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2008 Summer Reading List
Sayreville War Memorial High School
Selections chosen by Jennifer Ford/Media Specialist
Anderson, Laurie Halse/Fever 1793 In August 1793, fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook is ambitious, adventurous, and sick to death of listening to her mother. Mattie has plans of her own. She wants to turn the Cook Coffeehouse into the finest business in Philadelphia, the capital of the new United States. But the waterfront is abuzz with reports of disease. "Fever" spreads from the docks and creeps toward Mattie's home, threatening everything she holds dear. As the cemeteries fill with fever victims, fear turns to panic, and thousands flee the city. Then tragedy strikes the coffeehouse, and Mattie is trapped in a living nightmare. Suddenly, her struggle to build a better life must give way to something even more important -- the fight to stay alive
Anderson, Laurie Halse/ Catalyst Meet Kate Malone–straight A science and math geek, minister’s daughter, ace long-distance runner, unwilling family caretaker, emotional avoidance champion. Kate manages her life by compartmentalizing it, not unlike the periodic table. She can handle anything–or so she thinks. Then, like a string of chemical reactions, everything happens: the Malones’ neighbors get burned out of their home and move in. Because her father is a Good Man of God (and a Not Very Thoughtful Parent), Kate has to share her room with her nemesis, Flo Litch, and Flo’s adorable, troublemaking little brother. Kate’s ex-boyfriend keeps trying to get back together, and she gets rejected from the only college she has applied to: MIT. Kate’s life is less and less under control–and then, something happens that truly blows it all apart.
Anderson, Laurie Halse/ Twisted High school senior, Tyler Miller, used to be the kind of guy who faded into the background-average student, average looks, average dysfunctional family. But since he got busted for doing graffiti on the school and spent the summer doing outdoor work to pay for it, he stands out like you wouldn't believe. His new physique attracts the attention of queen bee Bethany Milbury, who just so happens to be his father's boss's daughter, the sister of his biggest enemy-and Tyler's secret crush. That sets off a string of events and changes that have Tyler questioning his place in the school, in his family, and in the world..
Avi/ Nothing but the Truth Ninth grader, Philip Malloy, is forbidden to join the track team because of his failing grades in English class. Convinced that the teacher just doesn't like him, Philip concocts a plan to get transferred into a different homeroom. Instead of standing silently during the national anthem, he hums along and ends up on trial.
Avi/ The Secret School In 1925, fourteen-year-old Ida Bidson secretly takes over as the teacher when the one-room schoolhouse in her remote Colorado town closes unexpectedly.
Avi/ Midnight Magic On a stormy night in the Kingdom of Pergamontio, an insistent knocking brings Fabrizio, the servant boy, to the door. Outside stands a solider summoning Fabrizio's master, Mangus the Magician, to the king's castle. Because Mangus has been under house arrest for confessing to be a magician, he cannot imagine why the king is calling for him. But magic is exactly what the king needs. He wants Mangus to free his daughter from the torment of a terrifying ghost. Mangus' life will depend on his success.
Alex Berenson/ The Faithful Spy John Wells is the only American CIA agent ever to penetrate al Qaeda. Since before the attacks in 2001, Wells has been hiding in the mountains of Pakistan, biding his time, building his cover. Now, on the orders of Omar Khadri–the malicious mastermind plotting more al Qaeda strikes on America–Wells is coming home. Neither Khadri nor Jennifer Exley, Wells’s superior at Langley, knows quite what to expect.
Anne-Laure Bondoux/ The Killer’s Tears Angel Allegria murders a farmer and his wife in Chile, and he takes their young son, Paolo, and begins to raise him as his own.
Marina Budhos/ Ask Me No Questions Since emigrating from Bangladesh, fourteen-year-old Nadira and her family have been living in New York City on expired visas, hoping to realize their dream of becoming legal U.S. citizens. But after 9/11, everything changes. Suddenly being Muslim means you are dangerous -- a suspected terrorist. When Nadira's father is arrested and detained at the U.S.-Canadian border, Nadira and her older sister, Aisha, are told to carry on as if everything is the same. The teachers at Flushing High don't ask any questions, but Aisha falls apart. Nothing matters to her anymore -- not even college. It's up to Nadira to be the strong one and bring her family back together again
Kevin Brooks/Martyn Pig Meet Martyn Pig. His name may be bad, but his life is worse. Martyn's life is miserable, and it always has been. His mother is gone. His father hates him, but at least things can't get any worse. Or so he thought. When his father dies in a sudden accident, Martyn realizes that for the first time in his life, he has a choice. Sure, he could report what happened - and move in with his horrible Aunty Jean, or he could get rid of the body and move on with the rest of his life. So Martyn comes up with a foolproof plan to hide the body. What could go wrong?
