Deza Malone is back!

If you enjoyed Bud, not Buddy, be sure to read the companion book: The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis.  Deza Malone and her family are living through the Great Depression in Gary, Indiana.  Deza's father (like many others) is out of work, and he goes to Flint, Michigan, to try to find a job.  After Deza's mother loses her job, shes takes Deza and her brother Jimmie on the road, hopping trains and staying in questionable places to reach Flint. While looking for Mr. Malone, they have no choice but to stay in "Hooverville," a shantytown for the homeless.  It's easy to like Deza and admire her strong family ties, so when Mr. Malone is finally found, you'll be both happy and sad.  A humorous, yet realistic look at the hardships of the time.

Adventure in medieval England

You may have bad days, but they probably aren't as bad as those for the main character in Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi.  Life in 14th-century England is tough enough, but now "Asta's son" is an orphan with no other family and no money.  After learning from the local priest that his name is actually Crispin, the situation gets worse: the priest is murdered, Crispin is falsely accused of the crime, and the evil village steward (John Aycliffe) states that Crispin can be killed on sight. After fleeing, Crispin meets "Bear," a giant of a man who travels around juggling, and the two become traveling companions.  While in the town of Great Wexley, Aycliffe and his men capture Bear in an attempt to trap Crispin.  Will Crispin risk his life to save Bear?  Why is Aycliffe so determined to kill Crispin?  This is a page-turning adventure combined with a fascinating look at life in the Middle Ages.

Yoda rules!

Right after I went to my public library and checked out The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger, I learned that it had been nominated for the 2013 Rebecca Caudill Award.  Excellent idea! Dwight is your basic middle school oddball - pretty much a loser, except that he has an origami Yoda finger puppet that somehow manages to give excellent advice to Dwight's classmates.  Each chapter is written by a different person about their Yoda experiences, followed by comments from Harvey, who doesn't quite believe in "Paperwad Yoda," and Tommy, who wants to know if he should follow Yoda's advice concerning a particular girl.  Chapters are short and very funny, the goofy little drawings in the margins are great, and yes, there are actual directions for making your own Yoda in the back.  A perfect books for middle schoolers!

For Twilight fans

No, there aren't any vampires, but I still think fans of Twilight would also like Through Her Eyes by Jennifer Archer.  Tansy, her mom, and her grandfather (Papa Dan) have just moved to a Papa Dan's hometown in Texas, and they're living in an old, creepy house that is supposedly haunted.  Tansy discovers a beautiful box containing a pocket watch, a crystal, and a poetry journal; she's sure they belonged to Henry, a troubled teen who committed suicide while living in Tansy's house long ago.  Tansy is a photographer, and she soon starts to see strange images through her camera lens - black and white, rather than color, and people that she knows are Henry and Papa Dan, as a youth.  They were friends?  She then finds that with the help of the watch and crystal, she can actually enter the world and time of the two.  Why is she so attracted to Henry?  Why is Papa Dad so upset to be back in his hometown?  And most of all...is Tansy losing her mind? Hmmm......

Delightfully creepy

It's difficult to describe The Wikkeling by Steven Arntson, but it's awesome!  Henrietta lives in a dystopian city called the Addition.  It's way over-protective of its children (the school bus has mandatory lap belts, shoulder belts, and head belts), car horns blare out Honk Ads ("EDIBLE CLEANTASTE CORN SOAP!!"), and almost all the houses are identical, with a patch of green plastic grass out front.  But Henrietta lives in an old house, with a steep roof and an attic.  She discovers a wounded cat up there, and while caring for it, notices windows which  have never been visible from the street.  And when she looks out the windows, she sees the past!  Henrietta takes her two friends up there, and together they try to figure out many things: why does time seem to stand still when they're in the attic?  What is the cause of the headaches only those three get?  How are they linked to the scary yellow figure that only they can see?  I wouldn't call this book scary, but it's definitely creepy in a really, really good way.

Don't mess with Rachel's brother

Despite the title, Rachel Spinelli Punched Me in the Face by Paul Acampora is a funny, gentle book.  After Zachary's mom leaves him and his dad, they move and start life over in the little town of Falls, Connecticut.  He immediately makes friends with his neighbor Rachel.  She has a knack for getting frequent detentions - usually from defending her brother Teddy, who has some type of disability (maybe autism?) and who the reader will view as a lovable trumpet-playing prodigy.  The book's small-town feel is often demonstrated from scenes at the local ice cream shop, owned by an amusing Polish-American couple; the diner, owned by Rachel and Teddy's dad (their mom died long ago); and the park, which the kids are helping to clean up.  By the end, Rachel's not quite as angry and over-protective, and Zachary is coping better with his mother's desertion. Some serious issues, but with a nice, light touch.

"Race didn't used to matter..."

Black, White, Other by Joan Steinau Lester was fascinating and thought-provoking.  Nina is biracial, with a black dad and a white mom.  It didn't used to be a big deal, but now her parents are divorced, and it seems that family and friends are all making racial boundaries.  Where does Nina fit in?  She finds comfort and inspiration in a book her dad is writing about Sarah, Nina's great-great-grandmother who escaped slavery.  When Sarah has a frightening time running away herself, she realizes the difference between running to something - freedom - and running from something.  The author does an amazing job of getting inside a teenager's head with authentic thoughts, fears, and emotions.  Excellent.

Not your typical 11-year-old

The main character in Fiendish Deeds by P. J. Bracegirdle is definitely a little different!  Joy is 11 and she lives with her family in Spooking, "the terrible town on the hideous hill."  Think of words like dark, creepy, abandoned, overgrown...you get the idea.  But Joy loves it.  She and her brother Byron ride the school bus with the few other "Spooky" kids to Darlington, a town of perfect lawns, plenty of plastic, and boring, matching houses.  A contest to bring more people into the area results in a plan to build a water park (with a mermaid theme, much to Joy's horror) over the Spooking bog.  Joy is convinced that there's an endangered species living in the bog; she's determined to stop the project, but someone is determined to stop her.  Perfect for fans of scary stories who don't mind a bit of black humor, the story continues with Unearthly Asylum and Sinister Scenes.

Are you as clever as Sherlock?

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created the well-known Sherlock Holmes as an adult character.  What would Sherlock have been  like as a teenager?  You'll get an idea in Death Cloud by Andrew Lane.  Sherlock is 14 and he's stuck on the estate of his aunt and uncle for a boring summer.  Well...it starts OFF being boring, but soon Sherlock is entrenched in a murder mystery when he and his tutor stumble upon a dead body covered in bizarre red welts.  Add in another similar death, kidnappings, a pretty girl, and an evil plot to bring down the British Empire, and you've got a page-turning adventure! If you like the book, there's another one in the series: Rebel Fire is scheduled to be released in April 2012.

Tiny mice in a not-so-tiny adventure!

Fans of animal fantasy will probably enjoy the sweet and amusing Secrets at Sea by Richard Peck.  Helena and her younger mouse siblings live in the home of the Cranstons, who have decided to sail for Europe and find a husband for their elder daughter.  After stowing away in the luggage, the mice are soon caught up in life aboard ship, where a sophisticated mouse society ranges from Nigel the (mouse) steward to the Mouse-in-Waiting to Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria.  At the same time, the Cranston daughters are discovering shipboard romance, despite the constant social mistakes of their mother.  It's fun to read about life from a teeny-tiny point of view (like drinking soup out of thimbles!), and the author has a very clever way of turning a phrase.  Pencil illustrations add just the right touch.