Palms Middle School Home
New Books

Nonfiction

  1. 303.6 O’Brien, Anne. After Gandhi : One Hundred Years of Nonviolent Resistance. Profiles fifteen activists who were inspired by the life and work of Mohandas Gandhi to use nonviolent protest as a means of bringing about social change. Some included: Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, Charles Perkins, César Chávez, Aung San Suu Kyi, Vaclav Havel, and Wangari Maathi and groups such as the student activists of Tiananmen Square and the Madres de Plaza de Mayo (Mothers of the Disappeared) in Argentina.
  2. 305.23 Making It Home : Real-Life Stories From Children Forced to Flee. Presents a collection of first-hand accounts of children who have been forced to flee their war-torn homeland to become refugees, including stories from kids from Kosovo, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Congo, and more. International Rescue Committee.
  3. 323.1196 Bowers, Rick. Spies of the Mississippi : the True Story of the Spy Network That Tried to Destroy the Civil Rights Movement. Chronicles how the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission attempted to halt racial integration in the 1950s and 1960s through an extensive propaganda effort to label civil rights leaders and their followers as communists.
  4. 325 Bausum, Ann. Denied, Detained, Deported : Stories From the Dark Side of American Immigration. Discusses cases from the history of immigration in the U.S. in which immigrants are denied, such as the people aboard "The St. Louis" who were sent back to Nazi Germany during the Holocaust, the detained, such as Japanese Americans during WWII, and the deported, such as Emma Goldman, who was sent back to Russia in 1919 after living in the U.S. for thirty years.
  5. 338.1 Chevat, Richie. The Omnivore’s Dilemma : The Secrets Behind What You Eat. Examines the origins of the different food chains that have sustained humans throughout history, discussing how certain foods and cuisines have become a popular part of people's daily diets. Young readers’ edition of Michael Pollan’s adult 2006 edition.
  6. 379.2 Walker, Paul Robert. Remember Little Rock : the Time, the People, the Stories. Combines eye witness accounts with archival photographs to document the events surrounding the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.
  7. 540 GAR Gardner, Robert. Easy Genius Science Projects With Chemistry: Great Experiments With Chemistry. Contains instructions for science experiments which teach about chemistry, covering atoms, molecules, elements, compounds, chemical reactions, oxygen, oxidation, and separating and testing subjects.
  8. 546 Dingle, Adrian. The Periodic Table : Elements With Style. Combines science and art to create a simple way for students to learn the periodic table.
  9. 546 Roza, Greg. Calcium. A study of calcium that discusses its properties, where it is found, its relationship to other elements, and how it is used. Includes a glossary and list of resources.
  10. 567.9 Sloan, Christopher.Bizarre Dinosaurs : Some Very Strange Creatures and Why We Think They Got That Way. Presents an introduction to strange dinosaurs, such as masiakasaurus, epedendrosaurus, and others, and discusses the possible uses of their unique features, such as long pinky fingers and hooked teeth.
  11. 590 Turner, Pamela. A Life in the Wild : George Schaller’s Struggle to Save the Last Great Beasts. Describes the life and research of biologist, conservationist, and naturalist George Schaller, with photographs.
  12. 599.5 Lourie, Peter. Whaling Season : A Year In the Life of an Arctic Whale Scientist. Photographs and text follow Arctic whale scientist Craig George into the field where he studies the bowhead whale and learns from the Inupiaq--the Inuit people of North Alaska.
  13. 614 Walker, Sally. Written in Bone : Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland. Reports on the work of forensic scientists who are excavating grave sites in James Fort, in Jamestown, Virginia, to understand who lived in the Chesapeake Bay area in the 1600s and 1700s; and uncovers the lives of a teenage boy, a ship's captain, a colonial officer, an African slave girl, and others.
  14. 636.7 GEW Gewirtz, Elaine. Fetch This Book : Train Your Dog to Do Almost Anything. A guide to dog training that provides tips on training a dog to follow basic commands such as "sit" and "come" and explains how to teach a dog to play games, perform tricks, or prepare for competitive dog shows.
