The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

I think I am officially the last person to read this book. I heard years ago from a 7th grade boy that this book was great, and he was right. The author manages to take Greek mythology and tie it into a modern day action book that is also hilarious. Percy Jackson is our hero, but he's just a 6th grader with ADD who keeps failing out of school. (He finds out later that most of the children of Greek Gods have ADD--it's what helps them in their quests and fights with supernatural beings.) After a minotaur chases him to Camp Halfblood and vaporizes his mother, Percy starts to learn the truth about himself and the identity of his father. Eventually he makes Zeus pretty mad and is given 10 days to find Zeus's stolen lightning bolt and return it to Mount Olympus. He takes along his Satyr friend Grover and one of Athena's daughters, Annabeth. Together they have an action-packed quest involving an incredible amount of Greek Mythology. As I said before, the best part of this book is all the humor. This is the perfect series for middle schoolers, especially guys.

Heat by Mike Lupica

In my opinion, a really good sports book isn't really about sports, it's about life. There's a lot of life in this book (but also a whole lot of baseball). Michael is an amazing pitcher and his dream is to pitch in the Little League World Series. It was his father's dream also, but his father is not around and he and his brother are trying to keep that a secret. Michael is so good at baseball that other Little League teams are trying to make him prove he is 12 years old. Unfortunately he has a lot of trouble getting a birth certificate from Cuba. I liked Michael's best friend Manny, his brother Carlos, and the kind neighbor woman who takes care of them. I thought at times that the conversations between these 12 year old boys were much too clever and urbane to ever come out of the mouths of real kids. The happy ending was not a big surprise, but heck, I wanted things to work out for Michael. While there are non-sports issues in this book, there is so much baseball play-by-play that I do think the intended audience is kids who love the game. It might be hard for other kids to get through, but baseball fans will love it (and probably learn some great baseball strategies at the same time).

Jackie's Wild Seattle by Will Hobbs

If you like wild animals you will probably like this book a lot. Jackie's Wild Seattle is the name of an animal rescue shelter near Seattle, Washington, and in this book Shannon and Cody spend the summer there with their Uncle Neal, who loves to rescue endangered animals. There are lots of animal rescues (like a coyote in an elevator and a seal at the bottom of a cliff) as well as other things going on in their lives that complicate things for Shannon. She's worried about her parents who are working at a refugee camp in Afghanistan, she's worried about Uncle Neal who secretly is very ill, and she is curious about the angry, withdrawn boy who is doing community service at the animal shelter. I thought some of the animal rescues were a little bit unbelievable, but this book is a good choice for younger middle school kids who like action and animals. It might make you want to go volunteer at the Animal Humane Society!

The Mirror's Tale by P.W. Catanese

Have you ever wondered about whatever happened to fairy tale characters after the "happily ever after" ending? This book explores the aftermath of the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Many years later the same mirror that the evil stepmother used takes control of a teenage boy and drives him to almost destroy his twin brother and his own kingdom. This is a fairy tale story, but unlike most of this genre, this one is aimed at male readers. The main characters are twin brothers who switch places to deceive their parents. One turns evil and the other has to learn to use his brains and step up to the challenge of one day inheriting his father's title. I thought it went on a little bit too long, and while I enjoyed some of the fairy tale elements, it just didn't enthrall me like some other fairy tale books I've read. Still, there's a lot of action and magic and I think some fantasy readers will enjoy it.

Shackleton's Stowaway by Victoria McKernan

I was mesmerized by this book, mostly because it's based so closely on history. It's a great way to learn about an amazing true survival story. In 1914, 28 men boarded a ship called The Endurance. Their goal was to get to Antarctica so a group of the men could be the first to cross the continent. It was supposed to be a big adventure and it was an honor to be part of the crew led by the famous explorer Ernest Shackleton. What happened was a complete disaster. The ship was frozen into the sea and finally broke apart, leaving the men stranded on the frozen sea. They were hungry and wet and freezing for over a year and a half before Shackleton found a way to save the lives of all 28 men. So much happens in this book that I can't even begin to summarize it. The author does a great job of taking real people (like Perce Blackborrow, the 18-year-old stowaway who ends up having his toes cut off) and bringing the story to life. Readers who like adventure and history will enjoy this book.

Monsoon Summer by Mitali Perkins

Monsoon Summer is a romance novel and a whole lot more. Jazz, a tall, strong, smart business person, is also a 15-year-old girl with a crush on her best guy friend, Steve. She's sure he could never be romantically interested in a girl like herself. Strangely enough, during a summer in which they never see each other, their romantic issues are resolved. The reason they are apart is that Jazz and her family spend the summer at an orphanage in India where they all learn about the gifts they can bring to helping other people. I breezed through this book, enjoying it all the way. It's not a difficult book and it's not all that complex, but it pulled me in and made me interested in India and the culture that Jazz encounters there. If you like this kind of romance and coming of age story, I also recommend Dairy Queen (a little more complex and a bit more mature). Recommended for readers who like romance, world travel, and stories about becoming happy with who you are.

Day of Tears by Julius Lester

I listened to this book, which calls itself a "novel in dialogue," on CD, and it was amazing. I knew it was about a large slave auction, but I had no idea how it traced the characters lives' through time after the auction. It's based on the largest slave auction in history, in which one man sold about 450 slaves to pay off gambling debts. The slaves had been treated relatively well with this particular family, but were suddenly split apart and sold to the highest bidders. The main character you meet is Emma, a young slave who takes care of master Pierce Butler's two young daughters. She is cruelly sold away from her own parents and the home she has always known . She is bought by a woman from Kentucky, and along with her is sold a man named Joe whom she later marries. They later escape and it is her telling her granddaughter the story of their lives. Not just slaves are heard from in this book—you get accounts from the auctioneer, from master Pierce Butler, and his two daughters. You hear from angry slaves ready to run away and from slaves who have given up and accepted slavery. You also hear from white abolitionists. Many characters reflect back in later years on their actions and the events of the time which lets the reader know for sure how the characters ended up. At the conclusion of the book Julius Lester shares the historical facts of this slave auction. It's a moving story for kids or adults.

Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar

If you're a guy who likes funny books about real-life situations, this may be the book for you. Scott is a high school freshman and absolutely everything is going wrong in his life. He drifts apart from his best (and only) friends, he is picked on at school and on the bus, Julia, his major crush, doesn't know he exists, and to top things off, Scott's mom is pregnant. Scott decides to write notes to his future baby brother or sister, and he tells that baby everything about his miserable life, including lots of top ten lists and pieces of advice for his new sibling. Scott spends his school year trying to get Julia's attention, but all his attempts backfire. He writes for the school paper, works on the school play, and runs for student council, all to be near her, but each attempt fails to get her attention. Scott ends up with a couple of surprising friends, and he really is a good writer, so all is not lost. Scott's thoughts and lists are really hilarious, and middle school guys will enjoy a glimpse into what high school might be like for them. David Lubar also wrote Dunk, which a 7th grade boy once told me was the best book he had ever read. And he's the author of some short stories about Lawn Weenies. If you like funny books, look for the call number FIC LUB on the shelves and take a look at some of David Lubar's books.