I Heart You, You Haunt Me

I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder

Ava thought she had found the boy of her dreams. Now the only way she can have him is in her dreams...or is it? After a tragic accident takes the life of her boyfriend, Ava is consumed by grief. She doesn't want to hang out with her friends, go out with her parents, or do anything but sleep. She is sure she is going crazy when she sees Jackson's reflection in her bathroom mirror. Or is she? Told in verse, this is the story of a love that defies death.

World's Scariest Prisons

World’s Scariest Prisons by Emma Carlson Berne

Since the beginning of time, society has had rules. Those who break those rules, often go to prison. But in American and around the world, prisons have been places where the spirit and body of those incarcerated are often broken. In a quick tour of the most infamous prisons in the world, this short work of nonfiction is easy and interesting to read.

World of Gods and Goddesses

World of Gods and Goddesses by Jacqueline Morley

Every society has a mythology, a history of stories originally told to explain the world around us. This book explores the Gods and Goddess that have ruled over the mythology of the world, from Native Americans, to ancient Egyptians, to the temples in the jungles of South America. Illustrated beautifully, the information in this book covers all the cultures of the world, and makes the reader want to explore the myths themselves.

Malala Yousafzai and the Girls of Pakistan

Malala Yousafzai and the Girls of Pakistan by David Aretha

As a girl growing up in a part of the world infiltrated by the Taliban, Malala Yousafzai has been a strong voice for the education of girls in the Middle East. Her words so infuriated the Taliban, that on October 9, 2012, Malala was shot in the head by a Taliban assassin while on her way home from school. Malala’s story is told in a slender volume that allows readers a view of how one teenage girl came to make a huge difference in the world.

River of Words

River of Words by Pamela Michael

This beautiful book holds within its covers poems and illustrations written by children ages 5-17. Winners of a contest put on by the River of Words organization, these works praise the water that we require to survive. Some sad, some uplifting, and accompanied by beautiful works of art, The River of Words will force you to consider the importance of preserving the world’s water supply.

A Little Book of Slime

A Little Book of Slime by Clint Twist

What is slime? This “little book” tries to answer that question. Killer slime, living mold, fish, frogs and many more slimy and disgusting things are explored through short bursts of information and illustrations. Each slimy thing is given a rating on the Slime-O-Meter. Discover why phlegm is so dangerous, and what to do if you encounter a red tide while at the beach. Packed with a plethora of facts, A Little Book of Slime is sure to revolt and fascinate at the same time.

Star Wars Jedi Academy

Star Wars Jedi Academy by Jeffrey Brown

Roan is sure he will be chosen to attend the Pilot Academy Middle School so he can train to be a pilot like his father and older brother. But, when he is turned down for Pilot Academy and recruited for the Jedi Academy, Roan isn’t sure he wants to go. But Master Yoda sees in Roan a gift for the Force, even if Roan can’t seem to master even simple uses of the Force. Told in cartoons and journal entries, follow Roan through his first year at Jedi Academy.

Legends (series)

The Wrath of the Gods by Anthony Horowitz

In this short collection, Anthony Horowitz explores some of the best known myths from Greek, Norse, and Native American cultures. Learn about “Pandora’s Box,” “The Judgment of Paris,” and “Narcissus” from Greek  mythology. Read about “The Stolen Hammer of Thor” from Norse mythology, and “The Ten Fingers of Sedna” from the Inuit culture. Horowitz uses masterful storytelling and accompanying illustrations to bring these myths to life.

Also in the Legends series:

Shark Girl

Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham

When 15-year-old Jane Arrowood left for the beach on a bright June morning, she never expected that the day would bring a shark attack that would claim her right arm and leave her clinging to life. When Jane wakes up in the hospital bed, the shark attack has made national headlines and changed Jane’s life forever. One an emerging artist, she now struggles with daily tasks and overcoming the emotional upheaval that losing a limb has caused her. Jane’s story, told through poems, transcripts, and letters, documents her journey as she struggles to recover her life.

Anubis Speaks

Anubis Speaks by Vicky Alvear Shecter

Narrated by Anubis, Egyptian god of the dead, Anubis Speaks tells the story of Ra’s journey through the land of the dead during the twelve hours of darkness. Anubis explains how the Egyptians handled death, from the process of mummification to the journey to the afterlife. All in all, Anubis Speaks is an informative, gruesome, and sometimes humorous account of Egyptian myths and customs.

