The Loser List by H.N. Kowitt

Doug Shine is a middle school geek who loves comics and drawing. When his name shows up on the "loser list" in the girls' bathroom his effort to erase it get him after school detention. There he has a run in with the toughest bullies in school who take him in and make him inadvertently part of a crime. Doug only wants to do what's right but can he win back his best friend and get the stolen goods back to their owner without getting beat up by "The Skulls"? This book is very much like the Wimpy Kids and Big Nate books. It has lots of drawings and an underdog for a hero. It didn't stand out to me as better than those books but it is entertaining if you're looking for something fun and easy to read.

Bruiser by Neal Shusterman

Neal Shusterman is one of my very favorite authors for teenagers and, while very different from his other books, Bruiser was a real treat. I didn't know what to expect because all of the reviews I read tried so hard not to give away what the book is really about. I couldn't even tell if it was realistic or a fantasy until I read it (and I'm still not so sure how I could classify it now that I've read it!) Four characters narrate this book: Brewster aka "Bruiser," a high school boy with no friends and a reputation for being dangerous and violent, Bronte, the nice, normal girl who falls in love with Brewster, Tennyson, Bronte's twin brother who at first is adamantly against his sister dating "Bruiser," and Cody, Brewster's 8-year-old brother. Brewster and Cody live with a sometimes-cruel uncle who forces them to keep to themselves and to form no relationships. Once Bronte and Brewster find each other, though, Brewster begins forging relationships with people with disastrous consequences for himself. SPOILER ALERT—don't read more if you don't want to know why. The truth is that Brewster has a gift (or a curse, depending on how you look at it). He takes away the pain of those he cares about—both physical and emotional. His body is a wreck and getting worse with every injury those around him sustain. The deeper he gets involved with Bronte's family the harder the toll is on his body and spirit. It's a good story with complex characters, and, as always with Neal Shusterman's books, there's a whole other deeper layer to talk about and think about. Recommended for 8th-12th grades.

Bloody Times by James L. Swanson

I am a huge fan of Chasing Lincoln’s Killer, by the same author. It’s one of my all-time favorite nonfiction books for middle school boys because it reads just like a fiction story with an incredible amount of action and intrigue. Bloody Times is in many ways a companion to Chasing Lincoln’s Killer. It details the days following Lincoln’s assassination from two perspectives—the long, drawn-out funeral train journey that took Lincoln home to rest in Springfield, Illinois, and the actions of Jefferson Davis in the days and weeks immediately following Lincoln’s death. Both stories were mostly unknown to me and are quite interesting from my adult point of view. I don’t think this book will be quite as fascinating to kids as it was to me, though. The stories lack the drama (and violence) of the manhunt for John Wilkes Booth which made the first book so compelling. It’s still definitely worth reading, though, and I would recommend it especially to history teachers and students with an interest in history.

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

This book wins the prize for the most original book I read this summer. Libba Bray takes what sounds like a cheesy concept—a plane full of teenage beauty pageant contestants crashes on a mysterious island —and turns it into a satirical statement about corporate greed, pop culture, and the objectification of women. She manages to do this in the context of an action-packed, hilarious story with a cast of many multifaceted beauty qreen wannabees. The girls practice dance routines, build a functional society, flirt with pirates, and thwart an evil plot that would kill the girls off and blame it on a crazy dictator of a rogue state. The language and sexuality, as well as the sophisticated tone make this appropriate for high school, college, and even adult readers looking for something completely different.