The Power of New Books

This year I applied for some grant money and was lucky enough to receive some funds for the reading program at my high school.  I applied to the grant to add books and magazines to the classroom library, which clearly hadn't been updated in quite some time (how many copies of Where the Red Fern Grows can one reading teacher own?).  I bought some class sets of books to get some new units going in Reading Lab, but I also added a lot to the classroom library.  I'm still in the process of ordering books, but every time I get new books in, the student's get so excited.  I really think Krashen has it right when he says that book floods can get students reading.  The students kept talking about how much I was spending on their books and that they had never seen so many new books in one place.  I even had kids calculating out how much they thought I spent (which then led to a discussion about book prices and how undercutting publisher pricing hurts the industry).  I've never seen so many students so excited about something as simple as new paperbacks.  The best part is that some of the students are reading the books and recommending them to me!  I'm so happy that they are excited to read and learn.

 I still have some money to spend.  I'm going to buy a couple more class book sets, but I'm sure I will have more to spend after finishing those orders.  What are some books you would recommend to my 9-12 graders?