He’s been raising Sammy practically on his own ever since their mom disappeared again on one of her binges. They get by, finding just enough to eat and plenty of time to skateboard. But at Morrison High, Ian is getting the distinct, chilling feeling that the administration wants him and his board and his punked hair gone. Simply gone. And when his temper finally blows–he actually takes a swing at Coach Florence and knocks him cold–Ian knows he’s got to grab Sammy and skate. Run.Their search for the one relative they can think of, their only hope, leads Ian and Sammy across the entire state of Washington in the cold and rain–and straight into a shocking discovery. Through it all, Ian knows exactly what he has to do: protect Sammy, and let no one split up their family of two. Michael Harmon tells a nuanced and unflinching story of wilderness survival, the fierce bond between brothers, and teen rage–and redemption.

    When shy Sophie's best friend, Kylie, signs them both up for cheerleading tryouts, it's Sophie who lands in the spotlight - and Kylie ends up on the sidelines. Now Kylie is stuck playing mascot, and she doesn't exactly get along with Sophie's new friends on the squad. Things really spin out of control right before the big game, and Sophie has to choose sides. Can the girls rediscover how to root for each other before the clock runs out on their friendship?

    There are good friends like Sticky Burr and Mossy Burr, who stick together, and bad seeds like Scurvy Burr, who likes to irritate them every chance he gets. Watch out for wild dogs and maze trees, loyal insects and escapes on the fly in a gently quirky, delightfully detailed graphic storybook that middle-graders and ambitious younger readers are bound to get stuck on.

     Bree Phelts is shy, enjoys reading, and spends her free time helping her mom. Her biggest worry is figuring out a grand prize for the summer reading program. Her black and white life is splashed with color when Owen Mattox, a professional football player, asks her to step out from behind the refreshment table and dance. He’s wrong for her on so many levels but just what her heart needed to wake up. Devastated when he’s dumped by the only woman he ever imagined marrying, Owen Mattox pulls his heart in tight and doesn’t let go. He’s worked so hard to isolate himself from love—and the pain that comes when it’s lost—that he practically a recluse. He doesn’t even hang with the other Texas Titans players and builds his home outside of Dallas for privacy. The fewer people in his life, the fewer chances of getting hurt. But he can’t deny his interest in the quiet librarian and once they dance, he’s hooked. But Owen doesn’t open his heart easily which means Bree will have to overcome her shyness and be her own hero—instead of reading about one—in order to save the love that’s budding between them.

    Four events. And only one gold medal. Floor routine. Uneven bars. Vault. And balance beam. 90 seconds. 75 seconds. 7 seconds. 90 seconds.In gymnastics, your best friends are your biggest rivals. And the Bellevue Kips are feeling the pressure. Everyone wants to win best all-around gymnast at Optionals and State finals, but only one girl goes home with gold. Who will it be? Nadia: Gymnastics royalty. Beam is her event. Gold is in her DNA. But how far is she willing to go to win?Bethany: Best on floor. Worst on vault. Does Bethany’s height spell gymnastics doom? Sara: They used to call her Tree Frog. Now, she’s too scared to tumble backwards. Can she get it together in time to compete?Kelley: Gymnast. Soccer Star. And ballerina. The time has come to choose her sport. What is she willing to sacrifice to win?Jamie: The new girl and the squad’s biggest mystery. Will she crumble under pressure? Or will she give them all a run for their money? The countdown to competition has begun. Will it make them? Or break them?

    With a starred review from Kirkus Reviews calling it an "enchanting tale to treasure," The Great Unexpected captures the heart and the imagination.Humorous and heartfelt, this is a story of pairs—of young Naomi and Lizzie, both orphans in present-day Blackbird Tree, USA, and of Sybil and Nula, grown-up sisters from faraway Rook's Orchard, Ireland, who have become estranged.Young Naomi Deane is brimming with curiosity and her best friend, Lizzie Scatterding, could talk the ears off a cornfield. Naomi has a knack for being around when trouble happens. She knows all the peculiar people in town—like Crazy Cora and Witch Wiggins. But then, one day, a boy drops out of a tree. Just like that. A strangely charming Finn boy. And then the Dingle Dangle man appears, asking all kinds of questions. Curious surprises are revealed—three locked trunks, a pair of rooks, a crooked bridge, and that boy—and soon Naomi and Lizzie find their lives changed forever.As two worlds are woven together, Creech reveals that hearts can be mended and that there is indeed a gossamer thread that connects us all.

