Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Wintergirls takes readers into the mind of Lia, a teenager spiraling out of control. Lia and former best friend Cassie used to compete to see who could lose the most weight. Now Cassie has died from her eating disorder, leaving Lia to feel guilty for ignoring her phone calls and haunted by hallucinations of Cassie encouraging Lia to continue on her destructive path. Lia, who has no friends and struggles with her family relationships, is alone with her own negative thoughts and inner voices telling her she must lose more weight and cut herself. In Anderson's hands it is poetic and insightful and certainly a cut above any other "teen eating disorder" book I have ever read. However, for some reason this didn't fully capture my attention—I kept hoping for a little more of a plot or some other thread to bring me out of Lia's inner turmoil. I know teens will love this book and it will touch their lives deeply, so I do recommend it to readers mature enough to handle the difficult subjects presented.

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo

I love Michael Morpurgo's books, especially Private Peaceful, but I never had read this one before, probably because I knew it was narrated by a horse. But I had a 7th grade student read it and love it so I decided to try it myself. Joey, the horse telling the story, was a farm horse before he was taken to be in the World War I cavalry. In this book you see the horrors of war through Joey's eyes and limited perspective. Joey is repeatedly a victim of human violence but through it all finds numerous kind, empathetic human beings who care for him and love him. Any realistic book about World War I battles might just be too much to take—it was a horrible war. But through the eyes of Joey the story is accessible to kids and readers will definitely sympathize with Joey and hope that he is someday reunited with his beloved master. Recommended for readers who want to read about war but who might not be ready for more gritty books such as Soldier X or Fallen Angels.

Nation by Terry Pratchett

This unique story is kind of a fantasy, but more of an adventure/survival book. It does take place in an alternate reality, but it's a world much like ours without magical creatures or fantasy elements. Mau is a boy living on a small island and his people call themselves The Nation. He is in a canoe on the ocean when a tsunami devastates his island and kills everyone he has ever known. That same tsunami shipwrecks a young British girl on Mau's island and the two strangers slowly grow to be friends, allies, and creators of a new Nation. Both young characters question everything they have ever known—Mau must ask if his Nation's Gods are real and why they would destroy their own Nation. Daphne questions everything she has learned about what it means to be a proper young lady. Both children find they are more capable leaders than they could have ever imagined and together they unearth a secret about the Nation that changes world history. It's a deep story that is both adventurous and moving and will leave readers thinking for a long time. Recommended for both kids and adults.

The Last Invisible Boy by Evan Kuhlman

If you flip through this book is looks like fun. It has lots of cartoon illustrations and short, compact chapters. But when you read the book it's really not fun at all. It is the story of Finn Garrett, whose father died recently and who is grieving so much he fears he is becoming invisible. His hair is actually turning white and doctors and psychologists don't have any answers for why it is happening. Finn's journal chronicles how he remembers happy memories of his father, connects more strongly with his mother and grandfather, and relies on the support of his best girl friend. It's not a bad story and it does have some humor, but at it's heart it's all about healing from grief, which may not be what readers are expecting. I have no idea how kids will receive it—I'd love to have some reaction from middle school readers.

In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Gut Opdyke

I am in awe of Irene Gut, the author of this book. She lived in Poland during World War II and rather than giving in to Hitler and the German army she fought to save the lives of the Jews around her. She was only 17 when war broke out and she was separated from her family and traveling with the Polish army as a nurse. Russian soldiers attacked and raped her and she later was forced to work for the German army as a cook and a housekeeper. Her first act of resistance was to pass food into a ghetto. From there she slowly took more and more risks to save Jewish lives until finally she was transporting Jews to a hideout in the forest, hiding them in her workplace, and harboring them in the basement of the home where she was living and working as a housekeeper for a Nazi commander. She was always fearful for her life but never stopped doing what she thought was right. It was heartening to read about numerous others who also were helping in a time of unbelievable horrors. I would recommend this to 8th graders on up through adults.

