If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book yet. — JK Rowling
Choosing a good book is often a challenge. There are a few resources that can help students find something that they will love to read.
Destiny Catalog
The PHS library catalog 
has recommendations. You can access the catalog either from the link here or from your desktop when you log in to a computer at school. There is a “Library Catalog” icon on your desktop.
Search a book you like and select the title. Once you open the specific book and get the full listing, on the right side there is a box titled “You May Also Like.” The advantage of this method is that all the books listed are in our library.
Genres are also listed on the Destiny library catalog homepage. If you like mysteries or romance, for example, click on one of those icons and you will see a selection of those books.
Another place to look is at the bottom of the catalog homepage at the Collections. Those are lists of books in our library compiled to fit a certain theme.
Look for “Books Like…”
If you have a book you love, try Googling “books like….” or “if you loved…try” and chances are someone has created a list of books that are similar to your favorite. Some examples are:
Book Like Harry Potter
Book Like The Fault in Our Stars
Books Like Twilight
Books Like To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
Award Lists
Award winners in young adult fiction is another place to find good books. There are usually a number of different genres represented on these lists.
Best Fiction for Young Adults
Printz Award
Edwards Award
YALSA Best of the Best
Library Displays
There are themed displays in the library that change frequently. Check them out to see if anything sparks your interest. There is also a shelf with a “New Books” sign. Recent additions to the library are placed there for a few weeks so students can see what is new. The Oregon Battle of the Books display has a all of the OBOB books for the year. They are all great books and you don’t have to be an OBOB participant to check them out.
Goodreads
Goodreads is a website dedicated to books. Readers can create an account and get book recommendations based on books and genres they like. The site also has book reviews, author interviews, discussion forums, and lists like “Books Everyone Should Read,” “Books That Should Be Movies,” “Best Books in…” with lots of categories.
Ask Someone
Ask teachers, friends, family members what they are reading. Ask Amy Pallari in the library. She really likes to help students find something good to read.
