Author

Title

Annotation (from "Title Wave", Follett Company.)

Aiken, Joan

Dangerous games

Her mission to bring an expert on games back to an ailing King James III in London takes Dido Twite to a small tropical island, where she is caught up in the conflict between a conniving city dweller and the more subtle powers of the native forest people. Starred review.

Alexander, Lloyd

Gypsy Rizka

Living alone in her wagon on the outskirts of a small town while waiting for her father's return, Rizka, a Gypsy and a trickster, exposes the ridiculous foibles of some of the townspeople.

Almond, David

Kit's wilderness

Thirteen-year-old Kit goes to live with his grandfather in the decaying coal mining town of Stoneygate, England, and finds both the old man and the town haunted by ghosts of the past. Starred review.

Anderson, Laurie

Speak

A traumatic event near the end of the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda's freshman year in high school. Starred review.

Bat-Ami, Miriam

Two suns in the sky

Against her father's wishes, Chris befriends Adam Bornstein, a Jewish refugee, near the end of World War II.

Bennett, Cherie

Zink

With the help of a trio of zebras from the Serengeti, sixth-grader Becky faces her battle with leukemia, her family's fears for her, her competition with a hypocritical classmate, and the possibility that she might die.

Billingsley, Franny

Folk keeper

Orphan Corinna disguises herself as a boy to pose as a Folk Keeper, one who keeps the Evil Folk at bay, and discovers her heritage as a seal maiden when she is taken to live with a wealthy family in their manor by the sea. Starred review. Notable/Best Books (A.L.A.)

Bloor, Edward

Crusader

After a violent virtual-reality game arrives at the mall arcade where she works, fifteen-year-old Roberta finds the courage to search out the person who murdered her mother.

Bunting, Eve

Blackwater

When a boy and girl are drowned in the Blackwater River, thirteen-year-old Brodie must decide whether to confess that he may have caused the accident. Starred review.

Card, Orson Scott

Ender's shadow

Bean must overcome his past and prove to the recruiters at the Battle School that he can help save the planet from an alien invasion.

Cooney, Caroline

Burning up

When a girl she had met at an inner-city church is murdered, fifteen-year-old Macey channels her grief into a school project that leads her to uncover prejudice she had not imagined in her grandparents and their wealthy Connecticut community.

Cornier, Robert

Frenchtown summer

A series of vignettes in free verse in which the writer reminisces about his life as a twelve-year-old boy living in a small town during the hot summer of 1938. Starred review.

Couloumbis, Audrey

Getting near to baby

Although thirteen-year-old Willa Jo and her Aunt Patty seem to be constantly at odds, staying with her and Uncle Hob helps Willa Jo and her younger sister come to terms with the death of their family's baby. Starred review. Newbery Medal/Honor, Notable/Best Books (A.L.A.)

Crossman, David

Secret of the missing grave

Summering on a Maine island, thirteen-year-old Ab joins her friend Bean in investigating the odd noises in her boarding house and solving the mystery of a missing treasure and stolen paintings.

Dessen, Sarah

Keeping the moon

Fifteen-year-old Colie, a former fat girl, spends the summer working as a waitress in a beachside restaurant, staying with her overweight and eccentric Aunt Mira, and trying to explore her sense of self. Starred review.

Durbin, William

Journal of Sean Sullivan: a transcontinental railroad worker...

In 1867, fifteen-year-old Sean experiences both hardships and rewards when he joins his father in working on the building of the Transcontinental Rairoad.

Ehrlich, Gretel

Blizzard year: Timmy's almanac of the seasons

For one year, thirteen-year-old Timmy records in her journal the changes she sees in the natural world and her family's activities on their Wyoming ranch as they fight to save it from financial ruin. Starred review.

Fiedler, Lisa

Lucky me

Sequel to: Curtis Piperfield's biggest fan. Continues the struggles of C.C. to be her own independent self while also keeping up with her friends at school and doing the things they do.

Franklin, Kristine

Dove song

When eleven-year-old Bobbie Lynn's father is reported missing in action in Vietnam, she and her thirteen-year-old brother must learn to cope with their own despair, as well as their mother's breakdown.

Freedman, Russell

Lincoln: a photobiography

Photographs and text trace the life of the Civil War President. Newbery Medal/Honor, Notable/Best Books (A.L.A.)

Gaeddert, LouAnn

Friends and enemies

In 1941 in Kansas, as America enters World War II, fourteen-year-old William finds himself alienated from his friend Jim, a Mennonite who does not believe in fighting for any reason, as they argue about the war. Starred review.

Herman, John

Deep waters

A summer at Camp Winasaukee leaves a teenaged camper with a moral dilemma following the mysterious drowning of a camp counselor.

Hertenstein, Jane

Beyond paradise

Within months of arriving in the exotic Philippines from Upper Sandusky, Ohio, to live with her missionary parents on the island of Panay, fourteen-year-old Louise finds herself a prisoner of war in an internment camp when the Japanese invade her new country in 1941.

Hesse, Karen

A light in the storm the Civil War diary of Amelia Martin...

In 1860 and 1861, while working in her father's lighthouse on an island off the coast of Delaware, fifteen-year-old Amelia records in her diary how the Civil War is beginning to devastate her divided state.

Holt, Kimberly

When Zachary Beaver came to town

During the summer of 1971 in a small Texas town, thirteen-year-old Toby and his best friend Cal meet the star of a sideshow act, 600-pound Zachary, the fattest boy in the world. Notable/Best Books (A.L.A.) Starred review.

Karwoski, Gail

Seaman: the dog who explored the west with Lewis and Clark

Seaman, a Newfoundland, proves his value as a hunter, navigator, and protector while serving with the Corps of Discovery when it explores the West under the leadership of Lewis and Clark.