  15. 638 Burns, Loree. The Hive Detectives : Chronicle of a Honeybee Catastrophe. A Time of Miracles. Discusses the strange disappearance of honey bees from hives around the world beginning in 2006, a condition called colony collapse disorder, examines the efforts of scientists to discover the cause of the problem, and includes information about bees, their hives, and their honey.
  16. 690 Weitzman, David.Skywalkers : Mohawk Ironworkers Build the City. Narrative text and photographs examines Native American history and the development of structural engineering and architecture, focusing on Mohawk ironworkers.
  17. 741.5 HUE Heuvel,A Family Secret. Graphic novel. While searching his Dutch grandmother's attic for yard sale items, Jeroen finds a scrapbook which leads Gran to tell of her experiences as a girl living in Amsterdam during the Holocaust, when her father was a Nazi sympathizer and Esther, her Jewish best friend, disappeared.
  18. 741.5 KIM Kim, Susan. City of Spies. Graphic novel. In New York City's Germantown during World War II, Evelyn spends less time with the superheroes in the comics she draws after she makes friends with Tony, her Aunt Lia's building superintendent's son. The two set out to find adventures of their own, but are surprised when they uncover a Nazi spy plot right in their own neighborhood.
  19. 741.5 REN Renier, Aaron. The Unsinkable Walker Bean. Graphic novel. Walker Bean is happiest when he gets to spend time tinkering on his inventions in his grandfather's workshop, but when his grandfather acquires a curse, Walter must embark on dangerous quest to return a pearl skull to the witches who made it.
  20. 741.5 TRI Trickster : Native American tales : a graphic collection. Over twenty trickster stories, in graphic novel format, from various Native American traditions, including tales about coyotes, rabbits, ravens, and other crafty creatures and their mischievous activities.
  21. 782.42162 Stotts, Stuart. We Shall Overcome : A Song That Changed the World. Examine the origins of the popular protest song, and describes the role the song played in civil rights, labor, and anti-war movements in America. Includes an audio CD with a performance by Pete Seeger.
  22. 793.3 Anacona, George. Ole! Flamenco. Introduces the dancing, singing, and guitar playing of flamenco, exploring details of the art form, which draws on traditions from various cultures, and focuses on the study of the form by Janira Cordova, a young member of a company in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
  23. 796.323 Macy, Sue. Basketball Belles : how two teams and one scrappy player put women's hoops on the map. Agnes Morley describes growing up on her family's ranch in New Mexico, attending school at Stanford University, and participating in the first basketball game played between two women's college teams on April 4, 1896.
  24. 811 Atkins, Jeannine. Borrowed Names : Poems About Laura Ingalls Wilder, Madam C.J. Walker, Marie Curie, and their daughters. A collection of poems that retell the histories of author Laura Ingalls Wilder, cosmetics entrepreneur Madam C. J. Walker, and Nobel Prize-winning scientist Marie Curie and their daughters.
  25. 811 Shange, Ntozke. We Troubled the Waters : Poems. Presents illustrated poetry from African-American playwright and poet Ntozake Shange, in which she explores racism and racial discrimination in the United States.
  26. 811 Sidman, Joyce. Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night. A collection of poems that celebrate the wonder, mystery, and danger of the night and describes the many things that hide in the dark. Newbery Honor 2011.
  27. 811 Singer, Marilyn. Mirror Mirroor : A Book of Reversible Verse. A collection of short poems which, when reversed, provide new perspectives on the fairy tale characters they feature.
  28. 920 Philosophy, Invention, and Engineering. Great Scientists Series. Aristotle -- James Watt -- Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace -- Thomas Alva Edison -- Alexander Graham Bell -- Fritz Haber -- Alan Turing -- Jonas Salk. Provides information on the lives and contributions of great scientists in the fields of philosophy, invention, and engineering.
  29. 921 BLA Nelson, S.D. Black Elk’s Vision : A Lakota Story. Recounts how a childhood vision shaped the life of Black Elk, a Lakota-Oglala medicine man who was involved in the battles of Little Bighorn and Wounded Knee.