Kevin Brooks/ Kissing the Rain Moo Nelson likes to be alone. Overweight and shy, Moo is constantly mocked and bullied by his cruel classmates. He's happiest spending time on a secluded bridge above the highway, watching the cars go by. One day, from his special spot, Moo witnesses a crime that changes his life forever. He sees a car chase and a murder--and suddenly Moo's a celebrity of sorts. The police, the lawyers, and even the bullies are now really interested in Moo. But so is one shady character who seems intent on tracking Moo down. Now all Moo has to do is find out the truth behind the crime. . . before it's too late.
Kevin Brooks/ Being It was just supposed to be a routine exam. But when the doctors put the fiber-optic tube down Robert Smith's throat, what they discover doesn't make medical sense. They see plastic casings. silver filaments, and moving metal parts. In his naked, anesthetized state on the operating table, Robert hears the surgeons' shocked comments: "What the hell is that? " "It's me," Robert thinks, "and I've got to get out of here. " Armed with a stolen automatic and the videotape of his strange organs, he manages to escape, and to embark on an orphan's violent odyssey to find out exactly who--exactly what--he is.
Silvana De Mari/The Last Dragon In a post-apocalyptic world, shrouded in darkness and continually lashed by rain, a young elf named Yorsh struggles to survive. When his village is destroyed by the torrential waters, Yorsh finds himself suddenly orphaned and alone–the earth’s last elf. Soon Yorsh discovers he is part of a powerful prophecy: when the last dragon and the last elf break the circle, the past and the future will meet, and the sun of a new summer will shine in the sky. Now Yorsh must decipher the prophecy and find the last dragon -- it is the only way to end the rains and to save the world from the Dark Age that has begun. Full of great tenderness and humor, this magical journey tells the story of a world now plagued by intolerance and wickedness, and the elf and the dragon who will fight for its redemption.
Gennifer Choldenko/Al Capone Does My Shirts Murderers, mob bosses, and convicts . . . these guys are not your average neighbors. Unless you live on Alcatraz. It’s 1935 and twelve-year-old Moose Flanagan and his family have just moved to the infamous island that’s home to criminals like notorious escapee Roy Gardner, Machine Gun Kelly, and of course, Al Capone. Now Moose has to try to fit in at his new school, avoid getting caught up in one of the warden’s daughter’s countless plots, and keep an eye on his sister, Natalie, who’s not like other kids. All Moose wants to do is protect Natalie, live up to his parents’ expectations, and stay out of trouble. But on Alcatraz, trouble is never very far away.
Mary Higgins Clark/I Heard That Song Before At the center of the novel is Kay Lansing, who has grown up in Englewood, New Jersey, daughter of the landscaper to the wealthy and powerful Carrington family. Their mansion -- a historic seventeenth-century manor house transported stone by stone from Wales in 1848 -- has a hidden chapel. One day, accompanying her father to work, six-year-old Kay succumbs to curiosity and sneaks into the chapel. There, she overhears a quarrel between a man and a woman who is demanding money from him. When she says that this will be the last time, his caustic response is: "I heard that song before." That same evening, the Carringtons hold a formal dinner dance after which Peter Carrington, a student at Princeton, drives home Susan Althorp, the nineteen-year-old daughter of neighbors. While her parents hear her come in, she is not in her room the next morning and is never seen or heard from again.
Mary Higgins Clark/ Two Little Girls in Blue When Margaret and Steve Frawley come home to Connecticut from a black-tie dinner in New York, their three-year-old twins, Kathy and Kelly, are gone. The police found the babysitter unconscious, and a ransom note from the "Pied Piper" demands eight million dollars. Steve's global investment firm puts up the money, but when they go to retrieve the twins, only Kelly is in the car. The dead driver's suicide note says he inadvertently killed Kathy. At the memorial, Kelly tugs Margaret's arm and says: "Mommy, Kathy is very scared of that lady. She wants to come home right now." At first, only Margaret believes that the twins are communicating and that Kathy is still alive. But as Kelly's warnings become increasingly specific and alarming,, the FBI agents set out on a desperate search.
