The Thief Lord

by Cornelia Funke
Lexile:  640
Genre:  Fantasy

Prosper and Bo have trying to hide out in Venice to escape an evil aunt who wishes to adopt one of them and send the other into foster care.  They are befriended by the Thief Lord and his gang of street children who live in an abandoned movie theater and steal to make ends meet.  Then they meet the Conte who asks the Thief Lord to steal a magical wing that he has been searching for a long time.  Once the boys steal the wing, all of their lives will change and none of them will ever be the same again.

Rainy

by Sis Deans
Lexile:  ???
Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Rainy lives in a world that is all her own.  Her ADHD makes it hard for her to focus her thoughts and her actions and now she is being left at a summer camp without their support.  Rainy is used to having her mom, dad, sister, and dog to help her out, but now she has to get along with new people who don’t understand her.  When Rainy gets bad news from home, she sets off on a dangerous journey to help herself, but doesn’t think about how her decision will affect others.  The author does an excellent job of showing how differently the brain can work as the reader can get a sense of what it might be like to have ADHD as the book in many instances jumps from place to place as Rainy’s brain might actually have done in real life.  This would be a great book for anyone to read who is trying to cope with their own ADHD or trying to better understand what it’s like for someone who has this diagnosis.

How it Went Down

by Kekla Magoon
Lexile:  560
Genre:  Realistic Fiction

16 year old Tariq, who is black,  is dead, shot twice by Jack, who is white.  Several eyewitness accounts differ on how things went down.  Did Tariq have a gun?  Did Tariq not have a gun?  Did Jack act in self defense?  Did Jack read the situation incorrectly?  Day after day, the stories grow and change...but the one thing that won’t change is that Tariq isn’t coming back.  For those who knew him, this has left a gaping hole in their lives and in their plans for the future.  This story is told from multiple perspectives of people who were present at the shooting and from those who knew Tariq the best.

The Port Chicago 50

by Steve Sheinkin
Lexile:  950
Genre:  Informational

What occurred on July 17, 1944?  I had no idea that this was an important date in WWII history until I read this book.  July 17, 1944 is the date of the Port Chicago explosion that killed 320 serviceman and injured hundreds more.  The majority of those killed and injured were black sailors who had been ordered to load bombs and ammunition onto warships.  After the explosion, 50 of them decided that they were unable to continue to obey these orders.  The Navy responded by calling it mutiny and put them in prison.  This book is the remarkable story of the Port Chicago 50’s attempts to prevail against prejudice and injustice at a time when they were willingly risking their lives to help the war effort.

World's Scariest Prisons

by Emma Carlson Berne
Lexile:  1100
Genre:  Informational

What do you think it would be like to visit some of the world’s scariest prisons that have housed some of the world’s worst criminals?  Well, look no further than this book!  Emma Berne takes you on a scary journey from the Tower of London to Alcatraz and describes with chilling details what it was like to be a prisoner in these frightening places.  You might want to grab a flashlight if you’re planning to read this one after it is dark!

Claudette Colvin, Twice Toward Justice

by Phillip Hoose
Lexile:  1000
Genre:  Biography

March 2, 1955:  15 year old Claudette Colvin was on her way home from high school, riding on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama.  The bus filled up and the driver ordered Claudette to give up her seat, but she refused, citing her constitutional right to sit wherever she wanted to.  Claudette was arrested and taken to jail.  Does this story sound familiar to you?  Perhaps this reminds you of a story you’ve heard about Rosa Parks?  Claudette is someone you probably have never heard of, but she actually played an important role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott.  This is the powerful biography of a young girl who decided to stand up for herself and demand justice for all.

T4: A Novel in Verse

by Ann Clare LeZotte
Lexile:  ???
Genre:  Historical Fiction, Novel in Verse

This is a haunting story told in verse that takes place during World War II.  Paula Becker is growing up in Germany with her loving family.  They are patient with her as she learns how to communicate with them as she is deaf.  Her family does everything they can to make her life easier.  But then Hitler comes to power and life in Germany changes. Suddenly, Paula’s deafness could mean the end of her life because of the Nazi regime’s strict orders to kill anyone with a mental or physical disability.  Paula’s family realizes that in order to protect her, they must send her away with a trusted family priest.  Paula’s fight for survival is an amazing story of courage and perseverance in the face of many obstacles.

Plague (Gone Series #4)

by Michael Grant
Lexile:  570
Genre: Fantasy, Dystopian

Imagine if one day you were going about your normal everyday life when suddenly, there was a “POOF” and everyone over the age of 15 disappeared.  What would you do?  At first the kids think it’s kind of neat - no grownups means no rules!  But as time passes and no adults return and some kids start developing strange powers, it becomes clear that if they are going to survive someone is going to have to become a leader and take charge.  Plague is the fourth book in the Gone series.  This time a terrible flu is taking over Perdido Beach and Lana, the Healer is unable to stop it.  The town is almost out of water so Albert sends Sam and a few others off on a secret mission to find a new source.  Caine and Diana are living the life of luxury on the island that Sanjit and his brothers escaped from.  Astrid is trying to keep Little Pete alive.  So everyone has their job and everything is in order until Drake/Brittney returns from the dead...bringing forth a message from The Darkness.  Old enemies will have to stand together if anyone is to survive.

The One (Book 3 in The Selection series)

by Kiera Cass
Lexile:  670
Genre:  Dystopian

America Singer is still among the remaining contenders in The Selection, which will ultimately force Prince Maxon to declare his love for one of the 6 Elite.  As the end of the competition grows, so does America's confusion.  Is what she feels for Maxon really love?  Could she really see herself as a princess, living in the palace away from her family forever.  Could she really be The One?