Listening for Lucca

I loved this latest book by Suzanne Lafleur. (FIC LAF). It is a wonderfully unique story about a girl and her brother.  Siena is literally haunted by ghosts of the past and her brother, Lucca, has chosen to stop speaking.  Siena's "gift" helps her find a way to help not only her brother, but the spirits in her new house.  It is a great read for middle schoolers.  I would not suggest it for anyone younger than 5th grade.

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life

When I started this, I immediately thought of Suzanne LaFleur's Eight Keys... a deceased parent leaving a mystery for their child to bring them some peace. It was that, but much more.  It was a wonderful story of friendship and discovering that life is about the little moments that we choose to string together.  That is a message that young adults can not hear too much.

Fourth Grade Rats

This wonderful beginning chaper book by Jerry Spinelli follows Suds, a new fourth grader, as he tries to navigate through his new grade.  Other grades, and his best friend, have expectations of how he should now act.  Suds has to figure out for himself what it takes to be a real young man.  This was a great story with a wonderful lesson.  I have the e-book version on our Nooks.

Timmy Failure

I purchased this big kid fiction e-book, written by Stephan Pastis, thinking it would be a similar alternative to Wimpy Kid.  I found it funny but quite advanced with regards to vocabulary.

Tracing Stars

Tracing Stars by Erin Moutlton (FIC MOU) is a big-kid realistic fiction story about friendship and accepting yourself for who you are.    I liked it very much.

Love, Aubrey

This is a big-kid realistic fiction book written by Suzanne LaFLeur, one of my favorite new authors.  I LOVED this book (FIC LAF).   Aubrey has experienced a tragic event in her life and through a series of letters placed throughout the book, she slowly comes to grip with it and learns to heal with the help of family and a good friend.  It is a tear-jerker!

George Brown Class Clown

This is a series of beginning chapter books by Nancy Krulik (E KRU).  George is a young boy who is known as a class clown, but who tries to be good.  It is full of humor along the lines of Horrible Harry or Captain Underpants.... boogers, underwear, burps, etc.  Created to appeal to emerging boy readers, it will be attractive and funny to all young readers.

Investigator Anne

This is a wonderful new e-book series available through Barnes and Noble.  I have some of these on my Nooks.  It is a beginning chapter book mystery series about a young girl who wants to solve mysteries.  What I like about the series is the unique feature of a glossary at the back and an at-home science experiment based on the story.  For example, in the first story, Anne's mother loses her watch and in her attempt to find it, Anne discovers what buoyancy is, and therefore there is an experiment on buoyancy at the end of the story.

Justin Case

Justin Case by Rachel Vail (FIC VAI) is a funny, realistic fiction book about a young boy who feels anxious about everything...school, the dark, etc.  I enjoyed his humor, but found that it was a little over-the-top with what he was worried about.  I think upper level elementary readers will love it.

Land Of Stories

In this fantasy series written by Chris Colfer, a set of 12-yr-old twins experiences great adventure when they fall into a Fairy Tale book.  There seem to be a lot of these books out there now... Sisters Grimm comes to mind immediately.  It is unique enough to be very entertaining and I did enjoy both the first and the second in the series.   However, I found in the 2nd installment, the similarity to Harry Potter was disappointing.  (FIC COL)

Wild Wings

This summer I read Wild Wings by Gill Lewis (FIC LEW).  It was a beautiful realistic fiction book about friendship and loss.  A rare bird is tracked from America to Africa and a wonderful friendship is made.