Creative Writing Forums
- Figment.com: an interactive creative writing forum for teens! Chat with published authors, write fanfiction, and win awesome prizes!
- Teenink.com: your work could be included in an online literary magazine. Share your articles, publish your work, and benefit from the infinite writing wisdom of your peers.
Writing Contests
- Scholastic Art & Writing Awards: submit your poem, play, short story, or art to a national competition. The top authors and artists win a trip to Carnegie Hall and a whole heap of glory.
- The Norman Mailer High School and College Writing Awards: your fantastic piece of creative non-fiction will be judged by a panel of teachers and published writers and could win a cash prize.
Formatting Resources
- MLA Formatting and Style Guide: everything you need to know about citing sources properly and professionally.
-------Ms. Gordon's Book Recommendations--------
REALISTIC FICTION
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
A unique, quirky twist on the archetypal adventure story. Jonathan Safran Foer sets out to find the woman who may or may not have saved his grandfather from the Nazis. He is accompanied by some very strange but endearing sidekicks, including an old man haunted by memories of the war, a dog, and a Ukrainian translator. He uses letters and odd artifacts to guide his journey—some of the “translations” are fairly hilarious.
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. Eleanor is a bookish outcast with a fascinating wit and charm that capture Park, a quiet kid with a passion for comic books. Though they come from drastically different families, their love is unique beyond compare. This book is full of hilarious dialogue, references to great books and music, and totally realistic high school moments.
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Cath has been obsessed with the Simon Snow books for as long as she can remember. She's not just a fan, she is THE fan, to the extent that her fanfiction has developed an online fan-base of thousands of people. But when Cath and her twin sister graduate high school and head off to college, Cath suddenly has to juggle her obsession with real life. It gets harder and harder to stay true to Simon as Cath navigates a disdainful writing professor, her increasingly distant relationship with her wild twin sister, the boy she simply can't get out her head, and the fan-base that she can't bear to let down. You'll read this again and again!
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement. - Goodreads.com
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon
Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, fifteen-year-old Christopher is autistic and everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. He lives on patterns, rules, and a diagram kept in his pocket. Then one day, a neighbor's dog, Wellington, is killed and his carefully constructive universe is threatened. Christopher sets out to solve the murder in the style of his favorite (logical) detective, Sherlock Holmes. What follows makes for a novel that is deeply funny, poignant, and fascinating in its portrayal of a person whose curse and blessing are a mind that perceives the world entirely literally. - Goodreads.com
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
This is the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by acclaimed artist Ellen Forney, that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live. - Goodreads.com
Anything by the quirky, hilarious, and profound John Green:
The Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns
Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira
It begins as an assignment for English class: Write a letter to a dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him. And he died young, just like May did. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to people like Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Amelia Earhart, Heath Ledger, and more; though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating new friendships, falling in love for the first time, learning to live with her splintering family. And, finally, about the abuse she suffered while May was supposed to be looking out for her. Only then, once Laurel has written down the truth about what happened to herself, can she truly begin to accept what happened to May. And only when Laurel has begun to see her sister as the person she was; lovely and amazing and deeply flawed; can she begin to discover her own path. - Goodreads.com
FANTASY
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Lyra Belacqua is one of the most kick-butt protagonists to ever grace the pages of a novel. She is fiercely headstrong, intensely emotional, and unrelentingly loyal. Lyra grows up “orphaned” among the scholars of Jordan College at Oxford University, and her life runs normally until children start disappearing and two strange visitors arrive. Soon, Lyra is embroiled in a search for the truth and a fight for her life that includes the hidden mysteries of the Church, wandering gypsies, proud Arctic warrior bears, long-lived flying witches, and the possibility of a rift that could exist between different worlds.
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
A typically thrilling investigative adventure wherein a young woman finds a cache of letters while searching through her late father’s belongings late one night. Her discovery plunges her into a world she never dreamed of – a maze of clues that takes her all over Eastern Europe where the secrets of her father’s past and her mother’s mysterious fate connect to an evil hidden in the depths of history.
