Half-Moon Investigations


Eoin Colfer - 2006
    For one thing, he has had to suffer the humiliating nickname "Half Moon" because of his short stature. But the real reason Fletcher is different is that ever since he was a baby, he's had a nose for sniffing out mysteries. And after graduating at the top of his Internet class, he is officially certified as the youngest detective in the world. He even has a silver-plated detective's badge to prove it. Everything is going along fine until two things happen: a classmate hires him to solve a crime, and his prized badge is stolen. All signs point to the town's most notorious crime family, the Sharkeys.As Fletcher follows the clues, evidence of a conspiracy begins to emerge. But before he can crack the case, Fletcher finds himself framed for a serious crime. To clear his name, he will have to pair up with the unlikeliest of allies and go on the run from the authorities. Fletcher has twelve hours to find the guilty party--or he is the guilty party.

The Colossus Rises


Peter Lerangis - 2013
    In a few months, he’s going to die.One MissionJack needs to find seven magic loculi that, when combined, have the power to cure him.One ProblemThe loculi are the relics of a lost civilization and haven’t been seen in thousands of years.Seven WondersBecause they’re hidden in the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Titanic Crossing


Barbara Williams - 1995
    Neither Mother nor Virginia, Albert's spoiled little sister, is very happy about the voyage. But nobody can dampen Albert's enthusiasm about sailing on the biggest, most luxurious ocean liner ever built--not even Emily, a know-it-all girl who thinks the ship doesn't have enough lifeboats. Everyone knows the "Titanic" is unsinkable!Albert can't wait to see his friends back home, play baseball, and have fun. But when the "Titanic" hits an iceberg and begins to sink, he suddenly faces adult decisions. Can he save Virginia's life---and his own...?The sinking of the "Titanic," one of the gretest maritime diasters of all time, has fascianted the world for over eighty years. This ripping and fast-paced novel puts human faces on the tragedy as it shows us one boy's viliant passage to manhood.

The Emerald Atlas


John Stephens - 2011
    Ripped from their parents as babies, they are being protected from a horrible evil of devastating power, an evil they know nothing about.Until now.Before long, Kate, Michael, and Emma are on a journey through time to dangerous and secret corners of the world...a journey of allies and enemies, of magic and mayhem. And — if an ancient prophesy is correct — what they do can change history, and it is up to them to set things right.

Bloomability


Sharon Creech - 1998
    She feels as if she's being taken out of the country against her will. Certainly no one asked her opinion. Dinnie is used to change-with her family constantly moving from state to state while her father searches for one new "opportunity" after another. But when her aunt and uncle whisk her away to an international school in Lugano, Switzerland, Dinnie feels that this might be one "opportunity"that isn't right for her.Suddenly Dinnie's surrounded by kids from many different cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs. Home, and her first life, seem so far away. Can she adapt to a new country, a new home, and new friends? Or will it just be easier to close herself off-just survive-and never realize all the "bloomabilities" that are possible?

When You Reach Me


Rebecca Stead - 2009
    Each message brings her closer to believing that only she can prevent a tragic death. Until the final note makes her think she’s too late.

People of the Ark


Vaughn Heppner - 2010
     With astounding narrative power—Vaughn Heppner, Winner of the Writers of the Future Award—sweeps the reader into the whirlpool of pageantry, passion, splendor, chaos and earth-shattering upheaval that was the world before the Flood. Here is the story of Methuselah, the wealthy patriarch of a rebellious clan, and Noah, a farmer driven mad with a vision of catastrophic disaster. So begins a towering saga of great events and mortal frailties. It is peopled with a vast, and vivid cast of unforgettable men and women—queens and soldiers, temptresses and wives, carpenters and orphans—combined in a richly embroidered human tapestry to bring a remarkable era to bold and breathtaking life.

