Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko(2004)A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards' families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister.
The Angel Experiment by James Patterson(2005)Maximum Ride #1
After the mutant Erasers abduct the youngest member of their group, the "bird kids," who are the result of genetic experimentation, take off in pursuit and find themselves struggling to understand their own origins and purpose.
Beyond the Deepwoods by Paul Stewart(2005)Thirteen-year-old Twig, having always looked and felt different from his woodtroll family, learns that he is adopted and travels out of his Deepwoods home to find the place where he belongs
Bone. [Vol. 2], The great cow race by Jeff Smith(2005)Now that they are reunited, Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone plan to return home, but Phoney Bone risks everything on a get-rich-quick scheme and it all goes wrong. Plus, a war is brewing and Fone Bone helps his new friends to defend their idyllic valley from a formidable enemy.
Crash by Jerry Spinelli(1996.)Seventh-grader John "Crash" Coogan has always been comfortable with his tough, aggressive behavior, until his relationship with an unusual Quaker boy and his grandfather's stroke make him consider the meaning of friendship and the importance of family.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid : The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney(2009)Middle-schooler Greg Heffley nimbly sidesteps his father's attempts to change Greg's wimpy ways until his father threatens to send him to military school.
Fire from the Rock by Sharon Draper(2007)In 1957, Sylvia Patterson's life--that of a normal African American teenager--is disrupted by the impending integration of Little Rock's Central High when she is selected to be one of the first black students to attend the previously all white school. Includes author's note and related websites.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman(2008)After the grisly murder of his entire family, a toddler wanders into a graveyard where the ghosts and other supernatural residents agree to raise him as one of their own
Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen(1993)Sent to live with relatives on their farm because of his unhappy home life, an eleven-year-old city boy meets his distant cousin Harris and is given an introduction to a whole new world.
A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck(1998)A boy recounts his annual summer trips to rural Illinois with his sister during the Great Depression to visit their larger-than-life grandmother
Petey by Ben Mikaelsen(1998)In 1922 Petey, who has cerebral palsy, is misdiagnosed as an idiot and institutionalized; sixty years later, still in the institution, he befriends a boy and shares with him the joy of life.
Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings(2004)Living near the water on Maryland's Eastern Shore, thirteen-year-old Brady and his best friends J.T. and Digger become entangled in a tragedy which tests their friendship and their ideas about right and wrong.
Road to Paris by Nikki Grimes(2006)Inconsolable at being separated from her older brother, eight-year-old Paris is apprehensive about her new foster family but just as she learns to trust them, she faces a life-changing decision.
The Robe of Skulls by Vivian French(2008)The sorceress Lady Lamorna has her heart set on a very expensive new robe, and she will stop at nothing--including kidnapping and black magic--to get the money to pay for it.
The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan(2005)Ranger’s Apprentice #1
When fifteen-year-old Will is rejected by battleschool, he becomes the reluctant apprentice to the mysterious Ranger Halt, and winds up protecting the kingdom from danger.
Soul Surfer by Bethany Hamilton(2004)Nonfiction
Bethany Hamilton, a teenage surfer lost her arm in a shark attack off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii. Not even the loss of her arm keeps her from returning to surfing, the sport she loves.
The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan(2007)Percy Jackson & the Olympians ; bk. 3.
Toad Rage by Morris Gleitzman(2004)Determined to understand why humans hate cane toads and to improve relations between the species, Limpy embarks on a dangerous trek from his swamp to the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer(2005)When seventeen-year-old Bella leaves Phoenix to live with her father in Forks, Washington, she meets an exquisitely handsome boy at school for whom she feels an overwhelming attraction and who she comes to realize is not wholly human.
The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt(2007)During the 1967 school year, on Wednesday afternoons when all his classmates go to either Catechism or Hebrew school, seventh-grader Holling Hoodhood stays in Mrs. Baker's classroom where they read the plays of William Shakespeare and Holling learns much of value about the world he lives in.
