Swindle

by Gordon Korman
Lexile:  710
Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Griffin is the Man with a Plan and this time his plan just might include breaking the law.  But, in his mind, he's only trying to get back something that was wrongly taken from him.  In order to reclaim his property, he will hava to assemble a team that will be able to maneuver around a high tech security system, a nosy neighbor, and a couple of serious guard dogs.  Griffin thinks he has everything covered, until the plan actually gets under way.

Steve Jobs: Thinking Differently

by Patricia Lakin
Lexile:  ???
Genre:  Biography

Steve Jobs, the cofounder and chairman of Apple, has at times been called a variety of names:  "inventor, third grade terror, pioneer, college dropout, visionary, geek, and revolutionary."  No one who knew Steve as a child or teenager would have expected him to lead such an extraordinary life.  His inventions and companies have changed people's lives throughout the world.

Fatty Legs

by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton
Lexile:  ???
Genre:  Memoir

Margaret is an Inuit girl growing up in the High Arctic.  She begs her father to let her go live with the "outsiders" so that she can go to school and learn to read.  Her father and older sister caution her that living with the "outsiders" is no easy thing.  But Margaret is determined.  She wants an education and is willing to sacrifice whatever she has to, to get one.

Picture Perfect

by D. Anne Love
Lexile:  860
Genre:  Realistic Fiction

14 year old Phoebe Trask has a picture perfect life until her mother leaves on a business trip and doesn't come back.  Then a new neighbor moves in next door and her father seems to have become instant friends with her.  Phoebe is forced to cope with life changes that she didn't ask for.  Will her family ever be perfect again?

Runner

by Carl Deuker
Lexile:  670
Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Chance Taylor has to worry about lots of things his friends take for granted.  His father is an alcoholic who struggles with hanging on to a consistent job so Chance is often the only one earning money for his family.  He has a job he hates that pays him a minimum wage, so when he is approached by a stranger about earning some easy money, he is in.  However, with the easy money, comes the worry about what's in the packages that he is collecting and delivering.  Does Chance know what he has really gotten into?

The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had

by Kristin Levine
Lexile:  680
Genre:  Historical Fiction

Harry "Dit" Sims is expected when he learns that a new boy just his age is moving to town.  Imagine his surprise when he learns that the boy is actually a girl and the girl and her family are black.  An unlikely and at times dangerous friendship forms between the two.  When a terrible crime is committed, it could mean the end of their friendship...or it could be just the beginning.

Day of Tears

by Julius Lester
Lexile:  ???
Genre:  Historical Fiction

Sarah and Frances have been raised by Emma, a slave, owned by Pierce Butler.  Pierce has a gambling addiction and realizes that in order to pay off his debts, he must auction off all of his slaves.  It is the biggest slave auction in American history, and raises over $300,000, but it costs Pierce Butler the respect of his daughters and ultimately his humanity.