Books in Playaway Top Young Adult Picks series

The world is changing--the government has seized control of almost everything and kids are disappearing. For 15 year-old Wisty and her older brother Whit, life turns upside-down when they are hauled out of bed one night, separated from their parents, and thrown into a secret compound for no reason they can comprehend, except that the new government is clearly trying to suppress Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Imprisoned together in a decrepit cell, Wisty and Whit cling to the only things they have left--a blank book, a drum stick, and each other. While searching for ways to escape, both begin exhibiting strange abilities. Maybe there is a reason they were singled out! Can Wisty and Whit, a witch and a wizard, master their skills in time to save themselves, their parents--and maybe the world? From James Patterson, the creator of the bestselling Maximum Ride and Daniel X novels, comes WITCH & WIZARD, his most terrifying and awe-inspiring series yet.

“Dead girl walking,” the boys say in the halls. “Tell us your secret,” the girls whisper, one toilet to another. I am that girl. I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through. I am the bones they want, wired on a porcelain frame. Lia and Cassie were best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies. But now Cassie is dead. Lia's mother is busy saving other people's lives. Her father is away on business. Her stepmother is clueless. And the voice inside Lia's head keeps telling her to remain in control, stay strong, lose more, weigh less. If she keeps on going this way – thin, thinner, thinnest – maybe she'll disappear altogether. In her most emotionally wrenching, lyrically written book since the National Book Award finalist Speak, best-selling author Laurie Halse Anderson explores one girl's chilling descent into the all-consuming vortex of anorexia. Winner of the Margaret A. Edwards Award 2009

From the Pulitzer Prize-winner Oscar Hijuelos comes a novel about identity, circumstance, and a way in which we all struggle to accept our true selves. In gritty, clear prose, Dark Dude captures New York City in the 1960s-violent, decaying, slouching away from the American Dream-and brings to life a character who has no choice but to head out west in search of something better. But, when Rico and his ex-druggie friend arrive in Wisconsin, they discover that picket-fenced apple-pie people can be just as violent and judgmental as the neighbors they left behind. No longer an outsider by appearances, Rico is forced to swallow an uncomfortable truth: he is still an outsider.

Renée Michel is the 54-year-old concierge of a luxury Paris apartment building. Her exterior (“short, ugly, and plump”) and demeanor (“poor, discreet, and insignificant”) belie her keen, questing mind and profound erudition. Paloma Josse is a 12-year-old genius who behaves as everyone expects her to behave: a mediocre pre-teen high on adolescent subculture, a good but not outstanding student, an obedient if obstinate daughter. She plans to kill herself on the sixteenth of June, her thirteenth birthday. Both Renée and Paloma hide their true talents and finest qualities from the bourgeois families around them, until a wealthy Japanese gentleman named Ozu moves into building. Only he sees through them, perceiving the secret that haunts Renée, winning Paloma's trust, and helping the two discover their kindred souls. Moving, funny, tender, and triumphant, Barbery's novel exalts the quiet victories of the inconspicuous among us.

Fledgling vampyre Zoey Redbird has managed to settle in at the House of Night. She's come to terms with the vast powers the vampyre goddess, Nyx, has given her, and is getting a handle on being the new Leader of the Dark Daughters. Best of all, Zoey finally feels like she belongs-like she really fits in. She actually has a boyfriend. . . or two. Then the unthinkable happens: Human teenagers are being killed, and all the evidence points to the House of Night. While danger stalks the humans from Zoey's old life, she begins to realize that the very powers that make her so unique might also threaten those she loves. Then, when she needs her new friends the most, death strikes the House of Night, and Zoey must find the courage to face a betrayal that could break her heart, her soul, and jeopardize the very fabric of her world.

“When all choice is taken from you, life becomes a game of survival.” Five teenagers from different parts of the country. Three girls. Two guys. Four straight. One gay. Some rich. Some poor. Some from great families. Some with no one at all. All living their lives as best they can, but all searching ... for freedom, safety, community, family, love. What they don't expect, though, is all that can happen when those powerful little words “I love you” are said for all the wrong reasons. Five moving stories remain separate at first, then interweave to tell a larger, powerful story, a story about making choices, taking leaps of faith, falling down, and growing up. A story about kids figuring out what sex and love are all about, at all costs, while asking themselves, “Can I ever feel okay about myself?”

Ty Lewis is elated when the school coach recruits him for the football team. Unfortunately, Ty's Uncle Gus – his guardian since the death of Ty's parents – insists the boy has no time for sports. He has to earn his keep by scrubbing toilets for Gus's cleaning service. Ty's only relief comes in his too-rare visits with his brother Thane, a college football star headed for the NFL. But when one of Gus's clients, who happens to be the local mob boss, finds out how famous Thane is, things spiral out of control. As the tension mounts, Ty finds himself trapped in a dangerous web where the stakes are high and one false move could destroy his brother's career. Once again former NFL star Tim Green uses his insider's knowledge of football to craft a spellbinding sports novel – made even more compelling here by his skillful work as the story's narrator.

Sixteen-year-old Wendy Darling and her insecure freshman brother, John, are hitting the books at the Marlowe School. But one tome consumes their attention: The Book of Gates, a coveted Egyptian artifact that their professor father believes has magical powers. Soon Wendy and John discover that the legend is real – when they recite from its pages and descend into a snaking realm beneath the Manhattan school. As the hallways darken, and dead moths cake the floor, a charismatic new R. A. named Peter reveals that their actions have unleashed a terrible consequence: the underworld and all its evil is now seeping into Marlowe. Daniel Nayeri and Dina Nayeri return to reimagine Peter Pan as a twisty, atmospheric, and fast-paced fantasy about the perils of immortality.