Girls, this one's for you

Have you or your girlfriends ever done any of this? Discovered boys.  Tried a new style of clothes or shoes or make-up that just didn't work.  Agonized over a zit.  Messed up a friendship.  Gotten a crush. Really, really embarrassed yourself in front of someone special.  Slammed a door.  Spaced out in class because you're daydreaming.  Gotten bad cramps. Tried to become someone you're not.  Gotten your hopes up.  Yelled at your mom or dad or brother or sister and you don't truly know why.  Sulked. Gotten your hopes crushed.  Fixed a friendship.  Had a mom or aunt or grama dry your tears.  Given a friend a huge hug.  Yes? If a lot of this sounds familiar, check out Planet Middle School, a wonderful book written in free verse by Nikki Grimes.  I bet you share it with a friend.

War from both sides: who's right? who's wrong?

Lots of tough decision for characters to make in Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins.  Chiko is a quiet 15-year-old who dreams of becoming a teacher, when he is taken by force into the jungle to start training for the army of Burma (now Myanmar).  Life is brutal and miserable, but two thoughts keep him going: trying to find out about his father, who was arrested as a traitor, and the hope of once again seeing a girl whom he adores.  After Chiko is severely wounded by a land mine and on the verge of death, he's discovered by Tu Reh, a teenager on the opposing side of the war.  Tu Reh's house was destroyed by Burmese soldiers...what will he do to Chiko?  Half of the book is narrated by Chiko and half by Tu Reh, so the reader gets a fascinating glimpse into two Asian cultures and an idea of what life would be like as a child soldier.

Coming of age on an Oregon ranch

Two seemingly unrelated settings - the Iraq War and a sheep ranch in Oregon - come together in Heart of a Shepherd by Rosanne Parry. Sixth-grader Ignatius (nicknamed "Brother") is the youngest of five boys. His dad gets deployed to Iraq, and since his mom lives in Europe and all of the other boys are either away at school or in the service, it's up to Brother to run the ranch with his elderly grandparents. The story is told in Brother's voice, and it chronicles a year of his hard work and struggles as he tries to keep everything in good shape for his father's return. It was interesting to see how thoughts of war came into his life, from the play conversation his chess pieces have to the boys vs. girls action at recess, and description of events on the ranch (birthing a calf, fighting a wildfire) kept my attention, too. My favorite part was when Brother decided want he wants to be when he grows up - not what I expected, but totally fitting.

No lie...this was mesmerizing

I absolutely couldn't put down this his sophisticated story, best for readers in 8th grade and up. What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell takes place at the end of World War II. Fifteen-year-old Evie, her stepdad Joe, and her movie-star-beautiful mother Beverly go to Palm Beach, Florida, supposedly on a vacation. It's the off-season - an unusual time to visit. While there, Evie meets charming and handsome Peter, an army buddy of Joe's, and falls in love with him. But all is not as it seems, and (spoiler alert!) after Joe, Beverly, and Peter go on a boating trip, Peter ends up dead, while Joe and Beverly become murder suspects. Blundell's writing was incredibly evocative of the post-war 1940s, from the slang and clothing to racism and the relations between different socioeconomic groups. Winner of the 2008 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.