Ages 14 and up

Heart of a Champion, by Carl Deuker. 208 pages. Ages 14 and up. Boys who play baseball will be mesmerized by this book. This is an unusually intense story. Real life, compelling teenage themes: Competing, drinking, friendships, loss, family. This is the story of two teenage boys, and how their experiences change each one of them forever. Seth first meets Jimmy in a park, watching Jimmy's father put him through one difficult baseball drill after another. Jimmy's competitive spirit to play baseball rubs off on Seth, who also becomes a good ball player. Both boys struggle desperately with their inner demons. Great baseball descriptions, compelling, intense character development, important real life teenage issues. This is a bittersweet, hard to put down, and impactful story.

Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer. 332 pages. Ages 14 and up. This is the harrowing account of the disastrous 1996 Mount Everest climbing expedition. The book is written by one of the climbers who narrowly survived brain damage and being frozen to death. In May of 1996, an expedition to climb the tallest peak on the planet encountered a rogue snowstorm, trapping climbers above and below it. Of the eleven members of the expedition that started the climb, only six came back alive. Krakauer vividly recounts the harrowing experiences he and others endured as they strove to reach the summit, 29,000 feet above sea level, through oxygen depleted air, and sub freezing temperatures. Acts of heroism, selfishness and cowardice reveal the heights and depths of the human condition. Photos from the expedition help to portray the vastness of Everest, and puts a human face on the climbers.