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Paper Things
Jennifer Richard Jacobson
Synopsis: When forced to choose between staying with her guardian and being with her big brother, Ari chose her big brother. There’s just one problem—Gage doesn’t actually have a place to live.

When Ari’s mother died four years ago, she had two final wishes: that Ari and her older brother, Gage, would stay together always, and that Ari would go to Carter, the middle school for gifted students. So when nineteen-year-old Gage decides he can no longer live with their bossy guardian, Janna, Ari knows she has to go with him. But it’s been two months, and Gage still hasn’t found them an apartment. He and Ari have been “couch surfing,” staying with Gage’s friend in a tiny apartment, crashing with Gage’s girlfriend and two roommates, and if necessary, sneaking into a juvenile shelter to escape the cold Maine nights. But all of this jumping around makes it hard for Ari to keep up with her schoolwork, never mind her friendships, and getting into Carter starts to seem impossible. Will Ari be forced to break one of her promises to Mama? Told in an open, authentic voice, this nuanced story of hiding in plain sight may have readers thinking about homelessness in a whole new way.
Publication Date: 02/10/15
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Ruby Redfort Catch Your Death (Book #3)
Lauren Child, Lauren Child
Synopsis: There’s more to most things than meets the eye—or nose—as code-cracking, wisecracking girl detective Ruby Redfort discovers in her third adventure.

Wild animals roaming around Twinford? Ruby Redfort has heard the rumors, but she doesn’t quite believe them. She’s got enough on her mind doing wilderness survival training with the secret agency Spectrum, and her bad eyesight isn’t helping. But as high society buzzes with news of a very exclusive perfume formula coming to town, and some priceless jewelry goes missing, Ruby begins to sense a sinister plot in the works. Can our favorite action hero sniff out the clues in time to keep Twinford safe from evil scents? Well, let’s say this is one of those times when you gotta forget the rules and follow your nose to survive.
Publication Date: 02/10/15
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Incredible Space Raiders From Space
Synopsis: Lord of the Flies meets Star Trek in this outer space story of adventure, mystery, and fantastical fun from the author of The Vindico and The Feros.

When Jonah wakes up on the Fantastic Flying Squirrel, he’s a bit confused. One second he is in his family’s living room doing his homework, and the next he’s sitting on a very cold floor on a very cold ship with a very strange-looking girl staring at him. Her name is Willona the Awesome, and she’s here to welcome him to The Incredible Space Raiders.

Now that Jonah is on board, the Incredible Space Raiders can set off on an important mission: to venture into the Dark Zone and save the universe from the Entirely Evil Things. But when Space Raiders start to disappear, Jonah realizes that if he’s going to make it to the Dark Zone alive, he’s going to have to step up and figure out what’s going on.

Join the Space Raiders aboard the Fantastic Flying Squirrel for an unforgettable journey where imagination and truth collide somewhere deep in space!
Publication Date: 02/10/15
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Science Fiction
Smashie McPerter and the Mystery of Room 11
Synopsis: Who stole the hamster from Room 11? A once-happy class is set on edge in this humorous, highly relatable mystery perfect for middle-grade readers.

The day the hamster disappears from Smashie McPerter’s class begins like any other. Well, except for the fact that the teacher is out sick and Smashie’s class is stuck with Mr. Carper, the worst substitute in the world. And except for the mysterious business with the glue. And except for the fact that Smashie is wrestling with a terrible problem, which only partly stems from her extreme aversion to hamster feet. As the peaceable and productive days of Room 11 turn into paranoia-fueled chaos, as natural suspects produce natural alibis and motives remain unmotivated, Smashie and her best friend, Dontel, are forced to the limits of their parlor-room detecting to set things right.
Publication Date: 02/10/15
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Finding the Worm
Mark Goldblatt
Synopsis: The New York Post praised Twerp as “reminiscent of The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” Finding the Worm is a sequel that stands on its own--an unforgettable coming-of-age story about life, loss, and friendship. Perfect for fans of The Sandlot and readers who love books by Jennifer L. Holm, Andrew Clements, and Rebecca Stead.
 
It’s not a test unless you can fail. . . .
 
