Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Alden Carter
Neither Randy nor Mark, cousins, wanted to go on this wilderness canoe trip but it was a family tradition and the pressure from their fathers was great. When one has a diabetic relapse and medical supplies are lost, as is the compass, things get very challenging and suspenseful!

The Cay by Theodore Taylor
A blind American boy and an old West Indian native are stranded on a Caribbean island and must find a common understanding in order to survive together.

Downriver by Will Hobbs
This book, one of Hobbs' most suspenseful, tells of a group of rebellious teens sent to a wilderness camp to get "straightened out." Each has their own agenda, though, and in the end all find themselves in more danger than they bargained for. Thunder River is the sequel to this book.

Far North by Will Hobbs
Fifteen-year-old Gabe enrolls in a North Alaskan boarding school to be near his father but experiences far more adventure than he bargained for when the small plane he is riding in crashes and he and his roommate must trek their way out of the northern wilderness in the middle of winter. Will Hobbs has written many other wilderness adventure books. Check them out!

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
With absolutely no wilderness experience and no equipment except for the hatchet his mother bought him for the trip, Brian Robeson must figure out how to survive alone in the Canadian wilderness after the small plane crashes. Sequels to this book include The River, Brian's Winter, and Brian's Return.

The Haymeadow by Gary Paulsen
Fourteen-year-old Tink is unprepared for spending the summer in the highlands with 6000 family sheep and must confront the many perils of wildlife and natural disasters in this exciting Paulsen title.

The Illyrian Adventure by Lloyd Alexander
Vesper Holly and her guardian set out to find the legendary treasure in the land of Illyria only to find themselves in the midst of a local war and their very lives in greatest danger.

Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
Miyax, a 13-year-old Inuit girl, runs away from her dismal marriage but gets lost on her way to San Francisco and must survive in the Alaskan wilderness amidst a pack of wolves who befriend her. Julie is the sequel to this popular book.

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
Sam Gribley gets fed up with things at home and runs away to the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York where he uses common sense and a keen sense observation to learn to stay live in the wilderness. On the Far Side of the Mountain and Frightful's Mountain follow this title.

The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
When the Robinson family, dad, mom, and four children, are shipwrecked on a deserted island they must use their wits, courage, humor, and the available resources to carve a new life for themselves until they are rescued...if they are rescued.

Tomorrow : When the War Began by John Marsden
A group of high school students are off camping in the Australian bush when unidentified military forces take over their country forcing everyone to leave their homes and become their prisoners at the fairgrounds. The teens must not only figure out how to survive themselves but also must try to free their families and to get word out to the rest of the world. This is a suspenseful book!

The Acorn People by Rob Jones
Thinking it would be a "piece of cake" the author signed up to be a counselor at a summer camp for handicapped boys. At first glance he wanted to turn and run but stuck around and discovered that he probably learned far more from his campers that summer than they did from him.

Adrift : Seventy Six Days Lost at Sea by Steven Callahan
Steven Callahan is the only man to have survived more than 30 days adrift at sea and this book tells his riveting account of that ordeal.

The Great Fire by Jim Murphy
Everything that could possibly go wrong did on October 8, 1871 when the "great fire" of Chicago began and continued burning for 3 full days and nights leaving 100,000 people homeless. This is a fascinating book that will leave you shaking your head --- how could so many things go wrong?

The I Hate Mathematics Book by Marilyn Burns
Think you don't like math? You might change your mind after browsing through this book of puzzles, games, activities all centered around mathematics and showing what fun it can be.

Postcards from France by Megan McNeil Libby
This book, written by 16-year-old Megan McNeil Libby, tell of the year she spent as a high school exchange student in France. Each chapter has a different theme; some will make you laugh and some will make you cry but all are interesting!

Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era by Sterling North
Sterling North had Rascal as a lively pet when he was 11 years old and tells tales of their escapades in this title.

Tell Them We Remember: The Story of the Holocaust by Susan D. Bachrach in conjunction with The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
This photo-history covers a general history of the Holocaust in 30 short chapters and shows the impact of the Holocaust on the young people of the times including the 1.5 million children and teenagers who were murdered by the Nazis.

Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals
1957 marked the beginning of legally forced school integration and Ms. Beals was one of the first nine African Americans to integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. This is her account of that civil rights battle.

The Way Things Work by David Macaulay
Through almost comical illustration and text, this book shows how various machines in our world function.

Within Reach : My Everest Story by Mark Pfetzer, Jack Galvin
In this nonfiction (true) story, Mark Pfetzer recounts his determination to climb Mt. Everest and the difficulties he encountered in training, raising the necessary funds, and convincing people to take him seriously as he was only 14 years old! Fascinating reading! If you like reading about mountain climbing, read also Banner in the Sky by James Ramsey Ullman (fiction).

Zlata's Diary : A Child's Life in Sarajevo by Zlata Filipovic
Ms. Filipovic began this journal just before her 11th birthday when life was still good and full of school, friends, piano lessons, parties. Then the war began and she describes the toll the bombing took on her family, friends, neighborhood, city, and country. It shows real war through the eyes of a young girl.

Bat 6 by Virginia Euwer Wolff
The year is 1949, just after the end of World War II, and two small Oregon towns are looking forward to the Bat 6 softball game of their 6th grade girls teams. The game, designed for good, clean fun, turns ugly when a racial incident occurs between one girl whose father was killed by the Japanese and another girl who is a Japanese-American.

The Contender by Robert Lipsyte
Don't like boxing? You'll be hooked anyway when you read this book about Alfred, a 17-year-old, who takes up boxing by chance to escape his rough life in his Harlem neighborhood.

Dean Duffy by Randy Powell
Dean Duffy is used to being the star of the high school baseball team so is unsure what to do with his life when high school is over. After wandering aimlessly for a while he is given a chance to get back in the game but does he really want to?

Danger Zone by David Klass
Jimmy Doyle is thrilled to be invited to play on the national "Teen Dream Team" until he faces his own shortcomings on the basketball court and the Neo-Nazi threats directed at his black skin while touring Europe. He begins to wonder if basketball, his consuming passion, is really all that important.

Devil's Bridge by Cynthia de Felice
Ben Daggett is determined that his name will be the only one to replace his deceased father's name on the Striped Bass Derby winner's board but he isn't prepared to deal with grown men who would do anything to win that title.

Heart of a Champion by Carl Deuker
Jimmy Winter's passion is baseball and with his father's harsh and heavy-handed coaching it looks like he will eventually end up on a pro team. Unfortunately the decisions he makes off of the ball field are not always the smartest ones and he ends up losing it all, including his very life.

Hoops by Walter Dean Myers
Seventeen-year-old Lonnie Jackson probably has what it takes to be a pro basketball player if he will only hold tight to his values. When he is offered money to throw the most important game of the year he must decide what is truly important to him.

