Funny Business: Volume One of Guys Read (2010) by Jon Scieszka

Plot Summary:  This collection of short stories by various authors is sure to make you laugh out loud!  Guys Read includes stories by Jeff Kinney, Kate DiCamillo, Jon Scieszka, and Eoin Colfer just to name a few. 

Subjects/Themes:  Friendship, school, siblings, families

Genre:  Humor

Reviews:  *Starred Review in Booklist, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly.

Age Group:  Grades 5-8

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool (2010)

Plot Summary:  Twelve year old Abilene Tucker is very sad when her father, Gideon, tells her that he must send her to stay with a friend for the summer while he works.  Abilene is used to riding the rails with her dad and doesn't want to leave him.   Feeling abandoned, she arrives at the town of Manifest, a town that she has only heard about from her father's stories.  Shady, her father's friend, won't say much about Gideon, and Miss Sadie, the local diviner, tells her stories of the past that Abilene doesn't understand.  Abilene makes friends and together, they begin to uncover a connection to Miss Sadie's stories and what happened to the town of Manifest during World War I and the time of prohibition.  Will Abilene, Lettie and Ruthanne figure out the mystery of who the Rattler is?  What happened to Jinx and Ned?  This award winning story is one of community, loss, and love.

Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Subjects/Themes:  War, The Depression, immigrants, drifters.

Reviews: *Starred Review* from Booklist, School Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly.

Age Group:  Grades 5-8

Awards:  2010 Newbery Award

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (1975)

Plot Summary:  Winnie Foster, age 10, is fed up with the constant hovering of her parents. An only child, she thinks about getting away from her house and family by running away.  One morning, intent upon leaving her family, Winne ventures into the wood next to her house and comes upon a young man drinking from a stream.  His name is Jesse Tuck.  Winnie asks for a drink of water, but he tells her no.  Within moments, the rest of the Tuck family arrives and realizes that they have to tell Winnie their story in order to keep her from drinking from the spring.  They decide to take her back to their house so that they can fully explain their situation.  You see, they drank from the spring seventy years ago and haven't aged since.  Winnie is afraid at first, but then she realizes that the family means her no harm.  The only problem they face now is the man in the yellow suit who seems to know something about the mysterious Tuck family.  Will Winnie return to her home?  Is this Tuck family in danger of being exposed?  Does Winnie decide to drink from the spring in order to join the Tucks?  Read this warm and magical story to find out. 

Genre:  Fantasy

Subjects/Themes:  Immortality, secrets, family

Reviews: Booklist

Age Group:  Grades 4-7

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The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong (2008)

Plot Summary:  Chloe hits puberty and begins to see ghosts everywhere.  Her behavior becomes erratic and unstable because of frequent visits from ghosts that seem to terrorize her.  Because of her bizarre behavior, Chloe is diagnosed as a schizophrenic and sent to live in a group home called Lyle House with other troubled teens.  Not only is Chloe very unhappy living at the home, but she is tormented by some of the other teens that live there. 

Chloe is locked in a crawl space that is unknowingly a burial spot for dead bodies by a rotten roommate.  When the spirits that once inhabited these bodies re-enter their corpses and begin to move, Chloe finally begins to fully realize and understand her supernatural powers.  This is an interesting story involving the supernatural, and contains some gruesome scenarios.  Read this book with your doors and windows locked.

Genre:  Fantasy

Subjects/Themes:  Group homes, supernatural powers, troubled teens, ghosts

Reviews:  Publishers Weekly Review and School Library Journal

Age Group:  Ages 12 and up.

Series Information:  Darkest Powers Trilogy.  Other books:  The Awakening (book 2) and The Reckoning (book 3).

The Clique: A graphic Novel by Lisi Harrison & Yishan Li (2010)

Plot Summary:  Claire Lyons move from Florida to Westchester, New York is difficult enough without someone making her feel unwelcome, even hated.  Claire's dad has lost his job so they are forced to move into the guest house on his college buddy's estate.  When Claire meets Massie Block, the girl who lives on the estate, she thinks that they can be friends, especially since they are both going into 7th grade.  Claire couldn't be more wrong.  Massie has a group of friends, and Claire is not welcome to join them.  Massie not only ignores and berates Claire, she goes out of her way to humiliate her.  Massie and her friends only buy designer clothes and it's obvious that they are out of Claire's league.  This is a story of a battle between Massie and Claire, but who will win?  Will Massie realize how superficial she really is and accept Claire as her friend?  Or will Claire have to continue to fight back and try to outsmart Massie?  This story of cliques and mean girls, unfortunately, is quite realistic. 

Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Format:  Graphic Novel

Subject/Themes: Cliques, snobs, bullying, rich families, private schools

Reviews:  Publishers Weekly Review, School Library Journal, and Booklist Review

Age Group:  Grades 5-8