Trouble always seems to find thirteen-year-old Julian Twerski. First it was a bullying incident, and now he’s been accused of vandalizing a painting. The principal doesn’t want to suspend him again, so instead, he asks Julian to write a 200-word essay on good citizenship. Julian writes 200 no’s instead, and so begins an epic struggle between Julian and his principal.
 
Being falsely accused is bad enough, but outside of school, Julian’s dealing with even bigger issues. His friend Quentin has been really sick. How can life be fair when the nicest guy in your group has cancer? Julian’s faith and friendships are put to the test . . . and the stakes have never been higher.

Praise for Twerp:
 
A Bank Street Best Book of the Year
 
A Junior Library Guild Selection
 
A Summer Top Ten Kids’ Indie Next List Pick
 
“Reminiscent of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. . . . You don’t have to be a twerp to read this book.” —New York Post
 
“A vivid, absorbing story about one boy’s misadventure, heartache, and hope for himself.” —Rebecca Stead, Newbery Medal–winning author of When You Reach Me
 
“[Fans of] Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid who have matured beyond the scope and gravity of that series will find a kindred spirit in Julian.” —School Library Journal
 
“Reminiscent of movies like The Sandlot. . . . Well-written and funny.” —The Advocate
 
“Alternately poignant and comical. . . . A thought-provoking exploration of bullying, personal integrity and self-acceptance.” —Kirkus Reviews
 
“Funny, poignant, and an effective commentary on bullying and its consequences.” —The Horn Book Magazine
Publication Date: 02/10/15
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Fiction
Red Butterfly
Amy June Bates, A.L. Sonnichsen
Synopsis: A young orphaned girl in modern-day China discovers the meaning of family in this inspiring story told in verse, in the tradition of Inside Out and Back Again and Sold.

Kara never met her birth mother. Abandoned as an infant, she was taken in by an American woman living in China. Now eleven, Kara spends most of her time in their apartment, wondering why she and Mama cannot leave the city of Tianjin and go live with Daddy in Montana. Mama tells Kara to be content with what she has…but what if Kara secretly wants more?

Told in lyrical, moving verse, Red Butterfly is the story of a girl learning to trust her own voice, discovering that love and family are limitless, and finding the wings she needs to reach new heights.
Publication Date: 02/03/15
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Poetry
Story Thieves
James Riley
Synopsis: A hilarious, action-packed New York Times bestselling series launches with a story-within-a-story, from the author of the Half Upon a Time trilogy.

Life is boring when you live in the real world, instead of starring in your own book series. Owen knows that better than anyone, what with the real world’s homework and chores.

But everything changes the day Owen sees the impossible happen—his classmate Bethany climb out of a book in the library. It turns out Bethany’s half-fictional and has been searching every book she can find for her missing father, a fictional character.

Bethany can’t let anyone else learn her secret, so Owen makes her a deal: All she has to do is take him into a book in Owen’s favorite Kiel Gnomenfoot series, and he’ll never say a word. Besides, visiting the book might help Bethany find her father…

…Or it might just destroy the Kiel Gnomenfoot series, reveal Bethany’s secret to the entire world, and force Owen to live out Kiel Gnomenfoot’s final (very final) adventure.
Publication Date: 01/20/15
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Fiction
The Terrible Two
Mac Barnett, Kevin Cornell, Jory John
Synopsis: New York Times Bestseller

“A double helping of fun and mischief!”
—Jeff kinney, author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series
 
“Hilarious.”
—Dav Pilkey, author of the Captain Underpants series
 
Miles Murphy is not happy to be moving to Yawnee Valley, a sleepy town that’s famous for one thing and one thing only: cows. In his old school, everyone knew him as the town’s best prankster, but Miles quickly discovers that Yawnee Valley already has a prankster, and a great one. If Miles is going to take the title from this mystery kid, he is going to have to raise his game.
 
It’s prankster against prankster in an epic war of trickery, until the two finally decide to join forces and pull off the biggest prank ever seen: a prank so huge that it would make the members of the International Order of Disorder proud.
 
In The Terrible Two, bestselling authors and friends Mac Barnett and Jory John have created a series that has its roots in classic middle-grade literature yet feels fresh and new at the same time.
 
