F BEN	Nuggets in My Pocket (age 12+) by Barbara Benezra historical ... animals The adventures of a young boy crazy about horses as he prospects for gold during the period of California's growth to statehood.
F TAY	The Bomb (age 12+) by Theodore Taylor historical ... realistic ... nature ... war Publisher comments: Shortly after the first atomic bombs were dropped on Japan, World War II came to and, and the terrible reality of the atomic age began. Sixteen-year-old Sorry Rinamu has lived on the Bikini Atoll in the western Pacific all his life. Now the United States government wants to use his home as a site for atomic weapons tests. The islanders are told that they must leave weapon tests. The islanders are told that they must leave the island in the interest of world peace but can return when the island in the interest of world peace but can return when the land is safe again. Sorry doesn't believe the story. He is sure that radioactive fallout will poison the warm blue waters and beautiful white sand beaches, and Bikini Atoll will be lost to its people forever. Sorry knows that he has no choice but stop this disaster before it starts — even if it means standing alone against the U.S. military, and risking his own life to save his ancestral land.
F CAB	Victoria and the Rogue (age 12+) by Meg Cabot historical Publisher comments: Victoria: Growing up in far-off India, wealthy young heiress Lady Victoria Arbuthnot was accustomed to handling her own affairs, not to mention everyone else's. But in her sixteenth year, Vicky is unceremoniously shipped off to London to find a husband. With her usual aplomb, however, Lady Victoria gets herself engaged to the perfect English gentleman, even before setting foot on British soil. The Rogue: Hugo Rothschild, ninth earl of Malfrey, is everything a girl could want in a future husband: he is handsome and worldly, if not rich. Lady Victoria has everything just as she'd like it. That is, if raffish young ship captain Jacob Carstairs would leave well enough alone. Jacob's meddling is nothing short of exasperating, and Victoria is mystified by his persistence. But when it becomes clear that young Lord Malfrey just might not be all that he's professed to be, Victoria is forced to admit, for the first time in her life, that she is wrong. Not only about her fiance, but about the reason behind the handsome ship captain's interference.
F CAB	Nicola and the Viscount (age 12+) by Meg Cabot historical Publisher comments: Nicola Sparks, sixteen and an orphan, is ready to dive headlong into her first London Season. A whirlwind of fashionable activities awaits her, although nabbing a husband, ordinarily the prime object of every girl's Season, is not among them. For Nicola has already chosen hers: a handsome viscount by the name of Lord Sebastian. The Viscount Lord Sebastian Bartholomew is wealthy, attractive, and debonair, even if the few tantalizingly short moments Nicola has spent with him have produced little save discussions about poetry. Nicola is sure that a proposal from Lord Sebastian would be a match made in heaven. Everything is going well, until the infuriating Nathaniel Sheridan begins to cast doubt on the viscount's character. Nicola is convinced Nathaniel's efforts to besmirch Lord Sebastian's sterling reputation will yield nothing. But when she begins to piece things together for herself, the truth that is revealed has as much to do with the viscount as it does with Nicola's own heart.
F BRA	The Gemma Doyle Trilogy (age 12+) by Libba Bray magic ... identity ... fantasy ... historical Publisher comments: It's 1895, and after the suicide of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma's reception there is a chilly one. To make things worse, she's been followed by a mysterious young Indian man, a man sent to watch her. But why? What is her destiny? And what will her entanglement with Spence's most powerful girls, and their foray into the spiritual world, lead to? title: A Great and Terrible Beauty title: Rebel Angels title: The Sweet Far Thing
F ZIN	The Gadget (age 12+) by Paul Zindel adventure ... action ... math/science/technology ... mystery ... historical Publisher comments: Near the end of World War II, scientists in Los Alamos, New Mexico, are working on a project that will alter the fate of the world. Thirteen-year-old Stephen Orr is living at a top secret military base with his father who is a leading physicist building the atomic bomb. Stephen realizes the dangers involved when one of the scientists becomes hospitalized as a result of working with the project. The scientist alerts him to disasters that could come from The Gadget. Stephen feels it is up to him and his friend Tilanov to find the answers that lie behind this veil of secrecy.
F PEC	Cowboy Ghost (age 12+) by Robert Newton Peck adventure ... action ... historical Publisher comments: The ride of a lifetime! The year is 1924 and the place is Florida's dusty and rugged "long" country. Sixteen-year-old Titus Timothy MacRobertson--"Tee"--can saddle up a wild mustang and round up stray beefs on his father's ranch with the best of them, but does he have what it takes to make it on a grueling cattle drive through the unpredictable Florida wilderness? Battered by a storm, then caught up in a roaring stampede, Tee is ripsawed by the raw edges of ranching. But he manages to hang proud--until fate lands one final blow, and Tee must find the courage to become the man no one but his brother, Micah, ever thought he could be.
