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Making Friends
by Kristen Gudsnuk
Sometimes making a friend is a lot easier than keeping one!
Sixth grade was SO much easier for Danny. All her friends were in the same room and she knew exactly what to expect out of life. Now that she's in seventh grade, she's in a new middle school, her friends are in different classes and forming new cliques, and she is totally, completely lost. What Danny really needs is a new best friend! So when she inherits a magic sketchbook from her eccentric great-aunt in which anything she sketches in it comes to life, she draws Madison, the most amazing, perfect, and awesome best friend ever.
The thing is, even when you create a best friend, there's no guarantee they'll always be your best friend. Especially when they discover they've been created with magic!
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| Dreaming Dangerous by Lauren DeStefanoWelcome to: the Brassmere Academy for the Extraordinary, a secluded, unusual school where friends Plum, Vien, Gwendle, and Artem share synchronized dreams filled with adventure and monsters to slay.
What happens: As their dreams begin turning into nightmares, Artem vanishes with an ominous warning: "They're coming for us."
For fans of: author Lauren DeStefano's A Curious Tale of the In-Between and other dark, eerie tales of friendship and long-held secrets. |
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| Amal Unbound by Aisha SaeedWhat it's about: Quiet Pakistani schoolgirl Amal has plans to become a teacher, but those plans are shattered when the crooked village landlord forces her to work off her family's debt as a servant in his luxurious home. Can Amal find a way to beat an unfair system that's designed to keep her down?
Why you might like it: You'll be drawn to Amal's spirit and strength as she holds onto hope and fights for her future. |
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The Shadow Hand
by Kat Shepherd
When babysitter Rebecca discovers that a sinister ruler of darkness has replaced the baby with a changeling, she and her friends must save him by surviving a chilling journey through the Nightmare Realm.
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| The Memory of Forgotten Things by Kat ZhangStarring: seventh-grader Sophia, who has a picture-perfect memory of the cake her mom baked for her tenth birthday...despite the fact that her mom died when she was six.
What happens: It turns out that Sophia isn't the only one with impossible memories, and together with new friends, she searches for a way to turn those memories into reality.
You might also like: Christopher Edge's The Many Worlds of Albie Bright, another thought-provoking book that asks: could life be better in an alternate universe? |
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Focus on: Science Fiction
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| Fuzzy by Tom Angleberger and Paul DellingerFeaturing: Fuzzy, the first robot student at Vanguard Middle School; Max, the free-thinking classmate who becomes Fuzzy's guide; and Vice Principal Barbara, the controlling supercomputer who's out to get them both.
Reviewers say: "a day-after-tomorrow cautionary tale of friendship with a fuzzy, robotic heart" (Kirkus Reviews).
About the author: You might recognize co-author Tom Angleberger's name -- and his smart, offbeat sense of humor -- from the popular Origami Yoda series. |
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| The Fog Diver by Joel RossWhat it's about: In a future where a deadly Fog covers the Earth, forcing humans to live on mountaintops and airships, 13-year-old "tetherboy" Chess and his fellow air raft scavengers are racing to find a cure for their guardian's fogsickness.
Is it for you? Bursting with futuristic action and hilarious misunderstandings about modern pop culture, The Fog Diver will be irresistible to science fiction fans.
Series alert: Don't miss the sequel, The Lost Compass. |
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| Boy X by Dan SmithWhat it's about: When Ash wakes up in an unfamiliar island laboratory, he's full of questions: How did he get there? Why does he suddenly have superhuman abilities? And can he make it out alive when the only escape route leads through a jungle full of booby traps and bizarre creatures?
Read it for: weird science, a twisty plot, and pulse-pounding suspense.
Try this next: Kate Messner's Wake Up Missing, another tense survival thriller about escaping from a remote medical facility. |
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Red moon rising
by K. A Holt
Struggling for survival on a remote moon colony that imposes strict order and requires grueling farm work, Rae and her sister are taken captive by the moon's native inhabitants because of their impetuous natures and trained to become warriors against their own people. By the author of Brains for Lunch. Simultaneous eBook.
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| Time Traveling with a Hamster by Ross WelfordStarring: Albert Einstein Hawking Chaudhury, whose 12th birthday gifts include a pet hamster, a letter from his deceased father, and a mission to find his dad's time machine and use it to prevent the accident that led to his dad's death. No pressure, right?
Why you might like it: Packed with uproarious mishaps and big ideas, Time Traveling with a Hamster will make you think while keeping you on the edge of your seat. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books for ages 10-13!
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Central Arkansas Library System
100 Rock St. Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 501-918-3000
www.cals.org/
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