Kerr, M.E.

Dinky Hocker shoots smack

Many things change in a teenage boy's life when he meets the overweight girl who answers his advertisement for the cat he must give away. Notable/Best Books (A.L.A.)

Laird, Elizabeth

Secret friends

Although the other girls at middle school make fun of Rafaella and she avoids her when they are around, Lucy gradually gets to know her and her "foreign" family and is devastated when she learns the result of all the teasing Rafaella has endured.

Lally, Soinbhe

Hive for the honeybee

When Thora, a young worker bee, befriends some drones, she wonders if they  really are lords of the hive or if their pompous posturing merely conceals an appalling fate. Starred review.

Levine, Gail

Dave at night

When orphaned Dave is sent to the Hebrew Home for Boys where he is treated  cruelly, he sneaks out at night and is welcomed into the music- and culture-filled world of the Harlem Renaissance. Notable/Best Books (A.L.A.) Starred review.

Levitin, Sonia

Cure

A young boy living in 2407 collides with the past when he finds himself in Strasbourg in 1348 confronting the anti-Semitism that sweeps through Europe during the Black Plague.

Dance for the land

When twelve-year-old Kate, who is half-white, moves to Hawaii with her brother  and father, she becomes a victim of racial prejudice but also learns the meaning of her middle name.

McLaren, Clemmence

Inside the walls of Troy

The events surrounding the famous battle between the Greeks and the Trojans are told from the points of view of two women, the beautiful Helen and the prophetic  Cassandra.

Mead, Alice

Soldier mom

Eleven-year-old Jasmyn gets a different perspective on life when her mother is sent to Saudi Arabia at the beginning of the Persian Gulf War, leaving her and her baby half brother behind in Maine in the care of her mother's boyfriend. Starred review.

Metzger, Lois

Missing girls

During eighth grade, Carrie moves in with her grandmother, becomes friends with a withdrawn classmate, and comes to terms with her mother's death.

Naylor, Phyllis

Walker's Crossing

While living on his family's ranch in Wyoming where he hopes to someday be a cowboy, Ryan faces conflicts with his older brother who becomes involved in a militia movement. Starred review.

Nolan, Han

Face in every window

After the death of his grandmother, who held the family together, teenage JP is left with a mentally challenged father and a mother who seems ineffectual and constantly sick, and he feels everything sliding out of control. Starred review.

Orgel, Doris

We goddesses: Athena, Aphrodite, Hera

"A DK Ink book." Three Greek goddesses, Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera, tell their own stories. Includes information about Greek society and religion.

Paulsen, Gary

After having survived alone in the wilderness, Brian finds that he can no longer live in the city but must return to the place where he really belongs. Starred review.

Paulsen, Gary

Tucket's gold

Fifteen-year-old Francis and the two children he has adopted travel across the Old  West, evade Comancheros, discover a treasure, and wind up rich beyond their wildest dreams.

Pearson, Gayle

Don't call it paradise

When thirteen-year-old Maddie goes to visit her best friend Beanie in California, she hopes that Beanie's older brother has changed, but she slowly recalls a terrible secret from the past that makes her realize just what kind of person he really is.

Perkins, Lynne

All alone in the universe

Debbie is dismayed when her best friend Maureen starts spending time with ordinary, boring Glenna. Notable/Best Books (A.L.A.) Starred review.

Pinkney, Andrea

Silent thunder: a Civil War story

In 1862 eleven-year-old Summer and her thirteen-year-old brother Rosco take turns describing how life on the quiet Virginia plantation where they are slaves is affected by the Civil War.

Raskin, Ellen

Westing game

The mysterious death of an eccentric millionaire brings together an unlikely  assortment of heirs who must uncover the circumstances of his death before they can claim their inheritance. Newbery Medal/Honor. Starred review.

Rinaldi, Ann

Amelia's war

When a Confederate general threatens to burn Hagerstown, Maryland, unless it pays an exorbitant ransom, twelve-year-old Amelia and her friend find a way to save the town.

Sappey, Maureen

Letters from Vinnie

A fictionalized account of the Washington, D.C., Civil War years experienced by Vinnie Ream the sculptress, best known for the statue of Abraham Lincoln that is in the Capitol building.

Sheldon, Dyan

Confessions of a teenage drama queen

In her first year at a suburban New Jersey high school, Mary Elizabeth Cep, who now calls herself "Lola," sets her sights on the lead in the annual drama production, and finds herself in conflict with the most popular girl in school. Starred review.

Whelan, Gloria

Homeless bird

When thirteen-year-old Koly enters into an ill fated arranged marriage, she must either suffer a destiny dictated by India's tradition or find the courage to oppose it. Starred review.

Whitmore, Arvella

Trapped: between the lash and the gun

Twelve-year-old Jordan is becoming dangerously involved with a street gang when  he is suddenly transported through time to become a slave on the plantation of his ancestors.

Williams, Carol L.

My Angelica

Fifteen-year-old Sage is enthusiastic about submitting her historical romance novel to the school creative writing contest, but her would-be boyfriend George thinks that it is awful and tries to stop her.

Wood, June

About face

Both Glory Bea Goode, who lives with her grandmother over a second-hand store  in Turnback, Missouri, and Marvalene Zulig, who travels with her parents with  Shuroffs' Spectacular carnival, are unhappy with their lives until their friendship gives them a new perspective.

Yep, Laurence

Case of the firecrackers

When a prop gun used during the making of a television show turns out to have real  bullets, twelve-year-old Lily Lew and Auntie, her movie actress great-aunt, comb San Francisco's Chinatown in search of the culprit responsible for loading the gun