F STO	Deep Down Popular: a Novel (age 10+) by Phoebe Stone realistic ... school ... friendship Publisher comments: 6th-grader Jessie Lou is deeply, madly, passionately in love with Conrad Parker Smith. Too bad she's a tomboy with only one on-again, off-again friend, and hair so short you can't spit on it. Too bad he's the most popular boy in their small-town school. But then Conrad hurts his leg and suddenly can't keep up with his old pursuits anymore. Jessie Lou and Conrad start spending a lot more time together, but she can't help wonder -- is she just a substitute friend? And will Conrad forget her when his leg brace comes off and he's king of the school once again?
F 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.
F COO	Gossip from the Girls' Room: a Blogtastic! Novel (age 10+) by Rose Cooper friendship ... school ... letters/journal Publisher comments: Gossip from the Girls' Room fills readers in on all there is to learn about middle school life at Middlebrooke, where Sofia has her very own blog and discusses all the juicy gossip that comes out of the Girls' room; read along to find out just what happens when class is not in session.
F 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.
F KOR	Schooled (age 10+) by Gordon Korman realistic ... humor ... adventure ... brilliant protagonist ... school Publisher comments: Capricorn "Cap" Anderson has never watched television. He's never tasted a pizza. Never even heard of a wedgie. Since he was little, his only experience has been living on a farm commune and being home schooled by his hippie grandmother, Rain. But when Rain falls out of a tree while picking plums, and has to stay in the hospital, Cap is forced to move in with a guidance counselor and her cranky teen daughter and attend the local middle school. While Cap knows a lot about tie-dyeing and Zen Buddhism, no education could prepare him for the politics of public school.
F PER	Marleen: The Horror Queen (age 10+) by Lila Perl school ... friendship Catalog: After moving to a new neighborhood, Marleen fights those who don't appreciate her by setting herself up as a "ruler of hideous forces" but soon wonders if revenge is what she really wants.
F ALE	The Gawgon and the Boy (age 10+) by Lloyd Alexander historical ... adventure ... school In Depression-era Philadelphia, when eleven-year-old David is too ill to attend school, he is tutored by the unique and adventurous Aunt Annie, whose teaching combines with his imagination to greatly enrich his life.
F AVI	Never Mind!: a Twin Novel (age 10+) by Avi family ... school ... humor Twelve-year-old New York City twins Meg and Edward have nothing in common, so they are just as shocked as everyone else when Meg's hopes for popularity and Edward's mischievous schemes coincidentally collide in a hilarious showdown.
F CLA	Secrets of Greymoor (age 10+) by Clara Gillow Clark mystery ... historical ... school Publisher comments: In this nineteenth-century mystery, a spunky girl strives to decipher a code in order to recover her familys lost fortune. No one ever talks about Hatties grandfather, whos been hidden in the Utica Insane Asylum ever since he squandered Grandmothers fortune and started hearing voices in the walls. When a telegram arrives with news of Grandfathers death, old wounds are reopened and financial ruin looms once again. But its not until Hattie intercepts a threatening notice from the tax collector that she realizes theyre in danger of losing everything including the family estate. A mysterious book containing a code written by Grandfather leads Hattie to believe that Grandmothers fortune may not be lost after all, however, and though she works feverishly to crack the code, every step forward leads to another riddle. Are the contents of the book simply the ravings of a madman, or is it possible that there was more to Grandfather than met the eye?
F VEG	Click Here (To Find Out How I Survived Seventh Grade): A Novel (age 10+) by Denise Vega humor ... school ... letters/journal ... friendship Catalog: Seventh-grader Erin Swift writes about her friends and classmates in her private blog, but when it accidentally gets posted on the school Intranet site, she learns some important lessons about friendship.
F TOL	Surviving the Applewhites (age 10+) by Stephanie S. Tolan humor ... growing up ... school ... friendship Publisher comments: Will anyone take on Jake Semple? Jake Semple is notorious. Rumor has it he burned down his old school and got kicked out of every school in his home state. Only one place will take him now, and that's a home school run by the Applewhites, a chaotic and hilarious family of artists. The only one who doesn't fit the Applewhite mold is E.D., a smart, sensible girl who immediately clashes with the unruly Jake. Jake thinks surviving this one will be a breeze, but is he really as tough or as bad as he seems?
F HAN	The Healer's Keep (age 10+) by Victoria Hanley historical ... school ... fantasy Publisher comments: Something is threatening the legendary Healer’s Keep, where students gifted in the healing arts are trained. Will they learn enough in time to keep the darkness at bay? Or will the Shadow King turn their gifts against them and once again walk the world?
