Non Fiction Recommendations
George Washington, Spymaster: How the Americans Outspied the British and Won the Revolutionary War by Thomas B. Allen
James Bond and George Washington…examines Washington in the role of master-mind of a spy network.
A selected history of black American artists from the 19th century to the present.
The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights by Russell Freedman
This biography of the gifted African American opera singer won the Sibert Medal and was a 2005 Newbery Honor winner.
The Race to Save the Lord God Bird by Philip Hooser
Looks at conservation and the effects of industrialization on nature as it examines the demise of the ivory-billed woodpecker.
The Radioactive Boy Scout: The True Story of a Boy and His Backyard Nuclear Reactor by Ken Silverstein
A science geek creates a device capable of sparking an environmental disaster.
Fiction Recommendations
Feed by M.T. Anderson
In a future where most people have computer implants in their heads to control their environment, a boy meets an unusual girl who is in serious trouble.
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
A Newbery Honor winner, this title's main character Moose, is dismayed when the family moves to Alcatraz.
Bucking the Sarge by Christopher Paul Curtis
Luther uses humor and smarts to cope with a longtime crush, an upcoming science fair, and the shady dealings of his slumlord mother.
The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
In a future where humans despise clones, Matt enjoys special status as the young clone of El Patron, the 140 year old leader of a corrupt drug empire nestled between Mexico and the United States.
Stravaganza: City of Flowers by Mary Hoffman
Seventeen-year-old Sky joins Georgia and the other Stravagante, "who travel between worlds and do what is required," when he leaves London for Giglia, a city similar to renaissance Florence, and becomes involved in ancient feuds and palace intrigue.
Bird by Angela Johnson
As Bird follows her stepfather to Alabama to convince him to return home. she meets two young men who change her life forever.
B for Buster by Iain Lawrence
A 16-year-old young man illegally enlists in the Canadian Air Force and experiences the horror of war as he battles his fears.
Shackleton's Stowaway by Victoria McKernan
Based on the true story of Pierce Blackborow, this exciting novel of a death-defying voyage to the South Pole is a winner.
Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
A Printz Honor book, Mat and Kate battle pirates and strange, winged creatures in order to escape the uncharted island where they are stranded.
A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett
Tiffany Aching leaves her home and the Wee Free men, but discovers she need the Men’s help to battle an invisible foe. It’s the Feegles to the rescue in a humorous sequel to The Wee Free Men. Read any of the books in the Discworld series. You’ll love them.
Predator’s Gold by Philip Reeve
Teen lovers attempt to find the Dead Continent of AmericaP and are pursued by terrorists in a futuristic world where wheeled cities devour each other.
Lizzy Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary Schmidt
A Newbery honor and a Printz Honor book for 2005, the Turner’s move to Maine in 1912 just as the town’s leaders try to eliminate a neighboring island community populated by former slaves and their descendants.
One of those hideous books where the mother dies by Sonya Sones
After her mother dies of cancer, Ruby is forced to move to California to live with her father, the famous movie star, whom she does not know. This is a novel in verse.
The Golem's Eye: The Bartimaeus Trilogy, book 2
Nathaniel, an ambitious magician, again summons Bartimaeus to help destroy the vengeful golem that is attacking London.
New Found Land: Lewis and Clark’s Voyage of Discovery by Allan Wolf Combining poetry, prose, and multiple voices, this absorbing historical novel chronicles the epic journey.
The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray by Chris Wooding
In a world similar to Victorian London, Thaniel, a seventeen-year-old hunter of
deadly, demonic creatures called the wych-kin, takes in a lost, possessed girl,
and becomes embroiled in a plot to unleash evil on the world.
In 1746, a year after the Scottish clans have rallied to the call of their exiled prince, Charles Stuart, to take up arms against England's tyranny, fourteen-year-old, epileptic Duncan MacDonald and his cousin, Ewan, run away to join the fight at Culloden and discover the harsh reality of war.