Iron Man by Chris Crutcher
Beau Brewster yearns to win the Yukon Jack Triathlon consisting of swimming, running, and biking. However, in order to get ready, both mentally and physically, he must work out some of his other problems particularly in his relationships with is father, his coach, and his history teacher.

The Moves Make the Man by Bruce Brooks
Jerome, a talented African American, and Bix, an unstable Caucasian, strike an unlikely friendship when they share a dreaded home economics course together in the 1960's. On and off of the basketball court their differences are striking but their similarities are enough to cement the friendship.

Run for your Life by Marilyn Levy
Knowing how dangerous her neighborhood is, how stressful her parent's relationship is, how street-wise her little brother is, Kisha isn't used to thinking of herself as a "winner" so is suprised when the new director of the neighborhood center takes Kisha and her friends under his direction and begins a successful track team. Through him she learns a lot more than how to be a successful runner.

S.O.R. Losers by Avi
When the principal at South Orange River Middle School requires each student to participate in at least one school sport, it seems that those on the soccer team would rather be doing almost anything else and it shows in their playing and their attitude.

Tangerine by Edward Bloor
Paul Fisher, legally blind, has trouble adjusting to his family's move to Tangerine, Florida until he bonds with other soccer players at his school. Through their friendship and his own growing self-esteem he is finally able to confront his parents and disturbed brother about the "accident" many years earlier which led to his impaired sight.

Winner and Losers by Stephen Hoffius
Daryl is destined to fulfill his dream of being the state's top half-miler -- or is it his father's dream for him to do so? When Daryl collapses on the track and can no longer compete, his obsessive father begins coaching his best friend to take his place with dismal results for the friendship. Both Daryl and Curt begin to understand what is truly important...and it isn't running.

Deathwatch by Robb White
When a college student, needing money for school, accepts a job as a desert guide for a multi-millionaire madman, he never dreams that he will be the hunted prey the madman wishes to stalk in this thrilling novel.

The Doom Stone by Paul Zindel
Jackson Colby, an American visiting England, gets pulled into the frantic search for the monster/beast that is terrorizing and killing people near the historic Stonehenge ruins. If you liked this book, you might also like Zindel's Raptoror Loch.

Downriver by Will Hobbs
This book, one of Hobbs's most suspenseful, tells of a group of rebellious teens sent to a wilderness camp to get "straightened out." Each has their own agenda, though, and in the end all find themselves in more danger than they bargained for. Thunder River is the sequeal to this book.

Far North by Will Hobbs
Fifteen-year-old Gabe enrolls in a North Alaskan boarding school to be near his father but experiences far more adventure than he bargained for when the small plane he is riding in crashes and he and his roommate must trek their way out of the northern wilderness in the middle of winter. Will Hobbs has written many other wilderness adventure books. Check them out!

A Girl Named Disaster by Nancy Farmer
When the spirits dictate that Nhamo, a young South African woman, must marry a cruel and too-old man, she gathers her few belongings and flees the only village she has ever known. During her long journey she faces many obstacles and dangers but emerges a far wiser and self-reliant heroine.

House of Stairs by William Sleator
Unknowingly, five teens have been "kidnapped" to be the subjects of a harsh psychology experiment. There is no place to go except for up and down endless stairs that all lead to nowhere; there is no one to talk to except each other; and there is no food except what comes from the machine that only produces food if you dance for it. When they find that they must cooperate with each other in order to merely survive, they may have already been enemies for too long.

The Illyrian Adventure by Lloyd Alexander
Vesper Holly and her guardian set out to find the legendary treasure in the land of Illyria only to find themselves in the midst of a local war and their very lives in greatest danger.

The Kidnapping of Suzie Q by Martin Waddell
Suzie Quinn is taken hostage during a bungled supermarket hold up in Northern Ireland and the robbers refuse to let her going believing that she can identify them.

Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
Oh yes, they meant to play a mean and nasty trick on their hated English teacher but this group of high schoolers certainly never meant to kill him! How did that happen and now what will they do?

Look For Me By Moonlight by Mary Downing Hahn
Cynda is somewhat bored while visiting the remote inn in Maine which is owned by her father and stepmother so she is thrilled when a mysterious, handsome man begins paying attention to her but fails to notice that he is not quite what he seems. This vampire-romance could turn deadly if she does not free herself from his clutches before he does what he does naturally.

Night Terrors : Stories of Shadow and Substance by Lois Duncan
Known for her suspenseful novels, Duncan has collected 11 short stories in this book which are sure to make your spine tingle!

Ransom! by Lois Duncan
Things get a little scary when a madman hijacks a school bus full of high schoolers from a rich neighborhood and keeps them captive.

Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause
Zo, a 17-year-old girl with many problems, meets handsome and charming Simon when she is at her lowest point. Little does she know that Simon has problems of his own and only one of those is the fact that he is a vampire and is set on destroying his youngest brother. Although the two help each other through tough times, Zo finds in the end that she must rely on herself.

Sphere by Michael Crichton
When American scientists discover a humonguous space ship resting on the bottom of the ocean floor where it landed 300 years ago they are totally unprepared for what emerges.

The Terrorist by Caroline B. Cooney
In this suspenseful novel, Laura is determined to track the killer who placed a package-bomb in her younger brother's unsuspecting hands. She ends up in danger way over her head as she can't tell her friends from her enemies and makes the wrong choices.

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
Gen bragged so loudly and so often about his skill as a thief that he landed himself in the King's Prison until he was released by Magus, the King's Scholar. The condition of his release was that he assist Magus is stealing the ancient legendary Hamiathes's Gift Stone which is hidden in a maze under the river. Can he steal this ultimate prize and remain alive?

Thunder Cave by Roland Smith
Fourteen-year-old Jacob sneaks off to Kenya in search of his scientist father after his mother dies and his distant stepfather decides Jacob should go live with relatives in Nebraska. While looking for his father's research camp, Jacob eventually befriends a Masai young man who helps him "read" the culture of the people they meet as well and the wildlife they encounter.

Titanic: The Long Night by Diane Hoh
This lengthy book follows the actions of several teens aboard the ill-fated Titanic.

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
Set in 1832, Charlotte Doyle is unaccustomed to traveling alone and finds herself the only female passenger on a freighter from Europe to the United States. Anticipating a relaxing voyage she is suddenly pulled into a mutiny against the captain and finally ends up charged with murder.

Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray
In 13th century England, Adam travels far and wide looking for his missing father and beloved spaniel, Nick.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
This classic tale relates the adventures and misadventures of young Tom Sawyer and his black friend, Jim, who run away from home and float down the Mississippi River on a homemade raft.

