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Tween Reads
February 2014
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"The oldest books are still only just out to those who have not read them." ~ Samuel Butler (1835-1902), English writer
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New and Recently Released!
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| Five, Six, Seven, Nate! by Tim FederleFiction. After finally achieving his dream of being cast in a Broadway musical, theater-obsessed eighth-grader Nate discovers that Broadway is a lot "like a junior high school cafeteria but with more glitter." As the understudy to E.T.'s understudy in E.T.: The Musical, Nate's got a lot to prove, not just to the better-looking actors, pushy stage parents, and frustrated choreographers, but also to his loyal best friend, his complicated family, and himself. With snappy dialogue, effervescent humor, and lots of heart, this encore to Better Nate Than Ever will appeal to fans of Raina Telgemeier's Drama.
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| Hunt for the Hydra by Jason FryScience fiction. The Hashoone family used to be pirates, but nowadays they're privateers, capturing enemy spacecraft on behalf of the Jovian Union. Twelve-year-old Tycho Hashoone hopes that one day he'll take over as captain of the family's spaceship, even though it means fierce competition with his brother and sister…and that's assuming that the family survives their current mission to uncover a plot that might lead to interplanetary war. This swashbuckling series debut is bursting with funny, fast-paced action and steampunk flair, making it great pick for readers who like Philip Reeve's Larklight.
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| The Girl from the Tar Paper School: Barbara Rose Johns and the Advent of... by Teri KanefieldBiography. In 1950, Barbara Rose Johns was 15 years old and ready to fight. Like all the African American students in her Virginia town, she attended Moton High School, an overcrowded cluster of leaky tar paper shacks. But she'd seen the clean, modern school attended by the white students. Tired of unfair treatment, Barbara led a strike for educational equality -- a strike that eventually became a part of Brown v. Board of Education, the court case than ended school segregation in the U.S. If you're inspired by Barbara's story and interested in other outspoken young civil rights activists, check out Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip M. Hoose. |
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| The Right Fight: World War II, Book One by Chris LynchHistorical Fiction. Roman Bucyk is a minor league baseball star, but his real ambition is to stand up for his country in the fight against the Nazis. So in 1941, Roman enlists in the U.S. Army and heads off to basic training, and then into battle -- not in Europe or the Pacific as he expected, but in North Africa, where his experiences strain not only his courage and endurance, but also his romance with Hannah, who is back on the homefront. With all the vivid atmosphere and gut-wrenching battle scenes of his Vietnam series, Chris Lynch offers readers "a powerful taste of war on a personal level" (Publishers Weekly).
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Books You Might Have Missed
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Some of these great reads from 2013 might have slipped under your radar, but it's never too late to check them out.
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| Bad Machinery: The Case of the Team Spirit by John AllisonGraphic Novel. During their first year at a new school, six students in Tackleford, England are drawn into the puzzling mysteries surrounding their local football club. The three girls want to know why the club owner is so eager to knock down elderly Mrs. Biscuits' house and replace it with a new stadium, while the three boys wonder if recent, seemingly supernatural events mean that the football club is cursed. The snarky banter and colorful, sharply expressive illustrations shine in this "dark, fast-paced, and riotously funny" (Publishers Weekly) graphic novel.
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| If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric L. GansworthHistorical Fiction. As the only Native American kid in the gifted program at a mostly white school, seventh-grader Lewis Blake feels like he may as well be from a different planet. He's just about given up hope of making friends when he and new student George connect over their shared love of the Beatles. Still, Lewis is afraid that he can never be honest with George about his messed up family and their life on the poverty-stricken reservation. Set in 1975 against a backdrop of classic rock (there's even a playlist included), If I Ever Get Out of Here is an unhurried, authentic story of unlikely friendship. |
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| The Wig in the Window by Kristen KittscherMystery. Witnessing a suspect wielding a red, dripping cleaver is only the beginning of the mystery in this smart crime caper. While honing their spy skills on a midnight mission in their quiet neighborhood, aspiring FBI agents Sophie and Grace are shocked to catch their middle school counselor, Dr. Agford, committing what appears to be murder. Could strange, wig-wearing, annoyingly sweet Dr. Agford really be a killer? If not, why is she acting so suspicious? And with the investigation growing more dangerous, can Grace and Sophie solve the case without losing their friendship -- or their lives? |
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| One Came Home by Amy TimberlakeHistorical Fiction. It's 1871, and Georgie Burkhardt is sure that the unrecognizable body found by the roadside can't actually be her runaway sister, Agatha. But since everyone else in her family and their small Wisconsin town is convinced, Georgie -- armed with a single-shot rifle and reluctantly accompanied by Billy McCabe, Agatha's former boyfriend -- sets out to learn her sister's fate, whatever it might be. As she faces cougars, counterfeiters, and firestorms, Georgie's fierce, folksy narration will "capture readers' imaginations" and "hold them hostage until the final page is turned" (Kirkus Reviews). For another bold heroine in a frontier setting, try Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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