Paulo Coelho/ The Alchemist
Paulo Coelho's enchanting novel has inspired a devoted following around the world. This story, dazzling in its simplicity and wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of treasure buried in the Pyramids. Along the way, he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an Alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest. No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles along the way, but what starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a meditation on the treasures found within.
Chris Crutcher/Deadline Ben Wolf has big things planned for his senior year. Now what he has is some very bad news, and only one year left to make his mark on the world. How can a pint-sized, seventeen-year-old do anything significant in the nowheresville of Trout, Idaho? First, Ben makes sure that no one else knows what is going on—not his superstar quarterback brother, Cody, not his parents, not his coach, no one. Next, he decides to become the best 127-pound football player Trout High has ever seen; to give his close-minded civics teacher a daily migraine; and to help the local drunk clean up his act. And then there's Dallas Suzuki. Amazingly perfect, fascinating Dallas Suzuki, who may or may not give Ben the time of day. Really, she's first on the list. Living with a secret isn't easy, though, and Ben's resolve begins to crumble . . . especially when he realizes that he isn't the only person in Trout with secrets.
Nancy Farmer/ The House of the Scorpion Matteo Alacran 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 Alacran Estate is no guarantee of freedom, because Matt is marked by his difference in ways he doesn't even suspect.
Nikki Grimes/ Dark Sons Sam can't believe it when his father leaves the family to marry another woman-and a white woman, at that. The betrayal cuts deep-Sam had been so close to his dad, and idolized him. Now who can he turn to, who can he trust? Even God seems to have ditched him. Ishmael is his father's first son, the heir. But when his father is visited by mysterious strangers who claim that Abraham's wife, Sarah, will finally give birth to a son, Ishmael is worried. And when baby Isaac arrives, Ishmael becomes more isolated from his father. Could Abraham's God, who had spoken to Ishmael's mother, to whom he has made countless sacrifices, now betray him in favor of this new son?
John Grisham/ The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town In the town of Ada, Oklahoma, Ron Williamson was going to be the next Mickey Mantle. But on his way to the Big Leagues, Ron stumbled, his dreams broken by drinking, drugs, and women. Then, on a winter night in 1982, not far from Ron’s home, a young cocktail waitress named Debra Sue Carter was savagely murdered. The investigation led nowhere. Until, on the flimsiest evidence, it led to Ron Williamson. The washed-up small-town hero was charged, tried, and sentenced to death—in a trial littered with lying witnesses and tainted evidence that would shatter a man’s already broken life…and let a true killer go free. Impeccably researched, grippingly told, filled with eleventh-hour drama, John Grisham’s first work of nonfiction reads like a page-turning legal thriller. It is a book that will terrify anyone who believes in the presumption of innocence—a book no American can afford to miss.
John Grisham/Playing for Pizza Rick Dockery wanted to make football history -- but not that kind of football history. Last year, as a last-minute replacement in an AFC championship game, he single-handedly blew his team's 17-point lead. Now a national laughingstock, this unemployed backup quarterback is begging for a second chance. He finds it in unexpected ways in Parma, Italy, a place he's never heard of.
Sonya Hartnett/ Surrender I am dying: it's a beautiful word. Like the long slow sigh of a cello: dying. But the sound of it is the only beautiful thing about it. As life slips away, Gabriel looks back over his brief twenty years, which have been clouded by frustration and humiliation. A small, unforgiving town and distant, punitive parents ensure that he is never allowed to forget the horrific mistake he made as a child. He has only two friends - his dog, Surrender, and the unruly wild boy, Finnigan, a shadowy doppelganger with whom the meek Gabriel once made a boyhood pact. But when a series of arson attacks grips the town, Gabriel realizes how unpredictable and dangerous Finnigan is. As events begin to spiral violently out of control, it becomes devastatingly clear that only the most extreme measures will rid Gabriel of Finnigan for good.
