The Thief Lord

The Thief Lord
by Cornelia Funke

Prosper and Bo are two incredibly resourceful orphans. When they discover that their aunt wants to separate them, the brothers make their way to Venice, Italy, and find adventure and a new life. Living in an abandoned movie theater with three other children, Prosper and Bo are introduced to the mysterious world of the Thief Lord. Stealing from some of the wealthiest homes in Venice, the Thief Lord takes care of the children, letting them have the money he earns and using them to help prepare for robberies. But things start to unravel when a detective starts looking for Prosper and Bo, and nothing is as it seems. Magic creeps in unexpectedly, altering the lives of all the characters forever.

This is a great story about childhood adventures with lots of surprises along the way.

-Ms. McConnel

Alcatraz Smedry vs. the Evil Librarians

Alcatraz Smedry vs. the Evil Librarians
by Brandon Sanderson

This was a really funny book. It has some dark parts, but for the most part it's funny. The main character, Alcatraz (he thought his parents must've had a twisted sense of humor, and who could blame him, named after the most infamous prison?), has a "talent" for breaking everything he touches, even chickens! He has gone through about 27 foster families, but his life gets turned around on his 13th birthday when he gets a present from his parents. Naturally, he doesn't trust it at first-after all, his parents couldn't know where he was living all this time.

When he opens the present, he finds a bag of sand. Then, someone knocks on the door. WHen he opens it, an old man who claims to be his grandfather comes in. Soon Alcatraz finds out almost everything he believed is a lie, such as only three continents, talking dinosaurs, Oculators and evil librarians. Also, the world is basically split into two types of places: Hushlands and Freelands.

This is a great book, and I reccomend reading this and its sequel.

-L. George

Lights Out: Terror Academy

Lights Out: Terror Academy
by Nicholas Pine

It's the end of the junior year for Mandy Roberts at Central Academy. Her father is the guidance couselor at the school. While at the graduation ceremony for the senior class there is a terrible accident and Mandy's father dies.

With the help of her best friends, Steve and Tara, Mandy investigates her father's death herself.

Central Academy gets a new and strange assistant principal that takes interest in Mandy's mom. They get engaged, and Mandy is very upset and suspicious of this man. Mandy and her friends do lots of investigating and find out many bad things about the assistant principal. Mandy and her mom find themselves in danger!

"Lights Out" is the first book in the Terror Academy series by Nicholas Pine.

-N. Heilman

Unwind

Unwind
by Neal Shusterman

In the future there has been a second civil war between those who are pro-life and those who are pro-choice. The war is ended by the two sides compromising on a "Bill of Life" that states all pregnancies must come to term; however parents and guardians have the right when their child is between the ages of thirteen and eighteen to "unwind" them. The child does not die. Each and every part is kept alive though in separate pieces. Eyes to someone, ears to another, skin to someone else. Once the parents have given their children up to unwinding it cannot be reversed.

Connor discovers his unwinding when he finds holiday tickets to the Bahamas, which has everyone in his family's name on them except his own. Risa is an orphan and the orphanage is overcrowded so when she makes five mistakes during her piano recital she knows where she is headed. Lev is devout and when, he, as the tenth child in his family, is given to be a human tithe, a sacrifice to the unwinding, he enjoys the attention and is happy to fulfill what he thinks is his destiny.

The three all meet when Connor decides to run rather than submit to his unwinding order and the book becomes the story of the three's attempts to continue to live their lives under the threat of unwinding.

A thought provoking and challenging book.

-Mr. Dale

The Order of Odd-Fish

The Order of Odd-Fish
by James Kennedy
This is a totally weird book. If you like fantasy that is completely crazy you will like this book. Jo, was left in a laundry room with a note pinned to her blanket which read, "This is Jo. Please take care of her. But beware. This is a DANGEROUS baby".

And she is.

The Order of Odd-Fish is an organization of knights whose main occupation is compiling disreputable and disputed facts for an encyclopedia which will never be written or published. Wasting time in creative ways, collecting facts, is an art form in Eldritch City and the more "dithering" done in the attempt to compile questionable "facts", the greater a Knight of the Order of Odd-Fish is considered to be. Jo lives in the same house as this crazy organization.

Eldritch City, itself, is a strange and wonderful place with talking three-foot-tall cockroach butlers, centipede journalists, and flying armored ostriches to name only a few of the weird inhabitants. The Knight's house is in Eldritch City.

As was said earlier, Jo is truly dangerous and you really want to read the book to find out why.

