13 Gifts by Wendy Mass
When Tara steals the school mascot in order to make friends with the popular crowd, she gets herself in a heap of trouble. Her parents decide that instead of taking her on their summer trip to Madagascar, she must stay with her aunt, uncle, and bratty cousin in Willow Falls. Tara thinks it's a good time to start over; she'll be turning thirteen after all, so she might as well make the best of it. What Tara doesn't know is that this charmed town has something big in store for her on her thirteenth birthday. It's not a typical birthday. But then again, nothing in Willow Falls is exactly typical!
Flyaway by Lucy Christopher
In a heartbeat, in a wingbeat, it happens. Isla's father falls. They're racing across the fields, following the swans flying in to winter at the lake like they do every year, when something goes wrong. And before she can even catch her breath, they're in the back of an ambulance, she's holding his hand.
At the hospital, upset and scared, Isla meets Harry. Unlike the boys at school, he doesn't laugh when she tells him about her love of birds. He listens. But what is he doing there?
As Isla struggles with her father's frailty and the new feelings she has for Harry, she's determined to help the only way she knows how. Outside the hospital windows, Isla watches a lone whooper swan struggling to fly. If only she could save the lost bird, would that somehow heal her dad, and cure Harry, and make everything good again?
Pie by Sarah Weeks
When Alice's Aunt Polly passes away, she takes with her the secret to her world-famous piecrust.
Or does she? In her will, Polly leaves the recipe to her surly cat Lardo…and then leaves Lardo in the care of Alice. Suddenly Alice is thrust into the center of a pie storm, with everyone in town trying to be the next pie contest winner — including Alice's mother and some of Alice’s friends. The whole community is going pie-crazy, and it's up to Alice to discover the ingredients that really matter. Like family. And friendship. And loving what you do.