F VOI	Bad Girls Series (age 10+) by Cynthia Voigt growing up ... friendship ... school Catalog: After meeting on the first day in Mrs. Chemsky's fifth-grade class, Margalo and Mikey help each other in and out of trouble, as they try to maintain a friendship while each asserts her independence. title: Bad Girls title: Bad Girls in Love title: It's Not Easy Being Bad title: Bad Girls, Bad Girls, Whatcha Gonna Do?
F FRE	In the Cards Series (age 10+) by Mariah Fredericks school ... humor ... friendship Publisher comments: What if, for once, the losers won out against the uber-cools? GeekGirl gets GreekGod? It'd turn the school upside down. But that's what Zoe's World, a website that Eberly's eighth-grade girls check out daily, is suggesting. Only Anna, Eve, and Syd know that the cards, the mysterious tarot deck elderly Mrs. Rosemont left Anna (along with a psycho cat, Mouli) are responsible. Or may be responsible...if you believe in that sort of thing. title: Fame title: Love
F BOS	Swiped (age 10+) by Michele Martin Bossley sports ... school ... mystery Publisher comments: Would-Be Detectives Trevor, Nick and Robyn are hot on the trail of a sandwich thief when they learn that more than food has been going missing at school. A valuable hockey book has been stolen from the library, and the kids worry that the librarian might lose her job if it isn't found. Who would steal a hockey book? Could it be Robyn's arch-nemesis and hockey enthusiast Cray? Or could it be Ms. Thorson, the Oiler-fan and teacher? The kids are determined to solve these mysteries even though their sleuthing efforts land them in trouble at every turn.
F AVI	Nothing But the Truth: A Documentary Novel (age 10+) by Avi letters/journal ... school Publisher comments: Patriotism or practical joke? Harrison, NH: Ninth-grade student Philip Malloy was suspended from school for singing along to The Star-Spangled Banner in his homeroom, causing what his teacher, Margaret Narwin, called "a disturbance." But was he standing up for his patriotic ideals, only to be squelched by the school system? Was Ms. Narwin simply trying to be a good teacher? Or could it all be just a misunderstanding gone bad...very bad? What is the truth here? Can it ever be known? Heroism, hoax, or mistake, what happened at Harrison High changes everything for everyone in ways no one (least of all Philip) could have ever predicted.
F BAR	Science Fair: A Story of Mystery, Danger, International Suspense, and a Very Nervous Frog (age 10+) by Dave Barry mystery ... school ... adventure ... humor Publisher comments: Grdankl the Strong, president of Kprshtskan, is plotting to take over the American government. His plan is to infiltrate the science fair at Hubble Middle School, located in a Maryland suburb just outside Washington. The rich kids at Hubble cheat by buying their projects every year, and Grdankl's cronies should have no problem selling them his government-corrupting software. But this year, Toby Harbinger, a regular kid with Discount Warehouse shoes, is determined to win the $5,000 prize-even if he has to go up against terrorists to do it. With the help of his best friends, Tamara and Micah, Toby takes on Assistant Principal Paul Parmit, aka The Armpit, a laser-eyed stuffed owl, and two eBay buyers named Darth and the Wookiee who seem to think that the Harrison-Ford-signed BlasTech DL-44 blaster Toby sold them is a counterfeit. What transpires is a hilarious adventure filled with mystery, suspense, and levitating frogs.
F MAC	Boost (age 10+) by Kathryn Mackel school ... realistic ... sports Publisher comments: Thirteen-year-old Savvy is six two and full of raw basketball talent; her three-point shot is deadly. But sheas also skinny and gets pushed around on the court. Her older sister, Callie, is a freshman on varsity cheerleading, but sheas not quite light enough to be a flier, her coveted position. Both girls need to boost their level of competition to get off the bench and into the action. When steroids are found in Savvy's gym bag, she claims they are not hers. Suddenly, accusations are flying and nobody knows who is telling the truth. When it comes to competitive sports, no one is exempt from being offered a boost.
F NER	Chess Rumble (age 10+) by Greg Neri family ... illness/loss ... school ... poetry Publisher comments: A story in free verse poetry in which Marcus, a boy from the inner city who suffers bullying, is grieving his sister's death, and has been labeled a troublemaker finds a way to cope with his anger with the help of an unlikely mentor, who teaches him to play chess.
