Books You May Have Missed

We are deeply involved in a big project with our juvenile fiction (chapter books), which includes me holding every single book in my hot little hands and looking it over. It is taking a bit longer than necessary, because I keep coming across old favorites I want to read again. To speed things up, I am going to tell YOU about them, so YOU can read them instead and just agree with me about how marvelous they are. These are books that may not have received a lot of buzz when they came out, but which are definitely worth your time!

J Reality AVI

EVERYBODY at South Orange River High is required to play on at least one sports team each year. Ed and his friends have managed to escape under the radar their first year, but now the gig is up, and a special soccer team has been formed for them. What happens when the entire school gets rallied behind a team of normal kids who not only couldn't care less about winning the game, but who aren't entirely sure how to play it? If it's Avi telling the story, a whole lot of hilarity, that's what! As a non-athlete, this was one of my teenage-self's favorites.

J Reality ALEX

Vesper Holly is like a young, female Indiana Jones. Great series for the teen who likes strong-willed heroines, and who isn't scared off by words outside the everyday vocabulary.



J Reality BUDH

Here's the publisher's description:

"You forget. You forget you don't really exist here, that this isn't your home." Since emigrating from Bangladesh, fourteen-year-old Nadira and her family have been living in New York City on expired visas, hoping to realize their dream of becoming legal U.S. citizens. But after 9/11, everything changes. Suddenly being Muslim means you are dangerous -- a suspected terrorist. When Nadira's father is arrested and detained at the U.S.-Canadian border, Nadira and her older sister, Aisha, are told to carry on as if everything is the same. The teachers at Flushing High don't ask any questions, but Aisha falls apart. Nothing matters to her anymore -- not even college. It's up to Nadira to be the strong one and bring her family back together again.

J Reality BUYE

Almost inspiring enough to make me want to return to the classroom...but not quite.