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DIT
The Search for WondLa (age 10+)
by Tony DiTerlizzi
identity ... adventure ... science fiction
Publisher comments: When a marauder destroys the underground sanctuary that Eva Nine was raised in by the robot Muthr, the twelve-year-year-old girl is forced to flee above ground. Eva Nine is searching for anyone else like her: She knows that other humans exist because of an item she treasures—a scrap of cardboard on which is depicted a young girl, an adult, and a robot, with the strange word, "WondLa."
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KIM
The Reinvention of Moxie Roosevelt (age 10+)
by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
friendship ... identity ... school
Publisher comments: Moxie Roosevelt Kipper is an ordinary girl with an extraordinary name, but that is about to change. She's starting boarding school, and it's time to reinvent herself, to become worthy of a name like "Moxie." So she tries a bunch of personalities to try to figure out which one suits her best. But she quickly loses track of who she actually is and who she's supposed to be at any given moment! And as Moxie deals with new friendships and new situations, she comes to realize that boarding school is not what it seems and she's not the only one who isn't what she claims to be.
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CAR
The Shepherd's Granddaughter (age 10+)
by Anne Laurel Carter
bigotry ... war ... identity
Publisher's comments: Ever since she was a little girl, Amani has wanted to be a shepherd, just like her beloved grandfather, Sido. For generations her family has grazed sheep above the olive groves of the family homestead near Hebron. But now Amani's family home is being threatened by encroaching Jewish settlements. As Amani struggles to find increasingly rare grazing land for her starving sheep, her uncle and brother are tempted to take a more militant stance against the settlers. Then she meets Jonathan, an American boy visiting his father. Away from the pressures of their families, and despite their differences, the two young people discover a secret meadow where Amani can graze her sheep. A moving novel about one of the most hotly disputed pieces of land on earth.
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CHO
If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period (age 10+)
by Gennifer Choldenko
identity ... friendship ... growing up ... school
Publisher comments: Kirsten's parents are barely speaking to each other, and her best friend has fallen under the spell of the school's queen bee, Brianna. It seems like only Kirsten's younger science-geek sister is on her side. Walker's goal is to survive at the new white private school his mom has sent him to because she thinks he's going to screw up like his cousin. But he's a good kid. So is his friend Matteo, though no one knows why he’ll do absolutely anything that hot blond Brianna asks of him. But all of this feels almost trivial when Kirsten and Walker discover a secret that shakes them both to the core. Fast paced, marvelously funny, and brutally honest, If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period touches on universal truths about human nature.
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BON
Zora and Me (age 10+)
by Victoria Bond
historical ... adventure ... identity
Publisher comments: Whether she’s telling the truth or stretching it, Zora Neale Hurston is a riveting storyteller. Her latest creation is a shape-shifting gator man who lurks in the marshes, waiting to steal human souls. But when boastful Sonny Wrapped loses a wrestling match with an elusive alligator named Ghost — and a man is found murdered by the railroad tracks soon after — young Zora’s tales of a mythical evil creature take on an ominous and far more complicated complexion, jeopardizing the peace and security of an entire town and forcing three children to come to terms with the dual-edged power of pretending. Zora’s best friend, Carrie, narrates this coming-of-age story set in the Eden-like town of Eatonville, Florida, where justice isn’t merely an exercise in retribution, but a testimony to the power of community, love, and pride.
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SAL
Under the Blood-Red Sun (age 10+)
by Graham Salisbury
war ... identity ... friendship ... historical
Publisher comments: Tomi was born in Hawaii. His grandfather and parents were born in Japan, and came to America to escape poverty. World War II seems far away from Tomi and his friends, who are too busy playing ball on their eighth-grade team, the Rats. But then Pearl Harbor is attacked by the Japanese, and the United States declares war on Japan. Japanese men are rounded up, and Tomi's father and grandfather are arrested. It's a terrifying time to be Japanese in America. But one thing doesn't change: the loyalty of Tomi's buddies, the Rats.
