Secret upon secret in this page-turner

I could NOT put down my copy of Four Secrets by Margaret Willey!  Katie, Nate, and Renata are all in the juvenile detention center - they're in a ton of trouble for kidnapping Chase, the star athlete at their school and a major bully.  The story is told both through the journal entries they're required to make (three very different styles) and through a narrator who describes social worker Greta and her attempts to put together the pieces of a very confusing puzzle. It's obvious that the three have made a pact to not give away something huge; it's also evident that each has a serious secret.  And so does Chase.  And you'll go nuts trying to figure them out, and you won't know everything until the end of the book.  (Don't peek!) The ending is a bit rushed and not 100% satisfying, but still...I dare you to read this slowly.

"Words have always swirled around me like snowflakes"

I have to admit I was a little nervous to read Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper, because I knew it was about a girl with cerebral palsy and I was afraid the book would be too sad.  Yes, it has some sad parts, but what an incredible book!  Melody is in fifth grade and tells the story of what it's like to have a body that is severely limited and a mind that is brilliant.  For most of her life, she's had no way to communicate; nobody knows how smart she is, and she's had to spend the school day in a special ed classroom, watching mind-numbing cartoons and listening to nursery rhymes.  She eventually gets a computer-based communication board that she can operate with her thumbs.  Her world opens up - to an extent - and she makes her school's Quiz Bowl team, only to be ostracized and bullied by some of the other team members.  Despite the tension, can the team make it to the national competition in Washington, D.C.?  This would be great for a book club discussion or for anyone affected by or interested in kids with disabilities.