Football Genius by Tim Green

Troy White is a football genius. He can watch a football game and predict what the next offensive move will be. It's not ESP or cheating of some kind, his mind just analyzes things and figures out what the opposing team is going to do next. When his mom gets a job with the Atlanta Falcons and Troy gets down on the sidelines he can't resist trying to tell the players and coaches his predictions. Of course, no one believes a kid so he is hauled off the field and banned from football games. This is the story of how he manages to connect with Seth Holloway, a Falcons player, and convince him of his talent. At first I was not a big fan of Troy—he steals a football, sneaks into games, and doesn't go about things in the right way. But somewhere along the way I got into this story and enjoyed rooting for Troy to come out on top (and for Seth and Troy's mom to get together). It was a fun read that I would recommend to 6th or 7th grade football fans.

All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg

Matt Pin was airlifted out of Vietnam, never to see his biological mother and brother again. Two years later he has been adopted by an American family and is struggling with the memories of all that he left behind. He's a good baseball player and has a wonderful coach but he faces racism from some of his teammates. This is the moving story of how he comes to terms with his past and a secret that is too painful to share. It's written in free verse and is easy to read quickly, but it's so well written you may want to slow down and savor every word. Although it's historical fiction, it will also appeal to sports fans due to the baseball theme running throughout the book. A couple of 8th grade boys read and loved this one already so it comes highly recommended.

Maus: A Survivor's Tale Volume 1: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman

Art Spiegelman's father, Vladek, survived many horrors during the Holocaust, including being imprisoned at Auschwitz. Years later he was a crotchety older man living in New York when his son interviewed him about his life experiences. This graphic novel tells his story alternating between the sometimes difficult father-son relationship of the present and the gripping survival stories from the past. It starts out before the war when Vladek was a prosperous young man and the reader gets a sense of how gradually the repressive Nazi measures took effect. It's an amazing story for all ages and one that could really bring the Holocaust to life for mature teen readers. This book is only part one—to find out what happened in Auschwitz you must read Maus II.

Anything but Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin

Jason is a 12-year-old with autism. He knows that his brain functions differently than other kids' brains, but still it is hard to change his behaviors in ways that will make him fit in better with his peers. The greatest joy in his life is his writing, and he posts his stories on a website called Storyboard. A fellow writer named PhoenixGirl reads his stories and strikes up a friendship with him. Jason finds out that her real name is Rebecca and he has some illusions that she might be his girlfriend. But when he finds out that he and Rebecca will both be attending a Storyboard users conference in Texas he fears that she will see what he is really like and not be his friend anymore. While not heavy on plot, the strength of this book is the first-person look inside the mind of a bright, struggling autistic boy. I would recommend it to readers who like to get inside of different characters heads and understand how they think and act. (By the way, the autism spectrum teacher at my middle school said it's the best middle school fiction book with an autistic character she has ever read.)

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose

This biography of a relatively unknown civil rights pioneer should be in every middle and high school library. I had heard of Claudette Colvin because I read Freedom Walkers by Russell Freedman, but I had no idea of the real story behind this 15-year-old girl who was arrested for not giving up her seat on a Montgomery bus months before Rosa Parks came along. Instead of being hailed as a hero, Claudette was actually ostracized and vilified by most of her fellow students. She faced criminal charges and was shortly after expelled from school due to her unplanned pregnancy. She could have given up the fight for justice but the next year she was the key witness in the federal lawsuit that officially ended bus segregation in Alabama. She risked her life to testify and never really got much credit for her efforts. Author Phillip Hoose tracked down Claudette Colvin in New York City and personally interviewed her numerous times for this book. It's well-written and absorbing and a great example of using primary sources. Recommended for readers of all ages—including adults.

Written in Bone by Sally Walker

Imagine if someone found your body 400 years from now. What would they know about you? What could they learn from your skeleton? Believe it or not, scientists and anthropologists can learn a lot from human remains and this book tells about several mysterious bodies found in Virginia and Maryland. All the bodies were from people who died in the 1600s during the time in which Europeans were colonizing the "new world." In most cases historians knew absolutely nothing about the individual people found, but scientists were able to learn how old they were, whether they were male or female, how hard they worked, what country they came from, how long they had been in the colonies, and what diseases they suffered from. In some cases they have been able to figure out exactly how they died and who they were. This book is not only brilliantly written by award-winning author Sally Walker, it's full of stunning photographs and information about how these scientists do their jobs. A great choice for social studies teachers as well as curious middle or even high school readers.