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FAR
The House of the Scorpion (age 10+)
by Nancy Farmer
adventure ... action ... science fiction ... identity
Publisher comments: Matteo Alacrán was not born; he was harvested. His DNA came from El Patron, lord of a country called Opium--a strip of poppy fields lying between the United States and what was once called Mexico. Matt's first cell split and divided inside a petri dish. Then he was placed in the womb of a cow, where he continued the miraculous journey from embryo to fetus to baby. He is a boy now, but most consider him a monster--except for El Patron. El Patron loves Matt as he loves himself, because Matt is himself. As Matt struggles to understand his existence, he is threatened by a sinister cast of characters, including El Patron's power-hungry family, and he is surrounded by a dangerous army of bodyguards. Escape is the only chance Matt has to survive. But escape from the Alacrán Estate is no guarantee of freedom, because Matt is marked by his difference in ways he doesn't even suspect.
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PER
Criss Cross (age 10+)
by Lynne Rae Perkins
identity ... spooky
Publisher comments: She wished something would happen. Something good. To her. Checking her wish for loopholes, she found one. Hoping it wasn't too late, she thought the word soon. Meanwhile, in another part of town, he felt as if the world was opening. Life was rearranging itself; bulging in places, fraying in spots. He felt himself changing, too, but into what? So much can happen in a summer.
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BAR
The Lost Years of Merlin Series (age 10+)
by T. A. Barron
magic ... identity ... folklore ... adventure ... fantasy
A young boy who has no identity nor memory of his past washes ashore on the coast of Wales. Only after a series of fantastic adventures does he find his true name.
title: The Lost Years of Merlin
title: The Seven Songs of Merlin
title: The Fires of Merlin
title: The Mirror of Merlin
title: The Wings of Merlin
title: The Merlin Effect
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KON
The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place (age 10+)
by E. L. Konigsburg
realistic ... brilliant protagonist ... humor ... the arts ... identity
Publisher comments: "I Prefer Not To...." That's Margaret Rose Kane's response to every activity she's asked to participate in at the summer camp to which she's been exiled while her parents are in Peru. So Margaret Rose is delighted when her beloved uncles rescue her from Camp Talequa, with its uptight camp director and cruel cabinmates, and bring her to stay with them at their wonderful house at 19 Schuyler Place. But Margaret Rose soon discovers that something is terribly wrong at 19 Schuyler Place. People in their newly gentrified neighborhood want to get rid of the three magnificent towers the uncles have spent forty-five years lovingly constructing of scrap metal and shards of glass and porcelain. Margaret Rose is outraged, and determined to strike a blow for art, for history, and for individuality...and no one is more surprised than Margaret Rose at the allies she finds for her mission.
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APP
Home of the Brave (age 10+)
by Katherine Applegate
survival ... identity
Publisher comments: Kek comes from Africa where he lived with his mother, father, and brother. But only he and his mother have survived. Now she’s missing, and Kek has been sent to a new home. In America, he sees snow for the first time, and feels its sting. He wonders if the people in this new place will be like the winter—cold and unkind. But slowly he makes friends: a girl in foster care, an old woman with a rundown farm, and a sweet, sad cow that reminds Kek of home. As he waits for word of his mother’s fate, Kek weathers the tough Minnesota winter by finding warmth in his new friendships, strength in his memories, and belief in his new country.
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WEE
So B It: a Novel (age 10+)
by Sarah Weeks
family ... identity
Publisher comments: You couldn't really tell about Mama's brain just from looking at her, but it was obvious as soon as she spoke. She had a high voice, like a little girl's, and she only knew 23 words. I know this for a fact, because we kept a list of the things Mama said tacked to the inside of the kitchen cabinet. Most of the words were common ones, like good and more and hot, but there was one word only my mother said: soof. Although she lives an unconventional lifestyle with her mentally disabled mother and their doting neighbour, Bernadette, Heidi has a lucky streak that has a way of pointing her in the right direction. When a mysterious word in her mother's vocabulary begins to haunt her, Heidi's thirst for the truth leads her on a cross–country journey in search of the secrets of her past.
