Capture the Flag

Capture the Flag by Kate Messner

Anna, Jose, and Henry don’t realize it when they are all thrown together at a reception at the Smithsonian, but they have more in common than they realize. But it all becomes clear when the trio is thrown together to solve the mystery of the stolen Stars and Stripes. Sure that the stolen flag is in the same airport they are snowed it at, the kids decide to try to find it before it gets away. Will they capture the flag before it disappears forever?

Legend Trilogy

Legend by Marie Lu

June and Day have lived two different lives under the Republic. Prodigy June Iparis has been groomed to be an elite soldier. Day has lived under the rule of the Republic fighting daily for the survival of his family. When June risks her life to save Day, the two become united in their fight against the Republic and what it stands for. Told in alternating points of view, this dystopian vision of a future where the United States is divided, the voices of both June and Day portray their desire to live to see a better world.

The story continues in Prodigy and Champion.

Invisibility

Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan

Stephen had given up hope that anyone would ever be able to see him…until Elizabeth moved in two doors down. Cursed before he was born, Stephen has lived his entire life wanting to be seen. But Elizabeth changes all of that. Seeing Stephen opens up a whole new world for Elizabeth. She begins to understand just what she has been seeing all of these years that no one else could. Guided by Millie, Elizabeth explores her new powers, leading to a showdown with the cursecaster who cursed Stephen to invisibility. Told in alternating points of view, the voices of these two characters ring painfully true.

The 5th Wave

5^th Wave by Rick Yancey

Cassie has always had a crush on Ben, but he didn’t even know she was alive. When the Others invade Earth, shutting down power and releasing a deadly virus to kill off most of the Earth’s population, life changes for Cassie and Ben are put onto separate paths to survival. This science fiction novel begs to be made into a movie at some point. 
The story continues in Infinite Sea.

Don't Expect Magic

Don’t Expect Magic by Kathy McCullough

Delaney Collins doesn’t want to move to California to live with her famous father. Dr. Hank has been there for everyone else in the country but her. But Delaney has no choice in the matter, once her mother is gone. Determined not to bond with her father, Delaney is an outcast in the beginning of the novel. She doesn’t at all fit in with the kids at her new high school. But when she discovers her father’s true occupation – fairy “godmother” – things begin to change, especially when she discovers that she is a fairy godmother, too. Delany’s voice in the novel is rich with humor and sarcasm, but that is only part of who Delaney really is. The first person narration really lets the reader experience the events as Delany does, and helps the reader connect to the character in a way that another type of narration would not.

Sohia's War

Sophia’s War by Avi

Avi weaves an intricate tale of one girl’s fight to avenge her brother and help the patriots win the Revolutionary War. When Sophia Calderwood’s home is invaded by a British officer, Sophia can’t help but be fascinated by him. She revels in the attention that John Andre bestows upon her, but when he refuses to help her brother, William, who is imprisoned by the British, Sophia is devastated. Years later, Sophia has a chance to exact revenge for the treatment of her brother by the British, but she has to overcome her long-buried feelings for John Andre to help American win the war. 

Sizzle

Sizzle by Lee McClain

Linda loves nothing more than cooking in her Aunt Elba’s restaurant. But when Aunt Elba falls ill, Linda is shipped off to Pittsburgh to stay with her Aunt Pat. Going from being an only child to being one of eight children. Worse yet, Aunt Pat hosts her own cooking show, Cooking from Cans, and Linda can’t stand eating the bland, boring food. The problems mount as Linda and her cousin fall for the same boy, and Linda’s on-line criticism of Aunt Pat’s cooking causes conflicts for the family. Learning to be part of a family is bigger than any challenge Linda has faced in the kitchen.

Wonder

Wonder by R. J. Palacio

August has never been to school. Born with severe facial deformities, Auggie’s parents have homeschooled him until now…his fifth grade year. Auggie isn’t happy to be starting school. He’s well aware that people are horrified by his appearance. Told in alternating points of view from Auggie, his classmates, and his family, Auggie’s fifth grade year is documented in sometimes funny, sometimes painful ways. This book isn’t just about a fifth grader with physical issues, it’s about every kid who has ever had to endure the life of a middle school kid.

