Abrahams, Peter. Robbie Forester and the Outlaw of Sherwood St

100 Great New Reads

March 2012

Abrahams, Peter. Robbie Forester and the Outlaw of Sherwood St.

After getting a strange charm bracelet from a homeless woman, thirteen-year-old Robyn Forester and new friends join together to fight injustice in their Brooklyn, New York, neighborhood.

Ada, Alma Flor. Dancing Home

When Margie's cousin Lupe comes from Mexico to live with Margie's family, Lupe must adapt, while Margie, who thought it would be fun to have her cousin there, finds that she is embarrassed by her in school and jealous of her at home.

Aguirre, Ann. Enclave.

The Huntress Duece is drawn to her new partner, Fade, a mysterious boy who is not afraid to break the rules of the elders, and as she learns of the elders' deceptions, she and Fade push the enclave to test their faith and protect themselves from unexpected dangers.

Alban, Andrea. Anya’s War.

Anya Rosen moves with her family from Odessa to Shanghai in order to escape religious persecution from Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, but after Anya discovers a newborn baby abandoned in the middle of the street and her hero, Amelia Earhart, goes missing, Anya fears that there is no safe place for her family

Applegate, K.A. The One and Only Ivan

When Ivan, a gorilla who has lived for years in a down-and-out circus-themed mall, meets Ruby, a baby elephant that has been added to the mall, he decides that he must find her a better life.

Baratz-Logstead, Lauren. Little Women and Me

Modern-day teen Emily March turns to Louisa May Alcott's famous book for a school assignment and finds herself mysteriously transported to the world of "Little Women," where she undergoes surprising changes.

Barber, Tiki and Ronde. Goal Line.

When identical twin brothers Ronde and Tiki Barber grow at different rates the summer before their last year at Hidden Valley Junior High, their relationship both on and off the football field changes.

Berk, Josh. Guy Langman: Crime Scene Investigator.

When his friend Anoop wants Guy to join the forensics club with him in the hopes of impressing some girls, they certainly aren't expecting to find a real dead body on the simulated crime scene they're assigned to collect evidence from.

Birdseye, Tom. Storm Mountain

Two thirteen-year-old cousins are trapped in a blizzard on the same treacherous mountain in the Cascades that claimed the lives of their world-famous, mountain-climber, twin fathers exactly two years earlier.

Boelts, Maribeth. The PS Brothers

Sixth-graders Russell and Shawn, poor and picked on, work together scooping dog droppings to earn money for a Rottweiler puppy to protect them from bullies, but when they learn the puppies' owner is running an illegal dog-fighting ring, they are torn about how to respond.

Bowler, Tim. Buried Thunder

Just after Maya's family acquires the Rowan Tree Hotel she is drawn into the nearby woods, where she finds three bodies that disappear before police arrive, and soon Maya feels hunted by both human and supernatural forces.

Brewster, Hugh. Deadly Voyage

Jamie is excited to be sailing on the Titanic the biggest ship in the world, and eager to explore the ship, but then disaster strikes and there are not enough lifeboats for everyone.

Brownlee, Christen. Cute, Furry and Deadly: Diseases you can catch from your pet.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 58) and index. Examines various diseases and viruses that can be spread from animals to humans, and includes case studies involving rabies, monkeypox, and E-coli.

Burns, Loree Griffin. The Hive Detectives: Chronicle of a Honey Bee Catastrophe.

Discusses the strange disappearance of honey bees from hives around the world beginning in 2006, a condition called colony collapse disorder, examines the efforts of scientists to discover the cause of the problem, and includes information about bees, their hives, and their honey.

Calkhoven, Laurie. Michael and the Invasion of France

Michael, a French-American, watches in fear as the Nazis invade Paris, and is spurred to become part of the French Resistance movement, defying Hitler, helping American aviators to safe zones, and delivering secret documents at great risk to his own safety. Includes historical notes, glossary, and timeline.

Condie, Ally. Crossed.

Sequel to: Matched. Cassia, having arrived in the Outer Provinces in search of Ky, learns he has escaped from the Society and follows a series of clues he left, which result in rebellion, betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander.

Conkling, Winifred. Sylvia and Aki.

At the start of World War II, Japanese-American third-grader Aki and her family are sent to an internment camp in Poston, Arizona, while Mexican-American third-grader Sylvia's family leases their Orange County, California, farm and begins a fight to stop school segregation.

