Good Nonfiction Books for Teens If you liked these books, you might also enjoy… Good Nonfiction Books for Teens, Version 2.0 Travels Through Time: Nonfiction History Books for Teens Adventure and Travel 796.522 KRA Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer1997 A gripping account of climbers trapped in a snowstorm on Mount Everest in 1996. 797.23 CHO The Last Dive: A Father and Son’s Fatal Descent into the Ocean’s Depths by Bernie Chowdhury2000 The tragic story of a father/son dive team trying to reach a German U-Boat off the coast of New York in 1992. 904.7 REA Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read1974 A rugby team from Uruguay crashes their plane into the Andes and survives. Made into a movie of the same title. 910.45 CAL Adrift: Seventy-six Days Lost at Sea by Steven Callahan1986 Seventy-six days lost at sea, fighting off dehydration, starvation, and even sharks. 910.453 LOR A Night to Remember by Walter Lord1955 The story of the sinking of the Titanic. 910.92 PEL The Adventurist: My Life in Dangerous Places by Robert Young Pelton2000 Adventures in the world’s most perilous places. 917.98 KRA Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer1996 A young man tests himself in the wilderness, with a tragic ending. 958.6 CHI Over the Edge: The True Story of Four American Climbers’ Kidnap and Escape in the Mountains of Central Asia by Greg Child2002 Four young rock climbers are captured at gunpoint in the mountains of Central Asia. 974.45 JUN The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men against the Sea by Sebastian Junger1997 The dramatic story of a fishing boat stranded in the middle of the “storm of the century.” Made into a movie of the same title. Animals 599.67 MAC The Cowboy and His Elephant: The Story of a Remarkable Friendship by Malcolm MacPherson2001 A touching story of a friendship between a cowboy and his adopted African elephant. 636.083 HER All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot1972 Heartwarming stories of animals from an English veterinarian. 636.7 KAT A Dog Year: Twelve Months, Four Dogs, and Me by Jon Katz2002 The author humorously shares life lessons he has learned through his dogs. 636.7537 MAR A Dog Called Perth: The True Story of a Beagle by Peter Martin2001 The story of a precocious and strong-willed beagle. History 338.761 KAT Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho by Jon Katz2000 The story of two computer nerds who broke out of a desperate circumstance. 940.5421 AMB Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne: From Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest by Stephen Ambrose1992 The saga of Easy Company, an elite fighting company, during World War II. Made into an HBO movie of the same title. 940.5459 STA In Harms Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors by Doug Stanton2001 The dramatic story of the crew of the USS Indianapolis, who spent five days in shark-infested waters after their boat sank. 940.5472 HOU Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience during and after the World War II Internment by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston1973 The author recalls her life as a 7-year-old in an internment camp during World War II. 967.73 BOW Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War by Mark Bowden1999 Ninety-nine elite American soldiers are trapped in the hostile city of Mogadishu in 1993. Made into a movie of the same title. 977.311 COW To Sleep with the Angels: The Story of a Fire by David Cowan1996 The story of a fire at a Chicago school in which 92 students were killed. Music 781.66092 BAB Babes in Toyland: The Making and Selling of a Rock and Roll Band by Neal Karlen1994 A behind-the-scenes look at three young women trying to break into the tough world of rock and roll. Biography COBAIN, K. Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain by Charles R. Cross2001 An in-depth biography of a tormented rock star. Biography COBAIN, K. Journals by Kurt Cobain2002 Journal entries by Kurt Cobain from the late 1980s until his death in 1994. Biography GUTHRIE, W. This Land Was Made for You and Me: The Life and Songs of Woody Guthrie by Elizabeth Partridge2002 A biography of famous folk singer Woody Guthrie. Biography MORRISON, J. No One Here Gets Out Alive by Jerry Hopkins1981 The life of Jim Morrison of the Doors. PB YA NF DAV Hammer of the Gods by Stephen Davis1985 The Led Zeppelin saga. Real Life Stories 305.4 MAH Not Without My Daughter by Betty Mahmoody1987 An American woman’s escape from Iran with her daughter. Made into a movie of the same title. 305.42 SAS Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia by Jean P. Sasson1992 A first-hand story of the repression of women in Saudi society told by a Saudi Arabian princess. 