Destiny Rewritten

Destiny Rewritten by Kathryn Fitzmaurice

Emily’s mother believes in destiny. Finding a book of poems by Emily Dickinson the day before Emily was born was how her mother named her. In the book of poems, Emily’s mother writes notes about the great events in Emily’s life. But the one thing she won’t tell Emily is who her father is. Emily, tired of waiting for her destiny to just happen, tries to hurry it along by looking for the name of her father in the book. But before she can find it, fate takes the book away from it. On Emily’s quest to find the book, and her father, she learns along the way that sometimes you have to take charge of your own destiny.

Smart Girls Get What They Want

Smart Girls Get What They Want by Sarah Strohmeyer

Gigi and her friends are overachievers in the classroom. When they decide that they are missing out on the full high school experience, the girls set out to each take on a social challenge. Gigi runs for student rep, Neerja tries out for the play, and Bea joins the ski team. Determined to get what they want, they end up getting more attention than they ever wanted. With a wry, humorous outlook on her experiences, let Gigi tell you exactly how Smart Girls Get What They Want.

The Girl is Murder & The Girl is Trouble

The Girl is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines

World War II is raging, and Iris’s world will never be the same. With her Pop back from the war missing a leg, he needs help to run his detective business. Iris wants to help, but her father thinks girls should be girls. But when a boy from Iris’s new school goes missing, Iris puts her detective skills to work to find out what happened to Tommy. 

The Girl is Trouble by Kathryn Miller Haines

In Iris's second case, her Pop has finally agreed to let her help out with his detective agency. But this case becomes personal when Iris begins to find out details about her mother’s supposed suicide.

Divergent Trilogy

Divergent by Veronica Roth

In a distant future, the world is decided into five groups, each representing a different virtue. On her sixteenth birthday, Beatrice must choose a faction. During the initiation into her chosen group, Tris (Beatrice) struggles to face up to the choice she made. But something more challenging is coming, and her “perfect” society begins to unravel before her eyes. Tris’s story continues in Insurgent, as war between the factions looms on the horizon.

The Trilogy continues with Insurgent and Allegiant.

Morpheus Road Trilogy

Morpheus Road: The Light by D. J. Machale

Marshall Seaver is being haunted. Something beyond this world is after him. In the first book, The Light, when Marshall’s best friend Cooper goes missing, Marshall is convinced there is a connection. With Cooper’s sister, Marsh goes on a quest for the truth about what happened to his friend. 

Morpheus Road: The Black by D. J. Machale 

In book two, Cooper tells his side of the mystery. 

Morpheus Road: The Blood by D. J. Machale

The trilogy concludes with  Marshall and Cooper face down the evil force that has been stalking Marshall.

Storm Runners series

Storm Runners by Roland Smith

Ever since the death of his mother and sister, and his father survived a lightning strike, Chase Masters and his father have been storm chasing. Anywhere there is bad weather, they move in to help with the cleanup. In the first book, Storm Runners, the hurricane of the century hits, and Chase and his father must try to help those around them survive. 

Storm Runners: The Surge by Roland Smith

Picking up where Storm Runners leaves off off, Chase and his friends have survived the storm, but in the aftermath they now are battling floodwaters and escaped circus animals. 

Storm Runners: Eruption by Roland Smith

In book three, Chase and his father are off to Mexico to find the Rossi Brothers’ Circus in the aftermath of a massive earthquake and before an erupting volcano can destroy the workers and animals. These books are action-packed and filled with details about weather disasters.

Paranormalcy Trilogy

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Evie is the only normal human working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency. She considers herself a normal teenager, even though she catches paranormals, can see through faerie glamour, has a mermaid as a best friend, and is falling in love with a shapeshifter. But her dreams are filled with voices and cryptic messages, and she realizes that she’s part of a dark faerie prophecy that could destroy all supernatural creatures.

