My Side by Norah McClintock

My Side by Norah McClintock

This book was impossible to put down.  Told from both Addie and Neely's point of view, this is a mean girl story.  Addie is shy and quiet.  Neely is her only friend.  Until they reach high school, the girls do a lot together.  Once in high school, Neely is trying to impress the popular girls. Addie becomes the butt of a cruel and damaging prank.  Once the video is emailed to everyone, Addie struggles to come back to school.  Great read and less than 130 pages!

Zebra Forest by Adina Rishe Gewirtz

Zebra Forest by Adina Rishe Gewirtz

In this novel, two siblings, Rew and Annie are being raised by Gran.  Gran has told them about their parents.  Annie and Rew, living in the rural part of their town, are growing up during the Iran Hostage Crisis when a prison break occurs on the other side of their Zebra Forest.  A prisoner shows up at their house and keeps them hostage.  They are not expecting to hear the secrets he is spilling.  Andrew Snow is an unexpected, but not unwelcome guest.  The characters in this novel are not flat, but grow with the plot.

White Zone by Carolyn Marsden

White Zone by Carolyn Marsden

Two cousins, Nouri and Talib, are tangled in the religious strife in Iraq in 2008 between the Sunnis and the Shiites.  The cousins are torn in this war, dealing with normal teen issues of bullying and fitting in. When one of the boys has to move away, the cousins look toward an Iraq where they were both were equal and friends. The story, based on true events, relays the strength of family and the bonds of loyalty to your roots. Marsden tells the story from each boys' perspective, allowing readers inside the character to know how each one feels.

Road Trip by Gary and Jim Paulsen

Road Trip by Gary and Jim Paulsen

Gary Paulsen and his son, Jim, began writing back and forth and what emerged from the banter was a novel about a boy whose father takes him on a fun road trip. This lighthearted novel is about a boy named Ben and his father who have been at odds for some time. Told from Ben's point of view, the road trip's purpose is to pick up a rescue dog.  When his dad breaks the news to Ben, he is less than thrilled, so is the other family dog, Atticus. When their ride breaks down, Ben, his dad, and Theo, Ben's derelict friend, have to find another way to get where they are going.  The story is their adventure and all those people and events along the way. It is told in traditional Paulsen style with adventure, humor and a love of animals. Great quick read.

Under the Persimmon Tree by Suzanne Fisher Staples

Under the Persimmon Tree by Suzanne Fisher Staples

After her brother and father are taken by the Taliban to fight in a war and her baby brother and mother are killed in an air raid, Najmah, a young Afghan girl is on her own. An American woman, Nusrat, who has given up her successful life in Boston to marry her Pakistani husband, teaches refugee children in her home while her husband, a doctor, is on the war front helping to fight the Taliban.  Staples brings these two characters in parallel situations together in a desperate story of two stars that collide.

Below by Megan McKinlay

Below by Megan McKinlay

Born two months early, Cassie swims to strengthen her lungs. Cassie, tired of swimming in the local swimming pool, is drawn to the large man-made lake which was once her town, Old Lower Grange.  On the day she was born, Cassie's town is flooded.  The houses, parks, garages, businesses--everything--is underwater.   Liam, the son of a man accused of killing his son, becomes Cassie's companion as they both swim at the lake. Swimming at the lake, they find a clue in the mystery surrounding the town's fate that involves the mayor, Liam's dead brother, and the mayor's estranged wife. The mystery surrounding the old town and New Grange keeps you guessing until the end of the book.

Prisoner 88 by Leah Pileggi

Prisoner 88 by Leah Pileggi

Only 10 years old, Jake is sentenced to five years in prison after killing someone.  After coming from near poverty, Jake is fed and clothed, thinking his sentence is more of a gift than a consequence.  The story is told through Jake's perspective, detailing his time in prison and the changes in the prison system near the turn of the century.  Jake is housed with murderers, thieves, and the mentally insane, and he wonders why they all want to get out.  Jake is ordered to work on a nearby farm caring for the animals. Set in 1885 Idaho, this novel is based on a real prisoner and real circumstances.

Getting the Girl by Marcus Zusak

Getting the Girl by Marcus Zusak

Originally, I wanted to read this book because of The Book Thief. I thought maybe the writing would be similar.  Cameron Wolfe is obsessed with his older brother, Ruben's, girlfriend. Being the youngest of four children, Cameron struggles to find how he fits into this unique family.  The setting of this novel is Australia, therefore the language is sometimes difficult to understand.  Cameron, not very popular with the ladies, finds Ruben's treatment of his girlfriends downright disturbing.  After Ruben breaks it off with Octavia, his latest girl, Cameron takes it upon himself to make sure her feelings are not hurt.  This novel turned out to be less than my favorite, but a wonderful example of characterization techniques.

Sure Signs of Crazy by Karen Harrington

Sure Signs of Crazy by Karen Harrington

Sarah Nelson and her father have spent the past decade moving from place to place.  When people find out about their past, it is difficult for Sarah and her father to face the public.  Sarah's mother, locked in a psychiatric facility, attempted to kill both Sarah and her twin brother when they were three years old.  Successful in drowning her brother, Sarah's mother is deemed mentally unfit.  Sarah is fearful she will "become crazy" like her mother.  As she comes of age, she bonds with her "babysitter" for the summer, a college student home for the summer, and comes to reconcile her fears about being discovered as the child who survived.

Panic by Sharon Draper

Panic by Sharon Draper

A suspenseful and intense novel, Panic puts into play stranger danger and why children should stick together.  Diamond knows not to take candy from a stranger, but the man who is offering extends his hand with more than candy. Well-dressed and armed with evidence of who he is, a stranger approaches Diamond, an exquisite dancer, while she is waiting for her best friend at the mall.

The decision she makes and how her family and friends deal with those results results in a suspenseful novel sure to keep you turning the pages.  Told from the perspective of the main and secondary characters, this novel is full of jaw-dropping surprises.

Boys Without Names by Kashmira Sheth

Boys Without Names by Kashmira Sheth

In the struggle to survive, Gopal and his family must leave their Indian Village.  By promising their farm to the loan shark of the village, Gopal's father becomes indebted to the man with no way out.  Fleeing the village in the middle of the night, the family becomes separated from their father.  Finally in Mumbai, Gopal leaves his uncle's house to find a way to help out his family financially and to find his missing father. Tricked into a job in which he is locked down in an attic with other boys who have been sold into child slavery. Forbidden to talk or tell each other their names, the boys wonder if they will be able to get out and see their families again?  

Bystander by James Preller

Bystander by James Preller

Eric is the new kid in 7th grade.  When you are the new kid, it is hard to know who to make friends with. Eric begins to hang out with a group of friends led by cool and confident, Griffin. Griffin seems to be in the middle of all the bad things. Tangled in this web, Eric sees Griffin for who he is and what he can do. Eric uncovers the truth about Griffin, a liar and bully, but will he discover it too late?

Remember Dippy by Shirley Reva Vernick

Remember Dippy by Shirley Reva Vernick

The title is very deceiving coupled with the picture on the cover. Remember Dippy is a boy with autism.  Remember's cousin, Johnny, is going to be his "babysitter" for the summer while his Aunt Colette is working at the 7Eleven and Johnny's mother is in New York at an interior design job. Remember has two ferrets and many quirky attributes, but the boys are fast friends and encounter many adventures during their summer.  From bullies, to pizza shop owner's love interests to drowning, Johnny and Remember tackle some tough obstacles.