ROSOFF, CABOT, WESTERFELD, KORMAN, KOERTGE, CRUTCHER

Rosoff, Meg. HOW I LIVE NOW. Wow, what an amazing book. Daisy has been shipped off to live with her family in England. They live on a farm, and her cousins are all very interesting. The kids end up taking care of themselves because the aunt is out of town. Then World War 3 breaks out and they remain on their own. That is until someone finds out and comes to get them. They are split up. Daisy and her 9-year-old cousin Piper end up taking care of themselves for months. All the while, they are worrying about the rest of their family. A fascinating book!

Cabot, Meg/Carroll Jenny. SHADOWLAND-THE MEDIATOR BOOK 1. Suze has a unique talent of communicating with the dead. She helps them to cross over. Usually they have one last thing to take care of. She's just move to California from New York to live with her new family. Shortly after she finds out that she is accepted to her school because a girl, Heather, has just died. She killed herself over her boyfriend. Well, this girl is not happy that Suze is there to “take her place.” So Suze's normal mediating duties don't really work on Heather. What will she do? This is a funny, entertaining novel! Plus, there are several more in the series.

Westerfeld, Scott. SO YESTERDAY. As I told you in class, this is one of the coolest books I’ve read in a long time. This is a hot new author with many other good ones out now, including the MIDNIGHTERS series.

Korman, Gordon. SON OF THE MOB: HOLLYWOOD HUSTLE. You don’t have to have read the original SON OF THE MOB to enjoy this sequel, but it helps. It's just as funny as the original and surprisingly touching.

Koertge, Ron. MARGAUX WITH AN X. If you love language, you'll love Margaux and her vocabulary. If you read Koertge's STONER & SPAZ, you'll like this unusual paring of two seemingly opposites who find each other. Nice read.

Crutcher, Chris THE SLEDDING HILL. Wow, I can't say enough about this one. What if you finally really liked a book you were reading in English class, but all of a sudden it was banned from the school. What would you do? What would I do as a teacher...hmmm, good question.

ZEVIN, ANDERSON, KONIGSBURG, MYERS, KORMAN

Zevin, Gabrielle. ELSEWHERE. A fascinating view on what it could be like after death. One of the interesting occurrences is how dogs can talk & certain people can understand them naturally, while others must learn to speak “canine.”



Anderson, Janet. THE LAST TREASURE. A family has one last treasure to find that was hidden by their patriarch over a hundred years ago. One boy is determined to find it. This is a treasure hunt you won't soon forget.



Konigsburg, E.L. THE OUTCASTS OF SCHUYLER PLACE. This family has an intriguing piece of original artwork in their own backyard. The community has enjoyed it for over forty-years. Now some fancy-pants property owners want to tear it down. Will they win the fight?



Myers, Walter Dean. MONSTER. A boy has been accused of murder, but he didn't do it. The trial changes his life. Will he survive? Even if he's proven innocent, he's already been irreversibly changed. I didn't want it to end.



Korman, Gordon. NO MORE DEAD DOGS. This has been out quite a while, but I’ve just gotten the chance to read it. Hilarious!! A nice quick, good-time read!

BAUER, CROWE, FAMA, ROWLING

Bauer, Joan. RULES OF THE ROAD. Bauer is an awesome author. This is a highly enjoyable tale. Jenna has just earned her driver's license, and she's offered a job over the summer driving her boss across country. It ends up being a summer she'll never forget.Alvarez, Julia. Before we were free Sometimes we forget how good we have it here. Read this to see what it would be like to live under a dictatorship. It isn't pretty. Would you be a part of the rebels who want to fight?

Crowe, Chris. MISSISSIPPI TRIAL, 1955. A fictionalized account of what happened to Emmett Till, a Chicago boy who went to visit his relatives in Mississippi in 1955. He is beaten to death for supposedly whistling at a white girl.

Crowe, Chris. GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER. The non-fiction account of the above book, with actual court photos, family pictures, and a detailed account of events. Moving and disturbing.

Fama, Elizabeth. OVERBOARD. An amazing tale of survival. Could you survive in the middle of the ocean for several days? (me-I don't know how long I could doggie-paddle)

Rowling, J.K. HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE. This might be the best one yet! Hated the ending, but perhaps it didn't really happen? Although, it made sense…We'll see.