Evie's story continues in Supernaturally and Endlessly.

Books of Umber Trilogy

Happenstance Found by P. W. Catanese

Hap wakes up in the cave, not remembering anything about his past. Found by Lord Umber and his companions, Hap is taken in by him. As Hap’s unnatural abilities come to light, he finds himself being stalked by a supernatural assassin. Hap is forced to confront his past and that of the mysterious Lord Umber.

Hap's adventures continue in Dragon Games and End of Time.

Eleventh Plague

Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch

After a war and a virus has torn apart America, the only way to survive is to move around the country in search of trade materials. Stephen and his family are doing the best they can to survive, but when tragedy strikes, Stephen finds himself having to survive on his own. He finds his way to Settler’s Landing, where he meets Jenny. Jenny is at odds with her community, and when a prank goes wrong, Jenny and Stephen are forced into a battle that will change their lives forever.

Fins Trilogy

Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

Lily has a secret…she’s a mermaid. In Forgive My Fins, Lily’s crush on human Brody Bennett leads to Lily mistakenly bonding to her obnoxious neighbor Quince, she has to undo the bonding or spend the rest of her life with a boy she can’t stand. 

Fins are Forever by Tera Lynn Childs 

Lily is on the brink of her eighteenth birthday and faced with the choice of renouncing the mermaid throne or becoming human forever. But when her cousin Doe comes ashore, exiled and stuck in human form, things get complicated, even more so when a merboy from the past shows up as well with an request she can’t ignore. 

Just for Fins by Tera Lynn Childs 

In the third installment, Lily finds herself still living a double-life and trying to balance her love for her people with her love for her human friends and family.

Love, Aubrey

 

Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LeFleur

When Aubrey wakes up one morning to find that her mother has left her, she knows she can't tell anyone or she will end up in foster care. Luckily, Aubrey's grandmother comes to find her, and takes Aubrey home with her to Vermont. While Aubrey waits for her mother to return, she has to begin to deal with the reasons her mother left in the first place. To do this, she writes letters signed "Love, Aubrey." With the help of her Gram, her friends Bridget and Marcus, and her letters, Aubrey begins to find her place in the new world that family tragedy has forced her into.

Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes & The Last Little Blue Envelope

Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson 

Ginny's aunt, an artist, has died from cancer. She leaves $1000 for a plane ticket, four rules, and 13 little blue envelopes that she is to open each time she arrives at a new destination. Ginny's quest that takes her from her home in America, through London, Rome, Amsterdam, Paris, and all the way to Greece. Each person she is sent to meet along the way changes Ginny in some way. 

The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson

Ginny has to retrace some of her steps, re-connect with some old friends, make new ones, and learn the last lessons her Aunt Peg wanted her to learn.

Lunar Chronicles

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

In a twist on the Cinderella story, Cinder is a girl living in a future 100 years after the Fourth World War. She lives with her guardian and her two daughters, helping to support the family as a mechanic. And she's a cyborg. Part human, part machine, Cinder tries to disguise what she is, and that's where she runs into trouble. When Prince Kai drops off his droid for repairs, Cinder is instantly attracted to him. But what will happen when the prince finds out she's really a cyborg? And that there are other secrets she is hiding as well? In a backdrop of a world in the middle of a pandemic and kept apart by evil forces, will their love triumph?

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Book two, Scarlet, introduces us to characters similar to those in Red Riding Hood. Scarlet and Wolf must try to save Scarlet’s grandmother from the wolves, but Wolf is hiding more than he is telling. When they cross paths with Cinder, who is on the run from everyone, Scarlet and Cinder must form an alliance to escape Queen Levana and her army. Both books have plenty of action, witty dialogue, and fascinating characters.