Forever Princess by Meg Cabot

This is the 10th and final book in the Princess Diaries series. Mia has grown up and matured and is now turning 18. In the beginning she finds herself telling lies to everyone—her parents, her boyfriend, and even her best friends. She lies about her college acceptances (she got in to every college and she thinks it's because she's a princess) and her senior thesis (which is really a steamy 400 page romance novel). Most importantly, she's lying to herself in thinking that she is in love with her current boyfriend, J.P. But when former boyfriend Michael returns from Japan she can't deny her real attraction to him. One of the most satisfying parts is that she and former best friend Lilly resolve their issues and Mia concludes that her oldest friends are the most important ones in her life. It's a believable and happy ending to the series and those who have read all of the books will not want to miss this one. Meg Cabot is, as always, funny and hip and in touch with teen girls. However, as a middle school librarian I have to say that a major plotline of this story is whether or not Mia will have sex after prom. She is the only remaining virgin among all of her friends and it is discussed a great deal. While Mia ends up making thoughtful decisions, the attitude of her friends toward sexuality is pretty flippant. I have always thought that Meg Cabot was writing for teenagers, not little girls or tweens, and that is definitely the case here. I have not seen this mentioned in any other reviews and I think it's a significant part of this book.

This Full House by Virginia Ewer Wolff

I have waited a long time for this final installment in the Make Lemonade trilogy. It has been years since I have read Make Lemonade and True Believer, but the pleasure of reading those books came back to me as soon as I started reading. LaVaughn is an inner city girl who dreams of getting out of the projects and going to college. She's now in her senior year and accepted into a "women in science" program that may be her ticket to college acceptance. She's feeling regret about the way she once treated a boy named Patrick and she's still babysitting the two children of Jolly, a teen mother who she worked for in the first book of the trilogy. Oh, and her best friend Annie is pregnant. All the lines of the story come together when she comes to suspect a connection between Jolly and the head of her science program. Unfortunately, the coincidence is too great to believe, but the writing is so good and the characters so real that it didn't really matter to me. I was just interested in seeing LaVaughn through to college and achieving her dreams. There was a strong theme of acting according to your conscience and doing the right thing. And Wolff doesn't shy away from the complexity of figuring out what the right thing is. It's not always clear and it certainly can cause pain. The free verse format makes this a quick read and even when using dozens of scientific terms, Wolff makes it all sounds like poetry.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

This book has it all. For those who like horror and suspense it's dark and creepy, and the book begins and ends with an attempted murder. But at the same time it's also got humor and heartwarming family moments, a sweet friendship between a boy and a girl, and it becomes a tearjerker on the final page. It's hard to believe that an author could take such a ridiculous sounding plot and put so much substance to it, but Neil Gaiman did it. Nobody Owens (Bod for short) survives the murder of his entire family when as a toddler he wandered into a nearby graveyard. Now he is being lovingly raised by the dead residents of the graveyard and the mysterious Silas who is neither alive nor dead. Bod is human but has been given some special powers in the graveyard. His early adventures are within the graveyard, but as he gets older he longs to see a little more of the world and even go to school. Eventually he finds out that the man Jack who killed his family is still after him and he will not ever be safe until he confronts this enemy. It's really a story of growing up, moving away from the "family" that raised you, confronting your fears, and moving into the wider world. It will be a popular middle school book and would be a great read-aloud. And of course, it won the Newbery Medal for 2009.

We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson

I don't like baseball, and while I vaguely know about the racial injustices in American baseball I had never actually read a book about the Negro Leagues before I read We Are the Ship. From the first words on the page I was drawn into the story—not because of the baseball but because of the history and human drama. The author writes as if he was one of the many players in the Negro Leagues, and this narrative voice drew me in. I could see the crowded buses, the restaurants and hotels that turned away black players, and the clowning moves of some of the early players. The artwork in this book is stunning and took the author/illustrator eight years to complete. This book is written at a perfect level for middle school students, but I'm afraid that they won't pick it up because at first glance it looks like a picture book for younger readers. If this book made me want to keep reading, anyone who actually likes baseball will be absolutely riveted. It should be read by anyone of any age who wants to learn about the history of the Negro Leagues. Teachers, this book would make a fantastic read aloud, either the whole thing or any one of the nine chapters (Nelson calls them "innings"). I was happy to see that this book won both the Coretta Scott King Award and the Sibert Award for children's nonfiction. It deserves it!