Percy Jackson and the Olympians 
by Rick Riordan
The escapades of the Greek gods and heroes get a fresh spin in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. A contemporary 12-year-old New Yorker learns he's a demigod. Perseus, aka Percy Jackson, thinks he has big problems. His father left before he was born, he's been kicked out of six schools in six years, he's dyslexic, and he has ADHD. What a surprise when he finds out that that's only the tip of the iceberg: he vaporizes his pre-algebra teacher, learns his best friend is a satyr, and is almost killed by a minotaur before his mother manages to get him to the safety of Camp Half-Blood--where he discovers that Poseidon is his father. But that's a problem, too. Poseidon has been accused of stealing Zeus' lightning bolt, and unless Percy can return the bolt, humankind is doomed. Riordan's fast-paced adventure is fresh, dangerous, and funny. Percy is an appealing, but reluctant hero, the modernized gods are hilarious, and the parallels to Harry Potter are frequent and obvious. 5 exciting and fun books in this series.
Gregor the Overlander
by Suzanne Collins
What if Alice fell down an air vent in a New York City apartment building instead of down a rabbit hole? Collins considers a similar possibility in her exceptional debut novel, a well-written, fast moving, action-packed fantasy. Eleven-year-old Gregor expects a long, boring summer of baby- sitting his two-year-old sister, Boots, and his senile grandmother. Distracted with thoughts about his father, who disappeared three years ago, Gregor belatedly notices that Boots has crawled into an air vent in the laundry room. He dives in after her, and the two are sucked downward into the Underland, a fantastic subterranean world of translucent-skinned, violet- eyed humans, and giant talking cockroaches, bats, spiders, and rats. Now upto 5 books in this series - The Underland Chronicles.
Stand Alones
by John Grisham 
A perfect murder
A faceless witness
A lone courtroom champion knows the whole truth . . . and he’s only thirteen years old
Meet Theodore Boone!!!
Chains
by Laurie Halse Anderson
Set in New York City at the beginning of the American Revolution, Chains addresses the price of freedom both for a nation and for individuals. Isabel tells the story of her life as a slave. She was sold with her five-year-old sister to a cruel Loyalist family even though the girls were to be free upon the death of their former owner. She has hopes of finding a way to freedom and becomes a spy for the rebels, but soon realizes that it is difficult to trust anyone. She chooses to find someone to help her no matter which side he or she is on. With short chapters, each beginning with a historical quote, this fast-paced novel reveals the heartache and struggles of a country and slave fighting for freedom. The characters are well developed, and the situations are realistic. An author's note gives insight into issues surrounding the Revolutionary War and the fight for the nation's freedom even though 20 percent of its people were in chains.
The Girl Who Threw Butterflies
by Mick Cochrane
Cochrane (Sport) revisits the baseball diamond in this unhurried novel about a girl with a mean knuckleball ("Molly loved watching one of her knuckleballs in flight, but what she felt was not self-admiration at all, just simple curiosity. What was this one going to do?"). Dealing with her father's death in a car accident six months prior and her mother's subsequent zombie-like disinterest in life, Molly hopes that playing on the eighth-grade boys' baseball team will keep her connected to her dad. Molly is bolstered by her free-spirited friend, Celia (who steals every scene she's in), and Lonnie, a kindhearted, artistically inclined catcher.
Girl in a Cage
by Jane Yolen
In 1306, a year has passed since patriot William "Braveheart" Wallace was executed, and things are not going well for the cause of Scottish freedom. Robert Bruce, newly crowned king of Scotland, has managed to evade his powerful enemy, Edward I of England, but many allies have been killed or taken. A recent capture is Bruce's 11-year-old daughter Marjorie. The princess finds herself conveyed to the English border town of Lanercost, locked in an iron cage, and displayed outdoors day and night by the decree of ailing King Edward, "Longshanks," himself.
Al Capone Does my Shirts
by Gennifer Choldenko
Not many kids get to live on an island full of the world's most dangerous prisoners, but not many kids are Moose Flanagan. When his father takes a job as a guard on Alcatraz Island, Moose finds himself upclose and personal with some of the world's most notorious criminals.
Fever 1793
by Laurie Anderson
Fever 1793 is based on an actual epidemic of yellow fever in Philadelphia that wiped out 5,000 people--or 10 percent of the city's population--in three months. At the close of the 18th century, Philadelphia was the bustling capital of the United States, with Washington and Jefferson in residence. During the hot mosquito-infested summer of 1793, the dreaded yellow fever spread like wildfire, killing people overnight. Like specters from the Middle Ages, gravediggers drew carts through the streets crying "Bring out your dead!" The rich fled to the country, abandoning the city to looters, forsaken corpses, and frightened survivors.