The Ballad of Lucy Whipple by Karen Cushman
Much to her dismay, Lucy Whipple must move with her family from Massachusetts to California in 1849. She plans and schemes to find a way back "home."

Bull Run by Paul Fleischman
Several different types of characters including a slave, a doctor, a horse lover, an artist, and a black man, passing as a white man, tell of their experiences at the bloody first battle of the Civil War.

The Bomb by Theodore Taylor
Sixteen-year-old Sorry Rinamu sees what others don't when the Americans prepare to perform atomic bomb testing on the Pacific island where he lives in the Bikini Atoll. He knows that his island will never be the same and does everything he can do to stop the powerful Americans but is it enough? Based on true facts.

Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
Growing up in the middle ages was not easy and especially not easy for the heroine of this book who was a feisty young girl determined not to do and not to be what was expected of her!

Children of the River by Linda Crew
After fleeing Cambodia for the freedom of the United States, Sundara tries to maintain her old culture to please her parents and grandparents. Although not allowed to even speak to "white" boys, she falls in love with Jonathan which forces both Sundara and her family to consider what is truly important.

The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane YolenThis book could be similar to other Holocaust books but there is a huge difference - Hannah has time-traveled to 1940 Poland and has been sent to a death camp. She alone knows what the future holds for the people there. Can she save her new friends?

A Family Apart (The Orphan Train series) by Joan Lowery Nixon
In the 1800s, poor parents in eastern cities put their children on "Orphan Trains" going west in hope that their children would have a better life after being adopted by a loving, generous family. Unfortunately it didn't always work out that way. This title, the first in the Orphan Train Quartet, is based on true events.

The Glory Field by Walter Dean Myers
Five generations of an African American family are portrayed in this book as they protect their precious land, the Glory Field, through trials and triumphs of slavery, the Civil War, the end of segregation, and modern day drug use/abuse.

Good Night, Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian
Mr. Tom reluctantly agrees to house a small, painfully shy, war refuge from London during World War II but never planned to actually form a relationship with him or to care deeply about him.

Island on Bird Street by Uri Orlev
After his mother disappears from the Warsaw ghetto where the Jews are forced to live during World War II and his father is taken prisoner by the Nazis, Alex fends for himself in the abandoned, war-torn buildings staying one step ahead of the Nazi head-hunters while hoping against hope that his father will someday return.

Jane Eyre by Emily Bronte
Young, independent Jane Eyre is hired by Mr. Rochester, in early 19th century England, to act as governess and companion for this motherless daughter. Eventually Jane falls in love with her employer but then begins to hear rumors of terrible secrets in his house.

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
In this classic tale, a 14-teen-year-old injured silversmith apprentice finds himself entangled in the unsettling events leading up to the American Revolution which is more action than he was looking for or knew how to handle.

Kiss the Dust by Elizabeth Laird
Taking place during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980's, this book relates the ordeal of a Kurdish family forced to flee their prominent home in northern Iraq and eventually settle, though temporarily, in a refugee camp in Iran. All of the horrors of war are described but the love of the family and the culture shine through.

Let the Circle Be Unbroken by Mildred D. Taylor
Set in the 1930's, during the Depression, four very poor African American children experience a high level of racial segregation but learn the lessons of love and self-respect from their strong families.

Little Women by Louisa M. Alcott
In this classic American tale, Mrs. March and her daughters, each completely different than the others, try to hold things together in the family and the community while Mr. March is away fighting in the Civil War.

Lyddie by Katherine Paterson
When her father abandons her family and their small farm, Lyddie must be sent out to work the mills in Lowell, Massachusetts during the 1840s.

The Man Who Was Poe by Avi
After his mother and his aunt have been missing for days, Edmund goes out in search of food for himself and his sister but he discovers that she, too, is missing and he must rely on a strange man he meets on the street for assistance in locating his family.

Mississippi Bridge by Mildred D. Taylor
It takes a tragic accident to reconcile a small Mississippi town in the 1930s that is split by racial prejudices and segregation.

My Brother, My Sister and I by Yoko Kawashima Watkins
Yoko and her brother and sister use courage, love, and nerve to travel on after they are forced from their middle-class home and into poverty including homelessness, hunger, and hurt. Their mother has died and their father has not yet returned from fighting in World War II though his possible return is what keeps them going through the toughest of times.

My Brother Sam is Dead by James L. Collier
This classic tale of the American Revolution tells of one family's tragedy when their son sets out to fight for the Rebel cause.

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Young Annemarie Johansen cannot begin to understand why her best friend, Ellen Rosen, is suddenly supposed to be her arch enemy as the Nazis become more and more interested in the events of the Rosen's Jewish household during World War II.

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
Using free-verse poetry, Billy Jo describes the very grim life of the Oklahoma "dust bowl" which is made even harsher by the horrific death of her mother and the alienation of her father.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
Cassie and her family continue to do everything they can to hold on to their family farm in the South during the Depression. This task is made much more difficult due ot the fact that her family is black and they are, therefore, constantly harassed and threatened. Can they hold out while their father works on the railroad away from home?

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr
This very short biography tells of the death of a young Japanese girl who dies as a result of radiation poisoning from the bombing of Hiroshima by the United States during World War II.

Sarah Bishop by Scott O'Dell
Sarah's father and brother fight on opposite sides of the American Revolution and after their deaths she must survive alone in the wilderness as she flees from the British who aim to arrest her.

The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox
While on his way home in the evening in New Orleans, 14-year-old Jessie is kidnapped and forced aboard an American slave ship bound for Africa.

Sing Down the Moon by Scott O'Dell
Bright Morning, a young Navajo maiden, tells the horrifying tale of the forced relocation of her people from their homeland to Fort Sumner and of the troubles, both physical and emotional, that they experienced.

Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan
Based on true facts, the very brave children of Nazi-occupied Norway devise and carry out a plan to smuggle the country's gold out of Norway before the Nazis discover it.

Summer of my German Soldier by Bette Greene
Having, perhaps, too much free time on her hands, young Patty Bergen, an unhappy Jewish girl living in a small Arkansas town, befriends an escaped German POW and must learn to deal with her own feelings as well as his and those of her family and friends. Morning is a Long Time Coming is the sequel.

Trouble River by Betsy Byars
When awakened by very loud noises in the vicinity of their wilderness cabin, young Dewey and his grandmother know exactly what they must do -- flee! And flee they do on a handmade river raft hidden just for this purpose.

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
When 13-year-old Charlotte Doyle finds herself the only female and the only passenger on a ship sailing from Europe to Boston, she wonders why the ship's cook quietly hands her a sharp knife but soon learns that she will need it to defend herself from the evil captain and his crew.

Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963
The Watson family is so weird that even they call themselves "the Weird Watsons" as they customize their old "brown bomber" and take off for their grandmother's house in Alabama where they hope to leave their wayward son/brother Byron with relatives.

Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth Speare
It didn't take much to be accused of being a witch in the northeast of the United States in 1687 as Kit Tyler found out when she befriended a sad and lonely old woman in her town.

The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Jody Baxter gets lonely sometimes living with his parents in the scraggly Florida swamps so he is thrilled to find a tiny fawn which he adopts making reality all that much harder for him in the end.

After the Rain by Norma Fox Mazer
Rachel is less than thrilled when her grandfather, recently diagnosed with cancer and given only a short time to live, moves in to her house and requires much of her time.

Amazing Gracie by A. E. Cannon
Gracie, at fifteen, should not have to be responsible for holding her family together but that's how she feels with a mother who suffers from depression and a new stepfamily that needs tending.

The Best School Year Ever by Barbara Robinson
If you have read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, you will recognize the pesty Hardman kids and will understand Beth Bradley's dismay at having to share a classroom with Imogene all year though the antics of the two will keep you laughing.

Black Stallion by Walter Farley
When the steamer, Drake, that Alec Ramsay and the black stallion were both passengers on wrecks, the two end up on a deserted island and must learn to trust each other in order to survive.

Buddy Love; Now on Video by Ilene Cooper
Buddy Love is one of those kids who is hooked on television. Once he begins to view his own life and the lives of his family and friends through the lens of a video camera he finds that he is in for some surprises!

The Burning Questions of Bingo Brown by Betsy Byars
New at this "love" business, Bingo Brown falls in love during his sixth-grade year at least three times and each romance is funnier and/or more painful than the one before it as he tries to figure out girls.

The Cat Ate my Gymsuit by Paula Danziger
Marcy Lewis thinks that almost nothing is right in her life --- not her classes, not her family, not her weight. Then she becomes friends with her English teacher, Ms. Finney, and she begins to see that life is not always how it seems.

The Contender by Robert Lipsyte
Don't like boxing? You'll be hooked anyway when you read this book about Alfred, a 17-year-old, who takes up boxing by chance to escape his rough life in his Harlem neighborhood.

Danger Zone by David Klass
Jimmy Doyle is thrilled to be invited to play on the national "Teen Dream Team" until he faces his own shortcomings on the basketball court and the Neo-Nazi threats directed at his black skin while touring Europe. He begins to wonder if basketball, his consuming passion, is really all that important.

Dean Duffy by Randy Powell
Dean Duffy is used to being the star of the high school baseball team so is unsure what to do with his life when high school is over. After wandering aimlessly for a while he is given a chance to get back in the game but does he really want to?

A Different Beat by Candy Dawson Boyd
As a student at Oakland Performing Arts Middle School, Jessie Williams is living her dream but her father threatens to send her back to the local middle school if she cannot keep her grades up. One of her teachers enters into a bargain with Jessie but she will have to work with one of the most disliked students in the school to fulfill her part of this deal.

Don't You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Mrs. Dunphrey promises that she will not read her students' journals but it takes Trish a long time to trust her. When Tish begins to realize that this teacher might be her only hope for help from her dysfunctional family she begins writing all of her most tender feelings and problems in her journal.

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
Janie is innocently eating lunch in her school cafeteria when suddenly her whole life goes spinning out of control. The face of the missing child on the milk carton belongs to her! How did this happen and what will she do? Read this and the sequels to it: What Ever Happened to Janie?, The Voice on the Radio, What Janie Found.

The Door Near Here by Heather Quarles
Fifteen-year-old Katherine tries desperately to keep her three younger siblings safe from social services which would surely take them away to foster care if they knew what was going on in their house.

Father Figure by Richard Peck
Jim Atwater has basically raised his younger brother since his parents divorced eight years ago. Now, after their mother's death, his father suddenly turns up and wants the three of them to be a happy family. Jim is pretty sure his father won't stick around but will he give him the chance to find out?

Flight Number 116 Is Down by Caroline B. Cooney
Fifteen-year-old Heidi Landseth has never felt very responsible and most other people would agree with her. When a jumbo jet crashes in her own backyard and she is the only one there to help, her life takes a sharp turn around.

Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick. (Also titled The Mighty.)
Maxwell Kane has always kept to himself since the kids laugh at his mental disabilities and his enormous physical size. It seemed fitting that when Kevin, a boy with birth defects causing his body not to grow, moves in that they would become best friends and share what each had --- Max his size and Kevin his brains -- to become the awesome "Freak the Mighty" duo.

Gentlehands by M. E. Kerr
Buddy's life takes a sharp upturn when surprisingly the most popular, rich girl in town falls in love with him but then just as quickly it plummets to the bottom when he discovers shocking facts about his beloved grandfather.

The Gift of the Girl Who Couldn't Hear by Susan Richards Shreve
Being thirteen is sometimes very confusing as Eliza finds out but then turns herself around by befriending Lucy, the deaf girl in her class.

The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
Having bounced from one foster home to another, 11-year-old Gilly Hopkins is determined not to get close to anyone, ever, but then she hadn't met her new, unusual foster mom when she made that plan.

Habibi by Naomi Nye
Liyana, a 14-year-old girl from St. Louis, Missouri, is distraught when her family announces that they are moving to Jerusalem, her father's homeland, so that she can get to know his side of the family. When she first arrives she is devastated by what she finds and how strange everything seems to her but eventually she begins to appreciate the differences and to embrace them.

Hannah in Between by Colby Rodowsky
Hannah discovers, quite by accident, that her mother is indeed an alcoholic. The empty vodka bottles explain her mom's rash and hurtful behavior over the past few months but Hannah doesn't quite know what to do with her new knowledge. Is she the only one in the family that knows how much her mother is drinking and what can she do about it? This book takes place on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
Harriet has big plans to be a writer when she grows up and so keeps a journal of "observations" on those people around her to use in her later life. Disaster strikes when her classmates discover the journal and read what she has written about them.

Heart of a Champion by Carl Deuker
Jimmy Winter's passion is baseball and with his father's harsh and heavy-handed coaching it looks like he will eventually end up on a pro team. Unfortunately the decisions he makes off of the ball field are not always the smartest ones and he ends up losing it all, including his very life.

Heaven by Angela Johnson
Marley, who lives in Heaven, Ohio, thinks that her life is described by the name of her town. Everything is perfect until she unexpectedly learns that she is adopted and that life is not what it seems.

Hero by Susan L. Rottman
After finding himself in trouble with the law, Sean is sent to perform community service at a local ranch under the supervision of old-timer Dave Hassler who is known for his gruffness. When told to muck the stalls, curry the horses, mend the fences, Sean intends to rebel but finds himself being pulled closer and closer to the land, the hard work, and to mean, old Mr. Hassler.