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Cinder is a gifted mechanic in a world of the distant future--a world populated by humans, androids, and cyborgs. Cinder, much to her dismay and shame, is one of those cyborgs, but try as she does to hide her true nature, her involvement in an intergalactic struggle forces her to "uncover secrets of her past in order to save the world's future." Action-packed, funny, sarcastic, and wish a dash of romance, this is a great read for anyone who likes a futuristic twist on an old fairy tale.
Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor
Karou has always known she was different, not only because she knows several different types of martial arts and is a superb artist, but because she runs mysterious errands for her closest friend and mentor: a creature with the head of a bull, the eyes of a lizard, the torso of a man, and the legs of a fawn. Karou never knows just how different she is, however, until she is visited by someone from her past, and Karou realizes that she is not really of this world at all...This is funny, heartbreaking, and wildly imaginative.
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka. Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite—the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free? The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfill her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him. But what of Mal, Alina’s childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can’t she ever quite forget him? - Goodreads.com
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
"If you ain't scared, you ain't human." When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He's surrounded by strangers--boys whose memories are also gone. Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It's the only way out--and no one's ever made it through alive. Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying. - Goodreads.com
Sabriel by Garth Nix
Although Sabriel has lived most of her life "across the Wall" at a boarding school free of magic, her father is a necromancer, known far and wide as the only man who can put evil spirits to rest in the land of the Dead. When Sabriel's father goes missing, however, it is her job to find him, take up his helm, and to lead a battle against the ancient and powerful forces attempting to take over the Old Kingdom. This is one of my absolute favorites--Sabriel is a fierce, fearless protagonist with some very snarky sidekicks, and the magic in this book is unlike that of any other. In particular, Sabriel wields a fascinating set of bells that she uses in various combinations to banish the Dead. A thrilling read.
HIGH FANTASY
The Mistborn Trilogy by Brian Sanderson
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
CLASSICS
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
A beautifully written book about an Irish immigrant family that moves to Brooklyn and tries to “make it.” Amidst the typical obstacles Francie Nolan, the protagonist, is sharp, profound, well-read, and very, very real. One of my absolute favorites.
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith A novel in the style of Jane Austen about a girl who lives in a rundown castle with her family and starts a journal to capture the quirky goings-on. There’s a little bit of everything: love, philosophy, history, and hilarity. A very winning protagonist.
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Dark, beautifully written, and deliciously terrifying. A fashionable young man in late-19th century London sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. He watches as his deteriorating morality is reflected not in his face, but in his portrait, which is hidden away in the attic—but not for long.
Emma by Jane Austen
Emma, the main character, is witty, beautiful, and very no-nonsense. She also thinks of herself as a superb matchmaker, although she would never think of marrying anyone herself. That is, until she realizes that she's been hiding her true feelings (for one man in particular) from herself for a long time. I love this book mostly because it paints such detailed portraits of the characters--it is funny and romantic, and sometimes infuriating, just because Emma makes such silly decisions sometimes!
GRAPHIC NOVELS
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Persepolis is the story of Satrapi's unforgettable childhood and coming of age within a large and loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution; of the contradictions between private life and public life in a country plagued by political upheaval; of her high school years in Vienna facing the trials of adolescence far from her family; of her homecoming--both sweet and terrible; and, finally, of her self-imposed exile from her beloved homeland. It is the chronicle of a girlhood and adolescence at once outrageous and familiar, a young life entwined with the history of her country yet filled with the universal trials and joys of growing up. - Goodreads.com
Maus by Art Spiegelman
By addressing the horror of the Holocaust through cartoons, the author captures the everyday reality of fear and is able to explore the guilt, relief and extraordinary sensation of survival - and how the children of survivors are in their own way affected by the trials of their parents. A contemporary classic of immeasurable significance. - Goodreads.com
Recommended by 9th Grade Students:
- The Running Dream by Wendelin van Draanen
- The Cirque du Freak series by Darren Shan
- Anything by Agatha Christie (ex// Murder on the Orient Express)
- Figment.com: an interactive creative writing forum for teens! Chat with published authors, write fanfiction, and win awesome prizes!
