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"Before you write me off as a delusional psycho, think about what it's like to be thrown into a situation where everyone knows everyone . . . and no one knows you." ~ from Ayun Halliday's Peanut
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| Lucky Strikes by Louis BayardSet in Depression-era Virginia, this is the story of orphaned Amelia and her struggle to keep her siblings together.
With her mama recently dead and her pa sight unseen since birth, fourteen-year-old Amelia is suddenly in charge of her younger brother and sister, and of the family gas station. Harley Blevins, local king and emperor of Standard Oil, is in hot pursuit to clinch his fuel monopoly. To keep him at bay and her family out of foster care, Melia must come up with a father, and fast. And so when a hobo rolls out of a passing truck, Melia grabs opportunity by its beard. Can she hold off the hounds till she comes of age? |
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It Ain't So Awful, Falafel
by Firoozeh Dumas
Zomorod (Cindy) Yousefzadeh is the new kid on the block . . . for the fourth time. California’s Newport Beach is her family’s latest perch, and she’s determined to shuck her brainy loner persona and start afresh with a new Brady Bunch name—Cindy. It’s the late 1970s, and fitting in becomes more difficult as Iran makes U.S. headlines with protests, revolution, and finally the taking of American hostages. Even mood rings and puka shell necklaces can't distract Cindy from the anti-Iran sentiments that creep way too close to home. A poignant yet lighthearted middle grade debut from the author of the best-selling Funny in Farsi.
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The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle
by Janet Fox
Going to school in a remote, crumbling Scottish castle has got to be safer than being in London during the Blitz, right? Clever 12-year-old Kat Bateson isn't so sure. It's 1940, and she's been sent to Rookskill Castle to escape the bombs, but what she finds there might be equally frightening: ghostly children haunt the twisty halls, a Nazi spy may be hiding in their midst, and the creepy headmistress doesn't seem entirely human. Part horror, part fantasy, and part spy thriller, this intricately plotted World War II story will grab readers of all kinds, especially those who love Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.
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Lily and Dunkin
by Donna Gephart
Author Donna Gephart crafts a dual narrative about two remarkable young people: Lily, a transgender girl, and Dunkin, a boy dealing with bipolar disorder.
Sometimes our hearts see things our eyes can’t.
Lily Jo McGrother, born Timothy McGrother, is a girl. But being a girl is not so easy when you look like a boy. Especially when you’re in the eighth grade.
Dunkin Dorfman, birth name Norbert Dorfman, is dealing with bipolar disorder and has just moved from the New Jersey town he’s called home for the past thirteen years. This would be hard enough, but the fact that he is also hiding from a painful secret makes it even worse.
One summer morning, Lily Jo McGrother meets Dunkin Dorfman, and their lives forever change.
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Beetle Boy
by M. G. Leonard
The glorious start to a middle-grade trilogy about a brilliant boy, his loyal friends, and some amazingly intelligent beetles that brings together adventure, humor, and real science!
Darkus Cuttle's dad mysteriously goes missing from his job as Director of Science at the Natural History Museum. Vanished without a trace! From a locked room! So Darkus moves in with his eccentric Uncle Max and next door to Humphrey and Pickering, two lunatic cousins with an enormous beetle infestation. Darkus soon discovers that the beetles are anything but ordinary. They're an amazing, intelligent super species and they're in danger of being exterminated. It's up to Darkus and his friends to save the beetles. But they're up against an even more terrifying villain--the mad scientist of fashion, haute couture villainess Lucretia Cutter. Lucretia has an alarming interest in insects and dastardly plans for the bugs. She won't let anyone or anything stop her, including Darkus's dad, who she has locked up in her dungeons! The beetles and kids join forces to rescue Mr. Cuttle and thwart Lucretia.
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Saving Montgomery Sole
by Mariko Tamaki
In sight not see black light not be
This is the curious instruction that comes with the Eye of Know, the possibly powerful crystal amulet that Montgomery Sole buys online for $5.99. It’s also the next topic of discussion at Mystery Club (members: Monty and her two best friends, Thomas and Naoki), dedicated to the exploration of the strange and unexplained.
When Monty wears the Eye of Know, strange things happen, all targeted at people she despises. Maybe it will help Monty take down her newest enemy, a preacher who has come to save her town from so-called sinners—sinners like Monty’s moms. Or will its mysterious powers mean the end of the friendships Monty cherishes most?
Mariko Tamaki has created a thoughtful, funny, and painfully honest story about family, religion, ignorance, and other unsolved high school mysteries.
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Read away the dog days of summer with these great summertime tales.
