by Christine Hurley Deriso.
In this story, five girls become friends as they deal with their feelings about their parent’s divorce and remarriage. They miss the parent they don’t live with, dislike their new step-siblings, are jealous of the new babies in the family, or resent a new “parent” who bosses them around. All of the girls have different problems but they share the feeling that no one in their family cares about the way the feel. These girls feel like real people and you will love this book, especially if you feel the way they do!
Tags: families
by Helen Frost
Diamond Willow lives with her family in Alaska. She is a shy girl who is happiest outdoors with her sled dogs. She begs her parents to let her drive the sled to her grandparent’s house. The trip involves adventure and some danger but, more importantly, causes Willow to learn some important things about herself and her family’s past.
The story is a quick read and is told in diamond shaped free verse poetry. It is as fun to look at as it is beautiful to read.
Tags: adventure, families, novel in verse
by Dale E. Basye
Marlo is a good boy but when a 20-foot-tall marshmallow bear explodes at the Mall of Generica in Kansas, he is killed along with his sister (a not so good shoplifter) and sent with her to Heck. There, they must endure life in an underworld reform school while planning their great escape. This is a funny and often grotesque adventure. Read it if you like all three of these things in a book!
Tags: adventure, humor
by Doug Wilhelm
Three middle school friends are tired of being picked on and bullied. They use the school’s email server to spread the word about what is happening to them. Will this take care of the problem or make it worse? Read this book, by a Vermont author, to find out.
Tags: bullies, school stories
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Thirteen years ago, a plane carrying 36 babies appeared at an airport. Adopted by families in town, Jonah and Chip are now receiving mysterious letters and want to learn the secret of their past. Danger, time-travel and the FBI are all involved in this book which is the beginning of a new series.
1. Found 2. Sent
Tags: adventure, science fiction, time-travel
by Roland Smith
In 1941, Nick is living with his father on their plantation in Burma when the Japanese soldiers invade. Nick’s father is captured and taken away to a prisoner of war camp. Can Nick save his father? Read this adventure story and see.
Tags: adventure, historical fiction, World War II
by Jody Feldman
Gil is taking part in the Gollywhopper Games, a test of brains and physical skill. The winner will get prize money and a scholarship but Gil also wants to win for his father, who has been accused of cheating on the Golly Toy and Game Company. If you like books with lots of action and want to solve the puzzles along with Gil, try this great book.
Tags: adventure, games
by Barbara O’Connor
What would you do if your family was homeless and you hated living in a car? When Georgina sees a Reward sign for a missing dog, she decides to steal a dog, wait for the reward sign to appear, bring the dog back, and get an apartment with the reward money. Will it work? Read this book and see.
by Kathi Appelt
You will get two stories in one when you read The Underneath. One is the story of an old hound dog who is chained up underneath a porch by his mean master. A mamma cat and her two kittens come to live with him under the porch and they struggle to survive together.
The second story is like an old legend. It is the story of an ancient shape-shifter, a snake who is scheming to get her daughter, who has changed into a human form, back.
Tags: animals, shape-shifters, survival
By Nathan D. Wilson
When Henry is sent to stay with his aunt and uncle, he finds a bit of a cupboard door behind the plaster on one wall. So he begins to chip off the plaster and discovers more, and more, and more cupboards. Each cupboard door opens onto a different universe to explore. Read this book for adventures and chills. Continue the adventure in the next book, Dandelion Fire.
Tags: adventure, fantasy, magic
By Wendy Mass
Three teens, Ally, Bree, and Jack, meet at the Moon Shadow Campground to witness a total eclipse of the sun. They are very different people and are there for different reasons. Each chapter is told by a different teen, and as the book progresses, we see how they grow and change.
Tags: eclipses
By Gary Paulsen
Hatchet is, perhaps, the best known survival novel and it’s been a favorite book for more than 20 years. It tells the story of Brian, who was flying on a small plane to his father’s house in Canada when the pilot had a heart attack and the plane crashed. Brian must survive on his own in the remote land while waiting for someone to find and rescue him. If you like this story there are other books in the series featuring Brian.
(1) Hatchet (2) The River (3) Brian’s Winter (4) Brian’s Return (5) Brian’s Hunt
Tags: adventure, survival
Ann E. Burg
Matt should feel safe now. After living in warn-torn Vietnam for most of his young life, he is now safe with his adoptive family in the United States. Instead, he has nightmares about the bombs that maimed his little brother. He is afraid that his new parents will get rid of him just as his mother did when she pushed him onto the helicopter that took him out of the war zone. This book is both terribly sad and hopeful as it tells the story of the boy who is trying to find a new place for himself while holding on to the hope that he will someday see his mother and brother again.
Tags: adoption, baseball, Vietnam, war
by Edith M. Hemingway
Annie’s father is in Germany with the Air Force so Annie and her pregnant mother are staying with her grandparents. When the baby is born early and dies, her mother is lost in grief. Annie feels alone and lost as well until she meets a women who is living in secret in the old house on the hill.
Tags: families, grief
by Joseph Bruchac
Paul and his grandfather have been captured by a group of reality show filmmakers who want to be taken to the home of a legendary Native American monster on top of Mt. Washington. Will the monster kill them when they reach his nest? Will the filmmakers let them go once the show is over? Read this book to find out.
Tags: adventure, monsters, Native Americans
by Rebecca Stead
Things in Miranda’s life are getting strange! A naked man runs in the streets so she can not go outside at school. A homeless man moves in on her street and spends the time with his head under a mailbox. Her best friend is punched in the stomach as they walk home from school and he won’t even speak to her anymore. One day, she receives a note, “I am coming to save your friend’s life and my own.” More notes come and the person who is sending them seems to know Miranda’s future. Who is sending the notes? How does he know what is going to happen? Read this book to see if you can solve the mystery.
Tags: time-travel
by MJ Auch
Norman wants to grow up to be a major league baseball player. He’s pretty good and he might have had a shot…until he lost his left hand in an accident while helping his father in their family store. This story is about his first year without his arm and how he learned to live his life one-handed.
Tags: accidents, baseball
by Marie Rutkoski
Petra father can make magical things with metal. He made Petra a spider that can move and talk. He made the prince a clock that can change the weather. The prince doesn’t want her father to build anyone else such a wondrous thing so he takes her father’s eyes. Petra and her spider secretly travel to the castle to get her father’s eyes back. Read this fantasy story, which is the start of a new series, to find out if she succeeds.
Tags: adventure, fantasy
by Christine Hurley Deriso.