  30. 921 BLY Macy, Sue. Bylines : A Photobiography of Nellie Bly. A photo-illustrated biography of American journalist, author, industrialist, and charity worker Nellie Bly.
  31. 921 CAT Reich, Susanna. Painting the Wild Frotier : The Art and Adventures of George Catlin. Letters, recollections, and archival prints and photographs recount the experiences artist George Catlin had traveling through the American wilderness studying Native American tribes.
  32. 921 DAR Kruss, Kathleen. Charles Darwin. Series: Giants of Science. Examines the life and accomplishments of Charles Darwin, discussing how he developed his theory of evolution, why it led to one of the greatest scientific controversies in history, and how he dealt with critical reception to his ideas.
  33. 921 DAV Hill, Laban Carrick. Dave the Potter : Artist, Poet, Slave. Chronicles the life of Dave, a nineteenth-century slave who went on to become an influential poet, artist, and potter.
  34. 921 DAV Earl, Sari. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. : Air Force General & Tuskegee Airmen Leader. Examines the life and military career of Air Force General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., discussing his childhood, the challenges he had to overcome as an African-American cadet at West Point, and his role as a Tuskeegee airman leader. Includes photographs and a time line.
  35. 921 DOU Adler, David. Frederick Douglass : A Noble Life. Chronicles the life of Frederick Douglass, discussing his years as a slave, escape to freedom, acclaim as a famous orator, journalist, and presidential advisor, work as an abolitionist, and other related topics.
  36. 921 FOR Mitchell, Don. Driven : A Photobiography of Henry Ford. A photographic history of inventor of the automobile, Henry Ford, providing quotations from his writings, speeches, and interviews to illustrate how he revolutionized American life.
  37. 921 HAM Fritz, Jean. Alexander Hamilton : The Outsider. An introduction to the life and accomplishements of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton.
  38. 921 HEN Nelson, Scott. Ain’t Nothing But a Man : My Quest To Find the Read John Henry. Historian Scott Nelson introduces students to the life of the real John Henry, drawing on songs, poems, and stories to describe the man behind the legendary African-American hero.
  39. 921 KEC Jones, Lynda. Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker : the unlikely friendship of Elizabeth Keckley & Mary Todd Lincoln. Examines the friendship between Mary Todd Lincoln and her dressmaker, Elizabeth Keckley, who offered Mrs. Lincoln support during her years in the White House and after Lincoln's assassination, and explores how Elizabeth's revelations impacted the nation's impressions of Mary.
  40. 921 LIN Rappaport, Doreen. Abe’s Honest Words : The Life of Abraham Lincoln. An illustrated biography of Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States and the man responsible for seeing the country through the Civil War.
  41. 921 MON Capaldi, Gina. A Boy Named Beckoning: the True Story of Dr. Carlos Montezuma, Native American Hero. An illustrated exploration of the life of Carlos Montezuma which chronicles his childhood, in which he was kidnapped, sold into slavery, and adopted by an Italian photographer; relates what he learned when he set out to uncover his family's past; discusses his work as a doctor; and includes photographs.
  42. 921 PAG Frisch, Aaron. Dark Fiddler : The Life and Legend of Nicholo Paaganini. An illustrated biography of the life and career of Italian violinist Nicolo Paganini.
  43. 921 POE Lange, Karen. Nevermore : a Photobiography of Edgar Allan Poe. A photographic biography chronicling the life of Romantic author and poet Edgar Allan Poe, with images capturing key moments and phases in his life and highlighting his literary influence.
  44. 921 WIL Berne, Emma. Laura Ingalls Wilder. Chronicles the life of children's author Laura Ingalls Wilder, from her childhood in Wisconsin through her days on the prairie to her death in 1957 at the age ninety.
  45. 936.2 Aronson, Marc. If Stones Could Speak : Unlocking the Secrets of Stonehenge. Text, photographs, and explanatory maps and illustrations document archaeologist Mike Parker Pearson's study of Stonehenge and the surrounding area, describing what he found and what the artifacts reveal about the site and its history.