- Teenink.com: your work could be included in an online literary magazine. Share your articles, publish your work, and benefit from the infinite writing wisdom of your peers.
Writing Contests
- Scholastic Art & Writing Awards: submit your poem, play, short story, or art to a national competition. The top authors and artists win a trip to Carnegie Hall and a whole heap of glory.
- The Norman Mailer High School and College Writing Awards: your fantastic piece of creative non-fiction will be judged by a panel of teachers and published writers and could win a cash prize.
Formatting Resources
- MLA Formatting and Style Guide: everything you need to know about citing sources properly and professionally.
-------Ms. Gordon's Book Recommendations--------
REALISTIC FICTION
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
A unique, quirky twist on the archetypal adventure story. Jonathan Safran Foer sets out to find the woman who may or may not have saved his grandfather from the Nazis. He is accompanied by some very strange but endearing sidekicks, including an old man haunted by memories of the war, a dog, and a Ukrainian translator. He uses letters and odd artifacts to guide his journey—some of the “translations” are fairly hilarious.
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. Eleanor is a bookish outcast with a fascinating wit and charm that capture Park, a quiet kid with a passion for comic books. Though they come from drastically different families, their love is unique beyond compare. This book is full of hilarious dialogue, references to great books and music, and totally realistic high school moments.
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Cath has been obsessed with the Simon Snow books for as long as she can remember. She's not just a fan, she is THE fan, to the extent that her fanfiction has developed an online fan-base of thousands of people. But when Cath and her twin sister graduate high school and head off to college, Cath suddenly has to juggle her obsession with real life. It gets harder and harder to stay true to Simon as Cath navigates a disdainful writing professor, her increasingly distant relationship with her wild twin sister, the boy she simply can't get out her head, and the fan-base that she can't bear to let down. You'll read this again and again!
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement. - Goodreads.com
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon
Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, fifteen-year-old Christopher is autistic and everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. He lives on patterns, rules, and a diagram kept in his pocket. Then one day, a neighbor's dog, Wellington, is killed and his carefully constructive universe is threatened. Christopher sets out to solve the murder in the style of his favorite (logical) detective, Sherlock Holmes. What follows makes for a novel that is deeply funny, poignant, and fascinating in its portrayal of a person whose curse and blessing are a mind that perceives the world entirely literally. - Goodreads.com
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
This is the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by acclaimed artist Ellen Forney, that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live. - Goodreads.com
Anything by the quirky, hilarious, and profound John Green:
The Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns
Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira
It begins as an assignment for English class: Write a letter to a dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him. And he died young, just like May did. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to people like Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Amelia Earhart, Heath Ledger, and more; though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating new friendships, falling in love for the first time, learning to live with her splintering family. And, finally, about the abuse she suffered while May was supposed to be looking out for her. Only then, once Laurel has written down the truth about what happened to herself, can she truly begin to accept what happened to May. And only when Laurel has begun to see her sister as the person she was; lovely and amazing and deeply flawed; can she begin to discover her own path. - Goodreads.com
FANTASY
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Lyra Belacqua is one of the most kick-butt protagonists to ever grace the pages of a novel. She is fiercely headstrong, intensely emotional, and unrelentingly loyal. Lyra grows up “orphaned” among the scholars of Jordan College at Oxford University, and her life runs normally until children start disappearing and two strange visitors arrive. Soon, Lyra is embroiled in a search for the truth and a fight for her life that includes the hidden mysteries of the Church, wandering gypsies, proud Arctic warrior bears, long-lived flying witches, and the possibility of a rift that could exist between different worlds.
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
A typically thrilling investigative adventure wherein a young woman finds a cache of letters while searching through her late father’s belongings late one night. Her discovery plunges her into a world she never dreamed of – a maze of clues that takes her all over Eastern Europe where the secrets of her father’s past and her mother’s mysterious fate connect to an evil hidden in the depths of history.
