Life As We Knew It

by Susan Beth Pfeffer

When an asteroid hits the moon, knocking it closer to earth, life as Miranda knew it changed forever. Tidal waves destroy coastal cities, volcanic ash darkens the air, and communication with anyone but your neighbors is all but impossible. Miranda's older brother makes it home from college, but her dad and pregnant stepmom decide to risk traveling and are soon unreachable. She's left with her two brothers, her mom, and their elderly neighbor who is a family friend. At first, things don't seem too bad. Electricity is spotty, but available, and they have plenty of canned and boxed food to survive. But it's the slow unraveling of society that makes this novel special--the steady but sure decline of humanity that would be inevitable if an event like this were to occur. There are a few holes in the world-building, such as stating they were out of natural gas, the electricity is off, and somehow they are cooking dinner. (This is all before they began using the wood stove...) But I guess I can look past all that because this is the kind of book you want to tell everybody about.

The Nest

by Kenneth Oppel

I started this book yesterday, and I finished it yesterday. Talk about intense.

Steve's parents have a new baby, but he's sick. He's in and out of the hospital, and his parents say it's something very rare that the doctors don't know much about. And then one day, Steve gets stung by a wasp and has an allergic reaction bad enough that the ER doctor prescribes him an Epi-pen. That night, he has a dream. A very strange looking angel tells him that she and the other angels will fix the baby. Steve knows it's just a dream, but it makes him feel better, until he meets the "angels" again, and realizes that maybe their intentions are not what they first seemed.

As Steve becomes more aware of what is actually happening, the story gets more and more frightening. Kids will just be terrified of the wasps; adults, and especially parents, will want to give the kids they love an extra hug. Shudder. What a strange and unforgettable ride.

Dumplin'

by Julie Murphy

Aw, Willowdean! You can't help but smile and nod your head as you read this book. Will's dad isn't around, and she has spent her whole life with her mom and her very overweight Aunt Lucy. When we meet her, Lucy has just died of a heart attack, and Willowdean is reeling. She shared a special bond with Lucy, and she misses her terribly. Willowdean has weight issues of her own, and it's never really bothered her before, but then she meets Bo. He's gorgeous, and even though she thinks he's way out of her league, he likes her. All of a sudden, her insecurities rear their ugly heads. She can't bring herself to tell her best friend, Ellen, that Bo has been kissing her behind the dumpster at work, and the secret makes her feel farther and farther away from her tiny, beautiful friend. One day, while going through her Aunt Lucy's things, Will finds an application for the local beauty pageant, and gets a crazy idea--one that will turn just about all of her relationships on their heads.

The best part of this book has to be the characters, and while it's probably billed more as a romance, it's the friendship story of Ellen and Willowdean that steals the show. The group of misfits that Will hangs out with are hilarious and believable. Her flawed but loving mother is perfectly drawn. In fact, the only character who feels a bit flat to me is Bo. Even Mitch, the other third of Will's love triangle, is just so spot on. This book definitely deserves all the praise it's been getting recently!

(This one won't be in our middle school library, but you can find it at the public library or at a bookstore.)

Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy

by Karen Foxlee

Ophelia, whose mother has recently died, finds a strange boy locked away, who says he needs her help. He's been imprisoned by the Snow Queen, and has been for many, many years. She's supposed to find a sword for him, but it's a dangerous mission. The story is basically Ophelia looking for the sword, dealing with her mother's death, and being puzzled about her sister's strange behavior. This sounded exactly like my kind of book, but I couldn't connect with the characters, or get involved with a plot that seemed a little bit too much like a weird Narnia rip-off. And the ending... What? Was it supposed to be a twist? I was just left scratching my head.

The Hollow Boy

by Jonathan Stroud

There's an outbreak of the Problem in Chelsea, and it's worse than any of the agents have ever seen. All the major agencies are working it to no avail, and as usual, Lockwood & Co. hasn't even been consulted. Lockwood has hired a new assistant for the group, Holly Munro, who is as cute and perfect as she can be. Lucy hates her, and so does the Ghost Jar, which leads to some pretty hilarious sarcastic comments from him. Thanks to George's fabulous research skills, the team does eventually get to work on the Chelsea outbreak, with help from some unlikely people. Is it scary, you ask? Oh, you bet it is. The Whispering Skull somehow lost the edge that I found so appealing in The Screaming Staircase. It was more hard-boiled detective than terrifying ghost story. But the fear factor is all back in The Hollow Boy, and then some. Stroud doesn't talk down to his readers, or pull any punches, and he leaves us with a killer of a cliffhanger. Absolutely on my favorites list, and I can't wait for the next one.

Circus Mirandus

by Cassie Beasley

Micah's grandpa is sick. In fact, he might not have much time left. Micah is devastated, until he finds out that the Circus Mirandus, from the magical stories his grandpa has been telling him his whole life, is real. Long ago, the Lightbender promised Grandpa Ephraim a miracle, and now it's time to collect. But first Micah and his friend Jenny have to find the elusive circus, and then, Micah has to make Jenny believe. He also has to convince the Lightbender to make good on his years-old promise, which won't be easy.

I really could gush about this book for quite some time. Even though I knew long before Micah what Grandpa's miracle had to be, I don't know that kids will figure it out, and even if they do, I don't think they'll care. There are shades of Big Fish, The Princess Bride, and even Harry Potter. There's an inexplicable shivery goodness here that comes with magical realism done right. This is Ms. Beasley's first novel, and I'm putting her on my watch list. I know I would have absolutely inhaled this as a kid, and I think my students will, too. An absolute joy to read.

Sorta Like a Rock Star

by Matthew Quick

Amber Appleton is a strange girl, but to be fair, she has a strange life. She lives on a school bus with her alcoholic mom, and believe it or not, that living situation is an improvement over bouncing from house to house every time her mom changes boyfriends. Somehow, Amber manages to keep her positive attitude, until something happens that might shatter even the princess of hope. This book isn't really about plot, though. In fact, it kind of felt like nothing much happened until halfway through. Still, the characters are so wildly off the wall that you can't help but love them. Just a few include: a mild-mannered marketing teacher, a PTSD-ravaged Vietnam vet, a group of teen boys who would go to the ends of the earth to protect Amber, an autistic boy raised by a hard-driving lady lawyer, and Bobby Big Boy, a scruffy little mutt aka B Thrice. While Amber's sticky sweetness does grate from time to time, her self-centered but well-meaning persona was pretty right on as far as real teenage girl goes.