  46. 940.3 Bausum, Ann. Unraveling freedom : the battle for democracy on the home front during World War I. Looks at how U.S. presidents from Wilson to George W. Bush have suspended or revoked guaranteed freedoms in the country during times of war, and includes first-person stories and illustrations.
  47. 940.3 FRE Freedman, Russell. The War To End All Wars : World War I. A narrative history of World War I for young readers that features archival photographs, and describes how advanced military weaponry impacted the course of the war.
  48. 940.53 Ruelle, Karen. The Grand Mosque of Paris : A Story of How Muslims Saved Jews During the Holocaust. An illustrated picture book that tells of how Muslims helped to hide escaped prisoners of war and Jews of all ages in the complex of the Grand Mosque of Paris during World War II.
  49. 943 Tunnell, Michael. Candy Bomber : The Story of the Berlin Airlift’s “Chocolate Pilot.” Describes the efforts of US Air Force Lieutenant Gail Halvorsen to aid the children in Russian-blockaded West Berlin by dropping packages filled with candy from the air. Features personal photographs, along with letters and drawings from the children of Berlin.
  50. 970.01 Mann, Charles. Before Columbus : the Americas of 1491. A companion book for young readers based upon the explorations of the Americas in 1491, before those of Christopher Columbus.
  51. 973.3 FRE Freedman, Russell. Lafayette and the American Revolution. Examines the role of the Marquis de Lafayette in the American Revolution, discussing how the nineteen-year-old defied the king of France to join the fight for liberty in the United States.
  52. 973.7 Lincoln, Abraham. The Gettysburg Address. An illustrated text by Michael McCurdy.
  53. 973.7 Allen, Thomas. Mr. Lincoln’s High-Tech War : How the North Used the Telegraph, Railroads, Surveillance Balloons, Iron-Clads, High-Powered Weapons, and More To Win the Civil War. Examines how Abraham Lincoln's interest in technology played a role in the outcome of the Civil War; and explains how the telegraph, railroads, surveillance balloons, and other inventions helped the North win the war and rebuild the economy.
  54. 973.7 Osborne, Linda. Traveling the Freedom Road : From Slavery & the Civil War Through Reconstruction. Collects accounts from slave narratives, journals, diaries, and other sources to provide a first-person perspective on the antebellum South, the Civil War, and Reconstruction.
  55. REF 016.8108 The Coretta Scott King Awards, 1970-2009. Presents the recipients of the Coretta Scott King Awards and honors the best of African American authors and illustrators of children's and young adult literature from 1970 to 2009 in addition to biographies and illustrations from award-winning books.

Fiction

  1. Abdel-Fattah, Randa. Where the Streets Had a Name. Thirteen-year-old Hayaat of Bethlehem faces check points, curfews, and the travel permit system designed to keep people on the West Bank when she attempts to go to her grandmother's ancestral home in Jerusalem with her best friend.
  2. Anderson, M. T. Agent Q or The Smell of Danger! Lily, Katie, and Jasper are headed home from their Delaware adventure when Awful Autarch's spies and goons show up to make life difficult.
  3. Anderson, M. T. Jasper Dash and the Flame Pits of Delaware : A Pals in Peril Tale. Jasper Dash--Boy Technonaut--travels with his friends Lily Gefelty and Katie Mulligan into the mist-shrouded heart of the forbidden mountainous realm of Delaware to try unraveling a terrible mystery.
  4. Avi. Crispin : The End of Time. Book 3. Sequel to: Crispin, at the edge of the world. Crispin and Troth, wandering the French countryside following the death of their beloved mentor, Bear, find refuge at a convent, and when Troth decides to stay, Crispin continues on alone, joining a band of traveling musicians who he soon realizes are murderous thieves.
  5. Bacigalupi, Paolo. Ship Breaker. In a futuristic world, teenaged Nailer scavenges copper wiring from grounded oil tankers for a living, but when he finds a beached clipper ship with a girl in the wreckage, he has to decide if he should strip the ship for its wealth or rescue the girl.