Coy, John. Love of the Game

Sixth-grader Jackson has a rough start in middle school, with bullies on the bus, few classes with his friends, and changes at home, but, some good teachers, meeting a girl, joining a club, and playing football soon turn things around.

Curtis, Christopher Paul. The Mighty Miss Malone.

Deza Maloneaccompanies her mother and older brother on a trip to find her father, an African American man who left to find work after the Great Depression hit. They end up in a Hooverville outside of Flint, Michigan, and her brother attempts to be a performer while Deza and her mother search for a home.

Davies, Stephen. Outlaw

The children of Britain's ambassador to Burkina Faso, Jake, who loves technology and adventure, Kas, a budding social activist, are abducted and spend time in the Sahara desert with Yakuuba Sor, who some call a terrorist but others consider a modern-day Robin Hood.

Dau, John Bul. Lost Boy, Lost Girl: Escaping Civil War in Sudan.

John Bul Dau and his wife, Martha, describe the hardships they experienced, including violence, famine, and war, while growing up in the Sudan and explain how they escaped the region to start a new life.

Duble, Kathleen Benner. Phantoms in the Snow.

Fifteen-year-old Noah Garrett, sent to live with his uncle in Camp Hale, Colorado, following the death of his parents in 1944, finds himself struggling between his upbringing as a pacifist, and life on a military base in the middle of World War II.

Ellis, Sarah. That Fatal Night

Presents the fictional diary of Dorothy Wilson, from Halifax, Nova Scotia, in which she tries to work out her feelings and fears after surviving the "Titanic" disaster and being expelled from school for slapping an insensitive classmate.

Ellsworth, Loretta. Unforgettable.

When Baxter Green was three years old he developed a condition that causes him to remember absolutely everything, and now that he is fifteen, he and his mother have moved to Minnesota to escape her criminal boyfriend and, Baxter hopes, to reconnect with a girl he has been thinking about since kindergarten.

Evans, Richard Paul. Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25

Michael discovers he has special electrical powers and, with the help of his best friends, becomes aware that there are other teens with similar powers, but something or someone is hunting them and, after Michael's mother is kidnapped, he will need to rely on his powers and his friends to rescue his mom, protect himself, and save the others.

Fitzmaurice, Kathryn. A Diamond in the Desert.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor means Tetsu's Japanese-American family will be relocated to an internment camp. Gila River camp isn't technically a prison, but with nowhere to go, nothing to do, and no time frame for leaving, it might as well be. So when someone has the idea of building a baseball diamond and starting a team, Tetsu is overjoyed. But then his sister gets dangerously sick, forcing him to choose between his family and his love of the game.

Ford, Christopher. Stickman Odyssey.

A humorous take on the Odyssey in which Zozimos, banished from his country by his evil stepmother, has many adventures as he prepares to return home to reclaim the throne that is rightfully his.

Frazier, Sundee. Brendan Buckley’s Sixth-Grade Science Experiment

Biracial Brendan Buckley faces new challenges when he enters middle school and, while he deals with issues with his African American father, a new girl at school, and his changing friendship with his best friend, Brendan must decide on an experiment for the national science competition.

Frederick, Heather Vogel. Home for the Holidays.

The girls of the mother-daughter book club find their holiday family vacations going wrong when Megan and Becca both fall for the son of the cruise ship's captain, Cassidy and her family start to feel homesick while visiting Laguna Beach, and Emma and Jess see their plans changing.

Friend, Catherine. Barn Boot Blues.

When her parents swap urban life in Minneapolis for rural life on a farm 100 miles away, twelve-year-old Taylor feels as if she is living on another planet.

Gantos, Jack. Dead End in Norvelt.

In the historic town of Norvelt, Jack spends the summer of 1962 grounded for various offenses until he is assigned to help an elderly neighbor with a most unusual chore involving the newly dead, twisted promises, Girl Scout cookies, underage driving, lessons from history, typewriting, and countless bloody noses.

Gilman, David. Blood Sun. (#3)

Desperate to uncover the secret of his mother's death, fifteen-year-old Max Gordon, pursued by enemies, travels from the bleakness of Dartmoor to the rainforest of Central America, where the environmental devastation hides a sinister secret.

Green, Tim. Pinch Hit.