“The pranks, the brotherhood, the art, the heart! What’s not to love about the Terrible Two?”
—Sara Pennypacker, author of the Clementine series
 
“You don’t have to be a cow, like cows, or even know a cow to love the Terrible Two.”
—Dave Eggers
 
“This book is terrible! Terribly funny, terribly full of pranks, and terribly wonderful.”
—Jon Scieszka, author of The Stinky Cheese Man and the Frank Einstein series
 
“The Terrible Two are my kind of kids. And what’s more, they’re kids’ kind of kids.”
—Annie Barrows, author of the Ivy & Bean series
Publication Date: 01/13/15
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Fiction
Stella by Starlight
Sharon M. Draper
Synopsis: When the Ku Klux Klan’s unwelcome reappearance rattles Stella’s segregated southern town, bravery battles prejudice in this Depression-era tour de force from Sharon Draper, the New York Times bestselling author of Out of My Mind.

Stella lives in the segregated South—in Bumblebee, North Carolina, to be exact about it. Some stores she can go into. Some stores she can’t. Some folks are right pleasant. Others are a lot less so. To Stella, it sort of evens out, and heck, the Klan hasn’t bothered them for years. But one late night, later than she should ever be up, much less wandering around outside, Stella and her little brother see something they’re never supposed to see, something that is the first flicker of change to come, unwelcome change by any stretch of the imagination. As Stella’s community—her world—is upended, she decides to fight fire with fire. And she learns that ashes don’t necessarily signify an end.
Publication Date: 01/06/15
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Fiction
The Confounding Case of the Climate Crisis
Barbara Tinker, Owen R. Liu
Synopsis:

With time travel and mysteries that need solving, the Galactic Academy of Science (G.A.S.) series instructs readers on how to think like scientists. Under the guidance of a Dude or Dudette from the future, the middle school characters are faced with treacherous, present-day crimes that require a historical knowledge of science in order to be solved. From investigating problems to analyzing data and constructing explanations and solutions, this series blends elements of sci-fi with educational methods that distill the key thinking habits of scientists and engineers.

 

An adventure that investigates the causes and consequences of climate change

 

Something strange is going on during Anita and Benson’s field trip to a greenhouse as their guide is making wild claims about carbon dioxide and their science teacher, Mr. Fazmel, has mysteriously disappeared. That’s when Quarkum Phonon, a Dude from the future, sends Anita and Benson on a Galactic Academy of Science mission to learn about the origins of climate change and the ways communities around the world are dealing with its impact. With stops around the world—from a Hawaiian volcano to Greenland and Geneva—Anita and Benson sift through the evidence for climate change. On their return home, the students face the question: what can a couple of kids do to reduce CO2 emissions and slow down climate change? A portion of all profits from this book will go to support local projects helping people in the developing world adapt to climate change.

