Orbiting Jupiter

by Gary D. Schmidt

It's been a long time since I've found myself wiping tears at the end of a book. Gary D. Schmidt is a genius, and this is a beautiful, sad, haunting story, that as a public educator, I find all too familiar. Sixth grader Jack lives with him mom and dad on a farm in Maine. His parents decide to foster an eighth grader named Joseph. All anyone seems to know about him is that he has a daughter, and that he tried to kill his teacher. Joseph won't speak to Jack. He flinches when anyone tries to touch him, and he cries out in his sleep. The beauty in this story is watching Jack and his family slowly break through Joseph's shell by loving him so much he basically has no choice. It's hard to tell any more of the plot without spoilers. Just read it. It will only take an hour or two, but if it doesn't melt your heart, you might not have one.

Sweet

by Emmy Laybourne

Laurel is nervously excited about getting to go on a celebrity cruise paid for by her wealthy friend's dad. Nervous because it's a cruise designed to promote a new weight-loss product, and because her childhood tv crush is hosting the footage of the trip, Ryan Seacrest-style. The product, Solu, is a sugar substitute touted to bring on rapid weight loss, and it works. Laurel, due to an extreme bout of sea-sickness, doesn't partake. Neither does Tom, her celebrity crush, because he's already in great shape and doesn't want to mess up his process. These two, and the few other cruisers who don't take the product, very quickly see that there's something a little off about Solu, and things take a dark and dramatic turn.

The characters in this book are a little shallow and one-dimensional, but the story is so fun you won't really care. And endings to books like this are hard to do right--this one is total greatness, down to the very last line. Lots of fun!