Girl Stolen

Girl Stolen by April Henry

Waiting for her step-mother to fill her antibiotic prescription for her case of pneumonia, Cheyenne Wilder is just hoping that the medicine will make her feel better. But when the car she is resting in is stolen, and the thief doesn’t realize she’s in the backseat, Cheyenne is sure that she is going to be able to talk her captor into letting her go, especially since she hasn’t seen his face. But the thief panics, plunging Cheyenne into a nightmare that she might not wake up from. With twists and turns, April Henry tells a suspenseful tale with characters that make you see both sides of the story.

The Book of Blood

The Book of Blood by HP Newquist

Most of us know the basics of how blood helps us live, but The Book of Blood covers everything from how ancient civilizations used blood in rituals, the history of the study of blood, the science behind how blood works, and the legends and myths that surround blood. Told in short chapters with helpful central idea statements and illustrations, The Book of Blood gives readers interesting information about the red liquid that flows through our veins and arteries.

I Kill the Mockingbird

I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora

After losing their favorite teacher Mr. Nowak to a heart attack, Lucy and her friends decide to live up to his example by raising awareness of one of his favorite books, To Kill a Mockingbird. Starting with making copies of the book “disappear” from their normal place on the bookstore shelves, to starting a social media campaign called IKilltheMockingbird.com, their intention is to get people reading and talking about the book. But they can’t foresee the effect it will have when the entire country gets involved in their cause. Juggling baseball, friendship, and family issues, the three friends spend their summer showing just how much one small act  of rebellion can have a global community. This book is funny, sad, and thought-provoking, and should not be missed by anyone who likes a good book about good books.

Crossover

Crossover by Kwame Alexander

This story of twin basketball players, told in poems from the point of view of Joshua Bell, details the events of a basketball season marked by triumph and tragedy. Being the son of a former NBA recruit isn’t easy, but for Josh and his twin Jordan, basketball is how they make sense of everything going on around them. But now Jordan is distracted by a new girl, and Josh’s parents are fighting more than usual about his father’s health. As the basketball season progresses, Josh’s conflicts off the court spill into his game, until a tragedy forces him to face his own fears.

Dust of Eden

Dust of Eden by Mariko Nagai

When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, America entered World War II. The government also rounded up Japanese-Americans and placed them in internment camps, taking them from their homes, businesses, and friends.  Mina doesn’t understand why her father is sent to prison, while she has to leave behind her friends, her cat, and her grandfather’s roses to go live in a horse stall on an old fairground just because her parents came from Japan. What they hope will be a short stay turns into three years of challenge, during which time her family is torn apart, then put back together again. Told in free verse poetry, this short novel is an emotional account of one family’s struggle to survive when their own government turns against them.

Grisha Trilogy

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Ravka is being destroyed by the Fold, darkness filled with monsters that is creeping across the land. Not until she comes into contact with the Darkling, the leader of the the Grisha, does Alina realize that she is one of the magic elite with a power so rare she is lifted to the status of a Saint. Through the trilogy, starting with Shadow and Bone and continuing with Siege and Storm and Ruin and Rising, Alina is torn between her new-found power of light, the pull of the Darkling, and her love for her childhood friend, Mal. As Alina tries to resist the pull of the Darkling, she must sacrifice everyone and everything she loves to try to save the only world she knows. Told with all the elements of a traditional fantasy, this trilogy is not to be missed.

Impossible Knife of Memory

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

Hayley and her father have been unable to settle in one place for very long…not since her father has come back from Iraq with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Back in her father’s hometown, Haley is finally able to go to school and try to have a normal life. Haley’s voice is unique…funny, sarcastic, and full of honest emotion…this book is impossible to put down until you hear Haley’s whole story.

Summer of Letting Go

Summer of Letting Go by Gae Polisner

Francesca hasn’t been to the beach in four years, not since the summer of her baby brother Simon’s accident. Since then, Francesca’s family has been slowly falling apart. And it’s getting worse. Convinced her father is having an affair with a neighbor, falling in love with her best friend’s boyfriend, and meeting a little boy who forces her to confront her past. For Frankie it will not only be a summer of growing up…it truly will be the summer of letting go.

Mark of the Dragonfly

Mark of the Dragonfly by Jaleigh Johnson

Piper has never seen the Mark of the Dragonfly…until she finds a girl the night the caravan wrecks during the meteor shower. The girl doesn’t remember anything about her past, but Piper is determined to help her find her way back to the Dragonfly Territories, since she carries the mark of the king. To get to the Dragonfly Territories, Piper must stow away on the 401 train, and get past the boy who guards it. The danger Piper faces in this magical story will have you turning pages as quickly as you can as Piper races to save the girl and herself from the danger that follows them on their journey.