F WAL	H.I.V.E. Series (age 10+) by Mark Walden adventure ... action ... science fiction ... brilliant protagonist ... school Publisher comments: Otto Malpense may only be thirteen years old, but so far he has managed to run the orphanage where he lives, and he has come up with a plan clever enough to trick the most powerful man in the country. He is the perfect candidate to become the world's next supervillain. That is why he ends up at H.I.V.E., hand picked to become a member of the incoming class. The students have been kidnapped and brought to a secluded island inside a seemingly active volcano, where the school has resided for decades. All the kids are elite; they are the most athletic, the most technically advanced, and the smartest in the country. Inside the cavernous marble rooms, floodlit hangars, and steel doors, the students are enrolled in Villainy Studies and Stealth and Evasion 101. But what Otto soon comes to realize is that this is a six-year program, and leaving is not an option. With the help of his new friends: an athletic martial-arts expert; aworld-famous, beautiful diamond thief; and a spunky computer genius (the only other people who seem to want to leave) can Otto achieve what has never been done before and break out of H.I.V.E.? title: H.I.V.E.: The Higher Institute of Villainous Education title: H.I.V.E.: The Overlord Protocol
F KOR	No More Dead Dogs (age 10+) by Gordon Korman the arts ... school ... humor Eighth-grade football hero Wallace Wallace is sentenced to detention attending rehearsals of the school play where, in spite of himself, he becomes wrapped up in the production and begins to suggest changes that improve not only the play but his life as well.
F WIN	Counting on Grace (age 10+) by Elizabeth Winthrop school ... historical 1910. Pownal, Vermont. At 12, Grace and her best friend Arthur must leave school and go to work as a “doffers” on their mothers’ looms in the mill. Grace’s mother is the best worker, fast and powerful, and Grace desperately wants to help her. But she’s left handed and doffing is a right-handed job. Grace’s every mistake costs her mother, and the family. She only feels capable on Sundays, when she and Arthur receive special lessons from their teacher. Together they write a secret letter to the Child Labor Board about underage children working in Pownal. A few weeks later a man with a camera shows up. It is the famous reformer Lewis Hine, undercover, collecting evidence for the Child Labor Board. Grace’s brief acquaintance with Hine and the photos he takes of her are a gift that changes her sense of herself, her future, and her family’s future.
F TAR	Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree (age 10+) by Lauren Tarshis brilliant protagonist ... friendship ... school Emma-Jean Lazarus is the smartest and strangest girl at William Gladstone Middle School. Her classmates don't understand her, but that's okay because Emma-Jean doesn't quite get them either. But one afternoon, all that changes when she sees Colleen Pomerantz crying in the girl's room. It is through Colleen that Emma-Jean gets a glimpse into what it is really like to be a seventh grader. And what she finds will send her tumbling out of a tree and questioning why she ever got involved in the first place.
F STE	The Mysterious Benedict Society Series (age 10+) by Trenton Lee Stewart friendship ... science fiction ... brilliant protagonist ... adventure ... school "Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?" When this peculiar ad appears in the newspaper, dozens of children enroll to take a series of mysterious, mind-bending tests. (And you, dear reader, can test your wits right alongside them.) But in the end just four very special children will succeed. Their challenge: to go on a secret mission that only the most intelligent and resourceful children could complete. To accomplish it they will have to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules. As our heroes face physical and mental trials beyond their wildest imaginations, they have no choice but to turn to each other for support. But with their newfound friendship at stake, will they be able to pass the most important test of all? title: The Mysterious Benedict Society title: The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey title: The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma
F 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
F SCH	The Wednesday Wars (age 10+) by Gary Schmidt school ... humor ... growing up ... historical Meet Holling Hoodhood, a seventh-grader at Camillo Junior High, who must spend Wednesday afternoons with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, while the rest of the class has religious instruction. Mrs. Baker doesn't like Holling, he's sure of it. Why else would she make him read the plays of William Shakespeare outside class? But everyone has bigger things to worry about, like Vietnam. His father wants Holling and his sister to be on their best behavior: the success of his business depends on it. But how can Holling stay out of trouble when he has so much to contend with? A bully demanding cream puffs; angry rats; and a baseball hero signing autographs the very same night Holling has to appear in a play in yellow tights! As fate sneaks up on him again and again, Holling finds Motivation...the Big M...in the most unexpected places and musters up the courage to embrace his destiny, in spite of himself.
F 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.