F GRA	Samurai Shortstop (age 12+) by Alan Gratz family ... historical ... sports ... school Publisher comments: Tokyo, 1890. Toyo is caught up in the competitive world of boarding school, and must prove himself to make the team in a new sport called besuboru. But he grieves for his uncle, a samurai who sacrificed himself for his beliefs, at a time when most of Japan is eager to shed ancient traditions. It's only when his father decides to teach him the way of the samurai that Toyo grows to better understand his uncle and father. And to his surprise, the warrior training guides him to excel at baseball, a sport his father despises as yet another modern Western menace. Toyo searches desperately for a way to prove there is a place for his family's samurai values in modern Japan. Baseball might just be the answer, but will his father ever accept a "Western" game that stands for everything he despises?
F YOL	Briar Rose (age 12+) by Jane Yolen war ... historical ... family ... fantasy Publisher comments: It is an old, old tale, the German story of Briar Rose, the Sleeping Beauty. Now one of America's most celebrated writers tells it afresh, set this time in the forests patrolled by the German army during World War II. A tale of castles, of mists and thorns, of a beautiful sleeping princess, and an astonishing revelation of death and rebirth. A tale that will leave you changed forever. The tale of Briar Rose.
F RIC	Friedrich (age 12+) by Hans Peter Richter bigotry ... war ... survival ... historical Catalog: A young German boy recounts the fate of his best friend, a Jew, during the Nazi regime.
F SER	Escape from Warsaw (age 12+) by Ian Serraillier bigotry ... war ... survival ... historical Publisher comments: In 1942 Warsaw, World War II is raging, and people live in fear from day to day. Ruth, Bronia, and Edek have to fend for themselves when both of their parents are taken by the Nazis. Can they survive? A gripping story based on true accounts.
F PRE	Malka (age 12+) by Mirjam Pressler adventure ... bigotry ... war ... survival ... historical Publisher comments: When the round-ups start in the Polish village, Malka's mother knows she must get her daughters across the Hungarian border to safety-a place where Jews can live in peace. But escape proves harder than they could have ever imagined. Raw and bleeding feet, bad weather, fear and homesickness fill their nights, until little Malka falls very ill, and must be left behind to be brought across when the threat has passed. But the threat doesn't pass. Separated from her family, Malka finds herself in a terrifying world full of strangers, starvation, and constant fear of Nazi round-ups. Completely alone, she struggles to stay hidden in alleyways and old cellars, unaware that miles away, a broken-hearted mother is searching frantically for her lost little girl . . . A shocking and unforgettable story of a child's heroic fight to stay alive during one of the most intense moments in human history.
F ORL	The Lady with the Hat (age 12+) by Uri Orlev bigotry ... war ... survival ... historical ... family Publisher comments: Yulek, a seventeen-year-old Holocaust survivor, finds himself tragically alone at war's end. Hoping to begin again, he makes his way to Palestine, where he meets a sad and beautiful Jewish girl named Theresa. Saved from the Nazis by Catholic nuns, Theresa, like Yulek, is uncertain about her place in the postwar world. Together they struggle to rediscover the joy of living. Meanwhile, a mysterious English woman sets out on her own search for the long-lost nephew that she has spotted in a newspaper photo of Jewish refugees. Perhaps by finding him, she will also find some long-hidden part of herself.
F MAT	After the War (age 12+) by Carol Matas bigotry ... war ... survival ... historical Publisher comments: After World War II, Ruth, a 15-year-old survivor of Buchenwald has nowhere to turn. Recruited by Brichah, an underground organization that helps people get to Palestine, Ruth risks her life to lead a group of children there, using secret routes and forged documents.
F LEV	Room in the Heart (age 12+) by Sonia Levitin bigotry ... war ... survival ... historical Catalog: After German forces occupy Denmark during World War II, fifteen-year-old Julie Weinstein and fifteen-year-old Niels Nelson and their friends and families try to cope with their daily lives, finding various ways to resist the Nazis and, ultimately, to survive.
F KOS	The Thought of High Windows (age 12+) by Lynne Kositsky bigotry ... war ... survival ... historical ... growing up Publisher comments: Young, Jewish and on the run from the Nazis, Esther is one of a group of children who manage to flee Germany at the beginning of World War II. But as the war rages on and Esther bears witness to its horrors, her pain and isolation grow, until only the highest windows bring the promise of release.
F ISA	Torn Thread (age 12+) by Anne Isaacs bigotry ... war ... survival ... historical Publisher comments: Twelve-year-old Eva and her sister have been forced to leave their home in Poland and are imprisoned in a Nazi labor camp. There they must spin thread on treacherous machinery to make clothing and blankets for the German Army. As Eva struggles amid ever worsening dangers to save her life and that of her sick sister, readers witness how two teenagers strive to create home and family amidst inhumanity and chaos. Written in exquisite prose, this story of heartbreak and hope that is rich in detail and symbolism will deeply move readers of all ages.
F GRE	Summer of My German Soldier (age 12+) by Bette Greene bigotry ... war ... historical Publisher comments: When her small Arkansas hometown becomes the site of a prison camp during WW II, 12-year-old Patty risks losing her family by dating a German soldier who has escaped in a moving tale about young love.