Melissa Kantor/If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where’s My Prince After her father's marriage, Lucy is forced to live with her stepmother and two stepsisters on Long Island while he wraps up work back in California. When she inadvertently attracts the attention of Connor, the cutest senior jock at school, she goes from friendless to popular. But Lucy begins to realize she and Connor have nothing in common beyond their love of basketball; she doesn't connect with him the way she does with artist Sam. Meanwhile, her stepmother treats Lucy like a maid and even gets her in trouble with her dad. The author has some fun updating Cinderella.
Robert Kaplow/ Me and Orson Welles "This is the story of one week in my life. I was seventeen. It was the week I slept in Orson Welles's pajamas. It was the week I fell in love. And it was the week I changed my middle name - twice." So begins Me and Orson Welles, a comic coming-of-age novel set against the background of the twenty-two-year-old Orson Welles's debut production at the Mercury Theatre on Broadway. Richard Samuels is the stage struck seventeen-year-old from New Jersey who wanders onto the set one day and gets a small role in Welles's Julius Caesar. His life will never be the same.
Jackie Lynn/ Jacob’s Ladder
When her husband left her
for a younger woman, Rose Franklin bought a camper and started traveling.
Eventually, she put down roots in Shady Grove, a campsite along the
Mississippi River in West Memphis, Arkansas, where she has lived for six
months now. Since she solved the murder of Lawrence Franklin, life has
been quiet; she is enjoying her new friends, life next to the river, and a
blossoming romance with neighbor, Thomas Sawyer.
Richard Matheson/I am Legend
Robert Neville may well be
the last living man on Earth . . . but he is not alone. of civilization. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for dawn. . . . Richard Matheson’s classic novel has now been transformed by Warner Bros. into a major motion picture starring Academy Award nominee Will Smith.
Stephanie Meyer/ Twilight Stephenie Meyer's thrilling debut novel is a love story with a bite. In this suspenseful and sensual tale, 17-year-old Isabella moves to a small town in Washington State and gets more excitement than she bargained for when she falls for an enigmatic classmate -- who happens to be a vampire. Filled with fantastic mystery and romance, it's a heart-stopping novel that captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires.
Stephanie Meyer/ New Moon Legions of readers entranced by Twilight are hungry for more and they won't be disappointed. In New Moon, Stephenie Meyer delivers another irresistible combination of romance and suspense with a supernatural twist. The "star-crossed" lovers theme continues as Bella and Edward find themselves facing new obstacles, including a devastating separation, the mysterious appearance of dangerous wolves roaming the forest in Forks, a terrifying threat of revenge from a female vampire, and a deliciously sinister encounter with Italy's reigning royal family of vampires, the Volturi. Passionate, riveting, and full of surprising twists and turns, this vampire love saga is well on its way to literary immortality.
Stephanie Meyer/ Eclipse Readers captivated by Twilight and New Moon will eagerly devour Eclipse, the much anticipated third book in Stephenie Meyer's riveting vampire love saga. Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings, and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob --- knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?
Michael Morpugo/ Peaceful Private "They've gone now, and I'm alone at last. I have the whole night ahead of me, and I won't waste a single moment of it. I want tonight to be long, as long as my life . . . " For young Private Peaceful, looking back over his childhood while he is on night watch in the battlefields of the First World War, his memories are full of family life deep in the countryside: his mother, Charlie, Big Joe, and Molly -- the love of his life. Too young to be enlisted, Thomas has followed his brother to war and now, every moment he spends thinking about his life, means another moment closer to danger.
Jean Claude Mourlevat/ The Pull of the Ocean On a stormy night, little Yann Doutreleau wakes up his six older brothers, all twins. He lets them know that they must flee their home--or risk being killed by their violent father. Without question, the siblings follow Yann into the wet darkness. And so begins their remarkable odyssey toward the ocean--as well as an unforgettable story of brotherhood. The social worker investigating the Doutreleau family, the truck driver who gives the boys a lift, the police officer who believes they've run away, the baker who gives them bread--each of the many people the seven boys encounter gives a stirring account of what he or she witnesses. The twins themselves add their voices, as do the Doutreleau parents; but not until the end of the journey does little Yann express his reasons for his galvanizing actions.
