, the great mystery to me wasn't how babies were made, but why..."

 

Acceleration by Graham Mcnamee  2003

First sentence:

This is a nightmare.

 

Nothing to Lose by Alex Flinn  2004

First sentence:

Jury selection will begin in the case of a Miami woman accused of bludgeoning her husband to death last March.

 

Shattering Glass by Gail Giles  2004

First sentence:

Simon Glass was easy to hate.

 

Vampire High by Douglas Rees  2003

First sentence:

This all began on the day I came home with straight Fs.

 

Leaving Eden  by Anne LaClaire  2002

First sentence:

I was asleep the night mama left us, but I remember every detail of the moment she came home.

 

Jude by Kate Morgenroth  2004

First sentence:

The police arrived, then the paramedics, then the police photographer, and after that Jude lost track.

 

The Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan  2003

First sentence:

Henry got up early on the day that changed his life.

 

Double Helix by Nancy Werlin  2004

First sentence:

It was almost impossible for me to sit still—but I had to.

 

The Battle of Jericho by Sharon Draper

First sentence:

The pledge masters marched the fifteen pledges to the middle of the soggy yard.

 

  

The Teacher’s Funeral by Richard Peck  2004

First sentence:

If your teacher has to die, August isn't a bad time of year for it.

 

After by Francine Prose  2003

First sentence:

Minutes after the shootings, everybody's cell phone rang.

 

Breakout by Paul Fleischman  2003

First sentence:

The car coughed all the way down the freeway entrance, gargled raucously with each change of gear, then shivered like a fever patient when Del tried to take it above sixty.

 

Dreamland by Sharon Dessen  2000

First sentence:

When I was four and Cass was six, she whacked me across the face with a plastic shovel at our neighborhood park.

 

Define “Normal” by Julie Anne Peters  2003

First sentence:

I opened the door and froze.

 

The Sledding Hill by Chris Crutcher  2005

First sentence:

 

Jake, Reinvented by Gordon Korman  2003

First sentence:

ON A SCALE OF one to ten, this party was at least an eight.

 

Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar  2005

Summary:

This is an entertaining novel about a guy's first year of high school.  The main character is kind of an average Joe who learns he excels at some things such as writing and fighting.  His confidence leads him to stand up for himself and his friends and family when it matters.

 

Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen  2001

First sentence:

Cole Matthews knelt defiantly in the bow of the aluminum skiff as he faced forward into a cold September wind.

 

I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak  2005

Summary:

Ed is a 19-year-old taxi driver living a pretty mundane existence until he stops a bank robbery. His life changes when he starts receiving anonymous aces in the mail with messages on them that he needs to decipher and carry out.

 

When the Emperor Was Divine by 2002

First sentence:

The sign appeared overnight.

 

The Glass Castle:  A Memoir by Jeannette Walls  2005

First sentence:

I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster.

 

Stiff:  The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach  2003

First sentence:

The human head is of the same approximate size and weight as a roaster chicken.

 

The Curious Incident of the Dog at Midnight by Mark Haddon  2004

First sentence:

It was 7 minutes after midnight.

 

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini   2004

First sentence:

I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975.

 

True Confessions of a Heartless Girl by Martha Brooks  2003

First sentence:

The July storm moved down the valley, rumbling around either side of the hills and Pembina Lake.

 

Honey, Baby, Sweetheart by Deb Caletti  2004

Summary:

During the summer of her junior year, shy, quiet Ruby McQueen falls in love with the rich boy down the block. After their first motorcycle ride, Travis gives her a beautiful gold chain, and she wears it everywhere. Only later, while on a date with him, does she learn where he gets his gifts–he breaks into houses and steals jewelry.