F GRA	Resistance (age 12+) by Janet Graber bigotry ... war ... survival ... historical Catalog: In German-occupied Normandy, France, fifteen-year-old Marianne worries that her mother is exposing the family, especially Marianne's deaf younger brother, to great danger by volunteering for more perilous assignments in the resistance movement.
F FRI	Escaping Into the Night (age 12+) by Dina D. Friedman bigotry ... war ... survival ... historical Publisher comments: Halina Rudowski is on the run. When the Polish ghetto where she lives is evacuated, she narrowly escapes, but her mother is not as lucky. Along with her friend Batya, Halina makes her way to a secret encampment in the woods where Jews survive by living underground. As the group struggles for food, handles infighting, and attempts to protect themselves from the advancing Germans, Halina must face the reality of life without her mother. Based on historical events, this gripping tale sheds light on a little-known aspect of the Holocaust: the underground forest encampments that saved several thousand Jews from the Nazis.
F CHO	Daniel Half Human and the Good Nazi (age 12+) by David Chotjewitz bigotry ... identity ... friendship ... war ... survival ... historical Publisher comments: All his life, Daniel has been hiding. He just doesn't know it. Until the spring of 1933, he's enjoyed a comfortable German boyhood with his well-to-do family, in school, at soccer. Daniel's even enjoyed jail...for one exciting night...with his best friend, Armin, after they've been caught painting a swastika on a wall in the hated Communist section of Hamburg. In their cell, the boys cut their wrists, mingle blood, and swear lasting brotherhood. Then, a thunderclap: Daniel learns to his horror that his mother is Jewish, that he is therefore half-Jewish and, in Aryan eyes, half-human. Daniel keeps the truth a secret. He and Armin still talk of joining the Hitler Youth. But Armin's father, an out-of-work longshoreman and a Socialist, forbids it. Armin joins anyway, with fateful consequences for Daniel's family. Throughout World War II, and until the story's haunting final scene, each friend holds the life of the other in his hands.
F BOY	The Boy in the Striped Pajamas: A Fable (age 12+) by John Boyne war ... survival ... historical ... friendship Publisher comments: Berlin 1942. When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move from their home to a new house far far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence running alongside stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people he can see in the distance. But Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there must be more to this desolate new place than meets the eye. While exploring his new environment, he meets another boy whose life and circumstances are very different to his own, and their meeting results in a friendship that has devastating consequences.
F BEN	Anne Frank and Me (age 12+) by Cherie Bennett war ... survival ... historical Publisher comments: In one moment Nicole Burns's life changes forever. The sound of gunfire at an Anne Frank exhibit, the panic, the crowd, and Nicole is no longer Nicole. Whiplashed through time and space, she wakes to find herself a privileged Jewish girl living in Nazi-occupied Paris during World War II. No more Internet diaries and boy troubles for Nicole-now she's a carefree Jewish girl, with wonderful friends and a charming boyfriend. But when the Nazi death grip tightens over France, Nicole is forced into hiding, and begins a struggle for survival that brings her face to face with Anne Frank.
F BAT	Two Suns in the Sky (age 12+) by Miriam Bat-Ami war ... survival ... friendship ... historical Publisher comments: During World War II, a 15-year-old girl meets a young Jewish refugee in a New York shelter and soon learns the history behind her city through interaction with her new friend, as well as the barriers that exist when different cultures unite.
F VOI	Elske (age 12+) by Cynthia Voigt adventure ... historical ... fantasy Publisher comments: She never knew she had a self. From the time she was a child, she was prepared to sacrifice her life when the Volkking summoned her. She never knew she had a heart, until she set out on a journey north to live among strangers. She never knew she had a choice, until she chose to trust the princess she was told to serve. And she never knew her own value, until she met the man who understood her strength, and who could taste the honey in her name: Elske. But the princess Beriel had always known who she was and what she was worth. She had always had a heart, and a stubborn one. She had always made her own choices, even when they were forced upon her. What Beriel did not have was the one thing she valued above all else, and that was the throne to her kingdom. With immense power and compassion, Cynthia Voigt, Newbery Medalist, depicts the parallel quests of two extraordinary young women. As Elske seeks to find her true self and Beriel battles to reclaim what is rightfully hers, both discover the value, and the price, of reaching the journey's end.
F VOI	The Kingdom Series (age 12+) by Cynthia Voigt adventure ... historical ... fantasy Publisher comments: "False, they were all of them false, the stories; as false as the stories of fairies dancing in moonlight glades on Midsummer Night." But they served a purpose. In a distant time and far-off kingdom, life is hard. People don't have enough to eat, and winter is upon them. There's little that offers hope, and many turn to the legends of Jackaroo, the masked outlaw hero who rides at night giving aid to the helpless and coin to the destitute, for solace. But Gwyn, the Innkeeper's daughter (sensitive, industrious, and independent) is too practical to believe such tales. But when a snowstorm forces her and a young Lordling to seek refuge in an abandoned house, Gwyn wonders if perhaps she has been too cynical. Hidden away in an old forgotten cupboard, Gwyn discovers a package: a cloak, a mask, a sword....Jackaroo? Could the stories be true? It takes a shock and a devastating betrayal for Gwyn to begin to understand what, and who, Jackaroo really is. And she comes to know what part she will play in discovering the truth, such as it may be, behind the legends. title: Jackaroo
F PAR	A Wanted Man (age 12+) by Nancy J. Parra historical Catalog: Librarian Brianna McGraw, having traveled West to rescue her brother from bandits, decides to become a bounty hunter in order to earn the money to buy him back, but her plan becomes complicated when Trey Morgan, the criminal she is determined to bring to justice, steals her heart.