Publication Date: 01/01/15
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Science
A Grandfather's Blessing (Amber-Autumn Series Book 2)
Synopsis: In this second chapter book Amber and Autumn go to an estate sale in an old home and discover a secret room in the library. They purchase an ornate chest they find in the room and later uncover its hidden mysteries that lead them on an adventure they won't soon forget.
Publication Date: 12/28/14
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Fiction
ElsBeth and the Call of the Castle Ghosties
Melanie Therrien, Chris Palmer, J Bean Palmer
Synopsis: A 2014 Moonbeam Award medalist, and described by Midwest Book Review as "about as fine a middle school fantasy as you could get." When their ancestral lands in the Highlands are threatened, three ancient ghosts of the castle need one of their clan from the living world. They call the young Cape Cod witch across the sea. ElsBeth has a personal calling to protect the natural world, and her own need to know more about the family line. Drawn deep into the present danger and the mysteries of the old country, she is in well above her magic level.
Publication Date: 12/15/14
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Adventure
The Paradise Beach Mysteries:Whitehaven Beach
Synopsis: Megan and Marcus can’t wait for the summer holidays to begin at Bexhill-on-Sea, where their own incredible beach hut, Parry, doubles as a high-powered rocket ship. Before long, they are heading for Australia on a thrilling mission. As secret agents, they must confront a dangerous gang to try and save a beautiful beach from certain environmental ruin. When they spot a massive crocodile mysteriously devouring all the famous white soft sand on Whitehaven Beach, things start to go seriously wrong. Marcus sees Megan being swallowed by the reptile and does not hesitate to plan a daring rescue operation. Skilfully, he helps her to escape, but as they are planning how to recover the stolen sand, the thieves return and the two young agents find themselves in great danger. Will Whitehaven Beach be lost forever? Secret agents everywhere are invited to step inside the amazing Bexhill-On-Sea beach hut of The Paradise Beach Mysteries and join Marcus and Megan Morgan, as they travel at the speed of light to far-away top-rated world beaches, in a quest to save them from environmental ruin.
Publication Date: 11/30/14
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Mystery
BRAiN RIDE
Angela Welch Prusia
Synopsis: Broken limbs heal in eight weeks. What happens when your brain gets busted? Jason’s best friend died the day of the bike accident. The guy who woke up from the coma is nothing like the old Logan. His memory has more holes than Swiss cheese, and he can’t count to ten. Doc explains the changes in Logan come from a traumatic brain injury. But words don’t make dealing with Logan or his condition any easier. He’s more impulsive than a toddler, and his black moods strain the boys’ friendship. To cope, Jason turns to his sketchbook. PB, Logan’s tutor, encourages Jason. Together, they help Logan face a painfully slow recovery. When circumstances threaten to tear the friends apart, PB offers a solution. The catch: Jason must train for BRAN, an organized bike ride, and Logan has to get on a bike again. Jason reluctantly agrees only to battle flat tires, bad weather, and road hazards. Logan struggles against his uncooperative brain and unresponsive body. Relearning to walk is challenge enough. How can he ever ride a bike? Will the two friends give up? Or will Jason and Logan let adversity take them on the ride of their lives? “. . . a spectacular read. A rare combination of an experience that must-be-told and a story that can’t-be-put down.” —Kathy Mackel, author of Can of Worms, Mad Cat, Boost
Publication Date: 11/15/14
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Adventure
Dead Man's Hill
Duncan Bahr
Synopsis: Malcolm and his classmates crusade to protect their neighborhood from the bum on Dead Man's Hill; a mysterious homeless man who lives atop the abandoned elevated Westside Highway in 1980s New York City. When the plan to eliminate the bum goes haywire, a rumor spreads about a killer hobo on the loose. Malcolm then remembers they left a buddy behind. Throughout the story, Malcolm is caught between his best friend Rob’s live-and-let-live attitude and the fiery rhetoric of another friend. Which way will he choose? Dead Man's Hill is the first novella in the Hell’s Kitchen Adventure series.
Publication Date: 11/13/14
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Running Out of Night
Sharon Lovejoy
Synopsis: A Children’s Book Review Seven Middle Grade Books for African American History Month Pick 

Fans of Elijah of Buxton, Trouble Don’t Last, and Stealing Freedom will be drawn to this tale of the incredible journey of an abused twelve-year-old white girl and an escaped slave girl who run away together and form a bond of friendship while seeking freedom.
 
Every day is a misery for a nameless, motherless Southern girl who is treated cruelly by her pa and brothers. Her life changes forever when a runaway slave named Zenobia turns to her for help and shelter. Longing for her own freedom, the girl decides to run away, and she and Zenobia set off on a harrowing journey. Along the way, Zenobia names the girl Lark, after the bird, for her ability to mimic its song.
 
Running by night, hiding by day, the girls are pursued by Lark’s pa and brothers and by ruthless slave catchers. Brightwell, another runaway slave, joins them, and the three follow secret signs to a stop on the Underground Railroad. When the hideout is raided and Zenobia and Brightwell are captured, Lark sets out alone to rescue her friends.

A CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book of the Year
An International Reading Association Best Chapter Book of the Year
A Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s Book Award Master List Selection
A Great Stone Face Book Award Nominee
A New Mexico’s Land of Enchantment Book Award Selection
A Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Awards Selection

"Lush, detailed, total-immersion storytelling."--Kirkus Reviews

"Distinguished by lively descriptions and dialogue."--Publisher's Weekly

"A gripping historical novel . . . heart-stopping, heart-racing and eventually heart-easing.--Library Voice

"Powerful debut novel."--International Reading Association

"An essential read for those interested in American history."--San Louis Obispo Tribune

"A gritty, engrossing tale.--Slo Coast Journal
Publication Date: 11/11/14
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Historical Fiction

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