The Secret Language of Girls

The Secret Language of Girls by Frances O'Roark Dowell

A must read for 5th and 6th grade girls to help them navigate the sticky web of middle school girls. The audio read by Michele Santopietro is excellent.

Jellicoe Road

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

“My father took one hundred and thirty-two minutes to die. I counted. It happened on the Jellicoe Road. The Prettiest road I’d ever seen, where trees made breezy canopies like a tunnel to Shangri-la."

The story of Taylor Markham, a 17 year old who was abandoned years ago on the Jellicoe Road and lives in a boarding school in the Australian countryside. It is her story of how she discovers the missing pieces of her life, and begins to make sense of all the decisions that others have made to benefit her. The story switches times, from days gone by at the school to present times where the different rival groups negotiate for territory surrounding the school and town. Highly Recommend. A good book for 8^th-12 grade.

From Booklist

Taylor Markham isn’t just one of the new student leaders of her boarding school, she’s also the heir to the Underground Community, one of three battling school factions in her small Australian community (the others being the Cadets and the Townies). For a generation, these three camps have fought “the territory wars,” a deadly serious negotiation of land and property rife with surprise attacks, diplomatic immunities, and physical violence. Only this year, it’s complicated: Taylor might just have a thing for Cadet leader Jonah, and Jonah might just be the key to unlocking the secret identity of Taylor’s mother, who abandoned her when she was 11. In fact, nearly every relationship in Taylor’s life has unexpected ties to her past, and the continual series of revelations is both the book’s strength and weakness; the melodrama can be trying, but when Marchetta isn’t forcing epiphanies, she has a knack for nuanced characterizations and punchy dialogue. The complexity of the backstory will be offputting to younger readers, but those who stick it out will find rewards in the heartbreaking twists of Marchetta’s saga. Grades 9-12.

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr

Based on a true story this book celebrates the courage that made one young woman a heroine in Japan. A book filled with courage. Includes directions on the art of folding paper cranes.

The Five Ancestors by Jeff Stone

Cangzhen Temple is destroyed.

It secret scrolls are stolen.

It’s Warrior monks are dead.

All except for the five youngest.

From out of the mists the of legend come the five young warriors.

The Five Ancestors

http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/fiveancestors/

The Five Ancestors is a series that centers on five boys in 16th-century China who grew up in a Buddhist monastery staffed by warrior monks. The story begins in when the secret temple is attacked and destroyed in the opening scene of the first book, and the only survivors are five young warrior monks between the ages of 11 and 13, and each one has already mastered a different style of animal kung fu that's consistent with both their body type and their personality. Recommend for grades 4-7 and those interested in the martial arts, china, or Buddism.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

A beautiful story with Chinese folklore woven throughout and a message for all. Recommended for grades 3-6, but is a wonderful story for all ages. Beautiful illustrations by the author to convey the beauty of this story. A wonderful story that is a must read for all. Watch the Today Show Al's Book Club Video below.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/34274144#34274144

Booklist *Starred Review* "In this enchanted and enchanting adventure, Minli, whose name means “quick thinking,” lives with her desperately poor parents at the confluence of Fruitless Mountain and the Jade River. While her mother worries and complains about their lot, her father brightens their evenings with storytelling. One day, after a goldfish salesman promises that his wares will bring good luck, Minli spends one of her only two coins in an effort to help her family. After her mother ridicules what she believes to be a foolish purchase, Minli sets out to find the Old Man of the Moon, who, it is told, may impart the true secret to good fortune. Along the way, she finds excitement, danger, humor, magic, and wisdom, and she befriends a flightless dragon, a talking fish, and other companions and helpmates in her quest. With beautiful language, Lin creates a strong, memorable heroine and a mystical land. Stories, drawn from a rich history of Chinese folktales, weave throughout her narrative, deepening the sense of both the characters and the setting and smoothly furthering the plot. Children will embrace this accessible, timeless story about the evil of greed and the joy of gratitude. Lin’s own full-color drawings open each chapter. Grades 3-6."

Lawn Boy $$$

Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen

A great comic story about a gift from grandmother and a summer job! A quick must read for middle and high school boys!

Odd and the Frost Giants

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman

A delightful tale of a 12 year old Norwegian boy named Odd, a fox, and eagle, and a bear who set out on a journey to outsmart the evil Frost Giants that have taken over Asgard. This fun adventure that weaves Norse Gods and mythology will have readers curious for more. Recommended for ages 9-12 and adults too.

Watch this Amazon video!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/mRG05NVPORF98

Marcelo in the Real World

Marcelo in the Real World

by Francisco X. Stork

A story about 17 year old Marcelo, who comes of age over the summer while working at his father's law firm. Marcelo is diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, and his life has been primarily revolving around the safety net of his tree house and Paterson School, a therapeutic school that includes a therapeutic riding program. Marcelo's connection with the animals and other students is eloquently portrayed. But Marcelo's father insists he experience the "real world" and sets him up to work at his law firm over the summer. It is there that he learns about deceit, anger, love, and hurt, and the difficult decisions that are part of life. Primarily set in the intriguing setting of the law firm, the journey into the Vermont mountains is also cleansing and growing experience for Marcelo. From my perspective as a former Paralegal and current child therapist, this book is an amazingly accurate and beautifully told story that I would highly recommend for 8th grade through life.

I echo the thoughts from Review by Karen Joan:

"MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD is quite simply one of the most beautiful and moving stories that I have ever read. By author Francisco X. Stork, this lovely, thoughtful book tells the very special story of Marcelo, a seventeen year-old boy with a high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. Told from Marcelo's point of view, the reader is transported into a very unique way of thinking, bringing Marcelo's world alive with amazing clarity and detail.

In MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD, Marcelo Sandoval has always experienced music in his head that no one else can hear, and he has always attended a school where his unique differences and abilities have been nurtured and protected. But the summer before his senior year, his father requires Marcelo to work in his law firm's mailroom, so that Marcelo can begin to understand and experience "the real world," and, perhaps, attend the mainstream high school for his final year. At the law firm, Marcelo develops friendships with Jasmine and Wendell. But are they real friendships? Only time will tell. As the summer unfolds, Marcelo learns about many new emotions and ways of life, from competition, jealousy, anger, and desire, to patience, control, wisdom, and strength. When he finds a disturbing photo in a box of documents to be destroyed - a picture of a girl with horrific injuries - Marcelo finally, truly connects with the real world, and begins to understand his place in it. Marcelo learns about pain, suffering, and injustice in the world, as well as what he can do to fight it.

This story is told in the first person by Marcelo, and it his most unusual way of thinking and speaking that completely draws the reader in. It takes Marcelo longer than most of us to thoroughly process input and information (although he processes much MORE information than you or me), and you would think that this would slow down the pace and reading of this story, but it absolutely does not. The reader becomes so completely absorbed in Marcelo's mind that the story speeds along. I was actually shocked when I came to the end of the book. I could not put it down.

All the characters, including Marcelo, are real, alive, and wonderfully developed. Human to the last, each has their own strengths and foibles, and each affects Marcelo (and the reader) in a different way. I believed in these characters; their breadth of emotion brought them off the page and into my life. I applaud Francisco X. Stork and his amazing literary talent for creating this unique world.

While this book is marketed for teens, I think older teens and adults alike will appreciate the unusual and beautiful wisdom of Marcelo. I give MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION."