This is What I Did: is a powerful read with clever touches, such as palindrome notes, strewn throughout the story and incorporated into the unique design of the book.
Commended for the 2008 Best Books for Kids and Teens, short-listed for the 2008 Snow Willow Award and Ann Connor Brimer Award
"No one pays much attention to you if you don’t have much to say, so there was no way I could have predicted what would happen when I stopped talking altogether."
When his teacher announces that it’s time for the yearly class speeches, Griffin Maxwell starts to sweat. His past experience with the dreaded speech was humiliating, to say the least, and he just knows there’s no way he can go through that again. So Griffin’s best friend, Bryan, comes up with a solution – one that’s so simple it just has to work. But neither boy can begin to predict the bizarre chain of events that will be set in place when Griffin goes along with the idea.
From squaring off with the school bully to reading a teacher’s private letters, Griffin Maxwell will have to face things he never imagined, and all without saying a word!
Folks say I'm bound to be unlucky in life, for I was born at midnight on a Friday, the thirteenth of December, and Peggy says it's certain I can commune with spirits. But I ain't never seen any ghosts, not even my own mother, and wouldn't that be the ghost I'd see if I could?
So begins the tale of Billy Creekmore, a boy with mystifying powers and the glorious gift of storytelling. But what does life hold for someone growing up in the cruel clutches of the Guardian Angels Home for Boys, where Billy's gifts do more harm than good?
Escaping the orphanage seems an impossible feat, but when a stranger comes to claim Billy, he sets off on an extraordinary journey. With only a tin box that holds precious mementos of his beloved mother and mysterious father, Billy travels from the coal mines of West Virginia to the spectacular world of a traveling circus in search of his past, his future, and his own true self.
On his first day on the job as Royal Reporter of the land of Serendair, King Vandemere sends young Charles Magnus Ven Polypheme--known as Ven--on a secret mission within the walls of the Gated City. His quest? To discover the origin of a mysterious artifact given to the king's father. The king warns Ven to take care--because once you enter the Gated City, you might never be allowed to leave.
Within its walls, all sorts of exotic merchandise not found anywhere else in the world can be bought or sold. But not only merchandise. Dreams, wishes, memories…even childhood…can be sold--or stolen. The Gated City is ruled by the powerful Raven's Guild, and the guild is ruled by the Queen of Thieves.
Ven and his friends enter the Gated City ready for adventure. But when one friend is kidnapped and it is revealed that they are traveling in the company of the runaway daughter of the Queen of Thieves herself, their adventure turns deadly. For the ruthless Thief Queen will stop at nothing to get her daughter back….
Kate Blessing is not your typical high school junior. She's a good student who's into guys and the latest designer jeans...and she's also part of the mob. Her father, Bobby Blessing, is the head of the family, and her mom, Amanda, is the brains behind the operation. Kate may not partake in the "family business," but she knows what goes down. She's proud of her family -- and of course, there are plenty of perks: her indoor pool, Caribbean vacations, expensive haircuts...
But when Amanda gets fed up with Bobby's cheating and moves out, someone needs to make decisions, give orders, and keep things running. Kate has no choice but to step into her mother's shoes and prop her dad up.
Bobby may be the face of the mob, but it's not long before the princess is running the show.
Josie is independent and fierce. She may flirt with boys or kiss them, but it doesn't mean anything, not even with Michael, who's more like a friend-with-benefits. So how can she explain what happens when Carson Gold goes after her? Carson Gold, the hottest senior, the one everyone secretly watches. . . .
Maybe it's the same thing that causes all the girls to stare as he walks by. Or maybe it's something between them, something just he and Josie share.
Could you resist?
It's too much, when love finds you and pulls you under. It's too much, even for Josie.
The thrilling Strongbow Saga continues with this fierce sequel chronicling the adventures of a young man learning the ways of the Viking warriors. As fifteen-year-old Halfdan embarks on a perilous mission in a foreign land, he shows signs of greatness. But will he live up to his family name, or die trying? Author and Viking expert Judson Roberts draws on his detailed knowledge of this bloody time and culture to bring a young hero's exploits to life.
Life will never be the same for Ananka Fishbein after she ventures into an enormous sinkhole near her New York City apartment. A million rats, delinquent Girl Scouts out for revenge, and a secret city below the streets of Manhattan combine in this remarkable novel about a darker side of New York City you have only just begun to know about…
Flan Flood is determined to be more than just Patch Flood's little sister when she begins her freshman year at Stuyvesant High, a huge public school downtown. When she meets a new group of friends that could help her become a new person, Flan has to convince them that she's just an ordinary girl, like they are. This becomes nearly impossible when her very not normal friends Liesel, Philippa, and Sara-Beth Benny move in! Can Flan keep the Inside Girls hidden, find a new high school boy to date, and get her new friends to accept her? Featuring Flan Flood, long a favorite character of the original Insider novels, Inside Girl offers a fresh, young, and girl-centric perspective that is perfect for early teen readers.