F ELL	The Year of My Indian Prince (age 12+) by Ella Thorp Ellis realistic ... illness/loss ... historical Publisher comments: It's the summer of 1945, and April is delighted that the war is finally over and her beloved father is home again. But she has a nagging cough and a fever, and she just can't seem to get better. When she's diagnosed with tuberculosis she's in shock; all she knows about TB is that characters in novels die of it. Soon her world has changed from school and swim meets to long days of complete bed rest in a TB hospital. There she meets her roommate, the beautiful and desperately ill Nancie. There she also meets Ravi, the handsome Indian prince who begins courting her under the guise of a "literary friendship." They share some wonderful times, but April is slowly getting sicker. There is one way out, but it is radical surgery that will leave her scarred, if she lives through it. What should she do?
F HOF	Stravaganza Series (age 12+) by Mary Hoffman adventure ... action ... historical ... fantasy Publisher comments: During the day, Lucien battles cancer in his modern, normal life. But at night, he becomes a Stravagante, a time-traveler of sorts who finds himself in Belleza, a city parallel to old Venice. Befriended by a local girl and protected by an older Stravagante, Lucien uncovers a plot to murder the city's beloved ruler, the Duchessa. But to save the Duchessa and the city Lucien risks losing his only chance to return home to his family and his real life. title: Stravaganza: City of Masks title: Stravaganza: City of Stars title: Stravaganza: City of Flowers title: Stravaganza: City of Secrets
F HOF	The Falconer's Knot (age 12+) by Mary Hoffman historical ... mystery ... adventure Publisher comments: The award-winning author of the Stravaganza series has done it again with this atmospheric adventure set in Renaissance Italy. Chiara and Silvano come from different worlds, but when they fall in love while living in exile and posing as religious novices, they are powerless to reveal their feelings to one another. And a few suspicious murders don’t make their love lives any simpler! These intertwining stories unfold in a fantastic and completely entertaining romp that is marvelously engaging and filled with swirling intrigue.
F HOF	Incantation (age 12+) by Alice Hoffman family ... bigotry ... historical ... identity Publisher comments: Estrella is a Marrano: During the time of the Spanish Inquisition, she is one of a community of Spanish Jews living double lives as Catholics. And she is living in a house of secrets, raised by a family who practices underground the ancient and mysterious way of wisdom known as kabbalah. When Estrella discovers her family's true identity--and her family's secrets are made public--she confronts a world she's never imagined, where new love burns and where friendship ends in flame and ash, where trust is all but vanquished and betrayal has tragic and bitter consequences. Infused with the rich context of history and faith, in her most profoundly moving work to date, Alice Hoffman's first historical novel is a transcendent journey of discovery and loss, rebirth and remembrance.
F AND	Chains (age 12+) by Laurie Halse Anderson war ... historical Publisher comments: If an entire nation could seek its freedom, why not a girl? As the Revolutionary War begins, 13-year-old Isabel wages her own fight... for freedom. Promised freedom upon the death of their owner, she and her sister, Ruth, in a cruel twist of fate become the property of a malicious New York City couple, the Locktons, who have no sympathy for the American Revolution and even less for Ruth and Isabel. When Isabel meets Curzon, a slave with ties to the Patriots, he encourages her to spy on her owners, who know details of British plans for invasion. She is reluctant at first, but when the unthinkable happens to Ruth, Isabel realizes her loyalty is available to the bidder who can provide her with freedom.
F ARN	Rat Life (age 12+) by Tedd Arnold historical ... mystery Publisher comments: The dead body found in the Chemanga River has nothing to do with Todd. He's been busy making beds at the family motel and writing alien stories to entertain his friends. Sure, a murder is big news, but what would really interest him? A paying job and a story line free of UFOs and poop jokes. And then he meets Rat. Just a little older than Todd, Rat's already been to Vietnam and back. He's got a tattoo and a messed-up family life. And when he offers Todd a gig at the drive-in theater, Todd takes it. After all, it pays actual money. But hanging out with Rat leads to a host of strange experiences and perplexing questions. More and more, that corpse from the river is on Todd's mind, and no matter how he shifts the pieces around, Rat is always part of the puzzle.