  6. Beil, Michael. The Red Blazer Girls : the Ring of Rocamadour. Catholic-schooled seventh-graders Sophie, Margaret, Rebecca, and Leigh Ann help an elderly neighbor solve a puzzle her father left for her estranged daughter twenty years ago.
  7. Bond, Victoria. Zora and Me. A fictionalized account of Zora Neale Hurston's childhood with her best friend Carrie, in Eatonville, Florida, as they learn about life, death, and the differences between truth, lies, and pretending. Includes an annotated bibliography of the works of Zora Neale Hurston, a short biography of the author, and information about Eatonville, Florida.
  8. Bondoux, Anne-Laure. A Time of Miracles. In the early 1990s, a boy with a mysterious past and the woman who cares for him endure a five-year journey across the war-torn Caucasus and Europe, weathering hardships and welcoming unforgettable encounters with other refugees searching for a better life. Batcheldor Award Winner 2011.
  9. Chapman, Fern. Is It Night or Day? Twelve-year-old Edith is sent from her home in Germany in 1938 to live with her aunt and uncle in Chicago, Illinois, and escape Nazi persecution, but as she struggles to assimilate into American society, Edith worries about her parents and mourns the loss of everything she has known. Includes information on an American rescue operation that saved twelve hundred Jewish children between 1934 and 1945.
  10. Daniken, Erich von. Chariots of the Gods : Unsolved Mysteries of the Past. Argues that visitors from outer space were responsible for the unexplainable ruins left behind by ancient civilizations.
  11. DiTerlizzi, Tony. The Search for Wondla. Living in isolation with a robot on what appears to be an alien world populated with bizarre life forms, a twelve-year-old human girl called Eva Nine sets out on a journey to find others like her. Features "augmented reality" pages, in which readers with a webcam can access additional information about Eva Nine's world.
  12. Draper, Sharon. Just Another Hero. As Kofi, Arielle, Dana, November, and Jericho face personal challenges during their last year of high school, a misunderstood student brings a gun to class and demands to be taken seriously.
  13. Duncan, Lois. Don’t Look Behind You. Seventeen-year-old April finds her comfortable life changed forever when death threats to her father, a witness in a federal case, force her family to go into hiding under assumed names and flee the pursuit of a hired killer.
  14. Duncan, Lois. I Know What You Did Last Summer. Four teenagers who have desperately tried to conceal their responsibility for a hit-and-run accident are pursued by a mystery figure seeking revenge.
  15. Duncan, Lois. Killing Mr. Griffin. Susan, a straight-A student, cannot believe how mean Mr. Griffin is to her crush Dave, so she agrees to go along when Dave asks her and other students to help play a prank on the teacher, but when people start to die, she realizes one of them is a killer.
  16. Engle, Margarita. The Firefly Letters : A Suffragette’s Journey to Cuba. Collects poems from Cuban-American poet Margarita Engle in which she explores women rights with various historical viewpoints.
  17. Eulberg, Elizabeth. The Lonely Hearts Club. Fed up with boys and the way they have treated her and her friends, high school junior Penny Lane--named after the Beatles song--forms a club whose members vow to stop dating, but the repercussions are surprising.
  18. Farmer, Nancy. The Islands of the Blessed. Two years after their adventures in The Land of the Silver Apples, the apprentice bard Jack and his Viking companion Thorgil confront the malevolent spirit of a vengeful mermaid and begin a quest that casts them among the fin folk of Notland.
  19. Flood, Bo. Warriors In the Crossfire. Joseph, living on the island of Saipan during World War II, learns what it means to be a warrior as he and his family struggle to survive in the face of impending invasion.
  20. Flores-Galbis, Enrique. 90 Miles To Havana. Julian's parents, hoping to protect him from the dangers of the turmoil in Cuba, send him to the United States in 1961 as part of Operation Pedro Pan, not realizing that life in a Miami refugee camp holds its own perils.