Jungle of Bones

Jungle of Bones by Ben Mikaelsen

Dylan Barstow can’t seem to stay out of trouble. When his mother sends him to live with his Uncle Todd for the summer, Dylan has no idea the trouble he will get into. Uncle Todd is on a quest to find the Second Ace, a WWII fighter plane that went down deep in the jungle of Papua New Guinea. The quest tests Dylan’s physical and mental toughness, and might just help him find what’s been missing inside of him.

Pretenders (Series)

Pretenders by Lisi Harrison

Little do they know when given their freshman assignment to keep a year-long journal of their feelings, that one day someone is going to leak them to the entire school. Told in the alternating voices of five journalers, three girls and two guys, no one’s secrets are safe, not from each other, and not from themselves. Each of these writers has been pretending to be something he or she is not, and now the whole school will know that they are the Pretenders.

Book #1 ends on a cliff-hanger, so you’ll want to have book #2, License to Spill on hand before you finish.

All Our Yesterdays

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

Em has been trying to prevent the creation of a time machine that will destroy the world. After traveling back in time more than once trying to undo it, she knows the only thing she can do is travel one more time and try to kill its creator before he can build the time machine. But he’s protected by a girl who loves him more than anything, and Em will have a difficult time completing her mission. With Finn by her side, Em risks her own life to travel back to the past one more time to try and prevent the end of the world as she knew it.

Small Medium at Large

Small Medium at Large by Joanne Levy

Struck by lightning at her mother’s wedding reception, Lilah is suddenly able to communicate with the dead. Haunted by the ghosts of her grandmother and others, Lilah tries to adjust to seventh grade and work up the courage to talk to her crush, Andrew Finkle. Light-hearted and funny, Lilah’s story makes for a satisfying read.

Nightmare Affair

Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett

Dusty Everhart is a nightmare, breaking into houses at night to invade people’s dreams. The only one of her kind at the Arkewll Acadamy, a boarding school for magical beings, is bad enough. But when she breaks into Eli Booker’s house and enters his dream, her nightmare becomes real when the murder he was dreaming about happens to a fellow student of Dusty’s. Dusty and Eli have to find the clues in his dream and out of them to stop the killer before he makes her the next target.

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In the follow-up, Nightmare Dilemma, Dusty and Eli are embroiled in two more mysteries that prove to be connected in ways she couldn’t dream of.

Jessica Darling's It List: The (Totally Not) Guaranteed Guide to Populariy, Pretiness, and Perfection

Jessica Darling’s It List: The (Totally Not) Guaranteed Guide to Popularity, Prettiness, and Perfection by Megan McCafferty

Before her first day of junior high, Jessica Darling’s sister gives her a list of guidelines to help her navigate the social world of seventh grade. But following the list proves to be be harder than Jessica anticipates. Her best friend is now pretty and popular, the girls are all vying to be popular, and she’s accidentally been scheduled for Wood Shop with a group of immature boys and a crazy teacher. This story is laugh-out-loud funny as Jessica’s awkward moments play out on the pages. 

We Were Liars

We Were Liars by e. lockhart

Cadence Sinclair Easton spends every summer with her three friends on a private island of the coast of Cape Cod. But the year Cadence turns 15, something happens on the island that changes her forever. She spends the next two years trying to cope with and overcome what happened. The story jumps from past to present and back as Cadence tries to make sense of her dysfunctional family and what happened to her and the other Liars. Suspenseful and heartbreaking, this is a YA story not to be missed.

The Here and Now

Here and Now by Ann Brashares

Prenna James is an immigrant, but not in the traditional sense. Jenna has traveled from the future into the past. In Prenna’s future, an epidemic has left her world in ruins. Prenna’s escape to the safety of the past comes with a price…she can never involve herself with anyone in the world she now lives in. But when she falls for Ethan Jarvis, everything changes. Drawn into a world she doesn’t belong in, Prenna has to make the difficult choice to protect her past or follow her heart. A great read for fans of Divergent.

Chaos of Stars

Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White

The ancient Egyptian gods are alive and well…and screwing up Isadora’s life. The only human offspring of the Egyptian gods Isis and Osiris, Isadora wants nothing more than to escape the drama that comes with living with immortal relatives. When the opportunity comes to move to San Diego with her brother, Isadora jumps at the chance. But her new life proves to be just as dramatic as her old life, when her life is put in danger. Told with humor and romance, Chaos of Stars proves that family it’s impossible to break up with your family.

In the After & In the End

In the After & In the End by Demtria Lunetta

When the Florae took over Earth, everything in Amy Harris’s life changed. Her parents are gone, she has to scrounge for food while avoiding the Florae, who are attracted by noise and have a taste for human flesh. Amy manages to stay alive and even rescues a toddler who has been left behind. Amy finally finds a haven at New Hope…but all is not as it seems, and the secrets could end the life she’s fought so hard to protect. This two book series is a fast-paced, tale of a post-apocalyptic world where nothing is as it seems.