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ORL
Run, Boy, Run: A Novel (age 10+)
by Uri Orlev
adventure ... bigotry ... war ... survival ... historical ... identity
Publisher comments: "'Srulik, there's no time. I want you to remember what I'm going to tell you. You have to stay alive. You have to! Get someone to teach you how to act like a Christian, how to cross yourself and pray. . . . The most important thing, Srulik,' he said, talking fast, 'is to forget your name. Wipe it from your memory. . . . But even if you forget everything, even if you forget me and Mama—never forget that you're a Jew.'" And so, at only eight years old, Srulik Frydman says goodbye to his father for the last time and becomes Jurek Staniak, an orphan on the run in the Polish countryside at the height of the Holocaust. With the danger of capture by German soldiers ever-present, Jurek must fight against starvation, the punishing Polish winters, and widespread anti-Semitism as he desperately searches for refuge. Told with the unflinching honesty and unique perspective of such a young child, Run, Boy, Run is the extraordinary account of one boy's struggle to stay alive in the face of almost insurmountable odds, a story all the more incredible because it is true.
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CHE
Marika (age 10+)
by Andrea Cheng
bigotry ... war ... survival ... historical ... identity
Publisher comments: Marika has a Jewish heritage but she's a practicing Catholic. Although her father says religion is unimportant, he advises her not to act so Jewish. It's not a good time to be Jewish in Budapest. Marika has heard bits and pieces about the war, and knows about bad things happening to Jews in other countries. But she's convinced that those horrible acts cannot happen near her home. She's more concerned about surviving her parents' separation. By the time Marika is 11 years old, she has helped her father and uncle forge identity papers that will prove they are not a Jewish family. When Hungary is eventually occupied by the Nazis, Marika and her mother are taken away to a school where all Jewish people are gathered. Marika's father bribes a man to buy her freedom but not her mother's. The Jewish Holocaust in Budapest is characterized by its late and swift occurrence. Marika's story reflects these tragic events.
The Anybodies Series (age 10+)
magic ... identity ... mystery ... fantasy
Publisher comments: What if I were to tell you that this is an all-true story, every word? You see, once there was a very real girl named Fern who found out that she'd been swapped at birth. This might disturb some people, but it made Fern happy because she'd never felt at home with her tragically dull parents, the Drudgers. Fern finds out about the mix-up when the Bone (er, her father) and his "son," Howard, show up at Fern's front door. Now both families decide to UNSWAP the kids for the summer, and Fern heads off with the Bone on a wild adventure into a world inhabited by the Miser, a sinister fellow; and the Great Realdo, a true hero, to name just two. This book promises suspense! Intrigue! Mystery! Fairies fall out of books! Birds turn into dogs! Nuns turn into lampposts! So I have no idea why you're still lingering here... Start reading!
title: The Anybodies by N. E. Bode F BOD
title: The Anybodies by Julianna Baggott F BAG
title: The Nobodies by N. E. Bode F BOD
title: The Somebodies by N. E. Bode F BOD
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DUR
The Beaded Moccasins: The Story of Mary Campbell (age 10+)
by Lynda Durrant
identity ... historical
Publisher comments: May 11, 1759. On the morning of Mary Campbell's 12th birthday, her life takes a terrifying turn for the worse. She is kidnapped by the fearsome Delaware Indians and taken from her family in Pennsylvania, all the way to Delaware on foot. Mary refuses to adopt any of the Delaware ways and holds on to the memory of her family as tightly as she does her dreams for escape. But in order to survive, Mary pretends to be learning and not planning her escape. As the seasons change, Mary realizes with surprise that she is no longer pretending. When the chance comes for Mary to leave, she is not sure that she wants to return to her old life. Is she Mary Campbell or Woman-Who-Saved-The-Corn?
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DUR
My Last Skirt: The Story of Jennie Hodgers, Union Soldier (age 10+)
by Lynda Durrant
identity ... historical
Publisher comments: Jennie Hodgers dressed as a boy for the first time in order to help support her impoverished Irish family with a shepherd’s wages. Then her arrival in America confirmed her belief that the world offers better opportunities to young men than to young women. So Jennie maintained her outward identity as Albert Cashier, serving as a grocery clerk in Queens, New York; as a farmhand in Ohio; and as a recruit in the 95th Illinois Infantry during the Civil War. Not only did she survive three years in combat with her true identity undiscovered, she chose to continue living as Albert for nearly all of her life. Combining careful research with vivid insight, Lynda Durrant portrays Albert Cashier as a soldier who served his adopted country and his comrades with loyalty and heroism, and Jennie Hodgers as a woman of a woman of astonishing strength, courage, and adaptability...a woman sometimes at war with her own secrets.
