Middle Grade

MY NEAR-DEATH ADVENTURES (99% TRUE)

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My Near-Death Adventures (99% True!) (Hardcover)

By Alison De Camp
$16.99
ISBN: 9780385390446
Availability: Hard to Find--Contact us for More Info
Published: Crown Books for Young Readers - February 24th, 2015

I've never laughed so much as I did while reading this book--it's Diary of  Wimpy Kid set in an 1800s lumber camp in rural Michigan, and perfect for young, reluctant readers (but also with a lot of jokes for their parents). Join Stan as he learns about true manliness, searches for the father he never knew, avoids the antics of his cousin Scary Geri, tries to fend off the suitors sniffing around his eligible mama, and avoids the wrath of his Granny (who is 99% evil). If this is not the funniest book you read I'll year, I'll buy you breakfast.

Mackenzie

The War That Saved My Life

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The War that Saved My Life (Hardcover)

By Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
$17.99
ISBN: 9780803740815
Availability: Available at Warehouse
Published: Dial Books - January 8th, 2015

This is a most remarkable story, and though a middle grade book I would recommend to any reader. World War II historical fiction, it tells of two children sent from London to the countryside to spend the duration of the war with a single woman living on the outskirts of town. Sound predicable? With Bradley’s storytelling of great nuance, it is anything but.

Robin

 

Smashie McPerter and the Mystery of Room 11

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Smashie McPerter and the Mystery of Room 11 (Smashie McPerter Investigates #1) (Hardcover)

By N. Griffin, Kate Hindley (Illustrator)
$15.99
ISBN: 9780763661458
Availability: On Order at the Warehouse
Published: Candlewick - February 10th, 2015

What a fun book. The hamster is missing from the classroom so Smashie and her friend start investigating. Griffin’s depiction of Room 11, and her use of  humor and complicated vocabulary layer the story beautifully. Parents will love reading this to their kids.

Carol

The Boundless

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The Boundless (Hardcover)

By Kenneth Oppel, Jim Tierney (Illustrator)
$17.99
ISBN: 9781442472884
Availability: Available at Warehouse
Published: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers - April 22nd, 2014

Jump aboard the Boundless, a city on a train barreling across the Canadian wilderness, complete with a circus, a Sasquatch, a fiercely-guarded funeral car, and a conniving brakeman intent on getting into it. The only thing standing in his way--Will Everett, a young boy desperate for adventure. As he did in his masterful Airborn series, Kenneth Oppel yet again blends fantasy, history, and folklore to create this masterful, old-school adventure novel.

Mackenzie

The Fourteenth Goldfish

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The Fourteenth Goldfish (Hardcover)

By Jennifer L. Holm
$16.99
ISBN: 9780375870644
Availability: Available at Warehouse
Published: Random House Books for Young Readers - August 26th, 2014

When Ellie's grandfather develops an anti-aging potion that turns him into a 13-year-old boy, she acquires a new housemate, plots the rescue of a prized jellyfish, and learns what it means to be a scientist.

Sarah

Brown Girl Dreaming

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Brown Girl Dreaming (Hardcover)

By Jacqueline Woodson
$17.99
ISBN: 9780399252518
Availability: Available at Warehouse
Published: Nancy Paulsen Books - August 28th, 2014

Brown Girl Dreaming is SUCH a wonderful, atmospheric book. I really learned to value poetry as a means to create a nuanced world, rich with detail, yet spare in words. I wanted to stay with her and never leave because she has created a living, breathing childhood. Not to be missed.

Carol

Heap House

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Heap House: Book One (Hardcover)

By Edward Carey
$16.99
ISBN: 9781468309539
Availability: Hard to Find--Contact us for More Info
Published: Harry N. Abrams - October 15th, 2014

Fantastically creepy and strange. Carey creates a darkly funny, clever and macabre tale of two misfit orphans each owned in different ways by Heap House, punctuated by gloomy Edward Gorey-style portraits of the house's many inhabitants. Perfect for fans of Lemony Snicket, Neil Gaiman and Roald Dahl.

Katie

The Perfect Place

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The Perfect Place (Hardcover)

By Teresa E. Harris
$17.99
ISBN: 9780547255194
Availability: It's Complicated--Contact Us for More Info
Published: Clarion Books - November 4th, 2014

It can't be a coincidence that Great-Aunt Grace's initials spell GAG. Treasure knows it's the beginning of a disaster when her mother leaves her in Black Lake, Virginia for the summer. She'll be happy to move on as soon as her parents find a new place to live. But somehow, despite everything from Vacation Bible School catastrophes to cleaning every inch of GAG's candy store, Black Lake turns out to be hard to hate -- and it just might be the perfect place for Treasure's family after all.

Sarah

Vango

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Vango: Between Sky and Earth (Hardcover)

By Timothee de Fombelle, Sarah Ardizzone (Translated by)
$17.99
ISBN: 9780763671969
Availability: Available at Warehouse
Published: Candlewick - October 14th, 2014

There is never a dull moment in this sprawling adventure story. From Vango’s mysterious early life of privilege to his young life on a deserted Aeolian island, to trips on a dirigible, back and forth around Europe, with Russians and the French Police and others in pursuit. This is a fresh, funny, amazingly ingenious and entertaining adventure that will keep readers glued to the pages

Carol

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