  21. Fuerst, James. Huge. Twelve-year-old Eugene "Huge" Smalls is short, mean, angry, and brilliant, characteristics which win him no friends, but he is also an amateur sleuth with his first real case, which leads him to believe life might be better if he did not imagine himself a character in a Raymond Chandler novel.
  22. Gidwitz, Adam. A Tale Dark and Grimm. Follows Hansel and Gretel as they walk out of their own story and into eight more tales, encountering such wicked creatures as witches, along with kindly strangers and other helpful folk. Based in part on the Grimms' fairy tales Faithful Johannes, Hansel and Gretel, The seven ravens, Brother and sister, The robber bridegroom, and The devil and his three golden hairs.
  23. Grant, Michael. The Call. Series: Magnificent 12; book 1. Mack MacAvoy, a seriously average twelve-year-old boy, is faced with a difficult decision when a three-thousand-year-old man appears in the boys' bathroom and informs him that he is one of the Magnificent Twelve and is needed to find his eleven teammates and save the world.
  24. Hobbs, Valerie. The Last Best Days of Summer. During a summer visit, twelve-year-old Lucy must come to terms with both her grandmother's failing memory and how her mentally-challenged neighbor will impact her popularity when both enter the same middle school in the fall.
  25. Holt, Kimberly. Water Seeker. Traces the hard life, filled with losses, adversity, and adventure, of Amos, son of a trapper and dowser, from 1833 when his mother dies giving birth to him until 1859, when he has grown up and has a son of his own.
  26. Iggulden, Conn. Tollins : Explosive Tales For Children. Collects illustrated stories for children from Conn Iggulden that detail three fantastical adventures with the Tollins, which are small, winged creatures.
  27. Jones, Diana Wynne. Enchanted Glass. Andrew Hope inherits a house in an English village from his late grandfather and things are going well until orphan Aidan shows up, trailing a host of magical townsfolk and interlopers in his wake.
  28. Kent, Trilby. Medina Hill. Eleven-year-old Dominic Walker and his younger sister escape their dreary lives in London's docklands when their uncle invites them to spend the summer with him on the Cornish coast, but after Dominic befriends a Gypsy girl he must find the courage to stand against the villagers, who stage an uprising against the travelers.
  29. Kirby, Matthew. The Clockwork Three. As mysterious circumstances bring Giuseppe, Frederick, and Hannah together, their lives soon interlock like the turning gears in a clock and they realize that each one holds a key to solving the others' mysteries.
  30. Matti, Truus. Departure Time. A girl suffering from amnesia finds herself in a run down motel filled with strange creatures who seem to know her and may be able to offer clues to her past. Batchelder Honor 2011, translated from the Dutch.
  31. Myers, Walter Dean. Lockdown. Teenage Reese, serving time at a juvenile detention facility, gets a lesson in making it through hard times from an unlikely friend with a harrowing past.
  32. Orlev, Uri. Song of the Whales. Eleven-year-old introvert Michael develops a deep relationship with his grandfather, who has the ability to bring people into his dreams, which teaches him how to connect with others. Translated from the Hebrew.
  33. Park, Linda Sue. A Long Walk to Water : A Novel: Based on a True Story. When the Sudanese civil war reaches his village in 1985, eleven-year-old Salva becomes separated from his family and must walk with other Dinka tribe members through southern Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya in search of safe haven. Based on the life of Salva Dut, who, after emigrating to America in 1996, began a project to dig water wells in Sudan.
  34. Paulsen, Gary. Woods Runner. From his 1776 Pennsylvania homestead, thirteen-year-old Samuel, who is a highly-skilled woodsman, sets out toward New York City to rescue his parents from the band of British soldiers and Native Americans who kidnapped them after slaughtering most of their community. Includes historical notes.
  35. Rhodes, Jewell Parker. Ninth Ward. In New Orleans' Ninth Ward, twelve-year-old Lanesha, who can see spirits, and her adopted grandmother have no choice but to stay and weather the storm as Hurricane Katrina bears down upon them.