Holes by Louis Sachar
Stanley Yelnats is sure that it is his family's famous bad luck that sends him to Green Lake Camp, a juvenile detention facility where the main object of every day is for every boy to dig a hole in the desert five feet wide and five feet deep. Stanley is positive that there is more to this hole digging than digging for digging's sake and is determined to find out what it is no matter how dangerous that mission is.

Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt
When Dicey's mother abandons Dicey and her three younger siblings in a mall parking lot, Dicey is determined to keep the four of them together and to somehow, somewhere find an adult who will love them all. This is the first book is Voigt's series about Dicey and her family and friends.

Hoops by Walter Dean Myers
Seventeen-year-old Lonnie Jackson probably has what it takes to be a pro basketball player if he will only hold tight to his values. When he is offered money to throw the most important game of the year he must decide what is truly important to him.

Iron Man by Chris Crutcher
Beau Brewster yearns to win the Yukon Jack Triathlon, consisting of swimming, running, and biking. However, in order to get ready, both mentally and physically, he must work out some of his other problems particularly in his relationships with is father, his coach, and his history teacher.

Izzy, Willy-Nilly by Cynthia Voigt
After a car accident costs Izzy a leg, she can find nothing to like about herself and must work hard, with help from those around her, to change her attitude.

Kinship by Trudy Krisher
The trailer park where Perty Wilson lives with her mother is going to be torn down and all the residents will have to find new homes. Enter Perty's long absent father who claims he can repair all of the trailers so that the town will no longer find them an eye-sore. Just as Perty begins to trust him again he disappears leaving her to face her neighbors, her friends, and her own tender feelings for this man.

Lottery Rose by Irene Hunt
Seven-year-old Georgie wins a small rose bush in the grocery store lottery and lavishes all the love and care on that bush that he is missing from his abusive mother and her boyfriend. When sent to the safety of a boys' boarding school Georgie slowly and painfully opens up to those who will cherish him.

Maizon at Blue Hill by Jacqueline Woodson
After working toward it for so long all of Maizon's dreams come true when she is awarded a scholarship to a fancy boarding school out of state. However, as one of only five African American students there she begins to question whether or not this is truly where she belongs and wonders if she can really go back to her old life if it is not.

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
Jeffrey Lionel Magee, a homeless orphan, astounds those around him by performing amazing feats and crossing racial barriers in his search for warmth and understanding.

The Mighty by Rodman Philbrick.

Missing May by Cynthia Rylant
For six years after her parents die, Summer lives with her aunt and uncle whom she had never met. When her aunt dies, she must learn all over again how to grieve and how to help her uncle find a reason to go on living.

Missing Since Monday by Ann M. Martin
Maggie is finally deemed responsible enough to look after her little half-sister and so is terrified when she disappears while in her care.

The Moves Make the Man by Bruce Brooks
Jerome, a talented African American, and Bix, an unstable Caucasian, strike an unlikely friendship when they share a dreaded home economics course together in the 1960's. On and off of the basketball court their differences are striking but their similarities are enough to cement the friendship.

Necessary Roughness by Marie G. Lee
Korean Chan and his twin sister, Young, fit easily into the multicultural neighborhood in Los Angeles but find it extremely difficult to know where they belong when their family moves to a small, closed town in Minnesota. Chan tries to make a name for himself on the school's football team but must deal with his uncle's nasty reputation and his own changing cultural values which his parents do not understand.

Old Yeller by Frederick Benjamin Gipson
Taking place in the Texas frontier in the 1860's, this touching story tells of a boy, Travis, and his devotion to his ugly yellow dog, Old Yeller. When Old Yeller is bitten by a rabid wolf, Travis knows what he must do but can he actually do it?

One Last Wish by Lurlene McDaniel
Three letters and three last wishes, one for each of the stories included in this book make it another tear-jerker in true McDaniel style.

Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat
Life on the Canadian prairie could get a little boring for a young boy unless he had a houseful of unusual pets which the boy in this story did including two mischievous owls, Wol and Weeps.

Phoenix Rising by Karen Hesse
Nyle and her grandmother continue to tend their sheep in New England close to the site of a recent nuclear power plant accident. When a neighbor boy suffers acute radiation sickness, he and his mother move in with Nyle. Nyle tends to him as she examines her own life and its rocky relationships.

The Pigman by Paul Zindel
High schoolers John and Lorraine are so bored with life that they make prank phone calls to unsuspecting people for their entertainment. It is through one of these phone calls that they meet Mr. Pignati, "The Pigman," and learn his secret but come to admire him anyway.

Remembering Mog by Colby Rodowsky
Annie slowly comes to terms with her grief and guilt over her older sister's sudden death.

Ribbons by Laurence Yep
Eleven-year-old Robin totally resents having to give up her cherished ballet lessons so that her parents can use the money to bring her grandmother to the U.S. from China. Determined to blame her grandmother for her lack of dance classes, Robin learns her grandmother's secret which turns their relationship completely around.

Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer
When feisty, senior citizen, Mrs. Gladstone, who happens to be the owner of Gladstone Shoes where Jenna works as a lowly clerk, appoints Jenna as her driver they set off across country for adventures and misadventures. (Never mind that Jenna doesn't know how to drive when they start off. After hundreds and hundreds of miles, she learns!)

Scorpions by Walter Dean Myers
Twelve-year-old Jamal is appointed head of his brother's gang when his brother is sent to prison. Not wanting anything to do with gangs or street life, Jamal certainly doesn't know what to do with the gun that is thrust into his hands. Although he survives the test he loses much in return.

Shabanu : Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Fisher Staples
Although extremely proud of her people and used to doing what is expected by her culture, Shabanu, daughter in a family of nomadic camel herders in Pakistan, runs away rather than marry the man her parents have arranged for her. Showing this much spunk is unusual for a girl of her status and she learns there is a price to pay.

Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Marty cannot bear to return the mistreated puppy to its rightful owner and must face the consequences of this decision.

Shizuko's Daughter by Kyoko Mori
Shizuko is devastated when her mother commits suicide and she must live with her cold father while both try to heal. It is through the love and caring of her grandparents that she begins to understand both her mother and her father, and eventually herself.

The Silent Storm by Sherry Garland
It has been three years since Alyssa saw her parents both die in a hurricane and three years since she has said one word. Now living with her grandfather, another hurricane threatens her very life. What will it do to her this time?

Silver by Norma Fox Mazer
When Sarabeth's mother moves them to a new trailer park so that Sarabeth can go to be better high school, Sarabeth thinks it will be difficult to make friends and she is right. All of the girls are rich and seem so self-confident. However, she quickly learns that looks are deceiving and that money doesn't mean happiness and happiness doesn't need money. Friends are what counts!

