Librarian Smith

by Gary D. Schmidt (author of the Wednesday Wars & Okay for Now)

Turner (a.k.a. the Buckminister Boy) is not fitting into the new town where his father has just become minister.  They play baseball different, he keeps getting into trouble with the townspeople, and the other guys in town already don’t like him.  Things turn up when he meets Lizzie Bright, a larger-than-life girl who lives on nearby Malaga Island… until he finds out that the townspeople, with the support of his father, are kicking the people off Malaga Island, because they are African American and poor, in order to build hotels.

The three star rating is mostly because I didn’t like the ending….. read and decide for yourself how good it is!

2004. Newbery Honor Book, 2005. Printz Honor Book, 2005. ISBN 0553494953.

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Baseball, Family problems, Gary D. Schmidt, Historical Fiction, Maine, Male Protagonists, Newbery Honor Book, Printz Honor Book, Racial Segregation, Racism, Small towns

by Marissa Meyer

A cyborg cinderella.  An epidemic overtaking earth.  An evil lunar queen.

A must-read.

2012. ISBN 0312641893.

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Cinderella story, Cyborgs, Epidemic, Fantasy, Futuristic, Marissa Meyer, Romance, Science fiction, set in Asia, Suspenseful

by Gene Luen Yang

Jin Wang is the new kid in town, facing name-calling and mocking for being the only Chinese American at his new school.  The Monkey King is out for revenge after being denied admission to a dinner party of other powerful rulers.  Danny is trying to survive humiliation caused by his visiting cousin Chin-Kee’s loud and boisterous behavior at his school.

Author Gene Luen Yang craftfully brings these three tales together in this amazing graphic novel, winner of the 2007 Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature — the first graphic novel to win such an award.

2006. ISBN 1596431520. Winner of the Printz award, 2007.

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Alternating point of view, Chinese American, Chinese Culture, Fiction, Fitting in, Gene Luen Yang, Graphic Novel, Male Protagonists, Printz award winner

by Michael Scott

Nicholas Flamel (a.k.a. the Alchemyst) and his wife, Perenelle, are immortal because of an ancient book, the Codex.  Of course, they have been on the run for thousands of years from Dr. John Dee, who has been hunting them down to steal the book.  When Dr. John Dee finds them, 15 year old twins Sophie and Josh are in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Or are they?  The Codex does speak of twins that will ultimately save or destroy the world…

2007. ISBN 0385733577. The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, #1.

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Adventure, Alchemy, Fantasy, Good vs. Evil, Michael Scott, Mythology, Teens influencing change, Twins

by Karen Cushman

★★★★★ 3 1/2 stars

Lucy’s parents always dreamed of moving to California, and that’s why they named her California.  But after they arrived in the dusty, forlorn place in 1849, the first thing Lucy did was change her name.  She would not share her name with this place! Living in tents, outdoor privies, little food, no books, and worse of all, no Pa?

The Ballad of Lucy Whipple is a great tale of the California Gold Rush, told from the point of view of 11-year old Lucy, whose mother runs the small Gold Rush town’s only boarding house.

1996. ISBN 0330398326.

Karen Cushman is also the author of other great historical fiction, including: the Midwife’s Apprentice, Matilda Bone, and Catherine, Called Birdy.

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1800's, Adventure, California, Families, Gold Rush, Historical Fiction, Karen Cushman

★★★★★ 3 1/2 stars

by Ally Carter

A typical girl would hate the nickname “Chameleon” – given for her ability to blend into any situation.  But at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Women, a.k.a School for Future Spies, Cammie is proud of her nickname! It makes her a great Pavement Artist. The great thing about the Gallagher School is all the great classes: code breaking, fourteen languages, how to kill a man seven different ways… but when a school spy assignment turns sour, she finds that her school didn’t teach her the most valuable skill a female spy needs to have: how to talk to cute guys.

2006. ISBN 1423100034. Gallagher Girls series #1.

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Adventure, Ally Carter, best friends, Fiction, Fun, High school, series, Spies

by Sharon Creech

Dinnie has lived in a lot of places in her life, but the constant each time was her mom, dad, and older sister and brother.  But with her brother in jail, and her sister’s new baby, her parents decide to send Dinnie to Switzerland with her aunt and uncle, whom she barely knows.  In spite of many reasons to hate Switzerland – learning Italian is hard and she misses her family terribly – she discovers a new family in her classmates at the international boarding school that her uncle is headmaster of.

A wonderful book for anyone curious about life at a boarding school in another country!

1999. ISBN 006440823X.

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best friends, Boarding school, Families, Middle School, New Kid in School, Realistic fiction, Sharon Creech, Switzerland

by E.L. Konigsburg

Meet the “Souls,” a group of four sixth graders who are chosen for their school’s Academic Bowl by their teacher, for reasons she doesn’t quite understand, yet.  Their lives are inexplicably intertwined… the teacher’s old principal is Nadia’s grandmother, who just married Ethan’s grandfather, and Noah was accidentally the best man… and then there is Julian, the new kid in school who grew up on a cruise ship!  A masterfully written story, sure to be enjoyed by anyone who likes when the pieces of a puzzle fall into place, kids who are wise beyond their years, or trivia contests!

1996. ISBN 0689862210. Newbery medal winner, 1997.

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Academic bowl, Alternating point of view, best friends, Disabilities, E.L. Konigsburg, Friendship, Newbery Medal, Puzzles, Realistic fiction, Sixth grade, Storytelling

by Sharon Creech

Since his teacher forces him, Jack writes a poem.  About how he doesn’t want to write a poem, and then another telling about how terrible the poems are.  Until he reads one that’s not too too bad, and then another that is kind of good.  This is a quick & fantastic read about a kid & his dog, poetry, and Walter Dean Myers.

2003. ISBN 0064409597.

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Dogs, Pets, Poetry, Sharon Creech, Told in prose, Walter Dean Myers