Teen Read Week...My favorite YA titles

One of the most interesting courses I took during library school (in fact, I took it twice, both at the undergrad & grad levels) was Library Services for Young Adults.  Not only is the material written in this category entertaining, but the stories are concise enough (usually) that they can be finished in a single sitting (if you read for a couple hours at a time, like I do).  The theme for this year's Teen Read Week is Books with Beat.  I've interpreted that loosely (to include heartbeat, pulse, fetal heartbeat, etc.) and compiled my short list of great YA fiction.
Newes from the Dead (Mary Hooper)- Based on a documented event in 1650's London, Anne Green is hanged, but comes back to life, beating the odds.
November Blues (Sharon Draper)- November, about to be a teenage mother, falls in love with her baby's heartbeat.
Twilight (Stephenie Meyer) - What vampire can resist a throbbing pulse?
Are you in the house alone? (Richard Peck) - an older novel, but one that is sure to have adrenaline beating through your veins
The house of the scorpion (Nancy Farmer) - I can't quite tie this one into 'beat' but I highly recommend this futuristic sci-fi novel...a bit longer than the novels recommended above.

Also see the PCL website Teens page for library events celebrating Teen Read Week.