Billy Creekmore by Tracey Porter

Billy Creekmore is a 10 year old boy living in West Virginia in 1905. His mother died in childbirth, his father abandoned him and he is living at the Guardian Angels Home for Boys run by Mr. and Mrs. Beadle. Life is very hard and when Billy finds out he is being sent to work for Mr. Colder at the glass factory, he decides to run away. Before he can, his Uncle Jim arrives and takes him home to live with his Aunt Agnes. He has a good life there and begins working in the coal mines as a mule driver. After a section of the mine collapses, the workers start forming a union (UMW). When Billy's uncle and friend are killed by the Baldwin-Felts agents, his aunt tells him to run away. He joins the Sparks circus and finds his father who is working for another circus. He goes with his father, but finds that he is a drunk and unscrupulous man who will do anything for money. Billy runs away again to go back to the Sparks Circus where he has friends who love him and consider him part of their family. The book is based on the author's mothers life. She was in a foster home, abandoned by her father after her mother died in childbirth and was later adopted by her aunt and uncle. The boys who work in the mines are real boys who died before the age of 17 in the coal mines. The Sparks Circus was a real circus owned by Charles Sparks who cared for his troop like family.

Ever by Gail Carson Levine

Two characters - Olus and Kezi tell this story. Each chapter is a different character talking. Both are in first person. Until you figure this out, it is very difficult to understand the story. Olus is the Akkan god of the wind. He comes to earth as a mortal and meets Kezi, who worships Admat. Kezi's father has taken an oath that if Admat will heal Kezi's mother, mati, he will sacrifice whoever first congratulates him on her recovery. Aunt Fedo comes to visit and starts to congratulate Senat on his wife's recovery. To save Aunt Fedo, Kezi congratulates her father, so she is the one to be sacrificed. Her father begs for one month's mercy. Olus falls in love with Kezi and takes her to Akka. If she can become immortal, a goddess, she will never die. Both Olus and Kezi must stand trials. Olus must rescue a friend from a well without his powers. Kezi must go to Wadir, the underworld, and take a feather from a warki to return to earth. Both are able to succeed in their trials. Kezi becomes the goddess of awareness and uncertainty. She returns to Hyte, her home village, where she is sacrificed. Because of her immortality, she doesn't die. The people of Hyte consider her disappearance a miracle and promise never to sacrifice anyone again. Olus takes her to Akka where they are married. They have three daughters and three sons. Three became gods and goddesses and three remained mortal. The moral: "Fate may be thwarted. We strive for happy outcomes." This book was very difficult to read. The change in characters with both speaking in first person, the strange names and places, the concepts of various gods. I think middle school students will have trouble reading this book.

Red Glass by Laura Resau

Sophie's family adopts a five year old Mexican immigrant boy who is without any family. They eventually discover that he still has grandparents there. Sophie and her Aunt Dika, from Bosnia, Aunt Dika's boyfriend, and his grandson Angel set off on a cross country journey to return Pablo to his relatives. Sophie is a worrier and afraid of everything, so this is a courageous adventure for her. On the trip, she and Angel fall in love. Lorenzo, Aunt Dika's boyfriend, and Angel return to Guatamala to try and recover some jewelry of Angel's mothers. When they do not return, Sophie realizes they are in trouble and manages through many very dangerous circumstances to find them and bring them home.

Paper Towns by John Green

Quentin, one of the high school nerds, has always been in love with his next door neighbor, Margo Roth Spiegelman, one of the cool kids. One night she appears at his window and convinces him to accompany her on a revenge motivated crime spree to get back at her ex-boyfriend. After their night together, Quentin expects to continue their friendship, but Margo disappears. Has she run away or committed suicide? Quentin and his geeky friends find clues to her disappearance and decide to find her, dead or alive. Some of their antics will make adult heads spin. I think teens will identify with Margo as having the guts to do what they would like to try. Older teens.

Whale Talk

TJ Jones, high school senior whose mixed parentage and rough experiences as a neglected child have made him sensitive to anyone who's mistreated in school, decides to help out a younger kid who's being bullied. How to do it? Create a swim team and make the younger kid a successful athlete. The school doesn't have a pool. but that won't stop TJ and his crew of likable misfits.

Shattering Glass by Gail Giles

Simon Glass is the typical nerd of the senior class of a high school in Houston. When popular Rob decides to transform him into the coolest kid in school (as a display of his power), his power trip gets out of hand. Characters in the novel have one-paragraph quotes (told five years later) at the beginning of every chapter, and through these, we learn that Simon will die, and Young Steward, our narrator, will be involved and jailed. Rob, Young, the athletic Coop, and flirtatious Bobster (try keeping those names straight) are each involved in Simon's transformation, pushing him to be class favorite and allowing him to manipulate student computer records to make them look good. After the "Favorites dance" results are manipulated by Simon as a trick on THEM, Rob flips out, taking a baseball bat to Simon, killing him, on the last page of the book. I didn't like this book, hard to put my finger on why...Rob was just a little too much of a caricature, the boys seemed TOO mature for high school.

Nation by Terry Pratchett

Mau, an island boy, is completing his manhood experience on another island when a tidal wave wipes out his entire community. He returns home to nothing and no one. Daphne, a sheltered English girl, is shipwrecked on the same island from the same storm. Together they must cooperate to survive. As other people from neighboring islands arrive, they learn to work together to establish a new Nation. They discover a long lost architectural find which changes their entire way of thinking about their gods.