Trevor, an actor in a major film who lives in a Bel Aire mansion, and Sam, a boy who enjoys baseball and barely has enough to survive on, each have very different lives but look exactly alike. When they realize that they are twins, the boys decide to switch places.

Gustafson, Scott. Eddie: The Lost Youth of Edgar Allen Poe

Edgar Poe, aided by the imp McCobber, has twenty-four hours to prove himself innocent of an act of mischief committed at the home of the judge who lives beside John Allan, foster father of the orphaned author-to-be.

Haddix, Margaret Peterson. The Always War

In a war-torn future United States, fifteen-year-old Tessa, her childhood friend Gideon, now a traumatized military hero, and Dek, a streetwise orphan, enter enemy territory and discover the shocking truth about a war that began more than seventy-five years earlier.

Haines, Kathryn Miller. The Girl is Murder

In a war-torn future United States, fifteen-year-old Tessa, her childhood friend Gideon, now a traumatized military hero, and Dek, a streetwise orphan, enter enemy territory and discover the shocking truth about a war that began more than seventy-five years earlier.

Harrington, Kim. Clarity.

Sixteen-year-old Clare Fern, a member of a family of psychics, helps the mayor and a skeptical detective solve a murder in a Cape Cod town during the height of tourist season--with her brother a prime suspect.

Harvey, Alyandra. Haunting Violet.

Violet has been part of her mother's Spiritualist scam since she was nine, but during an 1872 house party in Hampshire, England, she is horrified to learn that she can actually see ghosts, one of whom wants Violet to solve her murder.

Haston, Meg. How to Rock Braces and Glasses.

When popular middle schooler Kacey Simon gets glasses and braces and is rejected by her crowd, she befriends a boy who is in a punk rock band and discovers some things about friendship, relationships, and herself.

Hawkins, Rachel. Spell Bound. #3

Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Council strips them away and leaves her alone, defenseless, and at the mercy of her enemies the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium.

Hirandani, Veera. The Whole Story of Half a Girl

When Sonia's father loses his job and she must move from her small, supportive private school to a public middle school, the half-Jewish half-Indian sixth-grader experiences culture shock as she tries to navigate the school's unfamiliar social scene, and after her father is diagnosed with clinical depression, she finds herself becoming even more confused about herself and her family.

House, Silas and Neela Vaswani. Same Sun Here.

A twelve-year-old Indian immigrant in New York City and a Kentucky coal miner's son become pen pals, and eventually best friends, through a series of revealing letters exploring such topics as environmental activism, immigration, and racism.

Hubbard, Mandy. Ripple

After a terrible tragedy, Lexi--a mermaid destined to lure men to their watery deaths-- shuts herself off from the world, vowing to protect the ones she loves. But she’s soon caught between a new boy at school who may have the power to melt her icy exterior, and a handsome water spirit who says he can break Lexi’s curse if she gives up everything else.

Jensen, Melissa. Falling in Love with English Boys.

Stranded in London for the summer by a relationship gone bad, Catherine blogs her misery while reading the diary of a nineteenth-century girl whose life strangely parallels her own.

Johnson, Pete. The Vampire Hunters

Marcus, having learned that he is half-vampire, uses his anonymous blog to deal with the revelation and worries, after a series of attacks in the woods, Tallulah, who he is adamant is not his girlfriend, will uncover the truth about him.

Khan, Michelle. The Hijab Boutique.

Farah attends an exclusive all-girls school and enjoys spending time with her friends, but when she needs to interview her mother in front of the class, she fears her mother will seem boring compared to the other glamorous moms, until she learns her own mother led an exciting, high-profile life before becoming a stay-at-home mom.

Lai, Thanhha. Inside Out and Back Again.

Through a series of poems, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama.

Lane, Andrew. Rebel Fire.

In 1868, teenaged Sherlock Holmes discovers that his American tutor is hunting a notorious killer who was supposedly killed by the United States government, but who is apparently alive and well in Surrey, England.

Lansdale, Joe R. All the Earth, Thrown to the Sky

When the devastation wrought by endless dust storms in 1930s Oklahoma makes orphans of Jack, his schoolmate Jane, and her brother Tony, they take the truck of a dead man and set out to find a new start.

Levin, Mark and Jennifer Flackett. The Family Hitchcock

When they agree to a summertime house swap with an unknown family in Paris, the four members of the Hitchcock family inadvertently get mixed up in a ring of international espionage.