F BAR	The Boy Who Dared (age 12+) by Susan Campbell Bartoletti growing up ... war ... historical Publisher comments: When 16-year-old Helmuth Hubner listens to the BBC news on an illegal short-wave radio, he quickly discovers Germany is lying to the people. But when he tries to expose the truth with leaflets, he's tried for treason. Sentenced to death and waiting in a jail cell, Helmuth's story emerges in a series of flashbacks that show his growth from a naive child caught up in the patriotism of the times, to a sensitive and mature young man who thinks for himself.
F BLU	What I Saw and How I Lied (age 12+) by Judy Blundell growing up ... historical ... mystery ... family Publisher comments: When Evie's father returned home from World War II, the family fell back into its normal life pretty quickly. But Joe Spooner brought more back with him than just good war stories. When movie-star handsome Peter Coleridge, a young ex-GI who served in Joe's company in postwar Austria, shows up, Evie is suddenly caught in a complicated web of lies that she only slowly recognizes. She finds herself falling for Peter, ignoring the secrets that surround him . . . until a tragedy occurs that shatters her family and breaks her life in two. As she begins to realize that almost everything she believed to be a truth was really a lie, Evie must get to the heart of the deceptions and choose between her loyalty to her parents and her feelings for the man she loves. Someone will have to be betrayed. The question is . . . who?
F CRA	Afrika (age 12+) by Colleen Craig identity ... historical Publisher comments: For thirteen-year-old Kim, travel to South Africa with her journalist mother will mark the end of her childhood and the beginning of a remarkable journey. Expecting nothing more than three months in her mother’s homeland, Kim comes to terms with the country's diverse and often shocking history. The Truth and Reconciliation Hearings in post-apartheid South Africa open her eyes to the tragedy and brutality of its segregationist policies. Kim's first meeting with her relatives, her contact with schoolmates and cousins, bring her face-to-face with the realization that she is not as removed from this powerful story as she thought. As her mother struggles with her past, Kim becomes more and more determined to unlock the secret that has always kept her from knowing her father. Helped by the young son of a long-time family servant, whose own father was a casualty of Apartheid history, Kim eventually unlocks her mystery and brings her mother and herself to their own truth and reconciliation. Layered and complex, this is a novel that raises questions and challenges beliefs.
F CRO	Crossing to Paradise (age 12+) by Kevin CrossleyHolland adventure ... historical Publisher comments: Gatty is a field girl on a manor. She has never seen busy London or the bright Channel, the snowy Alps of France or the boats in the Venetian sea. She has not sung in the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem or prayed at the manger in Bethlehem, or been kidnapped, or abandoned, or kissed, or heartbroken. But all these things will change. As Gatty journeys with Lady Gwyneth and a prickly new family of pilgrims across Europe to the Holy Land, Kevin Crossley-Holland reveals a medieval world as rich and compelling as the world of today it foresees...and, in Gatty, a character readers will never forget.
F GOL	The Diamond of Drury Lane (age 12+) by Julia Golding the arts ... adventure ... historical ... mystery Publisher comments: Mystery, treasure, and a life on the stage. The first episode of the adventures of Cat Royal is a big, fat juicy read. She's Cat Royal: four foot four, with long red hair, green eyes and not a penny she can call her own. But she does know a secret, where a treasure is hidden in the theater that is her home. The problem is, she isn't the only one looking for it. One adventure leads into the next, taking Cat, and readers, through the colorful streets of late 18th Century London. The exciting mystery, filled with fascinating characters, lots of incident, theatrical spectacles, and even a bit of political intrigue, will thrill readers.
F JIM	Reaching Out (age 12+) by Francisco Jimenez historical ... family ... growing up ... school Publisher comments: From the perspective of the young adult he was then, Francisco Jimenez describes the challenges he faced in his efforts to continue his education. During his college years, the very family solidarity that allowed Francisco to survive as a child is tested. Not only must he leave his family behind when he goes to Santa Clara University, but while Francisco is there, his father abandons the family and returns to Mexico. This is the story of how Francisco coped with poverty, with his guilt over leaving his family financially strapped, with his self-doubt about succeeding academically, and with separation. Once again his telling is honest, true, and inspiring.
F JIM	Breaking Through (age 12+) by Francisco Jimenez historical ... family ... growing up Publisher comments: "Breaking Through" chronicles the author's teenage years. At the age of 14, Francisco and his family are caught by "la migra" (immigration officers) and forced to leave their California home, but soon find their way back. Jiminez explores the prejudice and challenges they face while also relaying universal adolescent experiences of school, dances and romances.
F MUS	The Door of No Return (age 12+) by Sarah Mussi historical ... identity ... mystery ... action ... adventure Publisher comments: Zac Baxter's grandfather has always told him that he's the descendant of African kings, whose treasure was stolen when his ancestors were sold into slavery. Of course, Zac brushes this off as a tall tale, until his grandfather is murdered and their apartment is completely ransacked. Clearly somebody is after something. Heeding his grandfather's dying words, Zac is off to Ghana to track down his family's history. But what did his grandfather mean when he said that Zac had the map to the treasure? Following every clue he can find, Zac begins to suspect that the treasure is real, and hidden in one of Ghana's old slave forts. Too bad the killers always seem to be one step ahead of him. With no one he can trust and with everything to lose, Zac races against time as he tries to uncover the truth about the past, and a fortune in gold.