Diamond Willow by Helen Frost

Willow is a young girl who lives in Alaska and has sled dogs. She was named for the willow stick that forms diamond shapes when the branches fall off. Most of the story is written in verses shaped in a diamond shape. Willow wants to take the sled dogs to Grandma and Grandpa's by herself. It's only twelve miles. Her parents finally decides that she can and she makes the trip successfully, but on the way back, she is going too fast. A tree has fallen on the path and she doesn't see it in time. The dogs run into the tree and Rory, the lead dog, is blinded. She gets him back home, but the vet doesn't think he will ever see again. Willow's parents are trying to decide whether to put Rory to sleep when Willow finds out. She tries to take Rory to her grandparents and she and Kaylie, her friend from school, are caught in a blizzard when they lose the path. Willow finds out that she was actually a twin. Her twin sister was named Diamond and only lived four days. Her ashes were spread where the girls spent the night. Her sisters ashes and Rory who has Diamond's spirit protect them and keep them safe. Rory is saved and becomes a house dog. Only Willow knows that Rory is able to see again and run with the other dogs.

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

In Panem, North America, on Reaping Day, one boy and one girl are chosen from each of the 12 districts to participate in the Hunger Games. The games are televised and everyone must watch the competition to the death. Only one person can win and they must kill all of the others. Katniss's younger sister Primrose is chosen from their district. She is young and inexperienced, so Katniss volunteers to go in her place. Katniss is a hunter, a survivor. She thinks she can survive and perhaps win. The boy who is chosen is Peeta Mellark, the bakers son who has always loved Katniss. Haymitch, the only previous winner from Seam, their home district, is their mentor. He is always drunk, and Katniss and Peeta don't feel like he will be any help to them. As the games develop, Katniss befriends Rue, a 12 year old girl from District 11. Eventually she realizes that Peetah has been helping her and they form an alliance. In the end, they are both chosen as winners, although the Capitol is very angry and tries to kill them. They have fallen in love, but is Katniss really in love or just doing it for the audience? A sequel to follow.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

In the Seven Kingdoms, when a person is born with eyes of two different colors, they possess a Grace. Sometimes the Grace is powerful and sometimes not. Katsa is born with one of the most powerful of all - the grace for killing. She is used by her uncle Randa, King of the Middluns to revenge his enemies. Katsa hates killing, but feels that she has no choice. She has created a council of good to offset her evil deeds. On one of her chosen quests, she rescues the kidnapped father of the King of Lienid. During the quest, she meets Prince Greening (Po), his grandson. He also has a Grace, the grace for fighting. Although they start as enemies,they soon become friends, and eventually lovers. He convinces Katsa that she does not have to follow King Randa's commands. They set off together to find out why Po's grandfather was kidnapped and discover more evil than they can handle in Monsea with King Leck who is graced with the power to alter people's thoughts. He is a very evil man who kills and maims and then convinces others that he is kind and generous. Po and Katsa rescue Bitterblue, King Leck's daughter before he is able to harm her, then they set out to kill King Leck. Although Po is almost killed, Katsa is able to escape and eventually kill Bitterblue's father. Bitterblue becomes Queen of Monsea. Katsa returns to find Po is blind, but has learned to compensate for his blindness by sensing things around him. They marry and everyone lives happily ever after. This book has a slow start, but lots of adventure and action. Very strong female characters. Survival story. First novel by this author.

Here Lies Arthur by Phillip Reeve

Gwyna is a young girl serving as a slave in the castle of The Irishman in Medieval England AD 500. She runs away and is found by Myrddin (Merlin). He convinces her to be the "Lady of the Lake" and give Arthur his sword (Caliburn). He keeps her as a boy to be his servant and traveling companion. She learns that Arthur's feats are legends that Myrddin has created. Myrddin is hoping that if he can make Arthur strong enough through legend that there will be peace again in England. Gwyna (Gwyn) enjoys being a boy and riding with the men, but eventually reaches a point that she can no longer be disguised as a boy and must become a girl. On one of their visits, she meets Peredur (Peri), a young man whose mother has raised him as a girl. They become friends. Eventually, Peredur joins Arthur's forces as a boy. The story reveals that Arthur is not the great legend that we have read about. Many of the stories are manipulated by Myrddin who is actually Arthur's leader. Myrddin and Arthur die and Gwyna and Peredur continue Myrddin's legacy of telling stories about Arthur.

Beanball by Gene Fehler

Luke "Wizard" Wallace is a great baseball player. He is popular, good looking, and talented. The team plays better when Luke is there. Life is good for him until the day he is hit in the face by a fastball. The ball crushes his eye and knocks him unconscious. He loses the sight in his left eye. This novel in verse relates how Luke's injury affects him and the people around him, his coach, the team, his friends, his family, the students at his school, the other team, the other coach, the players on the other team. It reads quickly and has a good ending. Luke decides he will try to play ball again. He becomes friends with a girl who cares about him and is an inspiration to his team.

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

Isabel and Ruth Finch are promised their freedom when Miss Mary Finch dies, but instead they are sold to a wealthy English couple, Anne and Elihu Lockton. They are taken to New York where conflict is high between the Loyalists and the Patriots. Isabel finds herself spying for the patriots. Her sister Ruth has epilepsy and when she has a seizure, Anne sells her. Isabel runs away but is captured and branded I for Insolance. Lady Seymour, the master's aunt, befriends Isabel and nurses her back to health, but then returns her to Madam Lockton. Curzon, a young slave boy about Isabel's age, befriends her and helps her when he can. There is a terrible fire and Lady Seymour's house burns. Isabel rescues her and takes her to the Locktons. Curzon is captured along with other rebel soldiers and put into jail. Isabel brings him scraps of food from the Lockton house. Isabel continues passing messages for the rebels, but is caught and put into the potato bin. She decides to run. She manages to get Curzon out of jail by offering to clean the cells and carrying him out in a wheelbarrow as a dead body. They find a boat and escape to Jersey. Sequel will be Forge.