Leander and Polly are two teenage Union soldiers who carry deep, dangerous secrets and survive incredible odds. Leander is underage when he enlists, and Polly follows her father into war disguised as his son. As the lives of these young, brave soldiers intersect, readers will be transported to the homes, waterways, camps, hospitals, and prisons of the Civil–War era.
After her best friend dies in a drowning accident, Suzy is convinced that the true cause of the tragedy must have been a rare jellyfish sting—things don’t just happen for no reason. Retreating into a silent world of imagination, she crafts a plan to prove her theory–even if it means traveling the globe, alone.
In this graphic novel adventure, twelve-year-old Astrid discovers roller derby right as she and her best friend are growing apart.
Do you believe in magic? Micah Tuttle sets out on a quest to visit the magical circus of his Grandfather Ephraim’s stories. Will he find the Lightbender and have his grandfather’s wish granted?
When thirteen-year-old Truly is invited to sit at the Popular Table by a former best friend, she willingly goes, leaving behind her good friend Hazel. She is surprised at how nice the popular kids are, and how mean Hazel has become. Before she knows what’s happening, Truly finds herself caught in a web of lies and misunderstandings, made all the worse by the relentlessly public social media world. Told from the point-of-view of six eighth-grade boys and girls, the story unfolds with complexity and no easy answers, revealing the insecurities that each person feels, regardless of popularity status.
Several members of the squirrel community witnessed that evil hawk snatch Jed up into his talons, but only TsTs saw him fall. While the rest of the squirrels mourn his loss, Chai and TsTs set off along the buzzpaths to save their friend. They venture into unknown territories, facing predators and allies along the way. They meet new squirrel communities and show us their incredible sense of ingenuity and ability to problem-solve. What is that ear-splitting rumbling, grinding, winding and cracking they hear that is slowly taking the forest apart, piece by piece? This novel will make us think differently about the little gray, brown and red rascals we see in our yards every day.
Twelve-year-old Milo is ready to spend a cozy holiday season snuggled up with his mother and father. Much to his dismay, his family inn begins receiving an unexpected number of guests,each more secretive than the next. Why are they all arriving at the Greenglass House? And what secrets are they hiding? Even the impending blizzard doesn’t slow the rush of incredible characters to the inn’s doorstep. With the help of his newfound friend Meddy, Milo concocts a plan to unravel the visitors’ shadowy pasts and their connection to the Greenglass House.
“almost.” In
the last words her grandfather, Jack, uttered to her before dying: “It’s under the egg…there’s a letter…and a treasure.” Theo can’t get these words out of her head, but she also can’t figure them out. She’s desperate for a hidden treasure. She’s trying to survive on the $463 Jack left in a mason jar. Her mother is present, but preoccupied by her obsessive work on math theorems. Jack was Theo’s caretaker and now she’s left to fend for herself. Theo discovers her first clue when she accidentally spills alcohol on a painting that hung above the mantle. This reveals another, much older, and potentially valuable painting. Where did this painting come from and why did Jack keep it hidden? Is this the treasure Jack referred to? Theo embarks on a quest to discover the origins of this painting. Along the way she learns about her grandfather’s secret past.
against neighboring Scotland, and young men are leaving for battle. Adrian is nearly thirteen, but you wouldn’t know it if you looked at him. Asthmatic, small for his age, and albino, most people in his village see him as being sent from the devil–or at the very least useless. Even his father, a bowyer, doesn’t think Adrianis strong enough to be a bowyer’s apprentice. But when the Scots invade England, Adrian sees an opportunity to prove his worth. He follows his best friend Hugh into battle, bow on his back. But war is not as glorious as he thought it would be and chasing down the enemy is not as black and white as he imagines.
by Kate DiCamillo.
Rescuing a squirrel after an accident involving a vacuum cleaner, comic-reading cynic Flora Belle Buckman is amazed when the squirrel, Ulysses, demonstrates astonishing powers of strength and flight after being revived.
by Tim Federle.
An eighth grader who dreams of performing in a Broadway musical concocts a plan to run away to New York and audition for the role of Elliot in the musical version of “E.T.”
by Helen Frost.
Twelve year-olds Anikwa, of the Miami village of Kekionga, and James, of the trading post outside Fort Wayne, find their friendship threatened by the rising fear and tension brought by the War of 1812.
by Mark Goldblatt.
In Queens, New York, in 1969, twelve-year-old Julian Twerski writes a journal for his English teacher in which he explores his friendships and how they are affected by girls, a new student who may be as fast as Julian, and especially an incident of bullying.
by Chris Grabenstein.
Twelve-year-old Kyle gets to stay overnight in the new town library, designed by his hero (the famous gamemaker Luigi Lemoncello), with other students, but finds that come morning he must work with friends to solve puzzles in order to escape.
by Nan Marino.
When musical prodigy Elvis Ruby completely freezes up on television, he is forced to hide out in the Pinelands of New Jersey and try to find his way back to the music once again with the help
of a new friend.
by Tom McNeal.
When Jeremy Johnson Johnson’s strange ability to speak to the ghost of Jacob Grimm draws the interest of his classmate Ginger
Boltinghouse, the two find themselves at the center of a series of disappearances in their town.
by Holly Goldberg Sloan.
Twelve-year-old genius and outsider Willow Chance must figure out how to connect with other people and find a surrogate family for herself after her parents are killed in a car accident.