A Mango-Shaped Space – Wendy Mass

Mia, 13, has always seen colors in sounds, numbers, and letters, a fact she has kept secret since the day she discovered other people don't have this ability. Then she discovers that she has a rare condition called synesthesia. From then on, she leads a kind of double life. She eagerly attends research gatherings with other synesthetes and devours information about the condition, but continues to struggle at school. Her gradual abandonment of her frustrating school life in favor of the compelling world of fellow synesthetes and the unique things only they can experience seems quite logical. Finally, and rather abruptly, her extreme guilt at her beloved cat Mango's illness brings her back down to earth and she begins to work on some of the relationships she let crumble.

The Schwa Was Here

 Neal Shusterman

When Anthony "Antsy" Bonano and his friends meet Calvin Schwa, they are impressed and puzzled by his ability to appear and disappear before their very eyes. Antsy concocts a moneymaking scheme based on the Schwa's invisibility that seems promising until he and his friends overreach and are caught by the town's legendary mean millionaire, Mr. Crawley. Their resulting community service project cements and ultimately challenges friendships.

Buried Onions – Gary Soto

Life is a struggle for 19-year-old Eddie as he survives one day at a time in Fresno, California. He lives in a rough neighborhood plagued by drive-bys, drugs, and desperate people. After his cousin Jesus is killed, Eddie's aunt pressures him to avenge her son's death. Eddie drops out of City College and works odd jobs, all the while pondering this, the latest of the senseless killings that have become a fact of life within the community. A run of bad luck adds to his frustration as he is caught up in the violence he hates.

Estrella’s Quinceaeñra

 Malin Alegria

Estrella is mortified when plans begin for her quinceañera. She envisions a large, tacky celebration and a gaudy, fufu rufu gown. Even worse, her damas are bitter childhood friends who accuse Estrella of abandoning them since she won a scholarship to a private school in the ritziest neighborhood in San Jose. Then Estrella falls for Speedy, a former grade-school classmate who is also Mexican American, and she feels increasingly conflicted as she moves between her wealthy school friends and the "one big crazy family" of her barrio.

Heartbeat – Sharon Creech

Annie, 12, likes running, but has no interest in racing. For her, the joy comes from feeling the earth beneath her feet. The experience is different for her moody friend, Max. For him, running is a way to escape his personal problems. Annie's tightly knit world begins to unravel when she learns that her mother is pregnant and her beloved Grandpa, a former champion racer, is slipping into dementia. She takes comfort in the familiar but is able to face change and take it in stride.

The Eyes of the Emperor

Graham Salisbury

Eddy Okana lies about his age and joins the Army in his hometown of Honolulu only weeks before the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. Suddenly Americans see him as the enemy—even the U.S. Army doubts the loyalty of Japanese American soldiers.  Then the Army sends Eddy and a small band of Japanese American soldiers on a secret mission to a small island off the coast of Mississippi. Here they are given a special job, one that only they can do. Eddy's going to help train attack dogs. He's going to be the bait.

Magic or Madness  

 Justine Larbalestier

Reason Cansino has spent her life with her unusual mother in the bush, moving frequently, keeping to herself, and learning how to guard against her bizarre grandmother, Esmeralda. When her mother goes insane and 15-year-old Reason is sent to live with Esmeralda, she starts to question all the stories her mother has told her. Is Mere practicing magic, which Reason's mother insisted was not real? Why have nearly all her ancestors died young? When Reason digs up a dead cat in the cellar and finds the key to a locked (magic) door, she escapes her increasingly frightening grandmother only to find herself halfway around the world in New York City, weak, in danger, and befriended by the mysterious Jay-Tee. Seek to take advantage of their ignorance.

Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie – Jordan Sonnenblick

Thirteen-year-old Steven has a totally normal life: he plays drums in the All-Star Jazz band, has a crush on the hottest girl in the school, and is constantly annoyed by his five-year-old brother, Jeffrey. But when Jeffrey is diagnosed with leukemia, Steven's world is turned upside down. He is forced to deal with his brother's illness and his parents' attempts to keep the family in one piece.

