Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate

Kek immigrates to Minnesota from Africa where his family has been torn apart by war. He has seen his father and brother killed and doesn't know the fate of his mother. He moves in with an aunt and cousin who are already living in the U.S. and have adjusted to things like living in an apartment and surviving in the winter. Kek remains hopeful in spite of his horrific past and the difficulties he faces in America. He makes one friend and finds a job caring for a cow, which reminds him of all he lost in Africa. The story is told in free verse and Kek uses a lot of imagery in his comparisons between his old and new lives. This is a sort of quiet book for the kind of reader who likes to empathize with characters in tough situations.

Red Glass by Laura Resau

Sophie is cautious. She always wears her seat belt and never takes risks. But when she finds herself on a road trip to Mexico she learns a lot about herself and finds that she can take the biggest risk of all--opening up to other people. Here's the story in a nutshell. Her family takes in Pablo, a six-year-old Mexican boy, whose parents died trying to cross from Mexico into the U.S. But Pablo has family in Mexico, and Sophie accompanies her Bosnian great aunt, the aunt's boyfriend, and the boyfriend's mysterious teenage son to Mexico to reunite Pablo with his grandparents. A friendship/romance develops between the teenage son, Angel, and Sophie, but Angel is planning a return to Guatemala, where violence breaks out. Sophie risks her life to help him and does a lot of growing up in a short time. I have traveled quite a bit in Guatemala and I enjoyed the book particularly for it's setting. This is one for readers who like to see characters grow and change.

Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow by James Sturm and Rich Tommaso

This is a comic book that at first glance looks like a biography of baseball great Satchel Paige. However, it's actually a fictional story of an African American man who encounters Satchel Paige twice in his life–once as a promising young ball player who gets a hit off of a Satchel Paige pitch, and later in life as a father who has been beaten down by a life of discrimination and racism. The illustrations and captions are simple, but they capture the action of the baseball games well. Through the eyes of the narrator you understand the humiliations that build up over years of living with Jim Crow laws and you see the personality and showmanship of Satchel Paige. Factual information in the introduction and at the end of the book helps put the story in historical context. A great book for baseball lovers!

The Case of the Missing Marquess: An Enola Holmes Mystery by Nancy Springer

It's 1888 and 14-year-old Enola Holmes's mother has disappeared. Enola happens to be the much younger sister of Sherlock Holmes, the famous detective, but she barely knows him. He steps in to solve the mystery and send her to boarding school, but she runs away and finds that solving mysteries is her true calling. Along the way she solves the mystery of the missing 12-year-old Lord Tewksbury gets into deep danger. She also rebels against the female clothing of the day (corsets and bustles) and sees the crime-ridden dark side of London. This is not a mystery for all kids—I think it would take a smart, persistent reader with a good vocabulary to appreciate it. But if you like mental challenges, historical fiction, mysteries, and solving codes, this is the book for you.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Imagine a future in which parents can choose to get rid of their kids when they turn 13. Even stranger, the parents can feel good about themselves because their kids are being "unwound" and their body parts are used to save other people's lives. Kids end up as "unwinds" for many reasons. Connor's parents didn't like his behavior, Risa was an orphan, and Lev's parents actually gave him away as a "tithe" or a kind of sacrifice to God. They meet on a highway on the way to being unwound, and that's when their adventures begin. They need to survive until they're 18 years old, when they can no longer be unwound. This book made me think about some big questions like who should decide whether a life has value and how will we deal with future technology that gives us the power to transplant more and more organs. It's a powerful book, but also disturbing (especially the "harvest" at the end). Neal Shusterman really knows how to write books that interest middle school kids. Recommended for readers who liked The Giver and Among the Hidden and House of the Scorpion.

Beastly by Alex Flinn

Handsome, arrogant Kyle has been turned into a beast by a witch. He has two years to make someone love him for who he is or he will remain a beast forever. Yes, it's the story of Beauty and the Beast set in modern day New York City. Kyle is a major jerk in his old life, but his transformation to a more sensitive, self-actualized person is surprisingly believable. Of course, there's a bookish girl in this story, one whom Kyle at first looks down on, but later comes to love. In some ways it's predictable, but that didn't bother me at all. It's a fun romance for fairy tale fans, and since it's told from the point of view of the beast, it may attract some guy readers as well. The best part of the book is the chat sessions from Kyle's online support group where you meet others who have mysteriously transformed, including a frog prince and the Little Mermaid. A fun read for 7th-10th graders.

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.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

This is a hot title right now and I finally grabbed a copy and got it read in one night. Greg, the somewhat nerdy hero of the books, says he's not going to keep a diary, but he does, and it includes lots and lots of cartoons. Greg's entering middle school fully aware of his social status (pretty low). His really nerdy best friend is even lower on the social ladder than he is, but he doesn't seem to know or care. Things never seem to go right for Greg--with his parents, his brothers, or his friend Rowley. In the end I felt like I read a comic strip rather than a fully developed novel, but it was a fun read and the cartoons are the best part of it. I think this book (and it's sequels) will be enjoyed by kids from 4th-7th grades.

Emi and the Rhino Scientist by Mary Kay Carson

Have you ever thought about how a rhinoceroses gets pregnant? Well, Terri Roth is a scientist whose job it is to make sure that this happens. Emi is a female Sumatran Rhino and before she came along it had been 100 years since one had given birth in captivity. With Terri Roth's help she has had two babies. I love the Scientists in the Field series. They're substantial science books with lots of great photos and a focus on really interesting scientists. In addition to learning about the science, you also learn valuable information about saving the environment. I didn't know how endangered rhinos are and this was a look at the work that goes into trying to save them from extinction. This is a really good nonfiction book and should be read from cover to cover. I also recommend Tracking Trash by Loree Griffin Burns, also in this series.