F WAT	Down Sand Mountain (age 12+) by Steve Watkins historical ... bigotry ... growing up ... friendship Publisher comments: In a tale full of humor and poignancy, a sheltered twelve-year-old boy comes of age in a small Florida mining town amid the changing mores of the 1960s. It's 1966 and Dewey Turner is determined to start the school year right. No more being the brunt of every joke. No more Deweyitis. But after he stains his face with shoe polish trying to mimic the popular Shoeshine Boy at the minstrel show, he begins seventh grade on an even lower rung, earning the nickname Sambo and being barred from the whites only bathroom. The only person willing to talk to him, besides his older brother, Wayne, is fellow outsider Darla Turkel, who wears her hair like Shirley Temple and sings and dances like her, too. Through their friendship, Dewey gains awareness of issues bigger than himself and bigger than his small town of Sand Mountain: issues like race and segregation, the reality of the Vietnam War, abuse, sexuality, and even death and grieving. Written in a riveting, authentic voice, at times light-hearted and humorous and at others devastating and lonely, this deeply affecting story will stay with readers long after the book is closed.
F BUR	Runs With Horses (age 12+) by Brian Burks war ... growing up ... adventure ... action ... historical Publisher comments: Sixteen years old in 1886, Runs With Horses is a member of the last small band of Apaches continuing to resist the U.S. Army. His training for manhood as a Chiricahua Apache has been difficult but thrilling, and he is eager to accomplish the final two of the four raids required to be-come a warrior. Sadly, this is not possible when they at last surrender to the U.S. Army.
F ROB	I Am the Great Horse (age 12+) by Katherine Roberts war ... action ... adventure ... historical ... animals "I am the dark horse, Bucephalus. I am no black beauty. I am a stallion trained for war." From the moment they dare sit on his back, the fates of Alexander, 12-year-old heir to the Macedonian throne, and Charm, a kind stable girl, are bound to the battle-ready steed. When the boy becomes king, Bucephalus helps his young master transform into a conquering hero. In a hard-won, nearly blind blaze of glory, they gallop from Greece to the golden sands of Persia to the edge of the known world. At their side, as ever, is Charm. This is their epic. Through the eyes of a horse, history unfolds.
F BLO	London Calling (age 12+) by Edward Bloor war ... historical ... science fiction ... adventure ... action Martin Conway comes from a family filled with heroes and disgraces. His grandfather was a statesman who worked at the US Embassy in London during WWII. His father is an alcoholic who left his family. His sister is an overachieving Ivy League graduate. And Martin? Martin is stuck in between--floundering. But during the summer after 7th grade, Martin meets a boy who will change his life forever. Jimmy Harker appears one night with a deceptively simple question: Will you help? Where did this boy come from, with his strange accent and urgent request? Is he a dream? It's the most vivid dream Martin's ever had. And he meets Jimmy again and again--but how can his dreams be set in London during the Blitz? The people and the scenes Martin witnesses have a profound effect on him. And he begins to believe that maybe he can help Jimmy. Or maybe that he must help Jimmy, precisely because all logic and reason argue against it. This is a truly remarkable and deeply affecting novel about fathers and sons, heroes and scapegoats. About finding a way to live with faith and honor and integrity. And about having an answer to the question: What did you do to help?
F COL	Airman (age 12+) by Eoin Colfer historical ... adventure ... action ... brilliant protagonist ... math/science/technology Airman is set in the 1890's on the sovereign Saltee Islands, off the Irish coast. It is the story of Conor Broekhart, a young Saltee Islander whose father, Declan, is the King's bodyguard. When Conor discovers that the power hungry Marshall Hugo Bonvilain is organizing a military coup, the king is murdered and Conor is blamed for the crime and thrown into prison. In prison, Conor passes the solitary months by scratching designs for flying machines into the walls. This has always been his dream, to win the race for flight. After two years, Conor now sixteen, plans and executes a daring escape to the mainland. Initially he plans to return home, but realizes that this would put his entire family in danger, so instead he builds a glider to fly to the prison island and reclaim the diamonds he buried there from the prison mine. Eight bags of diamonds, means eight trips. Conor' s father is beginning to question Bonvilain's rule, and so the marshall decides to use his son to blackmail him. This is when he realizes that Conor has escaped. He also finds Conor's drawings and realizes that he is the mysterious Airman who has been flying around the prison island. Bonvilain arrests Conor's whole family to trap him. To save them, Conor will have to build the flying machine that he has been dreaming of all these years.