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KAR
Minerva Clark Series (age 10+)
by Karen Karbo
friendship ... identity ... mystery
Publisher comments: Minerva Clark is a typical thirteen-year-old girl: she hates her hair, she hates her legs (which somehow manage to look both too fat and too skinny at the same time), and don't get her started on her gigantor bootie. On top of all this puberty, she's being raised by three older brothers, none of whom really get her. But when a fateful encounter with a lightning storm rewires her sense of self, Minerva Clark becomes anything but a typical teen. With a brazen new attitude and a nose for trouble, Minerva soon finds herself drawn inexplicably to the scene of a murder and determined to track down the killer. If only all the clues weren't pointing so close to someone she knows…
title: Minerva Clark Gets a Clue
title: Minerva Clark Goes to the Dogs
title: Minerva Clark Gives up the Ghost
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MAR
Birdwing (age 10+)
by Rafe Martin
identity ... growing up ... fantasy ... folklore
Publisher comments: Once upon a time, a girl rescued her seven brothers from a spell that had turned them into swans. But one boy, Ardwin, was left with the scar of the spell's last gasp: one arm remained a wing. And while Ardwin yearned to find a place in his father's kingdom, the wing whispered to him of open sky and rushing wind. Marked by difference, Ardwin sets out to discover who he is: bird or boy, crippled or sound, cursed or blessed. But followed by the cold eye of a sorceress and with war rumbling at his kingdom's borders, Ardwin's path may lead him not to enlightenment, but into unimaginable danger.
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MAS
Every Soul a Star: a Novel (age 10+)
by Wendy Mass
identity ... friendship ... growing up
Publisher comments: And as streams of light fan out behind the darkened sun like the wings of a butterfly, I realize that I never saw real beauty until now. At Moon Shadow, an isolated campground, thousands have gathered to catch a glimpse of a rare and extraordinary total eclipse of the sun. It's also were three lives are about to be changed forever: Ally likes the simple things in life--labyrinths, star-gazing, and comet-hunting. Her home, the Moon Shadow campground, is a part of who she is, and she refuses to imagine it any other way. Popular and gorgeous (everybody says so), Bree is a future homecoming queen for sure. Bree wears her beauty like a suit of armor. But what is she trying to hide? Overweight and awkward, Jack is used to spending a lot of time alone. But when opportunity knocks, he finds himself in situations he never would have imagined and making friends in the most unexpected situations. Told from three distinct voices and perspectives, Wendy Mass weaves an intricate and compelling story about strangers coming together, unlikely friendships, and finding one's place in the universe.
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VAN
Stolen (age 10+)
by Vivian Vande Velde
identity ... fantasy ... spooky
Catalog: A girl finds herself running through the forest at the edge of a village with no memory of anything, even her own name, and later learns that she might be twelve-year-old Isabelle, believed to be stolen by a witch six years before.
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BAK
Wings: A Fairy Tale (age 10+)
by E. D. Baker
identity ... fantasy
Publisher comments: When Tamisin discovers real wings growing from her back she wants to know what is making her supposedly normal life so weird. But before she can piece together the facts, she is kidnapped by goblins and brought to the land of fairies, goblins and many other magical creatures, including her real mother, Titania, the fairy queen. As she falls in love with Jak, who’s half goblin, and realizes the depth of her human parents’ love for her, she finds that having a set of beautiful wings suddenly sprout from your shoulder blades isn’t all bad, and there are many good reasons to fly.
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ABB
Firegirl (age 10+)
by Tony Abbott
illness/loss ... identity ... friendship
Publisher comments: Tom's a normal seventh-grader, negotiating a slightly prickly stage in his long friendship with Jeff...The arrival of new girl Jessica Feeney, however, changes everything; Jessica, who is attending a local hospital for treatment, has been badly burned by a fire, and her terrible disfigurement shocks the class into confusion. This isn't the usual book about adjustment to difference; instead, Abbott brilliantly explores the kids' struggle to manage the intrusion of abnormality in their lives...this is a thoughtful exploration of a brief interlude's lasting impact.
