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The Slightly True Story of Cedar B. Hartley

Queen Bee

If you’ve seen the movie Mean Girls, or if you know what it’s like to feel unpopular in school, you’ll totally get Queen Bee. This is an awesome book! It’s cool in the way that graphic novels just are, but it’s also a great story. It’s about these two girls who both want to be super-popular in school. One of them, Haley, is the new girl and she’s nice. And the other, Alexa, is already popular and she’s pretty mean.

The fun part is that they both have psychokinetic powers—which means they can move things with their minds. And when they meet, there’s literally a tornado. Their superpowers attract and repel each other and all kinds of crazy things happen.

Becoming Naomi León

We loved Esperanza Rising so, naturally, when Becoming Naomi León finally came out, we were so excited. Naomi Soledad León Outlaw (Wow! That’s some name, huh?) doesn’t have it easy. Her clothes are polyester, she has trouble speaking up in school, and seven years ago, her mother basically left the family in the dust. Now, Naomi’s grandma takes care of her and she’s mostly happy—until her mother suddenly reappears and stirs things up. This book is completely heartbreaking, so if you don’t want to cry, you’re in trouble! The writing is really good, and I can’t stop thinking about it.

The Slightly True Story of Cedar B. Hartley

So many people say the word "unusual" as if it is a bad thing. But it's really not. Nothing proves this like The Slightly True Story of Cedar B. Hartley, a book about a girl who actually plans to live an "unusual" life. She does everything she can to make sure this will happen-she makes up championships at her school that she can win, she intentionally steps on cracks, and she's learning to be an acrobat. How cool is that?

But that's not all that is weird and different about Cedar-she has a way with people that makes them like her and want to be around her-especially if they are unusual themselves. [They probably like the way she celebrates it and thinks it's a good idea!] Cedar makes friends with people most of the world ignores, like the old lady who lives next door to her and has a dog who needs an operation, or even more importantly, Kite, the boy with a strange voice that she thinks sounds like a river. Everything in the world is interesting and exciting for Cedar-who finds out it's pretty hard to just live a "usual" life.

The Keys to the Kingdom #3: Drowned Wednesday

I love sci-fi books. They're my "thing." When I first found The Keys to the Kingdom series, I was immediately pulled into this strange and amazing world that Arthur Penhaligon is charged with saving.

Arthur was nearly killed in this strange house on Monday—a house that contains a whole other world in it, inhabited by monsters, wizards, and strange creatures. On Tuesday, he awoke to find himself being pulled back in, meeting new people, and saving more lives. And now, in The Keys to the Kingdom #3: Drowned Wednesday, he is called back to this strange alternate world yet again. Will Arthur make it out this time? Will he return to the house on another day?

The Wish List

This is a really cool book! We picked it up because we liked Eoin Colfer’s other stories so much, but we were surprised by how deep this really was. Meg’s life is really hard - when her mom dies, she loses her place in the world, and ends up hanging out with a bad kid named Belch. When Belch goes and gets them both killed, she’s left in a weird place, with St. Peter and Beelzebub fighting for the rights to her soul.

St. Peter and Beelzebub can't decide because Meg's the first person who they've seen with a perfect balance between good and bad. So, they send her back to earth - to tip the scales, by placing her in a situation where she has to help the last person she hurt. Beelzebub doesn't want to lose her, so he sends Belch back to mess things up for her. But really, everything is in Meg's hands, and it's a matter of her finding a way to either save - or doom herself for eternity.

Green Angel

Green's life is ruined. Everything she has ever known was just destroyed by a horrible accident. The city across the way blew up, and her family was killed. Her special place, her garden, was ruined. She has nothing left and nobody to rely on, but herself. So she wraps herself in thorns, hides in her former garden, and begins to cover her body with dark, black ravens. It doesn't seem as if anything can save her.

While there in her garden, and lost in her own pain, Green changes her name to Ash, and laments all that she has lost in her life. It seems as if she will never recover from any of this, but when she meets a ghost dog and a boy who can not speak, things begin to change. Together, they discover ways to magically make the garden grow again. And while that happens, Green begins to find love, and maybe even begins to heal some of the wounds of the recent past..

Millicent Min, Girl Genius

Millicent Min is a genius, and everyone knows it. She definitely knows — and life is kind of boring for her. She's even going to college (and she's only eleven!) and has the rest of her life planned out — starting with the summer. But everything changes when her mom signs her up for — ugh — volleyball, and also makes her tutor the super geek, Stanford Wong. What else could go wrong?