362.19 MAC The Fire That Will Not Die by Michele McBride1979 A survivor of the fire at Our Lady of the Angels school in Chicago tells her story. 362.1969 GRE Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy1994 Sensitive Lucy deals with disfigurement and rejection. 364.1523 DUN Who Killed My Daughter? by Lois Duncan1992 The story of a mother searching for her daughter’s killer. 364.36 SIK 8 Ball Chicks: A Year in the Violent World of Girl Gangsters by Gini Sikes1997 A compelling account of girl gangs in Los Angeles, San Antonio and Milwaukee. 370.19342 BEA Warriors Don’t Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock’s Central High by Melba Beals1994 The author’s personal account of integrating Little Rock High School in 1957. 371.1 JOH My Posse Don’t Do Homework by LouAnne Johnson1992 An inner-city teacher’s first years at a high school in California. Made into a movie called Dangerous Minds. 372.11 COD Educating Esme: Diary of a Teacher’s First Year by Esme Raji Codell1999 A teacher’s first year in an inner-city fifth grade classroom. 373.18 CAR Black Ice by Lorene Cary1991 The author recalls her years as a black student at an exclusive formerly all-white New England boarding school. 616.89 KAY Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen1993 An account of the nearly two years the author spent in a mental institution. Made into a movie of the same title. 618.928 HAY One Child by Torey L. Hayden1980 A special education teacher describes one year in her unusual classroom. 618.9237 DEF Alex, the Life of a Child by Frank Deford1983 An uplifting story of a family’s battle with illness. Biography EGGERS, D. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers2000 A college senior must raise his 8-year-old brother. Biography HICKAM, H. Rocket Boys: A Memoir by Homer H. Hickam1998 A young man in a small coal-mining town dreams of launching rockets into outer space. Made into a movie called October Sky. Biography KIMMEL, H. A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland, Indiana by Haven Kimmel2001 A quirky 1970s childhood in small town America. Biography MEBANE, M. Mary by Mary E. Mebane1981 A black girl vows to escape the segregated South in the 1930s. Biography SANTIAGO, E. When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago1994 A 14-year-old’s journey from rural San Juan to New York City’s High School of Performing Arts. PB NF APP Roommates: My Grandfather’s Story by Max Apple1995 Graduate student Max’s 93-year-old grandfather becomes his roommate. YA NF ALI The Greatest: Muhammad Ali by Walter Dean Myers2001 A biography of one of the greatest fighters of all time. YA NF GOT Stick Figure: A Diary of My Former Self by Lori Gottlieb2000 The surprisingly upbeat memoir of an anorexic teenager. YA NF JIA Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution by Ji-li Jiang1997 Growing up under the Cultural Revolution in China. YA NF MAH Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah1999 An autobiography of a young Chinese girl whose life was ruled by her cruel stepmother. YA NF TAR Katie.com: My Story by Katherine Tarbox2000 One girl’s true story of being victimized by an online pedophile and how she fought back. PB YA NF JAC I Have Lived a Thousand Years: Growing Up in the Holocaust by Livia Bitton Jackson1997 The memoir of a teenage girl at Auschwitz during World War II. PB YA NF WOL This Boy’s Life: A Memoir by Tobias Wolff1989 Toby’s divorced mother gravitates toward men who make his life miserable. Made into a movie of the same title. Science 614.57 PRE The Hot Zone by Richard Preston1994 The chilling story of an Ebola virus outbreak in a suburban Washington, D.C. laboratory. Sports 796.323 BLA In These Girls, Hope Is a Muscle by Madeleine Blais1995 The championship season of a girls’ high school basketball team. 796.323 COL Counting Coup: A True Story of Basketball and Honor on the Little Big Horn by Larry Colton2000 A portrait of a group of American Indian girls united by their love of basketball. 796.323 CON My Losing Season by Pat Conroy2002 The story of the author’s losing 1966–67 basketball season at the Citadel and how it become a source of strength and inspiration. 798.8 PAU Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod by Gary Paulsen1994 The author’s humorous account of training for and running the Iditarod. Biography ARMSTRONG, L. It’s Not about the Bike: My Journey Back to Life by Lance Armstrong2000 The autobiography of a world-class athlete who conquered cancer and won the Tour de France. Biography MORRIS, J. The Oldest Rookie: Big-League Dreams from a Small-Town Guy by Jim Morris2001 A retired minor leaguer, now a school teacher, becomes a Major League pitcher at age 35. Made into a movie called The Rookie. YA NF HAWK Hawk: Occupation: Skateboarder by Tony Hawk2000 A biography of legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk. Prepared by Lisa Bobis, June 2003