  36. Richards, Jame. Three Rivers rising : A Novel of the Johnstown Flood. Sixteen-year-old Celestia is a wealthy member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, where she meets and falls in love with Peter, a hired hand who lives in the valley below, and by the time of the torrential rains that lead to the disastrous Johnstown flood of 1889, she has been disowned by her family and is staying with him in Johnstown. Includes an author's note and historical timeline.
  37. Riordan, Rick. The Red Pyramid. Series: Kane Chronicles; book 1. Brilliant Egyptologist Dr. Julius Kane accidentally unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes the doctor to oblivion and forces his two children to embark on a dangerous journey, bringing them closer to the truth about their family and its links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.
  38. Shulman, Polly. The Grimm Legacy. New York high school student Elizabeth gets an after-school job as a page at the "New-York Circulating Material Repository," and when she gains coveted access to its Grimm Collection of magical objects, she and the other pages are drawn into a series of frightening adventures involving mythical creatures and stolen goods.
  39. Spratt, R.A. The Adventures of Nany Piggins. Nanny Piggins answers stingy Mr. Green's ad for a nanny and takes on his three children, filling their days with fun, adventure, sweets, and love.
  40. Springer, Nancy. The Case of the Gypsy Good-bye : an Enola Holmes mystery. Series. After fourteen-year-old Enola Holmes seeks the missing Duquessa Del Campo in the seedy underbelly of nineteenth-century London, she finally reaches an understanding with her brothers Sherlock and Mycroft.
  41. Stroud, Jonathan. Heroes of the Valley. Halli Sveinsson, a mischievous young man who does not fit in with his peers and siblings, plays a trick on Ragnor that goes too far, forcing him to embark on a hero's quest in which he will face highway robbers, monsters, an intriguing girl, and truths about his family and the legends he grew up with.
  42. Stroud, Jonathan. Ring of Solomon. Bartimaeus, a wise-cracking djinni, finds himself in the tenth century and at the court of King Solomon with an unpleasant master and a sinister servant, and gets into trouble with King Solomon's magic ring.
  43. Supplee, Suzanne. Somebody Everybody Listens To. Upon graduating from high school in the tiny town of Starling, Tennessee, aspiring country singer Retta Lee Jones manages to get herself to Nashville, where, in spite of some bad luck and hard times, she tries to persevere in pursuing her dreams.
  44. Turner, Megan Whalen. A Conspiracy of Kings. Kidnapped and sold into slavery, Sophos, an unwilling prince, tries to save his country from being destroyed by rebellion and exploited by the conniving Mede empire.
  45. Van Draanen, Wendelin. Sammy Keyes and the Wedding Crasher. Book 13. When her history teacher begins receiving death threats and her own name is near the top of the suspect list, eighth-grader Sammy is determined to find the real perpetrator, but she is distracted by her mother's relationship problems, her almost-boyfriend inexplicably avoiding her, and her duties as a reluctant bridesmaid.
  46. Walliams, David. Mr. Stink. Twelve-year-old Chloe, who does not feel like she fits in at school or with her family, is happy to befriend a local tramp she calls Mr. Stink, but when her mother decides to run for local office and rid the town of homeless people, Chloe must figure out a way not to lose her only friend.
  47. Watts, Irene. No Moon. Fourteen-year-old Louisa Gardener, a nursemaid to the daughters of a wealthy family in London, is forced to confront her fear of the ocean and the memories of when her two-year-old brother drown and decide whether she will accompany the family when they make plans to set sail aboard the RMS "Titanic" to New York.
  48. West, Jacqueline. The Shadows. Series : Books of Elsewhere ; vol. 1 When eleven-year-old Olive and her distracted parents move into an old Victorian mansion, Olive finds herself ensnared in a dark plan involving some mysterious paintings, a trapped and angry nine-year-old boy, and three talking cats.
  49. Zemser, Amy. Dear Julia. Shy sixteen-year-old Elaine has long dreamed of being the next Julia Child, to the dismay of her feminist mother, but when her first friend, the outrageous Lucida Sans, convinces Elaine to enter a cooking contest, anything could happen.