Invisible Emmie by Terri Libenson Graphic Novel Realistic Fiction * * * Stars (Pretty good) Emmie is a 7th grader and despite her amazing art skills, she’s basically invisible to her peers. She’s not bullied or picked on, but she’s certainly not popular either. She has one good friend (Brianna), but they don’t have many classes together, so Emmie spends most of her school days feeling alone and somewhat anxious. One day at lunch Emmie … Read more
The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon Realistic Fiction Romance * * * * Stars (Great!) Natasha, an undocumented immigrant from Jamaica (now living in New York), is about to be deported thanks to her father who, after getting pulled over, announced to the police that he wasn’t even a citizen. This is her last day in the United States and her last opportunity to find a way to stay. While she’s fighting … Read more
Illuminae Illuminae Files #1 by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff Science Fiction Suspense/Thriller * * * * Stars (Great!) Kady breaks up with her boyfriend Ezra just hours before their world (a secret mining colony on Kerenza) is attacked by outside corporate interest BeiTech. They manage to put their differences aside long enough to survive and escape, but they end up on different ships. Kady finds herself on the Hypatia, while Ezra is conscripted into … Read more
Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier Graphic Novel Realistic Fiction Supernatural * * * * Stars (Great!) Cat and her family move to the coastal town of Bahia de la Luna to help with her little sister Maya’s health issues (she has cystic fibrosis). The whole town seems to be obsessed with spirits and Dia de los Muertos is coming up fast! Maya, too, becomes interested in ghosts – she has questions about death and the afterlife … Read more
Smoke by Dan Vyleta Fantasy Historical Fiction * * * * * Stars (Amazing!) Set in an alternate Victorian England, Smoke is both a read-alike for Harry Potter and a study of class structure within society. It can be enjoyed just for the impressive story-telling or studied by a book club with plenty of meaty subjects to explore. In the story, wicked thoughts or deeds are exposed for all to see when smoke and soot … Read more
Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley Mystery Supernatural * * * * * Stars (Amazing!) The people of Britain are guarded from supernatural threats by a group called the Checquy and Rook Myfanwy Thomas is one of their greatest assets. Introduced in The Rook, O’Malley’s first book in the Checquy Files series, Myfanwy (pronounced like Tiffany with an “M”) must use great diplomacy to get the Checquy to join forces with the Grafters, their bitterest rival. Full … Read more
Because I’m Watching Virtue Falls #4 by Christina Dodd Romance Thriller * * * * Stars (Great!) The fourth book in Dodd’s Virtue Falls series, Because I’m Watching is a romantic thriller which hit’s all the right notes. The two main characters, Madeline Hewitson and Jacob Denisov, are neighbors who have both experienced traumatic events in their lives. Maddie survived a college dorm massacre and Jacob is a military veteran suffering from PTSD. They meet … Read more
El Deafo by Cece Bell Graphic Novel Realistic Fiction Recommended for readers 4th grade and up * * * * Stars (Great!) Have you walked around with your eyes closed to see how it would feel to be blind? Think about what it might be like to be deaf. What would you miss hearing? Music? Television shows? Voices of family, friends, teachers? Take a look at El Deafo by Cece Bell. In this graphic novel, the author/artist tells … Read more
Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige Fantasy Dark * * * * Stars (Great!) Amy has been poor and picked on for most of her life and she’d like nothing better than to get out of her small town, but she really didn’t expect her trailer park home to get swept up by a tornado and to be carried off to the Land of Oz. And she certainly didn’t anticipate that her arrival would cause … Read more
Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin Realistic Fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) Jason Blake is twelve years old and autistic. He is smart and perceptive and has a very rich inner life, but it’s hard for him to verbally express himself and his feelings. He communicates best through his writing and has been sharing it on a website/online community called Storyboard for the past 3 years. Recently, he’s been exchanging emails with … Read more