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SMI
Jack's Run (age 10+)
by Roland Smith
identity ... adventure ... action
When his father was arrested for drug trafficking, thirteen-year-old Jack Osborne, his older sister Joanne, and their mother were forced to take on new identities through the Witness Security Program. They settled in Elko, Nevada, and Jack Osborne became Zach Granger. But the Grangers were soon discovered. Drug lord Alonzo Alznar tracked them down and, if it hadn't been for Sam--a custodian at Jack's school with a secret past of his own--the Grangers wouldn't have made it out of Elko alive.
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SMI
Zach's Lie (age 10+)
by Roland Smith
identity ... adventure ... action
Jack is a pretty average kid, until the night that changes his life forever. That is the night men in masks break into his house, threaten Jack and his family, and then ransack their home. It is that same night that Jack discovers that his father has been arrested for drug trafficking and that he is the reason why these men have come into their lives. Jack, his mother, and his sister are then forced to enter the Witness Security Program. Jack becomes "Zach" and moves to Elko, Nevada, a town in the middle of nowhere. There he meets Sam, the strangest school custodian he has ever encountered, and Catalin, a girl who might make Zach's uprooting worth the trouble. But just as Zach finally begins to piece together a new life, he finds out that the dangerous men have tracked them down again. And if they are found, it will be more than their secret identities that will be destroyed.
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WOL
Someone Named Eva (age 10+)
by Joan Wolf
war ... bigotry ... historical ... identity
On the night Nazi soldiers come to her home in Czechoslovakia, Milada’s grandmother says, "Remember, Milada. Remember who you are. Always." Milada promises, but she doesn’t understand her grandmother’s words. After all, she is Milada, who lives with her mama and papa, her brother and sister, and her beloved Babichka. Milada, eleven years old, the fastest runner in school. How could she ever forget? Then the Nazis take Milada away from her family and send her to a Lebensborn center in Poland. There, she is told she fits the Aryan ideal: her blond hair and blue eyes are the right color; her head and nose, the right size. She is given a new name, Eva, and trained to become the perfect German citizen, to be the hope of Germany's future, and to forget she was ever a Czech girl named Milada. Inspired by real events, this fascinating novel sheds light on a little-known aspect of the Nazi agenda and movingly portrays a young girl's struggle to hold on to her identity and her hope in the face of a regime intent on destroying both.
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SPI
Stargirl (age 10+)
by Jerry Spinelli
growing up ... friendship ... school ... identity
In this story about the perils of popularity, the courage of nonconformity, and the thrill of first love, an eccentric student named Stargirl changes Mica High School forever.
sequel: Love, Stargirl
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MAS
A Mango-Shaped Space: A Novel (age 10+)
by Wendy Mass
school ... growing up ... illness/loss ... identity
Afraid that she is crazy, thirteen-year-old Mia, who sees a special color with every letter, number, and sound, keeps this a secret until she becomes overwhelmed by school, changing relationships, and the death of her beloved cat, Mango.
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LUP
Heat (age 10+)
by Mike Lupica
family ... identity ... sports
Michael Arroyo has a pitching arm that throws serious heat. But his firepower is nothing compared to the heat Michael faces in his day-to-day life. Newly orphaned after his father led the family's escape from Cuba, Michael's only family is his seventeen-year-old brother Carlos. If Social Services hears of their situation, they will be separated in the foster-care system or worse, sent back to Cuba. Together, the boys carry on alone, dodging bills and anyone who asks too many questions. But then someone wonders how a twelve-year-old boy could possibly throw with as much power as Michael Arroyo throws. With no way to prove his age, no birth certificate, and no parent to fight for his cause, Michael's secret world is blown wide open, and he discovers that family can come from the most unexpected sources.
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KAD
Weedflower (age 10+)
by Cynthia Kadohata
friendship ... bigotry ... historical ... war ... identity
Twelve-year-old Sumiko feels her life has been made up of two parts: before Pearl Harbor and after it. The good part and the bad part. Raised on a flower farm in California, Sumiko is used to being the only Japanese girl in her class. Even when the other kids tease her, she always has had her flowers and family to go home to. That all changes after the horrific events of Pearl Harbor. Other Americans start to suspect that all Japanese people are spies for the emperor, even if, like Sumiko, they were born in the United States As suspicions grow, Sumiko and her family find themselves being shipped to an internment camp in one of the hottest deserts in the United States. The vivid color of her previous life is gone forever, and now dust storms regularly choke the sky and seep into every crack of the military barrack that is her new home. Sumiko soon discovers that the camp is on an Indian reservation and that the Japanese are as unwanted there as they'd been at home. But then she meets a young Mohave boy who might just become her first real friend...if he can ever stop being angry about the fact that the internment camp is on his tribe's land.