Phoenix Rising


Karen Hesse - 1994
    Without warning, Nyle's modest world fills with protective masks, evacuations, contaminated food, disruptions, and mistrust.Nyle adjusts to the changes. As long as the fallout continues blowing to the East, Nyle, Gran, and the farm can go on. But into this uncertain haven stumble Ezra Trent and his mother, "refugees" from the heart of the accident, who take temporary shelter in the back bedroom of Nyle's house.The back bedroom is the dying room: It took her mother when Nyle was six; it stole away her grandfather just two years ago. Now Ezra is back there and Nyle doesn't want to open her heart to him. Too many times she's let people in, only to have them desert her.Karen Hesse's voice and vision are grounded in truth; she takes on a nearly unharnessable subject, contains it, and makes it resonate with honesty. Part love story, part coming of age, this is a tour de force by a gifted writer.

Little Pilgrim's Progress: From John Bunyan's Classic


Helen L. Taylor - 1947
    Taylor took John Bunyan's Pilgrim'sProgress and simplified the vocabulary and concepts for young readers, whilekeeping the storyline intact. The result was a classic in itself, which has nowsold over 600,000 copies. It's both a simple adventure story and a profound allegoryof the Christian journey through life, a delightful read with a message kids ages6 to 12 can understand and remember. A new look and fresh illustrations for today'schildren enlivens the journey to the Celestial City.

The Water Seeker


Kimberly Willis Holt - 2010
    And when he put the branch in my hands for the first time, I felt a burning inside me because I had the gift, too. Just be thankful I didn’t hand that gift down to you.”Amos figured it was probably best not to tell his father that it was too late. What would you do if you knew you had a special gift—a sixth sense—that was passed down from one generation to the next? A gift that could help people in times of need, but one your father often saw as a trap. Would you use that gift? This is the story of Amos Kincaid, the dowser’s son.

No Passengers Beyond This Point


Gennifer Choldenko - 2010
    But things take an even more dramatic turn when their plane lands in a very unusual place. A mysterious driver meets them at the airport; when he drops them off at their "destination," each kid suddenly has a clock with a different amount of time left. If the time runs out, they have to become permanent citizens in a place they don't recognize or understand. Only if they work together can they call the driver back to help get them where they really belong. Suspenseful, funny, dramatic, and thought-provoking, this is a book that will stay with you long after you read the incredible ending.

The Island at the End of Everything


Kiran Millwood Hargrave - 2017
    Even if I told you that we have oceans filled with sea turtles and dolphins, or forests lush with parrots that call through air thick with warmth... Nobody comes here because they want to.The island of no return.Ami lives with her mother on an island where the sea is as blue as the sky. It’s all she knows and loves, but the arrival of malicious government official Mr Zamora changes her world forever: her island is to be made into a colony for lepers. Taken from her mother and banished across the sea, Ami faces an uncertain future in an orphanage. There she meets a honey-eyed girl named for butterflies, and together they discover a secret that will lead her on an adventure home. Ami must go back to the island of no return, but will she make it in time?

Of Two Minds


Carol Matas - 1995
    Trapped in a strange land and stripped of their powers (Coren had been able to read the thoughts not only of humans, but also of animals and objects), the two must work together to overthrow the tyrannical Hevak, restore harmony to the country, and return home safely.

Raiders from the Sea


Lois Walfrid Johnson - 2003
    Then, in one frightening day, Viking raiders capture Bree and her brother Devin and take them away from their home in Ireland.All of the Irish prisoners are at the mercy of Mikkel, the proud young leader of the Vikings. Separated by Mikkel, Bree and Devin each face different journeys to courage. As Bree sails toward a life of slavery in Norway and as Devin struggles to survive on his own, they must choose to trust God in spite of the troubles they face.When everything is against them, where will Bree and Devin find the courage to win?

The Boys Start the War


Phyllis Reynolds Naylor - 1993
    When a new family--with three daughters--moves into the neighborhood, the Hatford brothers decide to make Caroline and her sisters so miserable that they'll want to go back to Ohio.