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Cinder is a gifted mechanic in a world of the distant future--a world populated by humans, androids, and cyborgs. Cinder, much to her dismay and shame, is one of those cyborgs, but try as she does to hide her true nature, her involvement in an intergalactic struggle forces her to "uncover secrets of her past in order to save the world's future." Action-packed, funny, sarcastic, and wish a dash of romance, this is a great read for anyone who likes a futuristic twist on an old fairy tale.
Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor
Karou has always known she was different, not only because she knows several different types of martial arts and is a superb artist, but because she runs mysterious errands for her closest friend and mentor: a creature with the head of a bull, the eyes of a lizard, the torso of a man, and the legs of a fawn. Karou never knows just how different she is, however, until she is visited by someone from her past, and Karou realizes that she is not really of this world at all...This is funny, heartbreaking, and wildly imaginative.
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka. Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite—the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free? The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfill her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him. But what of Mal, Alina’s childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can’t she ever quite forget him? - Goodreads.com
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
"If you ain't scared, you ain't human." When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He's surrounded by strangers--boys whose memories are also gone. Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It's the only way out--and no one's ever made it through alive. Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying. - Goodreads.com
Sabriel by Garth Nix
Although Sabriel has lived most of her life "across the Wall" at a boarding school free of magic, her father is a necromancer, known far and wide as the only man who can put evil spirits to rest in the land of the Dead. When Sabriel's father goes missing, however, it is her job to find him, take up his helm, and to lead a battle against the ancient and powerful forces attempting to take over the Old Kingdom. This is one of my absolute favorites--Sabriel is a fierce, fearless protagonist with some very snarky sidekicks, and the magic in this book is unlike that of any other. In particular, Sabriel wields a fascinating set of bells that she uses in various combinations to banish the Dead. A thrilling read.
HIGH FANTASY
The Mistborn Trilogy by Brian Sanderson
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
CLASSICS
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
A beautifully written book about an Irish immigrant family that moves to Brooklyn and tries to “make it.” Amidst the typical obstacles Francie Nolan, the protagonist, is sharp, profound, well-read, and very, very real. One of my absolute favorites.
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith A novel in the style of Jane Austen about a girl who lives in a rundown castle with her family and starts a journal to capture the quirky goings-on. There’s a little bit of everything: love, philosophy, history, and hilarity. A very winning protagonist.
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Dark, beautifully written, and deliciously terrifying. A fashionable young man in late-19th century London sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. He watches as his deteriorating morality is reflected not in his face, but in his portrait, which is hidden away in the attic—but not for long.
Emma by Jane Austen
Emma, the main character, is witty, beautiful, and very no-nonsense. She also thinks of herself as a superb matchmaker, although she would never think of marrying anyone herself. That is, until she realizes that she's been hiding her true feelings (for one man in particular) from herself for a long time. I love this book mostly because it paints such detailed portraits of the characters--it is funny and romantic, and sometimes infuriating, just because Emma makes such silly decisions sometimes!
GRAPHIC NOVELS
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Persepolis is the story of Satrapi's unforgettable childhood and coming of age within a large and loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution; of the contradictions between private life and public life in a country plagued by political upheaval; of her high school years in Vienna facing the trials of adolescence far from her family; of her homecoming--both sweet and terrible; and, finally, of her self-imposed exile from her beloved homeland. It is the chronicle of a girlhood and adolescence at once outrageous and familiar, a young life entwined with the history of her country yet filled with the universal trials and joys of growing up. - Goodreads.com
Maus by Art Spiegelman
By addressing the horror of the Holocaust through cartoons, the author captures the everyday reality of fear and is able to explore the guilt, relief and extraordinary sensation of survival - and how the children of survivors are in their own way affected by the trials of their parents. A contemporary classic of immeasurable significance. - Goodreads.com
Recommended by 9th Grade Students:
- The Running Dream by Wendelin van Draanen
- The Cirque du Freak series by Darren Shan
- Anything by Agatha Christie (ex// Murder on the Orient Express)