Rooftoppers

Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell

Sophie is the only survivor of a shipwreck…or so the world believes. Found floating in a cello case, she is given to Charles Maxim to raise. Charles allows Sophie to grow up as she pleases, despite the social conventions of the time. Deemed an unfit parent, Charles and Sophie escape to Paris, where Sophie discovers Matteo and the secrets of the rooftops of Paris. There Sophie searches for her mother, determined to discover where she came from. Realistic historical fiction with just a touch of fantasy, Rooftoppers is the story of one girl’s magical journey to reclaim her past.

Boy on the Porch

Boy on the Porch by Sharon Creech

Jacob appears on John and Marta’s porch one day, unable to speak. They open their home and their hearts to Jacob, and delight in his company. The more attached they become to Jacob, the more afraid they become that whoever abandoned him will return to take him back. The sense of dread builds with each page, as the novel builds to a satisfying end.

Tangle of Knots

Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff

Everyone in Cady’s small town has a Talent. Cady’s is that she can bake everyone their perfect cake, no matter what it is. She lives with Miss Mallory, whose Talent is finding parents for orphans, but she hasn’t been able to find a match for Cady. When an evil Talent thief comes to town, Cady and her friends have to work together to stop him from stealing all the Talents. The fantasy in this novel only enhances the stories of the characters, whose stories are told with humor and a dash of mystery.

Devil's Kiss

Devil’s Kiss by Sarwat Chadda

Billi is the youngest and only female member of the Knights Templar, so instead of doing normal teenage girl things like going to the mall, she trains as a soldier for an ancient battle with the Unholy. When her friend Kay comes back from a trip to the Holy Land, Billi has to choose between him and a new boy in town…Michael. When an ancient enemy returns looking for a cursed mirror, Billi has to make sacrifices in order to save her city.

Billi is tested again in the sequel, Dark Goddess, when the Templars are called upon to battle werewolves who are searching for an Oracle that will help them wipe out mankind for good.

When the Butterflies Came

When the Butterflies Came by Kimberly Griffiths Little

Tara’s life is in chaos. Her beloved grandmother had died, her mother is depressed, and she and her sister Riley are arguing about everything. But following her grandmother’s funeral, butterflies begin to follow Tar around. The butterflies, Tara is sure, are the key to a mystery left behind by her grandmother. After finding a stack of letters and keys from her grandmother, Tara must travel to a distant island and face danger to uncover the secret her grandmother wanted her to know.

Archived

Archived by Victoria Schaub

The Archive is a special library containing the Histories of everyone who has ever died. Mackenzie Bishop, a Keeper, must return those Histories who occasionally slip and escape into the Narrows before they can get back into the real world. When her family moves to an apartment in an old hotel, Mac faces more Histories than she ever has before. She also meets another keeper, Wes, and together they try to solve the mystery of the Coronado, return wandering Histories and ultimately defend their lives.

The follow-up, The Unbound, finds Mac defending herself when people connected to her start disappearing. 

Young Sherlock Holmes Series

Death Cloud by Andrew Lane

Before he became a famous detective, young Sherlock Holmes honed his skills with a series of adventures that begin when he is sent to live with his eccentric uncle and aunt. Used to a life of classical study at boarding school, Sherlock is unprepared for life in Hampshire, but he is quickly pulled into a case of murder, kidnapping, and corruption that almost get him killed when he discovers a Death Cloud controlled by a master villain.

His adventures continue in Rebel Fire, Black Ice, and Fire Storm.

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Pivot Point & Split Second

Pivot Point & Split Second by Kasie West

Hidden deep in the mountains in Texas is the Compound, a place where Paranormals live and develop their talents undetected by Normals. Addison Colman’s gift makes her a Searcher, able to see two paths to the future when faced with a decision. But she never guessed she would have to make a choice between staying in the Compound with her mother or moving Outside with her father when her parents separate. In Pivot Point, Addie is faced with two impossible choices as she searches six weeks into the future, neither one a choice she wants to make. Told in alternating chapters of her two search paths, West has put together an outstanding first installment in Addie’s story.

In the follow-up, Split Second, Addie has made her choice and her friend Leila has Erased all memories of her path not chosen. Winter break finds Leila trying to learn how to restore Addie’s memories, while Addie is trying to connect with a boy on the Outside while visiting her father. Unlikely partnerships form as both Addie and Leila, in alternating chapters, attempt to master new abilities and find their own paths to happiness.