-Mr. Dale

Schooled

Schooled
by Gordon Korman

Capricorn Anderson has lived with his grandmother Rain on a commune his whole life. Suddenly, because of a fall and the need for his grandmother to be hospitalized, the home-schooled, long-haired, tie-dyed, corn-husk sandal wearer is dumped into a regular middle school. Talk about culture shock. Capricorn has lived his whole life without telephones, television, iPods, money, or friends.

Because it is a tradition at Caverage to elect the weirdest kid in school to be eighth grade president, guess who fits the bill? Clueless about everything related to the position Capricorn still takes the job very seriously. So the evil kid's plans backfire as Capricorn in his totally naïve but personable way wins over the student body.

A book which brings up serious questions about identity, bullying, and peer pressure with lots of humor and great characters.

-Mr. Dale

Saga

Saga
by Conor Kostick

In the virtual world of Saga, Ghost is a fifteen-year-old airboarder, with a past she doesn't remember and strange abilities she is just beginning to use. She must be someone special because she is becoming involved in a battle with the warped leader of Saga - the Dark Queen. As the story of Ghost unravels Eric and his avatar, Cindella Dragonslayer, show up from Kostick's first book Epic.

While this is an interesting story and one I wanted to finish I did not enjoy it as much as Epic.

-Mr. Dale

Hope was Here

Hope was Here
by Joan Bauer

Hope and her aunt Addie have never really had a stationary home. Addie is a top-notch chef and Hope is a great waitress, yet the diners they work in seem to close, forcing them to move on. After an awful experience which left them both broke and disheartened, they move from New York to a small town in Wisconsin. At first, Hope is devastated by the loss of big city life and her friends, but she soon begins to find a place for herself in the new community.

Packed with Hope's wonderful outlook on life, intrigue in the race for the local mayor, and the painful absence of Hope's parents, this novel is a wonderful, realistic read. Hope if a character who makes her own way and keeps smiling despite the curves life throws at her.

-Ms. McConnel

Uglies

Uglies
by Scott Westerfield

In this world, once you turn sixteen you get to have an operation to make you look absolutely flawless. Right now, Tally is fifteen and is ready to be pretty: she will reach that point in a few weeks. Shay, Tally's new friend, wants to take risks and be adventurous. In other words, Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty at all. So Shay decides to run away. But Tally now has to do a not-so-simple task in order to become pretty: to locate Shay, bring her to the authorities, or never become the stunningly beautiful person she wants to be. Do you think she makes the right decision?

This book is just great all around. It's truly hard to put this book down without knowing what's going to happen next. It is very exciting and not very hard to picture what's happening. This book would definitely be at the top of my list!

-N. Ortega

In the beginning of this book there is a girl that is ugly. She wants so bad to be a Pretty, something that she will become after a minor operation on her 16th birthday. Her best friend was a few months older than her and had already turned into a Pretty. The girl who is ugly decides to sneak into Pretty Town to see her friend. She gets in so much trouble while she is there. She meets someone new, and they become best friends. They do everything together. The weird thing is that they have the same birthday, so they will turn pretty on the same day. Read this book to see what happens on their journey to become Pretties!

-B. Clark

When Zachary Beaver Came to Town

When Zachary Beaver Came to Town
By Kimberly Willis Holt

Zachary Beaver claims to be the heaviest boy in the world. He also claims to have travelled all over Europe, seeing sights and having adventures. The summer he comes to Texas as a one-act side show changes everyone in the small town of Antler. Things are changing fast, and not just because of Zachary. A local boy if fighting bravely in the battlefields of Vietnam, and a local woman runs off to make her fortune in Nashville, leaving her baffled husband and son behind. This book is wonderful story, even when it turns serious. Be warned, you may need Kleenex!

-Ms. McConnel

Once Upon a Marigold

Once Upon a Marigold
By Jean Ferris

Marigold is a princess, but she’s miserable because of a curse from her childhood. Christian is a runaway living in the forest with a troll for a father. Against all odds, these two form a friendship which will transform the lives of everyone in the kingdom. Written like a fairy tale, this is definitely not like any fairy tale you have ever read before. Sure there are trolls, evil queens, and even the tooth fairy, but there are also lots of dogs, flying machines, and twist after twist. This is an enjoyable read, and the characters are incredibly real.