Try everything! Her first college class is nothing like she thought it would be. Her first college friend wasn't her friend at all. Stanford Wong is STILL a total dork. And volleyball? It's better to not speak about that!

Slowly, things start to change for Millicent, though. She finds out she's not as bad at volleyball as she first thought - even though she can't spike at all. And she's managed to make a friend, Emily, who knows nothing about her IQ, her high school career (especially the whole thing with the togas), or her college dreams. If Millicent can just make everything work out - it might not be such a bad summer for her, after all!

ESPERANZA RISING

Esperanza and her mother live on a gorgeous ranch in Mexico, where they have everything they ever wanted. When they are forced to leave their home and find work in California, they discover a whole new world -- and have to find their places in it.

After losing everything, a young Mexican girl discovers the riches of family and community.

Esperanza, whose name means hope in English, and her mother live in luxury in Mexico. They have a gorgeous home, beautiful clothes, and servants to take care of them. When the Great Depression strikes, they are forced to find work in a farm labor camp in California. Life is very different there -- and they are not immediately accepted by their own people. When her mother falls ill, and all the workers strike for better working conditions, Esperanza learns about community, loyalty, and most importantly, the value of family.

HOW FAR WOULD YOU HAVE GOTTEN IF I HADN'T CALLED YOU BACK?

It's 1960, and Bronwyn Lewis has just turned sixteen when her family decides to pack up and move from the East Coast to the sleepy town of Ojala, California. In order to make it in this new place where everyone seems cool in a totally different way than she's used to, Bron is going to have to find her way — and make some tough decisions.

A girl finds a new life and new loves in a new town.

Bronwyn Lewis is a cool chick, sixteen years old, living on the East Coast. Suddenly, everything changes when her family decides to move to a new town, all the way across the country — Ojala, California. Bron is shocked by the way people there act — nothing like the edginess she is used to back home — and she'll have to find a new way to get by if she wants to fit in. She starts by forgetting about school work and getting involved in the drag-racing scene, where she hangs out and meets men. Things get really complicated for Bron when she meets J.C. — a gorgeous, but older racer, and Will — who is the nicest and smartest eighteen-year-old she's ever met. Eventually, she has to make a choice... but it's not easy, especially when the world seems to be racing faster than the cars she's watching speed down the street.

UNITED TATES OF AMERICA

Skate Tate has just started middle school and everything's changing. Only her Great-Uncle Mort (GUM for short) can help her cope. A free spirit and world traveler, GUM inspires Skate to express herself in scrapbooks.

United States of America by Paula Danziger begins when Skate Tate starts sixth grade, and she's not sure she likes it. Her new school is bigger, her classes are harder, and her close group of friends is growing apart. Skate hates change - and now everything is changing at once. Only Skate's Great-Uncle Mort can help. (GUM for short) GUM is a world traveler, a free spirit who makes his own rules. He believes Skate can adjust to anything if she keeps an open mind. GUM encourages Skate to express herself in scrapbooks. He makes her curious about places beyond her small town. And when tragedy strikes, Skate embarks on a journey that only GUM could plan.

BLISTER

A girl renames herself Blister in order to deal with all the bad things happening in her life -- and as a way to take control of things gone wrong.

Blister by Susan Shreve is about Alyssa, who feels her life can't get any worse and decides her name should be Blister. Her parents are fighting, and her dad has moved out, which means she has to move, too. Alyssa didn't want any of this -- so she's fighting back. Since she has to go to a new school, she gets a new name. And a new wardrobe. And a new attitude nobody can ignore -- not the kids at school (not even the cheerleaders!) and not her parents, either. Alyssa/Blister is totally cool, and does everything she can to turn a bad situation into one where she can come out as the winner.

WATER TALES

A mermaid searches for true love on land. Boys with fins for feet and hands live in a town without water. Two beautiful stories that make you smile and cry at the same time.

Water Tales by Alice Hoffman, is a book with two stories — both about water. In Indigo, two boys nicknamed Trout and Eel (because they have webbed hands and feet) long for the ocean, which they have never seen. They live in a town once flooded so badly, all the people fear water, and spend their time with a girl named Martha. They don't fit in, so the three decide to run away together. . .and find out running away isn't always the answer. In Aquamarine, two friends named Hailey and Claire are spending their summer together at a beach club. They're dealing with saying goodbye when they discover a mermaid named Aquamarine who has come to the land to find love. Together, Hailey and Claire have to save Aquamarine when she starts fading fast away from the water — and learn about the meaning of love and friendship.


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