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COO
Sam I Am (age 10+)
by Ilene Cooper
traditions ... family ... growing up ... identity
Twelve-year-old Sam Goodman knows the holidays are going to be difficult when his dog knocks over the Hanukkah bush/Christmas tree. His Jewish father and Christian mother have never quite figured out how to celebrate both holidays, and when the tree goes down, their resentments, simmering for so long, boil over. His older sister and younger brother don't seem to have any solutions for the family's predicament; his best friend Avi seems to know who he is as he prepares for his Bar Mitzvah; his secret crush, Heather, knows who she is and who she wants to associate with.
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YOL
The Devil's Arithmetic (age 10+)
by Jane Yolen
identity ... war ... historical
Hannah dreads going to her family's Passover Seder ... she's tired of hearing her relatives talk about the past. But when she opens the front door to symbolically welcome the prophet Elijah, she's transported to a Polish village in the year 1942, where she becomes caught up in the tragedy of the time.
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CRO
The Seeing Stone (age 10+)
by Kevin Crossley-Holland
identity ... fantasy ... folklore
Thirteen-year-old Arthur de Caldicot lives on a manor, desperately waiting for the moment he can become a knight. One day his father's friend Merlin gives him a shining black stone - a seeing stone - that shows him visions of his namesake, King Arthur. The legendary dragons, battles, and swordplay that young Arthur witnesses seem a world away from his own life. And yet there is something definitely joining the Arthurs together. It will be Arthur de Caldicot's destiny to discover how his path is intertwined with a king's . . . for the past is not the only thing the seeing stone can see.
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CON
Prairie Songs (age 10+)
by Pam Conrad
historical ... identity
Luisa loves the Nebraska prairie, the only home she's ever known. It's a lonely place, but it's the wonderful kind of loneliness that comes of stillness and open sky and oneness with the land. A different kind of beauty enters Louisa's world when the new doctor and his wife, Emmeline, move to the prairie from New York City. Emmeline is the most beautiful person Louisa has ever seen, and she teaches Louisa to love poetry. But she is also frail and unsuited to pioneer life. Louisa wonders whether Emmeline will ever come to love the prairie as she herself does.
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COL
Who Is Carrie? (age 10+)
by James Lincoln Collier
mystery ... identity ... historical
Publisher comments: Carrie has been a kitchen slave in Sam Fraunces's tavern in New York City for as long as she can remember. But after she narrowly escapes a kidnapper, Carrie becomes more curious about her mysterious past. After all, she doesn't even know her own last name. When her friend Dan Arabus comes to town, he talks about his dream of buying his mother's freedom with the Continental notes his father left him. Following his lead, Carrie eventually stumbles on the startling truth about her own family.
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CLA
Secret of the Andes (age 10+)
by Ann Nolan Clark
historical ... identity
Catalog: An Indian boy who tends llamas in a hidden valley in Peru learns the traditions and secrets of his Inca ancestors.
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AND
The Bus People (age 10+)
by Rachel Anderson
identity ... school ... friendship
The lives of the passengers on Bertram's "fruit-cake bus" are shaped by the experiences and problems each has faced because of different disabilities.
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CAM
The Secret Life of Amanda K. Woods (age 10+)
by Ann Cameron
growing up ... identity ... historical ... family
Amanda Woods is discovering that there are some things in life that you just can't change, like who your parents are or how your older sister treats you, but she is determined to change what she can. To begin with, she's not going to be just plain Amanda Woods (the girl her mother seems to think is just average). She's going to be Amanda K. Woods - someone who is proud and strong and sure of herself, someone who can have a French pen pal and a best friend of her own choosing, someone who finds four-leaf clovers and can get perfect scores on her math homework. There is more to Amanda than anyone else can see, things about her that Amanda herself doesn't even know yet, but she's finding out.
