Addie on the inside (202 Pages)

Addie on the inside by James Howe is a perfect middle school read. Some of you may remember my saying that The Misfits and Totally Joe, also written by Howe, are books that I think crack the glass ceiling. (I mean that as a good thing!) Totally Joe is about a young boy who is not aware of the fact that he is gay, but his aunt knows and as he discovers for himself that his sexual identity prefers males. It's a wonderful book. Addie starts off with a letter to the reader from Mr. Howe. The entire book is written in poetic form and this letter is as well. In it he asks the reader, "Who do you see when you think of me? Who do you see when you think of you?" And that is what this book is all about. A young girl in 7th grade trying to figure out who she is. She is very intelligent, very outspoken, and perhaps a little pushy. But as with most 7th graders she is not sure what makes her tick. This is a wonderful read about a girl who cares about all kinds of "stuff"---stuff that most 7th graders might not think is important. But Addie does. Get to know this author. You will not regret it for a moment!

Wonder (313 Pages)

Wonder is a book that should be read by every 8th + grader. I hate to put ages qualifications on books, but this book is truly a wonder! It is a first write for R.J Palacio (which I think might be a pen name). Auggie is a ten year old boy who was born with severe facial disfigurement. He has been home schooled, but his parents decide he should attend school with other kids at the start of middle school. In this case, middle school begins in 5th grade. The school is a private, coeducational school in Manhattan, and Auggie has the huge task of getting his classmates and other students to accept him. This book deals with loyalty, it deals with family, it deals with bullying, it deals with friendship, it deals with the other child in the family-who doesn't have a physical problem. I laughed, I cried, it's quite a book. GREAT opportunity for class discussions/ individual reader responses etc. Wow! I loved it.

Starters (336 Pages)

Lissa Price is a new author for me. She has written a fantasy that often sounds more true than fantastic. I believe this may the start of a series which is not unlike The Hunger Games. So move over Catniss here comes Callie! Living on the West Coast, Callie has lost both her parents when a war with---dropped deadly SPORES on the inhabitants of California. Vaccines against these spores were only available to the very young and the very old. Most people between the ages of twenty and sixty died from exposure to these spores. Callie is left with her younger brother, Tyler and her friend, Michael to fend for themselves. Tyler is not well, and thus Callie feels that her only hope to earn enough money to care for him is to make her way to Beverly Hills and Prime Destination where she is promised a large amount of money if she loans her body to an Elder. The idea is that the Elder will be able to enter her body and live some time a life of youth and vigor not possible at the ages of 120+ years. Micro chips are planted in the back of Callie's head as well as in the back of Elders' heads. But Callie's chip is faulty and she remains in her own body, but is able to communicate with the Elder who was supposed to change places with her. What this Elder asks her to do, and who she meets along the way comprise the basis for this plot. It's a little scarey, but also exciting. Good read!