F HOL	Middle School Is Worse Than Meatloaf: a Year Told Through Stuff (age 10+) by Jennifer Holm growing up ... humor ... school ... letters/journal Told entirely through notes, grocery receipts, report cards, bottle caps, newspaper clippings, and other pieces of a young girls life, Newbery Honor winner Holm delivers the story of Ginnys seventh-grade year using all the things that "really" matter.
F BRU	The Dark Pond (age 10+) by Joseph Bruchac school ... spooky ... mystery ... folklore After he feels a mysterious pull drawing him toward a dark, shadowy pond in the woods, Armie looks to old Native American tales for guidance about the dangerous monster lurking in the water.
F BLU	Here's to You, Rachel Robinson (age 10+) by Judy Blume brilliant protagonist ... school ... family ... friendship It's the end of seventh grade, and the stress of trying to be perfect is getting to Rachel. She's tired of being the straight-A student on every teacher's wish list. Plus she's busy dealing with her sister's junior prom mishaps, and harboring a secret crush on her brother's tutor. But most importantly, she's working to keep her friendship with Stephanie and Alison strong. Could it be that real life is much more interesting than perfect life? If you're equipped with a good sense of humor, it is!
F BLU	Just as Long as We're Together (age 10+) by Judy Blume school ... family ... friendship Rachel is Stephanie's best friend. Since the second grade they have shared all their secrets, good and bad. So when Alison moves in, Stephanie hopes that the three of them can be best friends because Stephanie really likes Alison. After all, they have even more to share now, including seventh grade and Jeremy Dragon, the cutest boy in junior high. Even though the three of them live in a quiet Connecticut neighborhood, there's a lot going on in their lives. Stephanie wishes her father didn't have to work so far from home and she worries that Rachel's talents will get in the way of their friendship. Rachel and Alison have to deal with the changes in their own lives, yet Stephanie is sure everything will work out fine--"just as long as we're together...."
F BLU	BFF: Best Friends Forever: Two Novels (age 10+) by Judy Blume school ... family ... friendship Contains two novels by Judy Blume including "Just as Long as We're Together," in which Stephanie's relationship with her best friend, Rachel, changes during her first year in junior high as she tries to hide a family problem and meets a new girl from California; and "Here's to You, Rachel Robinson," in which Rachel's life is disrupted when her brother Charles is expelled from boarding school and returns home.
F DOH	Street Child (age 10+) by Berlie Doherty survival ... historical ... school A novel based on the life of Jim Jarvis, a young orphan who escapes the workhouse in London in the 1860s and survives brutal treatment and desparate circumstances until he is taken by Dr. Barnardo, founder of a school for the city's ragged children.
F SAC	The Boy Who Lost His Face (age 10+) by Louis Sachar school ... growing up ... friendship David is only trying to be cool when he helps some of the popular kids steal Old Lady Bayfield's cane. But when the plan backfires, he's the one the "old witch" curses. Now David can't seem to do anything right. Is it the Bayfield curse at work? Or is David simply turning into a total loser?
F 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.
F HAL	Princess Academy (age 10+) by Shannon Hale princesses ... fantasy ... friendship ... school Miri lives on a mountain where, for generations, her ancestors have quarried stone and lived a simple life. Then word comes that the king's priests have divined her small village the home of the future princess. In a year's time, the prince himself will come and choose his bride from among the girls of the village. The king's ministers set up an academy on the mountain, and every teenage girl must attend and learn how to become a princess. Miri soon finds herself confronted with a harsh academy mistress, bitter competition among the girls, and her own conflicting desires to be chosen and win the heart of her childhood best friend. But when bandits seek out the academy to kidnap the future princess, Miri must rally the girls together and use a power unique to the mountain dwellers to save herself and her classmates.
F FLE	Flying Solo (age 10+) by Ralph Fletcher friendship ... school ... illness/loss Rachel, having chosen to be mute following the sudden death of a classmate, shares responsibility with the other sixth-graders who decide not to report that the substitute teacher failed to show up.
F FIN	Bad Dreams (age 10+) by Anne Fine spooky ... school ... friendship Despite her preference for books over friends, Melanie gradually becomes involved with a new classmate, and realizes that her her friend has a special gift that is also a burden.
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 HON	Don't Pat the Wombat! (age 10+) by Elizabeth Honey school ... humor Mark Ryder gives us the good, the bad, and the messy in this antic account of his friends' misadventures during a week of school-camp in the Australian Outback. Camp is everything the boys expect and more...there are caves to explore, mud fights, bad showers, great food, hidden candy, wombats, and leeches. Then disaster strikes: Mr. Cromwell (a.k.a. Crom the Bomb) arrives as a substitute chaperon.

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