Stormbreaker  - Anthony Horowitz

Alex Rider's world is turned upside down when he discovers that his uncle has been murdered. He discovers that his uncle was really a spy for the British Secret Service. The Secret Service blackmails Alex into becoming a spy. After two short weeks of training, Alex is equipped with several special toys and sent to complete his uncle's last assignment, to discover the secret that Herod Sayle is hiding. Alex discovers a strange world of secrets and villains including an ex-circus knife catcher and a hit man.

Hidden Talents – David Lubar

Edgeview Alternative School represents the end of the line for Martin Anderson. At 13, he's been kicked out of every school in his district, and feels more than a little skeptical about making a new start in this lonely, gray place. Still, he begins to establish tentative friendships with his pyromaniac roommate. They band together to form some small wall of protection against the school's most disturbed bully. Soon, Martin suspects that his friends are far more than ordinary misfits, and he confronts them with his theories about their psychic powers. His excitement in his discovery turns to disappointment when they turn against him out of fear of being labeled freaks. Fortunately, a class science experiment finally gives Martin the evidence he needs to persuade his friends of their talents. He coaches them as they learn to control their powers and leads them as they face their greatest challenge: a battle with Bloodbath that will decide the fate of the school.

The Bully – Paul Langan

Darrell has to deal with a new home, a new school, and a new bully named Tyray. Tyray forces Darrell to pay him every Friday. Tyray has threatened Darrell that if he doesn't pay he would hurt Darrell..... bad! Everywhere Darrell goes Tyray follows Darrell to bully him. Darrell also tries to help his little cousin when he faces a bully in his own family!

The Shadow Club – Neal Shusterman

Best friends Jared and Cheryl know well how it feels to be second best. Cheryl's only talent is for singing and she is consistently upstaged by her small, cute, cousin Rebecca; Jared, a runner, can never quite beat Austin Pace--who never stops rubbing it in. When Jared and Cheryl begin playing a game of imaginary revenges, they find that it only feeds their resentment--and the Shadow Club is born, a group of seven second-best kids who can help each other with small revenges because no one would ever suspect them. At first the practical jokes are fun (and very funny). But then a second round of pranks begin: vicious, even dangerous pranks--and it's no longer the Shadow Club who's doing them. Someone is on to the Shadow Club; someone knows their secrets. And as their tension and fear of discovery grows, the "good" kids discover just how far terror and rage can take them... 

The Lightning Thief  - Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can’t to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. Being away at boarding school is only getting worse. Percy’s mom decides its time that he knew the truth about where he came from. She sends Percy to Camp Half-Blood, a summer camp for demigods (half human, half god), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends, Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.

The Looking Glass Wars

Frank Beddor

When her parents, the king and queen of Wonderland, are killed by her Aunt Redd, Alyss Heart escapes by jumping into the Pool of Tears. Her jump takes her to Victorian Oxford, where she emerges from a puddle, lives as a street urchin, and is eventually adopted by Reverend and Mrs. Liddell. Unable to make anyone believe her fantastic story, she finally confides in Charles Dodgson, who says he will write a book about her. When she discovers that Alice's Adventures Underground is full of make-believe, and not her story or her real name, she sadly resigns herself to life as a Victorian girl of privilege. Meanwhile, back in Wonderland, the Alyssians form a resistance movement and attempt to overthrow Redd. For years, Hatter Madigan searches the world for Alyss so she can return to Wonderland as Queen. In the end, the Alyssians prevail, but only after much graphic bloodshed and many brutal battles.

Milkweed  - Jerry Spinelli

In Warsaw in 1939, a boy wanders the streets and survives by stealing what food he can. He knows nothing of his background: Befriended by a band of orphaned Jewish boys, he begins to share their sleeping quarters. He understands very little of what is happening. When the Nazi "Jackboots" march into the town, he greets them happily, and hopes he can join their ranks someday. Soon he is forced to move to the ghettos with his adopted family. His skills are used to smuggle food into the starving ghetto, but soon he understands that the trains that have come to take his friends away are not going where everyone thinks they will.