Elephant Run by Roland Smith

If you're like me you probably don't know much about herding elephants in Burma. But if you like books about war with a lot of action and teenage characters who do amazing things, try this one. It's 1941 and the world is at war. Nick finds himself on his father's plantation in Burma where things are supposed to be safe, however the Japanese are threatening to invade the country and things very quickly get dangerous. Nick, who is trying to adjust to a world of elephants and mahouts (elephant trainers) and a dad he barely knows becomes a prisoner of the Japanese and his father is sent to prison camp. There's a lot going on in this book, but to sum it up, Jack learns a lot and bravely escapes and tries to free his father. I enjoyed the action and learning about what went on in Burma during World War II. I think middle school guys will especially like this one.

Freak by Marcella Pixley

Miriam Fisher is different. She likes to read the dictionary, write in her diary that she named Clyde, and recite Shakespeare. She's an outsider at her middle school and for the most part doesn't care that she has only one good friend. What she does care about is that her older sister, a former nerd like Miriam, has changed and is rejecting her. She also has a big crush on a high school boy who treats her as an intellectual equal but really is interested in her older sister. The real conflict of the book is that Jenny, a girl at school, starts to humiliate and harass Miriam on a regular basis. Jenny seems to be desperately trying to be popular, and her way of appealing to popular kids is to harass Miriam and let boys take advantage of her. Miriam takes a lot of abuse without telling a parent or teacher, and toward the end she snaps and fights back. Then in the very end she does a courageous thing to help Jenny. For some reason this book did not appeal to me in spite of the fact that it has gotten great reviews and it's about a timely subject. Maybe it was because Miriam was just a little too much of a "freak." I read this book thinking it might be the next big hit with middle school girls. After reading it, I don't think it's a book with the same kind of appeal as Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson or Just Listen by Sarah Dessen. If you read the book, please let me know what you thought...maybe I missed something.

Castle Corona by Sharon Creech

In this fantasy fairy tale, Pia and Enzo are orphaned peasant children who find a mysterious pouch and shortly afterwards are summoned to the castle to be tasters for the King. They don't know why they were chosen, but they soon come to enjoy eating good food, roaming the castle, and meeting the prince and princess. The royal family is a bit ridiculous and stereotypical, which keeps the book lighthearted and mildly humorous, but kept me from really getting engaged with the story. Creech is a fine writer, and this light, breezy story that ends with a predictable twist will probably be popular with younger kids (grades 3-5). This fantasy fairy tale reminded me of Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris, which I didn't like all that well, either. Personally, I much prefer the fairy tale stories with more depth of character such as The Goose Girl and others by Shannon Hale, Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, and Beauty by Robin McKinley.

Boot Camp by Todd Strasser

Did you know that parents with a lot of money can send problem kids to private schools that operate like Army boot camps? The parents want their kids to be "whipped into shape" and to come back better behaved, and the boot camps can pretty much do whatever they want to the kids. It's kind of like being sent to prison without being legally convicted of a crime. Todd Strasser wrote this fiction book about a 15-year-old kid who really isn't a bad guy who gets sent to one of these abusive schools. His parents sent him away because he was dating an older woman who happened to also be one of his teachers. Garrett faces both physical and psychological abuse, but he refuses to admit that he did anything wrong. His stubbornness just gets him more abuse. Garrett eventually attempts and escape, but things don't turn out like you might expect. I don't think Strasser's books are particularly well-written, but he knows how to hit on topics of great interest to kids and how to put together a story that keeps kids reading. It's not a book for everyone—it's got violence and abuse and it's not a happy story at all. I suspect that some kids will really like it and others will want nothing to do with it. But if you do read it, I'm sure you will want to learn more about these Boot Camps and how they get away with what they do.

Revolution is Not a Dinner Party by Ying Chang Compestine

This fiction book reminded me a lot of Red Scarf Girl, which is a nonfiction book. Both books are about young Chinese girls caught up in the Cultural Revolution. Revolution is Not a Dinner Party is about Ling, the only daughter of two doctors. When the book opens life is pretty good, but little by little things get worse after Comrade Li moves into Ling's family's apartment. He is the voice of the communist party and is looking for people he can get into trouble. Neighbors get taken away to work camps and publicly beaten, and Ling's own father is taken away to prison. The book covers four years of Ling's life in this oppressive government system. I thought the events and historical aspects were very interesting, but to kids with no background in Chinese history I think much of it would be hard to follow. I also found that I didn't really feel emotionally attached to Ling. There was something distant in her way of narrating the book that left me disconnected. The writing is good and it is an interesting time period to learn about, but since it was a fiction book I wanted more. I had the impression that the author probably was telling a true story, and if that is the case, I would have preferred to read the nonfiction version. I will be very curious to know if kids read and like this book.

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

Imagine forgetting four years of your life. Naomi falls down the steps outside her school and gets a head injury that leaves her physically healthy, but with no memories after sixth grade. Her family and friends have to tell her a lot of things—like the name of her boyfriend, the fact that her parents are divorced, and that she is co-editor of the school yearbook. It's rough at first, but it gives Naomi a chance to re-invent herself. She dumps the boyfriend, quits yearbook, acts in a school play, and fights with her former best friend, a guy named Will who clearly adores her. By the end of this book I was really into her story and the choices she was making. When you read it you can't help but think about the choices you might make if you could forget the past and start fresh. There's a lot of romance here, and also some mature themes, so I recommend it to 8th graders on up.