One-Handed Catch
by M.J. Auch
A strong sense of purpose, leavened by generous doses of humor and post- World War II period detail, drives this story of a resilient middle-grader who demonstrates that having one hand is an opportunity rather than a handicap. Having lost his left hand to a meat grinder, Norm finds his world has become a complicated place, where even common activities such as tying shoelaces or playing baseball seem impossible. However, with plenty of pushing from his tough-love mother, who challenges him to get things done and firmly checks his efforts to trade on his disability to get special treatment, Norm not only gets by but also blossoms. He finds ways to display both musical and artistic talent as he stubbornly and inventively teaches himself to play ball well enough to earn a spot on a summer league team. Loosely based on childhood experiences of the author's husband, this story offers both inspiration and useful information, deftly wrapped in an engaging narrative.
Non-Fiction
Under Siege
by Andrea Warren
This detailed look at the Battle of Vicksburg takes the tack of viewing the siege through the eyes of three children who were eyewitnesses and left written records of their experiences. Lucy McRae, 10, was a young resident from an upper-crust family. Her experiences of living in the caves that the Vicksburg residents dug to keep themselves safe during the shelling certainly draw parallels with those of children in modern-day locations such as Sarajevo. Willie Lord, 11, shared a similar experience to Lucy's. His family was broken up when his fragile mother was evacuated with the children to the countryside, only to find that she could not manage without her husband, the local pastor. They, too, dealt with life in the caves. Frederick Grant, 12, the son of Union General Ulysses S. Grant, accompanied his father throughout the campaign. His narrative gives the Union perspective. Excellent use of primary-source documents, maps, diagrams, and period reproductions adds depth and interest to what is almost a day-by-day recounting of this crucial siege. This volume is not only an excellent source for reports but is riveting historical reading as well.
Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True story about Brain Science
by John Fleischman
The fascinating story of the construction foreman who survived for 10 years after a 13-pound iron rod shot through his brain. Fleischman relates Gage's "horrible accident" and the subsequent events in the present tense, giving immediacy to the text. He avoids sensationalizing by letting the events themselves carry the impact. The straightforward description of Gage calmly chatting on a porch 30 minutes after the accident, for example, comes across as horrifying and amazing. The author presents scientific background in a conversational style and jumps enthusiastically into such related topics as phrenology, 19th-century medical practices, and the history of microbiology. He shows how Gage's misfortune actually played an intriguing and important role in the development of our knowledge of the brain.
Good Brother, Bad Brother
by James Cross Giblin
Actors Edwin and John Wilkes Booth each had a compelling stage presence and a fondness for alcohol, just like their famous father, Junius. Edwin spent his life perfecting his craft and building a reputation as the finest classical actor of his time. John was impulsive, popular with the ladies, and best known today as the man who assassinated Abraham Lincoln. The text is carefully researched, drawing heavily on firsthand accounts from family members and liberally illustrated with photographs, most from the Harvard Theatre Collection, Houghton Library. The writing is engaging and eminently readable, and presents history in a manner that is, in essence, consummate storytelling. Giblin traces the events leading up to the assassination, discussing the Civil War, John Wilkes Booth's love for the Confederacy, and the plots he and his colleagues hatched to kidnap Lincoln. The effects that the assassination had on the country, and his family, are clearly presented. The search for Booth and his coconspirators rivals the excitement of police procedurals as Giblin chronicles efforts by law enforcement to bring the group to justice. Edwin's later life and his contributions to American theater are discussed. Behind all his successes, however, stood the ghost of his brother John, and the act that would forever link the Booth name with disgrace.
Oh, YUCK! The Encyclopedia of Everything Nasty
by Joy Masoff
This book has it all! Skin eruptions. Naked mole rats. The Donner party and the hissing roach of Madagascar, maggot therapy, ear wax, the good news about pus, and why vomit smells. Plus gases - especially gases!!! Who wouldn't want to read this book that encompasses all the best stuff about some of the worst stuff on earth!!
RATS! The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
by Richard Conniff
Rats are among our closest companions in the animal world. They live where we do. They steal our food, invade our homes and spread disease. Author Richard Conniff tells it all!
Did you know:
One rat in the United States can have as many as sixty or seventy babies in one year.
Rats can survive on their own at 4 weeks of age.
Rat teeth are powerful and have a bite force of twenty-four thousand pounds per square inch.
Rats' eyes see well at night.
A rat in a lab can swim for three days without drowning.
Rats are very clean (really!). They clean themselves as soon as they wake up.
Rats are very smart.
LEARN MORE!!!!!!