-Ms. McConnel

Clique

Clique
by Lisa Harrison

Massie Block is a rich 7th grader with three best friends. One day, her father's friend had to move into the Block's guest house, and he had a daughter named Claire. Claire is an everage girl with nothing in common with Massie. Massie makes some mistakes and her friends become freinds with Claire instead of her. Massie will try to win them back.

-M. Curcio

The Bad Beginning

The Bad Beginning
by Lemony Snicket

Three siblings Violet, Klaus, and Sunny were happy children until there was a fire that burned their house down and killed their parents. They were forced to live with their terrible uncle, Count Olaf. Until Violet was old enough, Count Olaf was in charge of all their parents' money, which isn't such a good thing. This is the first in the series that introduces the Baudelaire children and their troubles with Count Olaf.

-M. Curcio

The Boys Start the War

The Boys Start the War
by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Four brothers named Jake, Josh, Wally, and Peter had a great life until their best friends (who lived behind them) moved. The bad thng was three sisters named Beth, Eddie, and Caroline moved in. The boys played a trick on the girls, which made the girls play a trick on the boys. Their parents became friends, and the kids had to work together, which doesn't turn out very well.

-M. Curcio

Epic

Epic
by Conor Kostick

A world of non violence with all disputes settled online in a role playing game in which all members of society participate. All the fights and battles take place within the game of Epic and when characters are killed in the game their controllers in the real world may be banished to the salt plains or deep into the coal mines.

A group of kids, led by Eric, figure out some tricks to bring to the game and end up holding the fate of the world in their hands. Orcs, ogres, and other nasty creatures all try to keep our heroes from winning the game.

This book is a page turner and fun to read. Just don't start reading it without a lot of free time ahead of you.

-Mr. Dale

Darkside

Darkside
by Tom Becker


Darkside is an alternate version of London created during the Victorian era and currently ruled by descendents of Jack the Ripper. Jonathan ends up in this creepy world with only Carnegie, a werewolf detective, and Raquella, a servant girl to help him survive the dangerous inhabitants. For those of you who have enjoyed the "Cirque du Freak" series, another promising scary tale.

-Mr. Dale

My Dog Skip

My Dog Skip
by Willie Morris

This is a wonderful autobiography about a young boy and his life journey accompanied by his faithful dog, Skip. The story begins with his childhood; he is given Skip as a gift from his parents. Skip is the most intelligent dog ever. He has taught Skip how to play football, go to get bologna from the deli, and he can even drive the old Desoto (with his master's help of course). As they are both getting older, the tales continue about their never-ending friendship. As the boy grows into a man and the puppy grows into a dog, they both grow bigger, older, and wiser. Skip is never forgotten by his owner, even when he goes off to college. Skip is left at home with the parents to be cared for.

This is an awesome book for anyone to read. it is a great book on friendship and companionship. I loved it.

-O. Casbarro

Elijah of Buxton

Elijah of Buxton
By Christopher Paul Curtis

Elijah is a particularly special boy in his town: he is the first person to be born free in the settlement of Buxton, Canada, where escaped slaves and free blacks from America make their home. Although Buxton is a safe-haven of education and equality, Elijah finds himself facing hatred and injustice each time he ventures into the larger world. Full of quaint stories about his childhood and passionate descriptions of the injustices of slavery, this is a wonderful historical novel with a character who is endearing, if a bit naïve about the world around him.

-Ms. McConnel

Money Hungry

Money Hungry
By Sharon Flake

Raspberry is obsessed with cash. She is constantly getting in trouble at school for her business ventures, including selling two-year old candy to her classmates. No one understands that to Raspberry, money is the only thing keeping her safe. She and her mother may live in an apartment now, but it wasn’t that long ago that they were living on the street. Will Raspberry’s “money hungry” behavior be enough to keep a roof over their heads, or will they end up on the streets…again? This is a powerful story with true-to-life situations and characters. A must-read novel!

-Ms. McConnel

Charlie's Story

Charlie’s Story
By Maeve Friel

Charlie has spent her life being teased and tormented by her classmates, ever since they realized she was the famous “abandoned baby” who had been dumped by her mother in a train station. Charlie tries to cope with the cruelty of her classmates, but at the same time struggles with feelings of doubt and self-loathing. She wonders if it was her fault that her mother abandoned her, and her father and the rest of her family refuse to talk about her mother or Charlie’s life before being abandoned. Charlie must unravel her own history while learning to be brave against the face of impossible cruelty. Set in Ireland, this story presents a very real picture of the true dangers of bullying, and Charlie is a flawed and genuine heroine.

-Ms. McConnel