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UCH
Journey to Topaz: a Story of the Japanese-American Evacuation (age 10+)
by Yoshiko Uchida
identity ... survival ... bigotry ... historical
After the Pearl Harbor attack, an eleven-year-old Japanese-American girl and her family are forced to go to an aliens camp in Utah.
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STR
The World in Grandfather's Hands (age 10+)
by Craig Strete
family ... identity ... illness/loss
Eleven-year-old Jimmy is upset when he and his mother must move from the pueblo to the city after his father's death, but his grandfather's patient philosophy of life helps Jimmy slowly adjust.
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PAT
Jip: His Story (age 10+)
by Katherine Paterson
identity ... historical
After tumbling off back of a wagon, Jip was brought to live at the town poor farm. He has been content to do chores and tend animals; until the day the lunatic arrives. He seems terrifying and less than human, but as the weeks pass. Jip sees the man he truly is. So, when a menacing stranger comes to town, claiming to have been sent by Jip's grieving father, Jip turns to his new friend to make sense of his past.
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HAM
Plain City (age 10+)
by Virginia Hamilton
identity ... family
Going forward without a past is not easy to do. But Buhlaine Sims has been doing it for as long as she can remember. Then her father returns to town, and Buhlaire's world is turned upside down.
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PAR
Project Mulberry (age 10+)
by Linda Sue Park
identity ... enterprise ... bigotry ... authorship
Julia Song and her friend Patrick would love to win a blue ribbon, maybe even two, at the state fair. Can they come up with the right plan? Can they see it through? What surprising truths will they discover along the way? We might think we know, but then we wouldn't ask the right questions.
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YEP
Ribbons (age 10+)
by Laurence Yep
identity ... the arts ... family
A promising young ballet student cannot afford to continue lessons when her Chinese grandmother emigrates from Hong Kong, creating jealousy and conflict among the entire family.
sequel: The Cook's Family
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RIC
The Light in the Forest (age 10+)
by Conrad Richter
identity ... historical ... family
Though reared as a Lenni Lenape Indian, fifteen-year-old True Son, once called John Camera Butler, was ordered back to the white man. It was impossible for True Son to believe that his people were white and not Indian. He had learned to hate the white man. And now he learned to hate his new father, his new house, his new family. He hated the name John Butler. Where did he belong now--and where could he go?
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PAT
Jacob Have I Loved (age 10+)
by Katherine Patterson
identity ... realistic ... growing up ... family
Sara Louise Bradshaw is sick and tired of her beautiful twin Caroline. Ever since they were born, Caroline has been the pretty one, the talented one, the better sister. Even now, Caroline seems to take everything: Louise's friends, their parents' love, her dreams for the future. For once in her life, Louise wants to be the special one. But in order to do that, she must first figure out who she is, and find a way to make a place for herself outside her sister's shadow.
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DOW
Where I'd Like to Be (age 10+)
by Frances O'Roark Dowell
identity ... friendship ... family
A ghost saved twelve-year-old Maddie's life when she was an infant, her Granny Lane claims, so Maddie must always remember that she is special. But it's hard to feel special when you've spent your life shuffled from one foster home to another. She longs for a place to call home. Then one day, a new girl, Murphy, shows up at the Home armed with tales about exotic travels, being able tot fly, and boys who recite poetry to wild horses. When Murphy offers Maddie something she has never had before, Maddie begins to wonder if she has finally found someone who feels like home.
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CUS
Rodzina (age 10+)
by Karen Cushman
identity ... survival ... historical ... family
One of a group of orphans, 12-year-old Rodzina boards a train on a cold day in March 1881. She's reluctant to leave Chicago, the only home she can remember, and she knows there's no substitute for the family she has lost. As the train rattles westward, Rodzina unwittingly begins to develop attachments to her fellow travelers, and to accept the idea that there might be good homes for orphans--maybe even for a big, combative Polish girl. But no placement seems right for the formidable Rodzina, and she cleverly finds a way out of one bad situation after another, until at last she finds the family that is right for her.
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HOL
Following Fake Man (age 10+)
by Barbara Ware Holmes
identity ... illness/loss ... mystery ... family
Homer Aldrich Winthrop was a neurologist who died of a neurological illness. That's all Homer Jr.'s mother will say about his father, who died when he was two. On an unexpected trip to Maine, 12-year-old Homer realizes there may be a reason his father is such a secret.
