Book picks similar to
River Odyssey by Philip Roy
middle-grade
road-trip
childhood
three-star
Kat's Fall
Shelley Hrdlitschka - 2004
Ten years ago she was convicted of throwing Darcy's baby sister off a fifth floor balcony. Kat survived, but Darcy has spent the last decade raising his sister, giving her the love and support she has been denied by an absent mother and an uncaring father. Now, with their mother about to be released, their father has decided he has had enough of parental responsibility and is determined to return the children to their mother's care. Darcy is horrified, and adamant that he will not subject his sister to the woman who once tried to murder her. Struggling to understand and control the anger and resentment that has consumed him, Darcy is forced to confront his feelings and engage with the outside world. With newfound friendships and the unflagging support of his teacher, Darcy is able to understand some of the pain of the past and accept that he cannot control everything. As he grudgingly re-establishes ties with the mother he thinks he hates, he is accused of a horrific act. It will take incredible strength--his own and others--to fight the charges, but he finds that truth is often an elusive concept and that trust--and love--are powerful allies.
A Drowned Maiden's Hair
Laura Amy Schlitz - 2006
It seems the sisters need Maud to help stage elaborate séances for bereaved, wealthy patrons. As Maud is drawn deeper into the deception, playing her role as a "secret child," she is torn between her need to please and her growing conscience – until a shocking betrayal makes clear just how heartless her so-called guardians are. Filled with tantalizing details of turn-of-the-century spiritualism and page-turning suspense, this lively historical novel features a winning heroine whom readers will not soon forget.
The Knight of Inner Light: The Phoenix Empire - Book 1
Josh Hilp - 2018
This power leaves him with newfound responsibilities, and problems, as he struggles to keep important promises to those around him and those long gone as the world around him begins a slow, painful descent into chaos and darkness as demons begin roaming the lands for the first time in an Age. Wes's power might just be able to make the difference and save everyone, but he's just one boy. Beyond demons and darkness, Wes has to come to terms with the fear that magic, especially his own immense new power invokes in the people of the Kingdom of Strata, as well as the class system that leaves the nobility towering over those they deem beneath themselves. Even if he manages to save the Kingdom, and those around him, will he still be a good person when all is said and done?
The True Meaning of Smekday
Adam Rex - 2007
When her mom started telling everyone about the messages aliens were sending through a mole on the back of her neck? Maybe on Christmas Eve, when huge, bizarre spaceships descended on the Earth and the aliens – called Boov – abducted her mother? Or when the Boov declared Earth a colony, renamed it “Smekland” (in honor of glorious Captain Smek), and forced all Americans to relocate to Florida via rocketpod?In any case, Gratuity’s story is much, much bigger than the assignment. It involves her unlikely friendship with a renegade Boov mechanic named J.Lo.; a futile journey south to find Gratuity’s mother at the Happy Mouse Kingdom; a cross-country road trip in a hovercar called Slushious; and an outrageous plan to save the Earth from yet another alien invasion.Fully illustrated with “photos,” drawings, newspaper clippings, and comics sequences, this is a hilarious, perceptive, genre-bending novel by a remarkable new talent.
Black Panther: The Young Prince
Ronald L. Smith - 2018
Ruler of Wakanda. Avenger.This is his destiny. But right now, he's simply T'Challa-the young prince.Life is comfortable for twelve-year-old T'Challa in his home of Wakanda, an isolated, technologically advanced African nation. When he's not learning how to rule a kingdom from his father-the reigning Black Panther-or testing out the latest tech, he's off breaking rules with his best friend, M'Baku. But as conflict brews near Wakanda, T'Challa's father makes a startling announcement: he's sending T'Challa and M'Baku to school in America.This is no prestigious private academy-they've been enrolled at South Side Middle School in the heart of Chicago. Despite being given a high-tech suit and a Vibranium ring to use only in case of an emergency, T'Challa realizes he might not be as equipped to handle life in America as he thought. Especially when it comes to navigating new friendships while hiding his true identity as the prince of a powerful nation, and avoiding Gemini Jones, a menacing classmate who is rumored to be involved in dark magic.When strange things begin happening around school, T'Challa sets out to uncover the source. But what he discovers in the process is far more sinister than he could ever have imagined. In order to protect his friends and stop an ancient evil, T'Challa must take on the mantle of a hero, setting him on the path to becoming the Black Panther.
Leven Thumps- The Complete Series
Obert Skye - 2009
It is a place that allows mankind the power to hope and imagine and, most important, to dream. Leven Thumps, once an ordinary fourteen-year-old boy from Oklahoma, has a special gift that he is unaware of-a gift that could save the dreams of all mankind. Join Leven and his friends from Foo as they embark on an unFOOgettable journey!
NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society
Michael Buckley - 2009
With the help of cutting-edge science, their nerdy qualities are enhanced and transformed into incredible abilities. They battle the Hyena, a former junior beauty pageant contestant turned assassin, and an array of James Bond–style villains, each with an evil plan more diabolical and more ridiculous than the last.
Krazy Kow Saves the World - Well, Almost
Jeremy Strong - 2002
He’s trying to make a film starring the Kow as she battles against the Dark Contaminator. But first he has to cope with a few little problems, like exploding strawberries, rampaging toddlers and hostile football fans. After this, saving the world should be a doddle!
Dead City
James Ponti - 2012
By day, Molly attends MIST—the Metropolitan Institute of Science and Technology—but it’s what she’s learning outside of school that sets her apart from her classmates. Molly is a zombie hunter, just like her mother. This, however, is news to Molly. Now she must come to terms with not only the idea that zombies exist, but also that they’re everywhere, and it’s her job to help police them and keep the peace. Sure, she’d like to be a regular kid, but “regular” just isn’t possible when it turns out the most revered (or feared, depending on your perspective) zombie hunter in the history of New York City is your mother. It seems Molly’s got some legendary footsteps to follow…
The Nameless City
Faith Erin Hicks - 2016
and no name.Built on an ancient mountain pass, the City is forever being invaded by one nation or another, and every new master gives it a new name. But for the natives, their home is the Nameless City, and those who try to name it are forever outsiders. Dreamy, sheltered Kaidu is one such outsider. He's a Dao born and bred — a son of the latest nation to occupy the Nameless City. Cynical, street-smart Rat is a native, and at first she hates Kai for everything he stands for. But Kai's love of his new home may be the one thing that can unite these two unlikely friends. And they will need to stand together at all costs......because the fate of the Nameless City rests in their hands.
Boo
Neil Smith - 2015
But soon after arriving in this hereafter reserved for dead thirteen-year-olds, Boo discovers he’s a 'gommer', a kid who was murdered. What’s more, his killer may also be in heaven. With help from the volatile Johnny, a classmate killed at the same school, Boo sets out to track down the mysterious Gunboy who cut short both their lives.In a heartrending story written to his beloved parents, the odd but endearing Boo relates his astonishing heavenly adventures as he tests the limits of friendship, learns about forgiveness and, finally, makes peace with the boy he once was and the boy he can now be.
Chiggers
Hope Larson - 2008
Her friend Rose is a cabin assistant, her friend Beth is pierced, and now the only person who doesn't seem too cool for Abby is Shasta, the new girl. Shasta: 1. who is one-eighth Cherokee.2. who was struck by lightning.3. whose Internet boyfriend is a senior in high school.4. who can't do any activities because of various questionable ailments.5. who is totally annoying to everyone but Abby.Can Abby be friends with a girl who all her other friends can't stand? Especially when Shasta has secrets that she isn't even telling Abby?Brilliantly plotted by Eisner Award winner Hope Larson, this is the story of one summer that will most definitely be different from the rest.
The Diamond of Drury Lane
Julia Golding - 2006
She lives in the Theater Royal on Drury Lane, a place filled with dramatic characters, theatrical spectacles, and now, a secret treasure--which Cat has been asked to protect. Her new friend Pedro, a former slave and gifted violinist, is eager to help, and so is the theater prompter, Jonathan, who is hiding secrets of his own. But when the ruthless gang leader Billy Shepherd learns about the treasure, Cat thinks she's going to lose it for sure. She still doesn't know what the treasure is, so how can she keep it safe from Billy and his gang? Follow Cat into the streets of London, as she faces danger and adventure, racing to be the first to discover the diamond of Drury Lane!
Disney After Dark
Ridley Pearson - 2004
Finn Whitman and four other teens have been hired as Disney World guides, but with an odd twist: With cutting-edge technology, they have been transformed into hologram projections capable of leading guests around the park. What begins as an exciting theme park job turns into a virtual nightmare as Finn and his pals attempt to thwart an uprising by a menacing group of Disney villains.
Princess Ben
Catherine Gilbert Murdock - 2008
My bodice did not plunge as dramatically as some, and no man--no man I would ever want to meet, surely--could fit his hands round my waist. What I lacked in beauty I would simply have to earn with charm..."
Benevolence is not your typical princess--and Princess Ben is certainly not your typical fairy tale.
With her parents lost to assassins, Princess Ben ends up under the thumb of the conniving Queen Sophia. Starved and miserable, locked in the castle's highest tower, Ben stumbles upon a mysterious enchanted room. So begins her secret education in the magical arts: mastering an obstinate flying broomstick, furtively emptying the castle's pantries, setting her hair on fire... But Ben's private adventures are soon overwhelmed by a mortal threat to her kingdom. Can Ben save the country and herself from tyranny?