Christopher Paolini/ The Eldest Darkness falls...despair abounds...evil reigns... Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have just saved the rebel state from destruction by the mighty forces of King Galbatorix, cruel ruler of the Empire. Now Eragon must travel to Ellesmera, land of the elves, for further training in the skills of the Dragon Rider: magic and swordsmanship. Soon he is on the journey of a lifetime, his eyes open to awe-inspring new places and people, his days filled with fresh adventure. But chaos and betrayal plague him at every turn, and nothing is what it seems. Before long, Eragon doesn’t know whom he can trust. Meanwhile, his cousin, Roran , must fight a new battle -– one that might put Eragon in even graver danger. Will the king’s dark hand strangle all resistance? Eragon may not escape with even his life.
Susan Patron/Matt Phelan (illustrator) The Higher Power of Lucky Lucky, age ten, can't wait another day. The meanness gland in her heart and the crevices full of questions in her brain make running away from Hard Pan, California (population 43), the rock-bottom only choice she has. It's all Brigitte's fault -- for wanting to go back to France. Guardians are supposed to stay put and look after girls in their care! Instead Lucky is sure that she'll be abandoned to some orphanage in Los Angeles where her beloved dog, HMS Beagle, won't be allowed. She'll have to lose her friends Miles, who lives on cookies, and Lincoln, future U.S. president (maybe) and member of the International Guild of Knot Tyers. Just as bad, she'll have to give up eavesdropping on twelve-step anonymous programs where the interesting talk is all about Higher Powers. Lucky needs her own -- and quick.
Jodi Picoult/My Sister’s Keeper Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate -- a life and a role that she has never challenged...until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister -- and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves.
Jodi Picoult/Keeping the Faith When the marriage of Mariah White and her cheating husband, Colin, turns ugly and disintegrates, their seven-year-old daughter, Faith, is there to witness it all. In the aftermath of a rapid divorce, Mariah falls into a deep depression -- and suddenly Faith, a child with no religious background whatsoever, hears divine voices, starts reciting biblical passages, and develops stigmata. When the miraculous healings begin, mother and daughter are thrust into the volatile center of controversy and into the heat of a custody battle -- trapped in a mad media circus that threatens what little stability the family has left.
Jodi Picoult/In Nineteen Minutes In nineteen minutes, you can get revenge. Sterling is a small, ordinary New Hampshire town where nothing ever happens — until the day its complacency is shattered by a shocking act of violence. In the aftermath, the town's residents must not only seek justice in order to begin healing but also come to terms with the role they played in the tragedy. For them, the lines between truth and fiction, right and wrong, insider and outsider have been obscured forever. Josie Cormier, the teenage daughter of the judge sitting on the case, could be the state's best witness, but she can't remember what happened in front of her own eyes. And as the trial progresses, fault lines between the high school and the adult community begin to show, destroying the closest of friendships and families.
Jodi Picoult/Change of Heart One moment June Nealon was happily looking forward to years full of laughter and adventure with her family, and the next, she was staring into a future that was as empty as her heart. Now her life is a waiting game. Waiting for time to heal her wounds, waiting for justice. In short, waiting for a miracle to happen. For Shay Bourne, life holds no more surprises. The world has given him nothing, and he has nothing to offer the world. In a heartbeat, though, something happens that changes everything for him. Now, he has one last chance for salvation, and it lies with June's eleven-year-old daughter, Claire. But between Shay and Claire stretches an ocean of bitter regrets, past crimes, and the rage of a mother who has lost her child.
Rick Riordan/ The Lightning Thief Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can’t seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse -- Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy’s mom finds out, she knows it’s time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he’ll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends -- one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena -- Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.
J. D.Salinger/The Catcher in the Rye This literary classic depicts Holden Caulfield’s battle with schizophrenia. He escapes to New York City for three days, and then his odyssey continues at sea.
Meghan Nuttall Sayres/ Anahita’s Woven Riddle In this enchanting historical novel, a nomad in nineteenth-century Iran takes fate into her own hands when her father promises her in marriage to a man she dislikes. Anahita convinces her father to let her hold a contest in which potential suitors must correctly answer the riddle she has woven into her wedding carpet. A diplomat, a schoolteacher, a shepherd, and a prince compete in Anahita's battle of wits for the heart of this extraordinary girl.
