7th grader Georges has had to move to an apartment building since his dad lost his job. His mom has had to work double shifts at the hospital in order to try to make ends meet, and the only contact Georges has with her are notes made out of Scrabble tiles left on his desk. His misery at home is compounded by his misery at school. His former best friend, Jason, is now hanging out with the two boys who delight in tormenting him daily: Dallas and Carter. When Georges sees a notice in the basement about a Spy Club, he gets sucked into a world of espionage, breaking and entering, and lies…lots of lies. Things aren’t always as they seem, and Georges learns important lessons about friendship, families, and confronting problems head-on.

This is a terrific book. Readers will find themselves drawn into the myriad of lies just as much as Georges is, making the ending revelations all the more powerful and impactful. The author addresses the issue of bullying with sensitivity, and readers will find themselves laughing and crying as well as being shocked and delighted throughout the book. 

Highly recommended for gr. 5-8.

Visit Rebecca Stead for more information.

12-year old Danny Shine knows that even though he's not on the Loser List anymore at Gerald Ford Middle School, he's pretty close. When new kid Ty Randall shows up and starts impressing everyone with his good looks, environmentally conscious activities, and artistic abilities, Danny's jealousy gets the best of him. Danny and his best friend, Jasper, make plans to raise money for a class trip to the Big Kahuna Water Park, but their plans are shanghaied by Ty who thinks they should raise money for a playground at an inner city school instead. Danny and Jasper plot their revenge by encouraging Ty--whose perfection is marred only by the inability to sing or dance--to sing an environmental rap in their Talent Show.

Filled with humor and plenty of middle school angst, this book will appeal to fans of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. The drawings interspersed throughout the text are cute and clever and add to the overall story. Danny is a likeable character, in spite of his momentary pettiness, and readers will appreciate his growth at the end.

Recommended for gr. 5-8.

For more information, visit H.N. Kowitt.

6th-grader Minnie McClary is new to Mojave Middle School and is trying to figure a lot of really important things out; like why her dad lost his job for doing the right thing; why her uncle came back from the Iraq war and is living in her basement and building an attack helicopter; why kids in her class would draw hateful cartoons of her Iraqi-American friend, Amira; why some parents want to get rid of Miss Marks, the best Language Arts teacher she’s ever had, and the one who inspired her to think about all of these really important questions. As Minnie works through these questions and more, she learns that sometimes people—even 6th graders—CAN answer the hardest questions if they just decide to do it.

What an amazing and powerful message! Minnie had me cheering for her early on, and her actions only continued to impress and inspire me. It is not easy for middle school students to stand up for what they believe—especially if they are new to their school—but from the first chapter, Minnie showed that she had backbone, and she only needed a little bit of encouragement for her courage to fully develop. Miss Marks was everything that all teachers wish they could be: someone who fosters critical thinking and inquiry based learning in the face of standardized tests that do anything but. Her triumph gives me hope.

Highly recommended for students in gr. 5-8.

Visit Valerie Hobbs for more information.

Raised by his single mother in public housing in Stratford, Ontario, Canada, Bieber's meteoric rise to fame could only have happened in the 21st century. Prone to singing and playing instruments at a young age, Bieber's mom started posting videos on YouTube after he took part in "The Stratford Star," a 4-week long singing competition for 12 to 18 year olds. Even though he didn't win, Bieber had developed a fan base, and they helped to spread the word online. Before long, Bieber was being courted by agents and managers, and after Usher took him under his wing, Bieber signed a deal with a record label. Now, four years, three albums, some television appearances, a movie, multiple awards, an autobiography, and various charitable organizations later, Bieber is unstoppable. Keeping his fans informed with social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube, Bieber tries to remain humble and stay true to his faith as much as he can.

What I liked most about this biography is that the depiction of Justin Bieber is not entirely glowing. After all, he was 13 when he started becoming a YouTube sensation, and 13-year olds are prone to bad tempers, tantrums, and occasional bouts of pranks and silliness. I enjoyed reading the few anecdotes that showed Bieber being a typical kid. 

Recommended for gr. 5-9.

Numerous ships and planes had gone missing in the area now known as the Bermuda Triangle, but it wasn't until a journalist in 1950 linked all of the incidences together that the world began viewing that part of the world with suspicion. This book examines the mysterious incidences and gives both the paranormal perspectives as well as the scientific perspectives on the subject.

While I do enjoy a good paranormal mystery, I did not particularly enjoy this book. It was very repetitive, and the author's shift from past tense to present tense to past tense was annoying. The information contained in the book was good, but I felt as though it could have been presented in a more linear, logical way. That would have eliminated a lot of the repetitiveness. I also found the "watermark" look on each page to be distracting. The book is already filled with a number of text boxes and colorful pictures; one more thing adding to the clutter on the pages is not necessary.