F
GAN
The Joey Pigza Books (age 10+)
by Jack Gantos
illness/loss ... identity ... family
Joey Pigza really wants his six-week visit with his dad to count, to show him he's not as wired as he used to be, to show his dad how much he loves him. But Carter Pigza's not an easy guy to love. He's to make it up to Joey for past wrongs and to show him how to be a winner, to take control of his life. With his coaching, Joey's even learned how to pitch a baseball, and he's good at it. The trouble is, Joey's dad thinks taking control means giving up the things that keep Joey safe. And if he wants to please his dad, he's going to have to play by his rules, even when the rules don't make sense.
sequel: Joey Pigza Loses Control
sequel: Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key
sequel: What Would Joey Do?
sequel: I Am Not Joey Pigza
F
RYA
Esperanza Rising (age 10+)
by Pam Munoz Ryan
identity ... historical ... family
Esperanza Ortega has fancy dresses, a beautiful home filled with servants, and the promise of one day rising to her mother's position presiding over all of Rancho de las Rosas. But tragedy shatters that dream, forcing Esperanza and Mama to flee from Mexico to California and settle in a farm labor camp. There, Esperanza must confront the challenges that come with her difficult circumstances.
F
STE
The Edge Chronicles (age 10+)
by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
action ... identity ... adventure ... fantasy
Young Twig lives in the Deepwoods, among the Woodtrolls, but he isn't one of them. In a brave attempt to find out where he belongs, Twig wanders into the mysterious, dangerous world beyond the Deepwoods.
title: Beyond the Deepwoods
title: Stormchaser
title: Midnight Over Sanctaphrax
title: Freeglader
title: The Last of the Sky Pirates
title: The Curse of the Gloamglozer
title: Vox
title: The Winter Knights
title: Clash of the Sky Galleons
F
PEA
The Sky Is Falling (age 10+)
by Kit Pearson
war ... identity ... adventure ... historical
The experiences of a young girl and her small brother who are evacuated to Canada at the beginning of World War II. They struggle with being strangers in a strange land, even as they come to terms with the evil they left back home.
F
NAY
The Alice Series (age 10+)
by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
friendship ... school ... identity ... realistic ... growing up
Eleven-year-old, motherless Alice decides she needs a gorgeous role model who does everything right. Denied her wish to be in lovely Miss Cole's class, she learns that what she needs is not always what she expects.
title: The Agony of Alice
title: Achingly Alice
title: Alice Alone
title: All But Alice
title: Alice in Rapture, Sort of
title: Alice in April
title: Alice in Lace
title: Alice the Brave
title: Alice in the Know
title: Alice on Her Way
title: Alice on the Outside
title: Dangerously Alice
title: The Grooming of Alice
title: Including Alice
title: Outrageously Alice
title: Patiently Alice
title: Reluctantly Alice
F
GEO
Julie of the Wolves (age 10+)
by Jean Craighead George
identity ... survival ... nature ... adventure
To her small Eskimo village, she is known as Miyax; to her friend in San Francisco, she is Julie. When her life in the village becomes dangerous, Miyax runs away, only to find herself lost in the Alaskan wilderness.
F
CRE
Walk Two Moons (age 10+)
by Sharon Creech
illness/loss ... identity ... growing up ... friendship ... voyages/journeys ... family
As Salamanca travels cross-country with her eccentric grandparents, she tells the story of Phoebe Winterbottom, who received mysterious messages, who met a ``potential lunatic,'' and whose mother disappeared--just like Sal's.
F
BYN
Molly Moon Series (age 10+)
by Georgia Byng
identity ... mystery ... magic ... adventure ... friendship ... family
Molly Moon is no ordinary orphan. When she finds a mysterious old book on hypnotism, she discovers she can make people do whatever she wants. But a sinister stranger is watching her every move, and he'll do anything to steal her hypnotic secret...
title: Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism
title: Molly Moon Stops the World
title: Molly Moon's Hypnotic Time Travel Adventure
title: Molly Moon, Micky Minus, and the Mind Machine
title: Molly Moon and the Morphing Mystery

Sat Aug 25 11:55:25 2012
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