Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Lost in the middle of the Canadian wilderness, a lone teenage boy, Brian, discovers what type of person he really is. In route to his father who lives in a small Canadian town, the pilot of Brian's plane has a sudden heart attack, forcing Brian to crash land. Barely alive, Brian must nurse himself back to life and survive by himself with his only possession, his hatchet. But things start to look up for him; he builds a shelter, learns what to eat and most of all, he learns how to survive. But as we all know, life never seems to let everything be fine for very long. A couple of weeks later, everything Brian created is destroyed, leaving him to rebuild once again.Through his struggles we learn more about Brian and what it will take for him to come back to civilization, alive.

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Hatchet by Gary Paulsen has been a teen favorite for many years. It is a great read for those looking for adventure, survival and the strength of human will. Paulsen creates the scenes as you are surviving along with Brian; facing the same struggles he does. Other books following the story of Brian in Hatchet include The River, Brian's Winter, Brian's Hunt and Brian's Return.

~ Jerome the Fighting Caterpillar

Anna, the (Not So Friendly) Ghost

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake is not your average boy-meets-girl story—the boy, Cas, is a seventeen year old ghost hunter, and the girl, Anna, is a vicious spirit who murders anyone who enters her house. Sounds scary, right? But beneath the horror-story shell is a beautiful, sad, and moving tale about the struggle of choosing between one's obligations and desires.

 Theseus Cassio Lowood, nicknamed Cas, inherited a knife called the athame when his ghost hunter father was gruesomely murdered by a mysterious spirit. With the athame, Cas kills ghosts that are still wandering the earth, even though he isn't quite sure exactly what kind of afterlife he's sending them to.