    After Jayne’s mother passed away, she became part unpaid assistant, part surrogate daughter to the wealthy Wordens. But now, ten years later, Rebecca is coming home to L.A. to cause havoc for Elizabeth, the mother who all but rejected her. And Jayne finds herself pulled deeper into the Wordens’ complicated family dynamics—especially when Rebecca’s brother, David, returns as well.David is the man Jayne always wanted and knew she could never have. But when he gravitates toward her in spite of Elizabeth’s protests, her vow to escape the family’s shadow is put to the ultimate test. And as lies are shattered and true feelings exposed, Jayne must decide where loyalty ends, and love begins. . . .

    So begins this deeply moving and profoundly affecting story of the ties that bind mothers and children. This debut novel by Jane Rusbridge is a story of family secrets and betrayal, involving knots, Harry Houdini and the shifting landscape of memory.

    Stealing a dog is just plain wrong. "The other half of me was thinking," Georgina, you're in a bad fix and you got to do whatever it takes to get yourself out of it.Georgina Hayes is desperate. Ever since her father left and they were evicted from their apartment, her family has been living in their car. With her mama juggling two jobs and trying to make enough money to find a place to live, Georgina is stuck looking after her younger brother, Toby. And she has her heart set on improving their situation. When Georgina spots a missing-dog poster with a reward of five hundred dollars, the solution to all her problems suddenly seems within reach. All she has to do is "borrow" the right dog and its owners are sure to offer a reward. What happens next is the last thing she expected.With unmistakable sympathy, Barbara O'Connor tells the story of a young girl struggling to see what's right when everything else seems wrong."How to Steal a Dog" is a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

    In his old school, everyone knew him as the town’s best prankster, but Miles quickly discovers that Yawnee Valley already has a prankster, and a great one. If Miles is going to take the title from this mystery kid, he is going to have to raise his game.   It’s prankster against prankster in an epic war of trickery, until the two finally decide to join forces and pull off the biggest prank ever seen: a prank so huge that it would make the members of the International Order of Disorder proud.   In The Terrible Two, bestselling authors and friends Mac Barnett and Jory John have created a series that has its roots in classic middle-grade literature yet feels fresh and new at the same time.

    She has two supportive parents, she's popular at school, and she's been killing it at gymnastics. But when her cousin Cal moves in with her family, everything changes. Cal tells half-truths and tall tales, pranks Hannah constantly, and seems to be the reason her parents are fighting more and more. Nothing is how it used to be. She knows that Cal went through a lot after his mom died and she is trying to be patient, but most days Hannah just wishes Cal never moved in.For his part, Cal is trying his hardest to fit in, but not everyone is as appreciative of his unique sense of humor and storytelling gifts as he is. Humor and stories might be his defense mechanism, but if Cal doesn't let his walls down soon, he might push away the very people who are trying their best to love him.Told in verse from the alternating perspectives of Hannah and Cal, this is a story of two cousins who are more alike than they realize and the family they both want to save.

    For a while, the magic bread box, discovered in the attic, makes life away from home a little easier. Then suddenly it starts to make things much, much more difficult, and Rebecca is forced to decide not just where, but who she really wants to be. Laurel Snyder's most thought-provoking book yet.

    in black-and-white. When Professor Actual Factual's nephew Ferdy comes to town, the cubs try to make him feel at home--but he's a stuck-up nerd! Then Ferdy realizes that he needs the cubs, and everyone learns to respect one another for their own special talents.

    But when a routine throw goes disastrously off course, the fates of five people are upended. Henry's fight against self-doubt threatens to ruin his future. College president Guert Affenlight, a longtime bachelor, has fallen unexpectedly and helplessly in love. Owen Dunne, Henry's gay roommate and teammate, becomes caught up in a dangerous affair. Mike Schwartz, the Harpooners' team captain and Henry's best friend, realizes he has guided Henry's career at the expense of his own. And Pella Affenlight, Guert's daughter, returns to Westish after escaping an ill-fated marriage, determined to start a new life. As the season counts down to its climactic final game, these five are forced to confront their deepest hopes, anxieties, and secrets. In the process they forge new bonds, and help one another find their true paths. Written with boundless intelligence and filled with the tenderness of youth, The Art of Fielding is an expansive, warmhearted novel about ambition and its limits, about family and friendship and love, and about commitment - to oneself and to others.

    Her beloved grandma died last year; her parents work all the time; her brother's busy; and her best friend is into clothes, makeup, and boys. While Nina doesn't know what "her thing" is yet, it's definitely not shopping and makeup. And it's not boys, either. Though . . . has Eli, the boy next door, always been so cute?   This summer, Nina decides to change things. She hatches a plan. There are sixty-five days of summer. Every day, she'll anonymously do one small but remarkable good thing for someone in her neighborhood, and find out: does doing good actually make a difference? Along the way, she discovers that her neighborhood, and her family, are full of surprises and secrets.   In this bighearted, sweetly romantic novel, things may not turn out exactly as Nina expects. They might be better.