Book picks similar to
Diamonds in the Rough by Eric Walters


young-adult
eric-walters
canadian
childhood

Shug


Jenny Han - 2006
    And she's about to become your new best friend. Annemarie Wilcox, or Shug as her family calls her, is beginning to think there's nothing worse than being twelve. She's too tall, too freckled, and way too flat-chested. Shug is sure that there's not one good or amazing thing about her. And now she has to start junior high, where the friends she counts most dear aren't acting so dear anymore -- especially Mark, the boy she's known her whole life through. Life is growing up all around her, and all Shug wants is for things to be like they used to be. How is a person supposed to prepare for what happens tomorrow when there's just no figuring out today?

Boston Jane: An Adventure


Jennifer L. Holm - 2001
    But her impeccable training at Miss Hepplewhite's Young Ladies Academy in Philadelphia is hardly preparation for the colorful characters and crude life that await her in Washington Territory.Thrown upon her wits in the wild, Jane must determine for herself whether she is truly proper Miss Jane Peck of Philadelphia, faultless young lady and fiancee, or Boston Jane, as the Chinook dub her, fearless and loyal woman of the frontier.An exciting new novel from Jennifer L. Holm, author of the Newbery Honor Book Our Only May Amelia.

The Luckiest Girl


Beverly Cleary - 1958
    And once she's there, things get even better. In no time, she catches the attention of two boys: one, a good-looking basketball star, the other, an interesting, fun boy who likes journalism. Shelley feels like the luckiest girl in the world. Now she's about to discover the magic of falling in love -- and a whole lot more!

The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear


Walter Moers - 1999
    I shall recount thirteen and a half of them in this book but keep quiet about the rest," says the narrator of Walter Moers’s epic adventure. "What about the Minipirates? What about the Hobgoblins, the Spiderwitch, the Babbling Billows, the Troglotroll, the Mountain Maggot… Mine is a tale of mortal danger and eternal love, of hair’s breadth, last-minute escapes." Welcome to the fantastic world of Zamonia, populated by all manner of extraordinary characters. It’s a land of imaginative lunacy and supreme adventure, wicked satire and epic fantasy, all mixed together, turned on its head, and lavishly illustrated by the author.

Eggs


Jerry Spinelli - 2007
    Sarcastic and bossy 13-year-old Primrose lives with her childlike, fortuneteller mother, and a framed picture is the only evidence of the father she never knew. Despite their differences, David and Primrose forge a tight yet tumultuous friendship, eventually helping each other deal with what is missing in their lives. This powerful, quirky novel about two very complicated, damaged children has much to say about friendship, loss, and recovery.

Men Of Stone


Gayle Friesen - 2000
    Then his elderly aunt arrives for a visit and the tales she shares of her past in Stalinist Russia light the way for his future.

The Secrets of Droon: Books 4-6: Volume II


Tony Abbott - 2005
    He’s turned into a bug–again. Eric and Julie hope someone in Droon can help. Princess Keeah thinks there might be a cure in the City in the Clouds. Too bad the friends only have one day before the city disappears! The Great Ice BattleBrrr! Jaffa City is under a spell of ice and snow. Even Galen the wizard is frozen solid! Eric, Julie, Neal, and Princess Keeah have to figure out a way to break Lord Sparr's curse. But they better hurry or they might get frozen, too.The Sleeping Giant of GollLord Sparr has found a new weapon to use against the city of Droon. He’s woken up a mean old giant that will now obey his every command! It’s a good thing Eric, Julie, and Neal are around to help their friends try to stop Lord Sparr. It’s a giant job, but somebody’s got to do it!

School of Fear


Gitty Daneshvari - 1999
    Theodore Bartholomew is petrified of dying. Lulu Punchalower is scared of confined spaces. Garrison Feldman is terrified of deep water. With very few options left, the parents of these four twelve year-olds send them to the highly elusive and exclusive School of Fear to help them overcome their phobias. But when their peculiar teacher, Mrs. Wellington, and her unconventional teaching methods turn out to be more frightening than even their fears, the foursome realize that this just may be the scariest summer of their lives.

The Curious Dictionary


Nick Earls - 2012
    They are blasted into history to hunt down the words that threaten to vanish from our past and our present. Their lives and the future of the world are at stake. Can they find a way back home? Or will they be trapped in the past forever? Now more than ever, they need to depend on each other if they want to survive.

The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales


Jacob Grimm - 1812
    Originally titled Children’s and Household Tales, The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales contains the essential bedtime stories for children worldwide for the better part of two centuries. The Brothers Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm, were German linguists and cultural researchers who gathered legendary folklore and aimed to collect the stories exactly as they heard them. 2012 marked the 200th anniversary of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, and what better way to celebrate than to include all 211 stories into the Knickerbocker Classic Series?Featuring all your favorite classics, including “Hansel and Gretel,” “Cinderella,” “The Frog Prince,” “Rapunzel,” “Snow White,” “Rumpelstiltskin,” and dozens more, The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales is also accompanied by 40 color plates and 60 black and white illustrations from award-winning English illustrator Arthur Rackham, whose books and prints are now highly sought-after collectibles.The third title in the Knickerbocker Classic series has 800 pages of classic fairy tales to enjoy and will also feature a full-cloth binding, ribbon marker, and will fit neatly in an elegant slipcase for your personal library collection.Also includes a selection of stunning color reproductions by the famous illustrator, Arthur Rackham.

Magic City


Drew Lerman - 2007
    He's suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder ever since a hurricane hit his house, with him alone in it. He's suffering from indecision in his relationships with girls. He's suffering because he's got a new friend, Charlie Bickle, who seems to like to see him suffer. It's all a part of life, Charlie says. Henry wants to believe it's true. He wants to think that life can be kept at arm's distance. He wants to be convinced that life is bullshit. His curse is that he knows better. And that curse will also be his salvation.

The Curse of the Viking Grave


Farley Mowat - 1966
    Packed with excitement and with little-known information about the customs of Viking explorers, this story of survival portrays the bond of youthful friendship and the wonders of a virtually unexplored land.

Unsinkable


Gordon Korman - 2011
    Paddy is a stowaway, escaping a deadly past. Sophie's mother is delivered to the ship by police - after she and Sophie have been arrested. Juliana's father is an eccentric whose riches can barely hide his madness. And Alfie is hiding a secret that could get him kicked off the ship immediately.The lives of these four passengers will be forever linked with the fate of Titanic. And the farther they get from shore, the more the danger looms. . . .

The Curse of the Gloamglozer


Paul Stewart - 2001
    He and his father have journeyed to the city of Sanctaphrax – a great floating rock, bound to the ground below by a chain, its inhabitants living with their heads literally in the clouds.But the city hides a dangerous secret: deep inside the great rock, something horrible lurks. With his father away, Quint may be the only one who can save Sanctaphrax from the dreaded curse of the gloamglozer . . .The Curse of the Gloamglozer is the first book of the Quint Saga – first trilogy in The Edge Chronicles, the internationally best-selling fantasy series, which has featured on the UK and the New York Times best-seller lists and sold more than 3 million copies. There are now 13 titles and four trilogies in the series, but each book is a stand-alone adventure, so you can read The Edge Chronicles in any order you choose.

A Trail of Broken Dreams: The Gold Rush Diary of Harriet Palmer


Barbara Haworth-Attard - 2004
    Harriet decides that she must disguise herself as a boy and travel overland to the Cariboo gold fields to find her father and reunite what remains of her family. But will her disguise hold out?