Not really recommended for gr. 4-8. 

Reviewed by Olivia Walker, 5th grade.

In The Missing series, two men--Gary and Hodge--had gone back in time, kidnapped endangered famous children, and brought them to the 21st century to be adopted into normal families. JB now wants to fix time by sending all of the kidnapped children back to their correct time periods. In Torn, the fourth book in the series, JB sends Jonah (one of the kidnapped children) and Katherine (his sister) to 1611 on Henry Hudson's ship. Jonah has to impersonate John Hudson, Henry's son, to fix a time ripple. While they are there, Jonah and Katherine have to save their friends Andrea (Virginia Dare), Antonio (Walks With Pride), and Brendan (One Who Survives Much), who are kidnapped children as well.

Haddix does a good job depicting the life of Henry Hudson's son during the time that his father was looking for the Northwest Passage. The language of the people in the past is a bit confusing, as is the time travel plot. You definitely need to read all of the books in sequence in order to understand what is going on; you cannot start in the middle. Some of the choices that Katherine and Jonah make are frustrating to readers, but overall this book, as well as the rest of the series, is educational and fun.

Recommended for gr. 5-9. For more information, visit Margaret Peterson Haddix.

When Rhonda Kanaris approaches Megan about a puppy that shows up for a few days each month and then disappears, the Chicagoland Detective Agency decides to take the case. With the help of Raf's dog, Bradley, they discover that the puppy is one of a group of dogs terrorizing the city. It turns out, however, that these dogs are no ordinary dogs, and the Chicagoland Detective Agency once again saves the day.

Raf and Megan aren't your typical kid detectives. Raf invents electronic toys and has a talking dog; Megan writes and often speaks in Haiku. Raf is a veritable fountain of information, which seems a little out of place in such a goofy plotline, but as long as readers suspend their disbelief when reading this graphic novel, they will enjoy the wackiness that ensues.

Recommended for gr. 4-6. For more information, visit Trina Robbins.

In this sequel to 13 Treasures, Rowan is in the fairy realm searching for her little brother, James, who was kidnapped by fairies when he was just a toddler. When she is finally seen by the fairy court, Rowan is dismayed to learn that they will only return her brother if she finds all 13 charms from her friend Tanya’s charm bracelet. With the help of her friends at Elvesden Manor, Rowan figures out immediately where some of the charms are, but since the fairies have enchanted the charms, the items that used to be treasures are now cursed. The hunt for the charms becomes increasingly more challenging as well as dangerous. Along the way, Rowan discovers secrets about herself that make her question where she truly belongs.

This book would have made more sense if I had read 13 Treasures, but I was able to figure out enough of the details to be able to enjoy it on its own. The shifting narration—Rowan, Rowan’s flashbacks, and Tanya—was slightly confusing at first, not having the benefit of knowing the background between Rowan and Tanya. The first part of the book is long and very detailed, but once the children start looking for the 13 charms, the pace picks up considerably. The fairy realm that is portrayed is dark and twisted, so children looking for a pleasant book about fairies should look elsewhere. The length of this novel will probably not appeal to many readers, but fantasy fans may decide to give it a try based on the very attractive cover. 

Recommended for grades 5-8. For more information, visit Michelle Harrison.

Submitted by Carissa in Ms. Dinan’s class.

This book is about a girl named Lily Blennerhasset who has never been cool one day in her whole entire life. Her parents do not help with situation at all. Lily’s dad goes only 55 mph on the New York freeway. Her mom always makes up the bed before leaving a hotel. That’s what maids are for. DUH!! So, as you can probably predict, that is why Lily wasn’t cool a day in her life. But, when they go to a wedding everything changes when Lily runs into the…LeBlancs (who are really cool). Is that who they really are? Are they really a family of nature loving freaks? 

To see if the LeBlancs are who they say they are, read the book titled Lily B. on the Brink of Cool. My favorite part is when Lily finds out about the wedding and runs into the LeBlancs. I recommend this to children 4th grade and up.  

Submitted by Oscar in Ms. Dinan’s class.

This is a book about a Viking named Hiccup. He wants to save his friend Fishlegs. He has discovered Vorpentitis and the only thing that can save him is a rare--and almost impossible to find--potato. But he is in luck; the Holligans have one. Will Hiccup get the potato? 

I think Cameron would like this book because he likes action and this book has a lot of it. My favorite part was when toothless started a fire.