F TRE	I, Juan de Pareja (age 12+) by Elizabeth Borton Trevino the arts ... historical When the great Velazquez was painting his masterpieces at the Spanish court in the seventeenth century, his colors were expertly mixed and his canvases carefully prepared by his slave, Juan de Pareja. In a vibrant novel which depicts both the beauty and the cruelty of the time and place, Elizabeth Borton de Trevino tells the story of Juan, who was born a slave and died an accomplished and respected artist. Through Juan’s eyes the reader sees Velazquez’s delightful family, his working habits and the character of the man, his relations with the shy yet devoted King Philip IV and with his fellow painters, Rubens and Murillo, the climate and customs of Spanish court life. When Velazquez discovers that he and Juan share a love for the art which is his very life, the painter proves his friendship in the most incredible fashion, for in those days it was forbidden by law for slaves to learn or practice the arts. Through the hardships of voyages to Italy, through the illnesses of Velazquez, Juan de Pareja loyally serves until the death of the painter in 1660.
F WOL	New Found Land: Lewis and Clark's Voyage of Discovery: a Novel (age 12+) by Allan Wolf adventure ... historical Follow Lewis and Clark and their crew on a perilous trek through the uncharted West in this extraordinary novel. Two hundred years ago, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark launched their wooden boats up the Missouri River in search of the illusory Northwest Passage, a journey that would capture the American imagination and help forge a young nation's identity. Allan Wolf tells the story of this extraordinary voyage through the eyes of not only the famed pair but also several members of their self-named Corps of Discovery. Here, in powerful, lyrical language, is a medley of voices from a surprisingly diverse crew: from the one-eyed French Indian fiddler who pilots the boats to Clark's African American slave, from the young Shoshone woman who has a baby en route to Lewis's Newfoundland dog, a seer whose narrative resonates long after the book is closed.
F STO	Five Ancestors Series (age 12+) by Jeff Stone identity ... adventure ... action ... historical Twelve-year-old Fu and his temple brothers Malao, Seh, Hok, and Long don’t know who their parents were. Raised from infancy by their grandmaster, they think of their temple as their home and their fellow warrior monks as their family. Then one terrible night, the temple is destroyed by an army led by a former monk named Ying, whose heart is bent on revenge. Fu and his brothers are the only survivors. Charged by their grandmaster to uncover the secrets of their past, the five flee into the countryside and go their separate ways. Somehow, Grandmaster has promised, their pasts are connected to Ying’s. Understanding that the past is the key to shaping the future, the first book in the series follows Fu as he struggles to find out more and prove himself in the process. Fu’s name literally means “tiger,” for he is the youngest-ever master of the fierce fighting style modeled after that animal. title: Tiger title: Monkey title: Snake title: Crane title: Eagle title: Mouse title: Dragon
F SHE	Keeping Corner (age 12+) by Kashmira Sheth identity ... historical ... growing up Ba slipped the gold bangles from my wrists. The gold ones were plain so I didn't mind taking them off, but I loved wearing my milk-glass bangles and the lakkh bracelets. A widow can't wear bangles, she said. They are signs of a woman's good fortune. When your husband dies it's over. What if my good fortune comes back? It doesn't. Pretty as a peacock, twelve-year-old Leela had been spoiled all her life. She doesn't care for school and barely marks the growing unrest between the British colonists and her own countrymen. Why should she? Her future has been planned since her engagement at two and marriage at nine. Leela's whole life changes, though, when her husband dies. She's now expected to behave like a proper widow: shaving her head and trading her jewel-toned saris for rough, earth-colored ones. Leela is considered unlucky now, and will have to stay confined to her house for a year ... keep corner ... in preparation for a life of mourning for a boy she barely knew. When her schoolteacher hears of her fate, she offers Leela lessons at home. For the first time, despite her confinement, Leela opens her eyes to the changing world around her. India is suffering from a severe drought, and farmers are unable to pay taxes to the British. She learns about a new leader of the people, a man named Gandhi, who starts a political movement and practices satyagraha-non-violent protest against the colonists as well as the caste system. The quiet strength ofsatyagraha may liberate her country. Could she use the same path to liberate herself?
F SAN	Song of the Sparrow (age 12+) by Lisa Ann Sandell growing up ... war ... folklore ... historical Since the days of King Arthur, there have been poems and paintings created in her name. She is Elaine of Ascolat, the Lady of Shalott, and now there is a book all her own. The year is 490 A.D. and 16-year-old Elaine has a temperament to match her fiery red hair. Living on a military base with her father, brothers, and the rest of Arthur's army, Elaine pines for the handsome Lancelot, and longs for a female friend. But when the cruel, beautiful Gwynivere arrives, Elaine is confronted with startling emotions of jealousy and rivalry. Can Elaine find the strength to survive the birth of a kingdom?
F RIN	An Acquaintance With Darkness (age 12+) by Ann Rinaldi growing up ... historical Fourteen-year-old Emily Pigbush suspects that her uncle is involved in body snatching. Meanwhile, her best friend's family is accused of plotting to kill Abraham Lincoln, and Emily is left unsure of whom she can trust.
