When a family buys a house in a struggling town for just one dollar, they’re hoping to start over — but have they traded one set of problems for another? Twelve-year-old Lowen Grover, a budding comic-book artist, is still reeling from the shooting death of his friend Abe when he stumbles across an article about … Continue reading THE DOLLAR KIDS, By Jennifer Richard Jacobson, Illustrated by Ryan Andrews, Candlewick Press
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24 HOURS IN NOWHERE, by Dusti Bowling, Sterling Publishing
Welcome to Nowhere, Arizona, the least livable town in the United States. For Gus, a bright 13-year-old with dreams of getting out and going to college, life there is made even worse by Bo Taylor, Nowhere’s biggest, baddest bully. When Bo tries to force Gus to eat a dangerously spiny cactus, Rossi Scott, one of … Continue reading 24 HOURS IN NOWHERE, by Dusti Bowling, Sterling Publishing
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OPHELIA, by Charlotte Gingras, Illustrations by Daniel Sylvestre, Groundwood Books, House of Anansi Press
The kids at school call her rag girl because she hides under layers of oversized clothing, but she calls herself Ophelia. She hardly speaks to anyone — until one day a visiting author comes to give a talk in the school library. The writer speaks about what it means to create art, and at the … Continue reading OPHELIA, by Charlotte Gingras, Illustrations by Daniel Sylvestre, Groundwood Books, House of Anansi Press
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A CHANCE AT FOREVER, by Melissa Jagears, Bethany House Publishers
DESCRIPTION: Mercy McClain joined the school board to protect the children of Teaville, Kansas, from the bullying she experienced as a child. When the worst offender from her school days applies for a teaching position, she is dead set against it. Yet Aaron Firebrook claims to be a changed man. Can he earn Mercy's trust--and … Continue reading A CHANCE AT FOREVER, by Melissa Jagears, Bethany House Publishers
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MY LIFE IN SMILEY, IT’S ALL GOOD, by Anne Kalicky, Andrews McMeel Publishing
Follow the middle school misadventures of Max, as recorded in his hilarious Diary of a Wimpy Kid–style journal that is unconventionally illustrated with the internationally recognized emoticons of the SmileyWorld brand. Age Level: 8-12 Grade Level: 3rd and up Warning: Do not read before 2126! My Life in Smiley: It's All Good is meant strictly … Continue reading MY LIFE IN SMILEY, IT’S ALL GOOD, by Anne Kalicky, Andrews McMeel Publishing
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MUNMUN, by Jesse Andrews, Amulet Books/Abrams Books, Hachette Book Group
In an alternate reality a lot like our world, every person’s physical size is directly proportional to their wealth. The poorest of the poor are the size of rats, and billionaires are the size of skyscrapers. Warner and his sister Prayer are destitute—and tiny. Their size is not just demeaning, but dangerous: day and night … Continue reading MUNMUN, by Jesse Andrews, Amulet Books/Abrams Books, Hachette Book Group
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THORNHILL, By Pam Smy, Roaring Book Press/Mackids.com
Parallel stories set in different times, one told in prose and one in pictures, converge as Ella unravels the mystery of the girl next door. 1982: Mary is a lonely orphan at the Thornhill Institute For Children at the very moment that it's shutting its doors. When her few friends are all adopted or … Continue reading THORNHILL, By Pam Smy, Roaring Book Press/Mackids.com
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THE ALTERED HISTORY OF WILLOW SPARKS, by Tara O’Connor, ONI Press
What happens when you can finally get everything you ever wanted? Willow Sparks and her best friend Georgia Pratt are at the bottom of the social ladder at Twin Pines High School, just trying to get through each day relatively unscathed. But when Willow finds a mysterious book that allows her to literally change her … Continue reading THE ALTERED HISTORY OF WILLOW SPARKS, by Tara O’Connor, ONI Press
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STRANGERS, The Reckoner Series, by David A. Robertson, Book One, Portage & Main Press, HighWater Press, Middle Grade, Teens & YA
Description When Cole Harper is compelled to return to Wounded Sky First Nation, he finds his community in chaos: a series of shocking murders, a mysterious illness ravaging the residents, and reemerging questions about Cole’s role in the tragedy that drove him away 10 years ago. With the aid of an unhelpful spirit, a disfigured … Continue reading STRANGERS, The Reckoner Series, by David A. Robertson, Book One, Portage & Main Press, HighWater Press, Middle Grade, Teens & YA
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THE CHALK MAN, by C.J. Tudor, Crown Publishing
Book Description: In 1986, Eddie and his friends are just kids on the verge of adolescence. They spend their days biking around their sleepy English village and looking for any taste of excitement they can get. The chalk men are their secret code: little chalk stick figures they leave for one another as messages only … Continue reading THE CHALK MAN, by C.J. Tudor, Crown Publishing
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