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Raymie Nightingale
by Kate DiCamillo
Raymie Clarke has come to realize that everything, absolutely everything, depends on her. And she has a plan. If Raymie can win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition, then her father, who left town two days ago with a dental hygienist, will see Raymie's picture in the paper and (maybe) come home. To win, not only does Raymie have to do good deeds and learn how to twirl a baton; she also has to contend with the wispy, frequently fainting Louisiana Elefante, who has a show-business background, and the fiery, stubborn Beverly Tapinski, who’s determined to sabotage the contest. But as the competition approaches, loneliness, loss, and unanswerable questions draw the three girls into an unlikely friendship — and challenge each of them to come to the rescue in unexpected ways.
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Hour of the Bees
by Lindsay Eagar
Things are only impossible if you stop to think about them. . . .
While her friends are spending their summers having pool parties and sleepovers, twelve-year-old Carolina — Carol — is spending hers in the middle of the New Mexico desert, helping her parents move the grandfather she’s never met into a home for people with dementia. At first, Carol avoids prickly Grandpa Serge. But as the summer wears on and the heat bears down, Carol finds herself drawn to him, fascinated by the crazy stories he tells her about a healing tree, a green-glass lake, and the bees that will bring back the rain and end a hundred years of drought. As the thin line between magic and reality starts to blur, Carol must decide for herself what is possible — and what it means to be true to her roots. Readers who dream that there’s something more out there will be enchanted by this captivating novel of family, renewal, and discovering the wonder of the world.
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Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer
by Kelly Jones
Fans of Polly Horvath or Roald Dahl will love this quirky story of a determined girl, and some extraordinary chickens. Twelve-year-old Sophie Brown feels like a fish out of water when she and her parents move from Los Angeles to the farm they’ve inherited from a great-uncle. But farm life gets more interesting when a cranky chicken appears and Sophie discovers the hen can move objects with the power of her little chicken brain: jam jars, the latch to her henhouse, the entire henhouse.... And then more of her great-uncle’s unusual chickens come home to roost. Determined, resourceful Sophie learns to care for her flock, earning money for chicken feed, collecting eggs. But when a respected local farmer tries to steal them, Sophie must find a way to keep them (and their superpowers) safe. Told in letters to Sophie’s abuela, quizzes, a chicken-care correspondence course, to-do lists, and more, Unusual Chickens is a quirky, clucky classic in the making.
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The Family Fletcher Takes Rock Island
by Dana Alison Levy
In this companion to The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher, the Fletchers head to their beloved Rock Island, a tiny island out to sea where everything stays the same...until this year.
The Fletchers are back on Rock Island, home of all their best summer memories. Romping in the surf, biking the windy shore roads, and catching crabs are just a few of the island’s delights. And best of all is the Rock Island Lighthouse, right next door and theirs to explore, year after year. But from their first day on the island it’s clear that this year, things have changed.
And Sam, Jax, Eli, and Frog Fletcher can’t quite believe their eyes.
FIRST, a giant fence is blocking their beloved lighthouse, which has always been open to the public. Why is it closed? And what is the For Sale sign doing there? SECOND, there are new neighbors, Valerie and Alex Gallindo. Kids next door might be okay, if they’re not totally annoying. But first impressions are not looking good...THIRD, who the heck is Chase Kark and why does he want to buy the lighthouse? (And why does he wear such weird green shorts all the time)? And FOURTH, there’s now an ice cream truck on Rock Island! (Okay, that one’s pretty awesome. But still, it’s totally different).
Add a dose of Shakespeare, a very tippy kayak, a video camera, and (maybe, possibly, or not) a swimming cat, and the recipe for a crazy summer is complete. Sam, Jax, Eli, and Frog’s time on Rock Island is not at all what they expected. Can Rock Island remain the same, even with all these transformations? For the Fletcher boys, and even for Papa and Dad, the summer brings new changes, both in themselves and the island they love.
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Waylon! : One Awesome Thing
by Sara Pennypacker
Waylon has lots of ideas for making life more awesome through science, like teleportation, human gills, and attracting cupcakes by controlling gravity. But it's impossible for him to concentrate on his inventions when he's experiencing his own personal Big Bang.
Arlo Brody is dividing the fourth grade boys into two groups. Waylon would rather be friends with everyone. Well, everyone except the scary new kid, Baxter Boylen.
Waylon's older sister, Neon, is shooting away from the family. He wishes everything would go back to the way it was before she started wearing all black and saying "What's the point?" all the time.
Just when it looks as though Waylon's universe is exploding, something happens to bring it all together again, and it is, without a doubt, One Awesome Thing.
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