Birthright Trilogy

All These Things I’ve Done by Gabrielle Zevin

It is a hundred years in the future. Chocolate and caffeine are illegal, paper and water are rationed, and crime is rampant. Anya, daughter of a notorious mobster, is used to bearing the responsibility for her family. Since her father and mother were killed by a hitman, she has had to take care of her older brother and younger sister. But Anya is still a teenage girl, and she can't help falling in love with the son of the new Assistant District Attorney. As Anya struggles with her feelings, she finds it more and more difficult to protect her family. Every reader will connect with Anya's struggle as she tries to balance her feelings with her responsibilities and do the right thing for everyone.

Anya's story continues in Because it is My Blood and The Age of Love and Chocolate.

The Truth About Truman School

The Truth About Truman School by Dori Hillestad Butler

When Zebby and Amr started their website, truthabouttruman.com, they only wanted it to be a place for kids to be able to write the real story of what went on at their school, not what the teachers wanted to hear. But it didn't take long for them to learn that "It's different online. You can say or do whatever you want online because noone has to know it's you saying or doing those things. And you don't actually have to face the person you're being mean to." (p. 74) Once the anonymous poster beings to target Lilly, things spiral quickly out of control. The Truth About Truman School paints a realistic picture of the impact of cyber bullying on an entire school, and should be read by every middle school student.

Raised By Wolves Trilogy

Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Bryn has always been different from the rest of the Pack. Rescued by the Alpha from a werewolf attack at the age of four, Bryn was raised by wolves but can't fully become one of them. Or so she thinks. In the first book, Raised by Wolves, Bryn meets Chase, a bitten wolf, Bryn wonders at their strong connection. What she discovers changes everything she thought she knew about the past, and propels her to a future she never imagined. 

As she settles in as the leader of her own pack in book two, Trial by Fire, a teenage werewolf from another pack shows up broken and bloody and seeking her protection. Bryn can’t claim him without a fight, and to do the right thing, she will need to give into her animal insticts to help her do the right thing while protecting her pack. 

Book three, Taken by Storm, find Bryn and her pack have to confront the threat of exposure when a rogue werewolf begins attacking humans. Bryn knows the threat isn’t just from the rogue wolf, but that the other packs would do anything to get her territoriy and her females. Once again, Bryn must prove herself and fight to keep what is hers.

Inside Out & Back Again

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai

When Ha and her family are forced to leave Saigon as refugees during the Vietnam War, she never dreams she will end up in Alabama. Ha's story, told in poems, begins with the life they are living in Saigon, where Ha's favorite thing is her mango tree, and details their journey aboard a ship until finally being sponsored by a family in Alabama. But Alabama is not home, and Ha must find her way in this strange new world.

Once

Once by Morris Gleitzman

Felix isn't sure why the soldiers in 1942 Poland are rounding up Jewish booksellers, including his parents, or why he is hiding in an orphanage pretending to be a Catholic, but he knows something is seriously wrong. When he decides to head out to warn his parents of the danger he is sure is coming, he finds himself in the heart of Nazi-occupied Poland. To help him survive, Felix makes up stories, but eventually he is confronted with things that he can't even make up stories to explain.

The story of Felix and his friend Zelda continues in Then and concludes in Now.

Dead End in Norvelt

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

Jack is looking forward to a great summer vacation in the , only to have his plans turned into a dead end when he is "grounded for life" for two unfortunate events. Instead of being able to enjoy summer, Jack is stuck doing chores for his mother and helping his elderly neighbor write obituaries as the town of Norvelt's last original citizens die off one by one. But the old ladies of Norvelt are dying off very quickly, and when Jack's neighbor is accused of murder, "dead end" takes on a whole new meaning. Jack's laugh-out-loud adventures in a town not far from ours with a zany cast of characters and just a touch of mystery makes for a great read.

Eight Keys

Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur

For Elise, nothing has gone right since middle school started. She's being picked on by her locker-mate, fighting with her best friend, and a new baby moves into the house she shares with her aunt and uncle. But when Elise turns 12 and gets the last letter her father wrote to her before she died, she also finds the first key to the eight locked rooms in the upstairs of the barn. What she discovers as she finds the keys to the rooms is more than she ever imagined.