F KON	The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World (age 12+) by E. L. Konigsburg bigotry ... friendship ... historical Publisher comments: "Ninety percent of who you are is invisible." Amedeo Kaplan seems just like any other new kid who has moved into the town of St. Malo, Florida, a navy town where new faces are the norm. But Amedeo has a secret, a dream: More than anything in the world, he wants to discover something...a place, a process, even a fossil...some treasure that no one realizes is there until he finds it. And he would also like to discover a true friend to share these things with. William Wilcox seems like an unlikely candidate for friendship: an aloof boy who is all edges and who owns silence the way other people own words. When Amedeo and William find themselves working together on a house sale for Amedeo's eccentric neighbor, Mrs. Zender, Amedeo has an inkling that both his wishes may come true. For Mrs. Zender's mansion is crammed with memorabilia of her long life, and there is a story to go with every piece. Soon the boys find themselves caught up in one particular story...a story that links a sketch, a young boy's life, an old man's reminiscence, and a painful secret dating back to the outrages of Nazi Germany. It's a story that will take them to the edge of what they know about heroism and the mystery of the human heart.
F FLE	Alphabet of Dreams (age 12+) by Susan Fletcher growing up ... historical ... family Young Babak has a magnificent gift: He can dream the future. Mitra, his brave older sister, is sworn to protect him. For them to survive living on the streets, she must do whatever is necessary, including using her brother's talent for profit. When Babak is asked to dream for a powerful Magus, he receives a mysterious vision of two stars dancing in the night. Determined to solve this prophetic riddle, the Magus takes the boy and his sister on an arduous journey across the desert. What they discover will change the world in a way that no dream could ever predict.
F KEI	Rifles For Watie (age 12+) by Harold Keith war ... historical Sixteen-year-old Jefferson Davis Bussey cannot wait to join the Army and defend the Union against the dreaded Colonel Watie, but when he is assigned to infiltrate the enemy camp as a spy, he discovers the rebels are boys and men just like him, and he must then decide whether to betray his enemies or join them.
F DUM	The Count of Monte Cristo (age 12+) by Alexandre Dumas historical ... adventure Edmund Dantes, unjustly convicted of aiding the exiled Napoleon, escapes after fourteen years imprisonment and seeks his revenge in Paris.
F FOR	Sound the Jubilee (age 12+) by Sandra Forrester bigotry ... historical A slave and her family find refuge on Roanoke Island, North Carolina, during the Civil War.
F DUM	The Three Musketeers (age 12+) by Alexandre Dumas adventure ... historical In seventeenth-century France, young D'Artagnan initially quarrels with, then befriends, three musketeers and joins them in trying to outwit the enemies of the king and queen.
F LON	The Call of the Wild (age 12+) by Jack London historical ... adventure ... nature ... animals The Call of the Wild centers on Buck, a dog bred for a life of ease on a California estate, who is kidnapped and sold to Klondike gold hunters. To survive the biting cold and his ruthless masters, Buck must listen to the Call and learn the ways of his wolf-ancestors who guide him from within.
F CLE	Where the Lilies Bloom (age 12+) by Vera Cleaver historical ... family ... illness/loss Publisher comments: Mary Call has promised her dying father to keep her brother and sisters together forever on the mountain, and never to take any help from strangers. She is determined to keep her word No matter what. At first she is sure she can manage. Romey, Ima Dean, and Devola help gather herbs to sell in town; the riches of the mountains will surely keep the family clothed and fed. But then winter comes, fast and furious, and Mary Call has to learn that the land where the lilies bloom is also a cruel and unforgiving place, and it may take more than a promise to keep her family together.
F CUS	Catherine, Called Birdy (age 12+) by Karen Cushman growing up ... letters/journal ... historical Catherine feels trapped. Her father is determined to marry her off to a rich man--any rich man, no matter how awful. But by wit, trickery, and luck, Catherine manages to send several would-be husbands packing. Then a shaggy-bearded suitor from the north comes to call--by far the oldest, ugliest, most revolting suitor of them all. Unfortunately, he is also the richest. Can a sharp-tongued, high-spirited, clever young maiden with a mind of her own actually lose the battle against an ill-mannered, piglike lord and an unimaginative, greedy toad of a father? Deus! Not if Catherine has anything to say about it!
F RAW	Summer of the Monkeys (age 12+) by Wilson Rawls historical ... animals In rural Oklahoma at the turn of the century, fourteen-year-old Jay Berry Lee discovers a tree full of monkeys, a discovery that leads to a summer that teaches him about life.
F ROC	To Spoil the Sun (age 12+) by Joyce Rockwood historical ... illness/loss Smallpox - to the people of the Seven Clans it is a mysterious plague that spreads like an invisible fire and threatens to destroy everything. It is the sixteenth century and Rain Dove, a young Cherokee girl, lives in Mulberry Town. She looks forward to choosing a husband and raising a family. But after strangers arrive on the shore and the deadly illness takes hold, life for the people of the Seven Clans will never be the same.
F O'D	Sarah Bishop (age 12+) by Scott O'Dell war ... survival ... family ... historical Left alone after the deaths of her father and brother who take opposite sides in the War for Independence, and fleeing from the British who seek to arrest her, Sarah Bishop struggles to shape a new life for herself in the wilderness.

Sat Aug 25 11:55:25 2012 Other themes and genres