Jeannette Walls/ Glass Castle (A memoir) Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote, but couldn't stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an "excitement addict." Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever. Later, when the money ran out, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town. Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves. They supported one another as they weathered their parents' betrayals and found the resources and will to leave home.
T.K.Welsh/ The Unresolved Mallory Meer has just turned fifteen years old, and within an hour, thanks to the only boy she's ever loved, she'll be dead, a victim of the General Slocum steamship disaster. Bound by love to her grieving family, and outraged by the multitude of senseless deaths, Mallory haunts those responsible for the tragedy, determined to see that justice is served.
Nancy Werlin/ Double Helix Eli Samuels, barely out of high school, is offered a job at prestigious Wyatt Transgenics by its founder, a legendary molecular biologist. The salary's amazing, the work is interesting, and Dr. Wyatt seems to want to mentor him. It's almost too good to be true. But Mr. Samuels is vehemently against Eli's taking the job, and he won't explain why. Eli knows that there's some connection between Dr. Wyatt and his parents. As Eli works at the lab and spends time with Dr. Wyatt, he begins to uncover some disconcerting information—about himself.
Grace Winthrop/Counting on Grace In 1910, Grace and her best friend, Arthur, must leave school and go to work as a "doffers" in Pownal,Vermont on their mothers' looms in the mill. Grace's mother is the best worker: fast and powerful. 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.
Chris Wooding/ The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray Thaniel, just seventeen, is a wych-hunter. Together, he and Cathaline--his friend and mentor--track down the fearful creatures that lurk in the Old Quarter of London. It is on one of these hunts that he first encounters Alaizabel Cray. Alaizabel is half-crazed, lovely, and possessed. Whatever dreadful entity has entered her soul has turned her into a strange and unearthly magnet--attracting evil and drawing horrors from every dark corner. Cathaline and Thaniel must discover its cause--and defend humanity at all costs.
Gabrielle Zevin and Alison McGhee/ Elsewhere Welcome to Elsewhere. It is warm, with a breeze, and the beaches are marvelous. It’s quiet and peaceful. You can’t get sick or any older. Curious to see new paintings by Picasso? Swing by one of Elsewhere’s museums. Need to talk to someone about your problems? Stop by Marilyn Monroe’s psychiatric practice. Elsewhere is where fifteen-year-old Liz Hall ends up after she has died. It is a place so like Earth, yet completely different. Here Liz will age backward from the day of her death until she becomes a baby again and returns to Earth. But Liz wants to turn sixteen, not fourteen again. She wants to get her driver’s license. She wants to graduate from high school and go to college. Now that she’s dead, Liz is being forced to live a life she doesn’t want with a grandmother she has only just met. How can Liz let go of the only life she has ever known and embrace a new one? Is it possible that a life lived in reverse is no different from a life lived forward?
Paul Zindell/ Loch Loch and his sister are with their father on a scientific expedition to track lake monsters. Their father's boss, Anthony Cavenger, a ruthless publishing mogul, is determined to prove that the legends are fact. Until now, it has been a fruitless exercise, but suddenly, on a routine exploration, a hideous water beast explodes out of the water, and a photographer, hoping to get the picture of a lifetime, loses his life instead. The plesiosaurs terrorize the secluded lake community, but Loch encounters a baby plesiosaur and realizes that the monsters only attack when threatened. So he risks his life-and the lives of his family and friends-to save the prehistoric creatures from destruction.
Paul Zindell/ Pigman Lorraine and John are bored with school and search for other activities to fill the time. One of these (random phone calls) leads to a meeting with a retired widower, Mr. Pignati, whose hobby happens to be collecting china, glass and marble pigs. Although their contact with Mr. Pignati is instigated by the selfish intention of collecting money for a bogus "charity," Lorraine and John soon find themselves drawn into the older man's life. Counterpointed by scenes with their parents, their relationship with "The Pigman" moves steadily and surely from casual visits to deeper involvement to, inexorably, tragedy.
Paul Zindell/ My Darling, My Hamburger Liz and Sean, both beautiful and popular, are madly in love and completely misunderstood by their parents. Their best friends, Maggie and Dennis, are shy and awkward but willing to take the first steps toward a romance of their own. Before either couple can enjoy true happiness, someone conspires against them.
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