Slake's Limbo by Felice Holman
When life seems too tough to handle, Aremis Slake runs away to the subway tunnels of New York City where he makes a "home" for himself and vows he will never emerge. Life however is not easy there either and choices must be made.

Sounder by William H. Armstrong
When a young father is hauled off to jail for stealing a hog to feed his family, his loyal dog, Sounder, is shot in the confusion and slinks off to die. With the father gone how will this family carry on and what part will Sounder play in their survival?

Squashed by Joan Bauer
In this humorous novel, Ellie Morgan is determined to win the blue ribbon prize for the largest pumpkin. However, how do you convince a pumpkin to gain 200 more pounds and at the same time fight off pumpkin disease, pumpkin thieves, and other "wanna-be" pumpkin growers who are bent on doing your pumpkin harm?

Taking Terri Mueller by Norma Fox Mazer
Terri is so thankful that with just one parent, her relationship with her father is so warm and loving. Imagine her astonishment when she accidentally learns that her father kidnapped her and her mother is still alive!

Tangerine by Edward Bloor
Paul Fisher, legally blind, has trouble adjusting to his family's move to Tangerine, Florida until he bonds with other soccer players at his school. Through their friendship and his own growing self-esteem he is finally able to confront his parents and disturbed brother about the "accident" many years earlier which led to his impaired sight.

Taste of Salt : A Story of Modern Haiti by Frances Temple
How do you survive when you are as poor as can be and everything around you is corrupt? The government is corrupt; the schools are corrupt; the neighbors are corrupt. Seventeen-year-old Djo tells his story to a girl he meets in the hospital where he was sent after the boys' home in which he lived was fire-bombed.

The Terrorist by Caroline B. Cooney
In this suspenseful novel, Laura is determined to track the killer who placed a package-bomb in her younger brother's unsuspecting hands. She ends up in danger way over her head as she can't tell her friends from her enemies and makes the wrong choices.

Thirteen Ways to Sink a Sub by Jamie Gilson
The students in Mr. Star's class are armed with their worst jokes and pranks designed to make any substitute teacher cry...but then Ms. Ivanovitch is not just any substitute and the students antics might just backfire on them this time!

Tomorrow : When the War Began by John Marsden
A group of high schoolers are off camping in the Australian bush when unidentified military forces take over their country forcing everyone to leave their homes and become their prisoners at the fairgrounds. The teens must not only figure out how to survive themselves but also must try to free their families and to get word out to the rest of the world. This is a suspenseful book!

Toning the Sweep by Angela Johnson
Emily and her mother go to Arizona to pack up her grandmother and bring her to their house where she will live out her few remaining days. While together they share stories of love and hardship as the three African American women become still closer and stronger.

Twice Taken by Susan Beth Pfeffer
When Brooke Eastman sees herself on a "missing children" television show and called the 800 telephone number given, she is totally unprepared for the rapid succession of events that follow.

The Unlikely Romance of Kate Bjorkman by Louise Plummer
Kate Bjorkman laughs at the traditional "romance" novel but finds herself writing her own using the The Romance Writer's Phrase Book as a guide and based on her own current romance.

Waiting for the Rain : A Novel of South Africa by Sheila Gordon
The deep friendship of Frikkie, a white upper class boy, and Tengo, a native South African who tends Frikkie's family farm, works when they are children but as they grow up and their dreams mature, the friendship collides with political and cultural interference in South Africa.

What Child Is This? : A Christmas Story by Caroline B. Cooney
In this soft holiday story a foster boy hangs his foster sister's Christmas wish for a family of her own on the Christmas tree. In another part of town a childless couple nearly gives up their dream of having children. Will the two wishes come together?

What Hearts by Bruce Brooks
Included in this book are four short stories about the love, or lack thereof, that Asa finds throughout his life. They include the love of family, friends, between and girl and a boy, and a husband and wife. Some are happy loves; some are sad.

What Jamie Saw by Carolyn Coman
When the domestic violence gets way out of hand, Jamie's mother grabs the two children and takes off to hide from his father. From then on Jamie lives in stark fear -- fear that his father will find them. Can the love between the three of them heal the wounds and make Jamie overcome the brutality that he witnessed?

Where the Lilies Bloom by Vera Cleaver
Fourteen-year-old Mary Call and her brothers and sisters are poorer than ever after their father dies though she bravely does all she can to keep them together and away from social services who would certainly place them in separate foster homes.

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
Billy Colman's best friends are his coon dogs and they spend many days out in the woods training for the coveted top prize in the annual coon hunt. However, tragedy soon strikes and Billy must face days and nights without his dogs but with a deeper understanding of life.

Year Without Michael by Susan Beth Pfeffer
When 16-year-old Jody Chapman's younger brother disappears on his way home from ball practice the family begins to unravel as they wait week-after-week for his possible return.

Yolands's Genius by Carol Fenner
When Yolanda's mother moves her two children from a nasty neighborhood in Chicago to a quiet town in Michigan she continues to worry about her slow-learning, young son, Andrew. Yolanda sets out to prove to the world that her brother really is a genius according to the dictionary definition and the results are never dull.

Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
The well-known story of Alice in Wonderland takes on a whole new view when read in its original form. Join Alice as she falls through the Rabbit Hole, meets the Queen of Hearts, tries to decipher Humpty Dumpty's Jaberwocky, and has tea and crumpets with the Mad Hatter.

Alien Secrets by Annette Curtis Klause
Puck and Hush are both on board the starship, The Cat's Cradle, on the long journey to join their parents on another planet. When Hush discovers that the symbol of freedom that his people have entrusted to him has been stolen the two teens work to uncover the thief and to renew their parents' faith in them.

Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley
This novel length retelling of the classic fairy tale, "Beauty and the Beast," is told from Beauty's point of view making it an awesome story of magic, love, and friendship.

The BFG by Roald Dahl
Just in time, the BFG (Big Friendly Giant) rescues Sophie and takes her to a very strange place indeed!

The Boggart by Susan Cooper
When the Volnik family brings home an ancient desk from Scotland, little to they suspect that it is inhabited by a "Boggart", a mischievous little spirit that likes to play tricks on those around him and those tricks are not always nice!

The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
When a young boy and a great warrior go against the forces of evil, the once-peaceful kingdom of Prydain takes on a new atmosphere. This is Book One of the Alexander's Prydain Chronicles.

The Borrowers by Mary Norton
No matter what item you are missing, it is likely that it is now being used by the "borrowers", those little people that live in your house between the ceiling of one story and the floor of the next. Read all about them in this first book of the Borrowers series.

Both Sides of Time by Caroline B. Cooney
In this time-travel fantasy, Annie Lockwood leaves her present day boyfriend as she falls back in time 100 years and meets the "man of her dreams." With love in the present and love in the past she has trouble deciding which life to live.

