Competing with amusement parks, television and Nintendo Wii, reading isn't often a top priority for teens.

Though I've always been a voracious reader, I can understand why Melville doesn't thrill my friends; 700 pages is a bit long, especially if there's no pop quiz looming in 4th period. Besides, the local shopping mall definitely trumps the library as a hip hangout among the teen crowd.

But while enticing us to read of our own free will during the one time of year we're not locked up in school is a daunting task, here are a few books that can steal even the most reluctant readers away from Guitar Hero — if only for a few hours.

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