And the winner is...

The Graveyard Book by Neal Gaiman
Publisher: New York: HarperCollins, c2008
Grades: 6-8One night a man names Jack sneaks into a family's home and murders everyone except for the baby.  The young infant climbs out of his crib and crawls out of the house and into a graveyard in the neighborhood. The graves people protect the boy and Silas, not quite dead or alive, escorts the man Jack out of the graveyard and erases his memory.  The young boy is adopted by the ghosts of Mr. and Mrs. Owens and they call the boy Nobody Owens, Bod for short.  Bod is given the freedom of the graveyard and can learn cool tricks while staying guarded by Silas.  Bod cannot leave the graveyard or he will be killed by the man Jack.  When Bod wants to go to a school with humans, what decision will his graveyard family decide?

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
New York: Wendy Lamb Books, c2009
Grades: 6-8

Miranda is a latch key kid living in New York City with her single mother who cannot stand her job.  Miranda and her best friend Sal know their way around the city and stick together when going anywhere.  When Sal gets punched by thew new kid at school, something sets him off and he completely shuts Miranda out of his life.  He will not even look at her in school or walk home with her in the afternoons.  When the apartment key that Miranda's mother hides for emergencies disappears, a note is found in its place.  It reads: I am coming to save your friend’s life, and my own. I must ask two favors. First, you must write me a letter.  The notes continue to surface and Miranda believes that the person sending them knows everything about her, even things that have not happened yet.  The notes lead Miranda to believe that she is the key to stopping a horrible death.  Will she be able to prevent a death, or will it be too late?

Holes by Louis Sachar
New York: Dell Yearling, c1998
Grades: 6-8

Stanley Yelnats is a kid who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Stanley is sent away to Camp Green Lake which is a juvenile detention center, for a crime he did not commit.  Every day the boys at the camp must dig holes in the heat as their punishment.  Stanley soon realizes that they are out digging in the Texas desert because the Warden is looking for something.  Stanley meets other boys at the camp and soon learns about his family's curse and why the Warden is looking for something buried in the desert.  He discovers the relationship between Katherine and Sam and how racism kept them apart.  His friend Zero is also linked to his family's curse and may be the only person that can help lift the curse.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
New York: First Second, 2006
Grades: 9-12
This graphic novel is a multinarrative story about a boy named Jin Wang who has a hard time accepting his culture and fitting in at his new school.  Soon, Jin is not the only Asian American at his school. Wei-Chen arrives and at first Jin does not want to be his friend. But after countless time passes without any friends, Jin decides to take Wei-Chen’s friendship.  Three narratives alternate throughout the novel and the story begins to intertwine at the climax of the story.  Jin realizes how important it is to be true to yourself and your culture and he looks at his life in a new light.

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, c2002

Grades: 8-10
Matteo Alcracn was born a clone of the most powerful drug lord the world has ever known, El Patron.  This book is about the struggle to find yourself in a world where you are different.  Matt doesn’t know that he is a clone at first he just knows that he is treated differently and has to fight to maintain his close relationships.  When Matt finds out the reason for his existence is to be used for spare parts for El Patron, escape is the only option.

 
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
New York: Wendy Lamb Books, c2004
Grades: 6-8

Daisy is a teenage girl who is sent from Manhattan to live with her aunt and cousins in London.  Soon after her arrival, her Aunt leaves on business and the cousins are left to manage on their own.  A war breaks out in London, bombs exploding, and the family farm slowly crumbling every day.  The military soon invades their isolated village and the cousins become separated.  Daisy and her cousin Edmond have fallen in love and tearing them apart leaves Daisy uncertain of their future.  She sets out to find Edmond and reunite with her family.

The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan
New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2011
Grades: 9-12

 A love story written through dictionary entries that follows the relationship of the nameless narrator and his significant other.  This book is written for an adult audience but it can also be appropriate for high school students.  It is a quick read and allows the reader into the world of love and relationships.

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon
New York: Vintage Contemporaries, c2003
Grades: 9-12

 The main character Christopher, who is living with autism, discovers his neighbors Poodle Wellington dead in the yard.  He begins to think that the dog was murdered and sets off on his own adventure to try and solve the murder.  He begins to chronicle his discoveries by recording it in a book, which is the book we are reading, and we get to see his perspective in the autistic world.  Christopher begins to uncover more than just murder evidence when he finds letters written to him from his supposedly deceased mother.  He feels betrayed by his father who has hidden these letters and lied about his mother dying.  Christopher runs off to find his mother in London and reunites with her.