Cricket in Times Square by George Selden
When a Connecticut cricket hops into a picnic basket he has no idea that he will end up in New York's Times Square where everything is strange and dangerous to his country ways.

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
Will Stanton learns that he is the last of the Old Ones whose responsibility it is to find the six magician Signs that will allow the Old Ones to win over the evil forces of the Dark. The Dark is Rising is one book in this series of good vs. evil fantasy tales by Susan Cooper.

The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
This book could be similar to other Holocaust books but there is a huge difference - Hannah has time-traveled to 1940 Poland and has been sent to a death camp. She alone knows what the future holds for the people there. Can she save her new friends?

The Duplicate by William Sleator
David discovers that the strange camera he finds on the beach can create duplicate copies of living things but what happens when David decides to duplicate his own brain?

The Eye, The Ear and the Arm by Nancy Farmer
Tendai and his younger brother and sister sneak out of the house in 2194 for adventures forbidden to them. When their parents discover that they are missing, they call the most natural detectives in the land -- The Eye, The Ear, and The Arm -- to locate their children who have been kidnapped and returned many times.

The Giver by Lois Lowry
In this fantasy everything appears so perfect in Jonas's world. There is no disease, no poverty, no crime, no pollution. Everyone is the same as everyone else and all have the same hopes and dreams. Jonas is chosen to be the community's "Receiver of Memories" and as such must learn of and face the parts of his society which are deeply hidden and not so pretty see.

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Young, orphan Lyra Belacqua lives with her benefactors at Oxford University where she is exposed to the very latest scientific ideas and experiments. When she takes off on her own, with her personal daemon, in search of the magic dust, she both finds and looses more than she ever thought possible. Pullman's The Subtle Knife is the sequel to this title.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. Rawlings
Poor, orphaned Harry Potter is obviously not wanted by his aunt and uncle who are charged with the responsibility of raising him. Harry finds his escape from that misery on his 11th birthday when he is ordered, by his birth rite, to attend Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where he begins to learn about good and evil.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Just seconds before the Earth is to be destroyed to make way for a new intergalactic freeway, Ford Prefect whisks his pal Arthur Dent out of harm's way and together they set out to write the "travel guide" for galaxy travelers.

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
Bilbo Baggins was the usual sort of Hobbit - quite short in statue, somewhat robust, and most content when sitting next to his cozy fire waiting for the next meal in his home down his "Hobbit hole." He was the most unlikely character to leave the warmth of his hearth and go off on a wild and dangerous chase in search of a burglar but that's just what he does in this, the first book of the Tolkien trilogy.

House of Stairs by William Sleator
Unknowingly, five teens have been "kidnapped" to be the subjects of a harsh psychology experiment. There is no place to go except up and down endless stairs that all lead to nowhere; there is no one to talk to except each other; and there is no food except what comes from the machine that only produces food if they dance for it. When they find that they must cooperate with each other in order to merely survive, they may have already been enemies for far too long.

Jackaroo by Cynthia Voigt
In this fantasy novel, an innkeeper's daughter takes on the persona of a legendary outlaw, Jackaroo, including his sword and cape, in order to set thing right for the People on whom hard times have fallen.

Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville
Jeremy Thatcher eagerly entered the magic shop, which he had never seen before on a street that hadn't been there on his way to school, and bought the most magnificent egg. But how do you tell your parents that you have hatched a dragon and more important what in the world do you do with a dragon once hatched?

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
It was the perfect plan to use DNA from old dinosaur eggs to clone new, live dinosaurs for a family theme park but then things went dreadfully wrong. How do you control massive animals like prehistoric dinosaurs?

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
This is Book Two in Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia series about four children who enter the back of a wardrobe and land in magical Narnia where things are never as they seem. The first book in the series is The Magicians Nephew.

Lost in Cyberspace by Richard Peck
When Josh Lewis tells his best friend that he can time travel through his computer, his friend, Aaron, just nods for he's heard all of Josh's wild ideas before. However, when Josh does actually get sucked into his computer, taking Aaron with him, the two must deal with what they find.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O'Brien
You will be quite surprised when you read this animal fantasy and discover that all of those laboratory mice and rats have their own complete society among their cages within the great halls of science.

Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Justin
Ten-year-old Milo is so bored that he can find absolutely nothing better to do than to drive is old toy car through the toll booth that mysteriously appears in his room. Once on the other side of the tollbooth, Milo is certainly no longer bored as he's arrived is a very strange land where only very strange things happen!

Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson
In this animal fantasy, the community of rabbits are very concerned when it becomes obvious that new people are moving into the Big House.

Redwall by Brian Jacques
All seems quiet and peaceful at the Redwall Abbey but looks can be deceiving as Cluny-the-Scourge, the malicious one-eyed rat, is preparing a bloody war to determine master of Redwall. This lengthy animal fantasy is only one volume in the series by the same name.

The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson
A cast of unforgettable characters including humans, mermaids, ogres, and other wonderful beings, lament the disappearance of their prince and set off to return him to his homeland. A magic door opens only every nine years behind railway platform 13 and it is through this door that the rescuers must go from their fantasy world into the real world and back again before it's too late.

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
Gen bragged so loudly and so often about his skill as a thief that he landed himself in the King's Prison until he was released by Magus, the King's Scholar. The condition of his release was that he assist Magus is stealing the ancient legendary Hamiathes's Gift Stone which is hidden in a maze under the river. Can he steal this ultimate prize and remain alive?

Thwonk! by Joan Bauer
"Be careful what you wish for" is a phrase that A.J. McCreary should have listened to after finding the magic cupid doll that would grant her wishes. A.J. thought her problems were finally coming to an end when she wished that the cutest boy around, Peter Terris, would fall in love with her. Ha! Little did she know what she was in for in this humorous novel of love, friendship, and wishes.

Wayside School is Falling Down by Louis Sachar
This Wayside School book, along with the others in the series, takes the reader to the zaniest school ever with very unusual classrooms, teachers, homework assignments, and, yes, zany students as well!

White Mountains by John Christopher
Three young boys make a dangerous trek into the wilderness in an attempt to escape from the Tripods, aliens who kidnap earth people and transform them into obedient servants. This is the first of Christopher's The Tripod Series.

The Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum
Revisit Dorothy and share her adventures and misadventures in the magical land of Oz with the Cowardly Lion, the Tin man, and the Scarecrow.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
Young Meg Murry takes off on a cosmic journey with her brother, her neighbor, and three very strange women - Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which - in search of her lost father who set off to study time travel. Sequels to this book include A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, and Many Waters.

Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien
Left alone for the afternoon while her parents left the canyon to do some shopping, a 16-year-old girl may be the only survivor of a nuclear holocaust. Or is she..... This is one suspenseful book!

Series
The Baby-sitters Club
The Boxcar Children
Cam Jansen
Hank the Cow Dog
Hardy Boys
Nancy Drew

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan, Sir Doyle
Mysteries of all types abound in the classic tales of world-famous detective Sherlock Holmes and his side-kick, Dr. Watson.

And Then There were None by Agatha Christie
When 10 strangers, invited by a mysterious American host, arrive at the deserted island they are each accused of murder and it becomes evident that one of them is a murderer as they begin to die off one-by-one-by-one. But which one is it?

The Callendar Papers by Cynthia Voigt
Orphaned, thirteen-year-old Jean desperately needs the job of organizing Mr. Theil's family papers but he is so strange and when she discovers hints that he may have been involved in the mysterious disappearance of his young child years ago, he becomes even more scary. Is she safe?

Coverup by Jay Bennett
Brad vaguely remembers an unusual "bump" when he and his buddy were out driving that night but he isn't sure he wants to remember just what caused that bump as it might be the clue to what happened to his new girlfriend's missing father.

Dangerous Skies by Suzanne Fisher
Buck, white, and Tunes, African American, have grown up together on Buck's Virginia farm and have been able to ignore the differences of their race and culture until the body of a murdered farm worker turns up and Tunes becomes a suspect.

Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery by Russell Freedman
Eleanor Roosevelt was a woman of immense courage and fortitude as she met each of the devastating events in her life with renewed determination to make something from the ashes and to be a roll model, before her time, for other women.

The Ghost Belonged to Me by Richard Peck
Alex is drawn to the eerie light coming from the barn but is totally unprepared for the ghost he meets of a young girl with a terrifying warning for him.

Ghost Canoe by Will Hobbs
Nathan MacAllister loves his exciting life helping his father tend the island lighthouse but it isn't until a ship crashes on the rocks nearby that he finds out what "exciting" truly means as sinister events begin to unfold.

Ghosts Don't get Goosebumps by Elvira Woodruff
To get her recently mute brother to talk again, Jenna and her new-best-friend, Angel, decided that they would frighten him by taking him to the abandoned marble factory down in the holler. Turns out that her brother wasn't the only frightened when they discovered the scary things that were happening there!

Holes by Louis Sachar
Stanley Yelnats is sure that it is his family's famous bad luck that sends him to Green Lake Camp, a juvenile detention facility where the main object of every day is for every boy to dig a hole in the desert five feet wide and five feet deep. Stanley is positive that there is more to this hole digging than digging for digging's sake and is determined to find out what it is no matter how dangerous that mission is.

The House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton
As soon as Thomas sees the Civil War era house, which was part of the Underground Railway system, that his family has bought he knows that it will be an adventure but he doesn't expect the strange hauntings that take place within the secret passageways. His quest for the truth makes for exciting reading! The Mystery of Drear House : The Conclusion of the Dies Drear Chronicle is the conclusion to this tale.

The House with a Clock in its Walls by John Bellairs
Someone...or something...has planted a ticking clock within the walls of the old house and Lewis, along with his uncle Jonathan and next-door neighbor, must find and dismantle the clock before it ticks down and ends the world.

Howliday Inn by James Howe
In this humorous mystery, Harold and Chester, the Monroe family pets, have been boarded at Chateau Bow-Wow while the family goes on vacation. What should have been a relaxing vacation for the loyal dog and cat becomes a nightmare when the howling begins and the source must be uncovered.

Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
Oh yes, they meant to play a mean and nasty trick on their hated English teacher but this group of high schoolers certainly never meant to kill him! How did that happen and now what will they do?

The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring by John Bellairs
When Mrs. Zimmerman inherits a deserted farm from a distant relative she takes Rose Rita with her to check it out and they discover some terrible evil presence living there.

The Moonlight Man by Betty Ren Wright
Fifteen-year-old Jenny and her little sister are excited about their new home until they meet the "Moonlight Man" and learn of his past secrets and lost love.

The Mummy, the Will and the Crypt by John Bellairs
Johnny Dixon and his friend Professor Childermass have the job of finding the last will of H. Bagwell Glomus which is no easy task since Mr. Glomus wished to make life difficult for his survivorss.

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
Luckily Hercule Poirot, the famous Belgian detective, was on board the Orient Express train traveling from Istanbul to Paris when the murder of the American was discovered. A full set of unusual characters were all socializing with the American ...which one killed him and why?

The Name of the Game was Murder by Joan Lowery Nixon
A well-known novelist has written one last book detailing all of the ugly secrets he knows about other people. He invites them to a weekend "game" during which they will be given the opportunity to have the information on them removed but only if they can correctly solve the clues. Obviously someone doesn't like this game as the writer is found murdered and the manuscript missing.

The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman
Sixteen-year-old Sally Lockhart ventures into London's evil underground in search of clues to her father's death and the location of the valuable ruby.

Search for the Shadowman by Joan Lowry Nixon
Working on a history project for school, Andy's great-aunt doesn't want to answer any of his questions about his ancestors. Through careful investigation, Andy unravels the century old murder mystery that has been part of his family for all these years.

Stonewords by Pam Conrad
Zoe lives in the present and Zoe Louise lives in the past or is it the other way around? These two girls are ghosts in each other's lives and must discover the secrets each holds.

Tangerine by Edward Bloor
Paul Fisher leaves his family in the dust as he forges his own way in the new town to which they have moved. It is here that he begins to unravel the mystery of his brother's evil character and his own handicap.

The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
When Laura's younger brother is killed by a package bomb thrust into his hands on the London subway, she vows to find the killer but nearly gets herself killed in the process.

The Vandemark Mummy by Cynthia Voight
Twelve-year-old Phineas uses all of her wits to search for the mummy that has mysteriously disappeared from her father's care as keeper of the Egyptian collection at Vandermark College.

View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
While perched in his secret hideout, Rob witnesses a murder taking place but when he tries to talk about it no one will listen....except for the murderer!

Wanted! by Caroline Cooney
After Alice's father is murdered, someone begins to stalk her even though she is one of the prime suspects. In order to track the killer and to get away from her doubtful mother, Alice must flee from all that she knows and is familiar with.

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
It is an unusual group of 16 people that are called to the reading of Samuel W. Westing's will and the terms of the will are even more unusual. One of those people is the murderer of Mr. Westing and the others are challenged to find out which person it is and to then claim the $1,000,000 estate!

Who's There? by Stephanie Tolan
After their parents' deaths, Drew and her brother are sent to live with their strange aunt and uncle. They certainly have enough to worry about but then discover that the old house in which they now live is haunted by a ghost with a dire warning for Drew.