Historical Fiction

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

A compelling--and ultimately hopeful--crossover title for teens and adults about Hitler's evacuation of Germany and the biggest maritime disaster in history. Salt to the Sea ...
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Our 9/11 Book List

If you've been with us for the last few months you doubtless saw Betsy's reviews of two recent, highly-regarded middle-grade novels about the worst foreign attack ...
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Steeplejack by A. J. Hartley

A classic mystery unfolds in this historical fantasy for teens, with an appealing heroine, a multi-racial cast of characters, and an exotic setting. Steeplejack by ...
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Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story by Nora Raleigh Baskin

Four seemingly unconnected middle school kids are each connected to the events of September 11 in ways that help them mature and learn compassion. Nine, ...
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Steamboat School by Deborah Hopkinson

Inspired by true events, this is the story of a St. Louis reverend who moved his school off shore to neutral waters when the law made ...
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It Ain’t So Awful, Falafel by Firoozah Dumas

An Iranian girl in a California middle school struggles to bridge cultures in this compelling, semi-autobiographical narrative. It Ain’t So Awful, Falafel by Firoozah Dumas.  ...
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*A Night Divided by Jennifer Nielsen

The building of the Berlin Wall pits lovers of freedom against an oppressive regime in this gripping novel for middle graders. *A Night Divided by ...
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Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee

In Under a Painted Sky, the events of one day change Sammy from a moody teenage girl to a fugitive striking out into the west. ...
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Retro Reads: Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome

In this British children's classic, the brave Swallows (four siblings) are at war with the piratical Amazons (two sisters) in one glorious summer of sailing, ...
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The Eye of Midnight by Andrew Brumbach

A thrilling tale set in 1920s New York pits three children against a foe that bears an uncanny resemblance to modern-day Islamism. The Eye of ...
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Sweet Home Alaska by Carole Estby Dagg

Sweet Home Alaska by Carole Estby Dagg.  Penguin, February 2016, 296 pages Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-14 Bottom Line: An ...
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Tru and Nelle by G. Neri

Tru and Nelle by G. Neri.  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, 336 pages Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10 Recommended for: ages 8-12 Bottom Line: Based ...
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How Dark is Too Dark?

The Michael J. Prinz medal is awarded every year by the ALA for excellence in YA literature. "Excellent," to the ALA, often means edgy, trendy, ...
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*Retro Reads: North to Freedom by Anne Holm

North to Freedom (I Am David) by Anne Holm.  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1963 (first edition), 256 pages. Reading Level: 10-12 Appropriate for: ages 12-up Bottom ...
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The 2016 ALA Youth Media Awards–What happened??

As we were saying last Saturday . . . you just can’t predict what the Newbery committee is going to do. Trends have been toward ...
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2016 Newbery Buzz: Gone Crazy in Alabama by Rita Williams-Garcia

Continuing our series of discussions on contenders for the 2016 Newbery Award, Janie and Betsy turn their attention to a previous honor winner . . ...
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cover of Emily of Deep Valley

*Emily of Deep Valley by Maud Hart Lovelace

Coming-of-age, romance, and historical fiction is combined in a little-known novel, Emily of Deep Valley, by a classic American author. *Emily of Deep Valley by Maud ...
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I Don’t Know How the Story Ends: an Interview with Janie Cheaney

Janie's newest novel for young folks, I Don't Know How the Story Ends,  hit store shelves this month, and she's been busy signing copies and ...
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Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw.  Puffin, 1985, 288 pages   Reading Level: Young Adults, ages 12-14 Recommended for: Ages 12-up Bottom Line:  Ancient ...
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Ranger in Time series by Kate Messner

Ranger in Time: Rescue on the Oregon Trail and Danger in Ancient Rome by Kate Messner. Scholastic, 2015. About 125 pages, plus author note. Reading ...
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Hammer of the Huguenots by Douglas Bond

Hammer of the Huguenots by Douglas Bond. P&R, 2015. 215 pages Reading Level: Middle Grades,ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10 and up Bottom Line: Douglas ...
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Stella by Starlight by Sharon Draper

Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper. Atheneum, 2015. 320 pages Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-12 Bottom Line: Stella by ...
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My Near-Death Adventures by Alison DeCamp

My Near-Death Adventures (99% True!) by Alison DeCamp. Crown, 2015. 252 pages Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-12 (especially boys) Bottom ...
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cover of New Shoes

New Shoes by Susan Lynn Meyer, illustrated by Eric Velasquez

New Shoes by Susan Lynn Meyer, illustrated by Eric Velasquez. Holiday House, 2015. 40 pages. Reading Level: Picture Books, ages 4-8 Recommended for: Ages 4-8 ...
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Audacity by Melanie Crowder

Audacity by Melanie Crowder. Philomel, 2015. 389 pages, including historical notes. Reading Level: Young Adults, ages 12-15 Recommended for: Young Adults, ages 15-18 Bottom Line: ...
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cover of Blue Birds

Blue Birds by Caroline Starr Rose

Blue Birds by Caroline Starr Rose. Putnam, 2015. 400 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: Ages 10-12 Bottom Line: This historical novel-in-verse ...
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An Uncertain Choice by Jody Hedlund

An Uncertain Choice by Jody Hedlund. Zondervan, 2015. 249 pages. Reading Level: Young Adult, ages 15 – 18 Maturity Level: 6 (ages 15 – 18) and up Bottom Line: A ...
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cover of Caddie Woodlawn

*Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink

Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink. Aladdin, 2006 (reprint; originally published 1935). 288 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-12Recommended for: ages 8-12, especially girls Bottom ...
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*The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Pope

The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Pope.  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2001.  272 pages Reading Level: Young Adults, ages 12-15 Maturity Level: 5 (ages 12-14) and up ...
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*Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt’s masterpiece first published 40 years ago, is as timeless as its title characters. *Tuck Everlasting (40th Anniversary Edition) by Natalie Babbitt, ...
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Arcady’s Goal by Eugene Yelchin

Arcady’s Goal by Eugene Yelchin. Henry Holt, 2014. 234 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10 Maturity Level: 3 (ages 8-10) and up Bottom Line: ...
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Revolution by Deborah Wiles

Revolution by Deborah Wiles (#2 in The Sixties Trilogy). Scholastic, 2014. 485 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 12-14 Maturity Level: 4 (12-15) and up ...
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cover of The Beatitudes

The Beatitudes by Carole Boston Weatherford

The Beatitudes: From Slavery to Civil Rights by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Tim Ladwig. Eerdmans, 2009. 36 pages. Reading Level: Picture Books, ages 4-8Recommended ...
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The Accidental Highwayman by Ben Tripp

The Accidental Highwayman by Ben Tripp.  Tor, 2014. 295 pages. Reading Level: Young Adults, ages 12-15 Maturity Level: 5 (ages 12-14) and up Bottom Line: ...
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The Young Carthaginian by G.A. Henty, read by Jim Weiss

The Young Carthaginian by G.A. Henty. Audiobook read by Jim Weiss. Greathall Productions, 2004.  Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8 and upMaturity Level: 4 (ages 11-12) ...
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*Carry on Mr. Bowditch, by Jean Lee Latham. Audiobook read by Jim Weiss.

*Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham. Audiobook read by Jim Weiss, Greathall Productions, 2009. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-12 Maturity Level: Levels 3-5 ...
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The Winner’s Curse

It began with a simple conversation, Marie Rutkoski explains: . . . while sitting with my friend Vasiliki Skreta on a dark blue gym mat ...
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Spy Catchers of Maple Hill

Spy Catchers of Maple Hill by Megan Frazer Blakemore. Bloomsbury, 2014. 320 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12Recommended for: ages 10-12 One-Sentence Summary: Young Hazel Kaplansky, ...
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Retro Reads: The Sword in the Stone

This week we begin a series of occasional posts called Retro Reads: those modern-day classics you may have missed in your teen years or before ...
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On the Court and in the Woods: Books for Teen Boys

Will in Scarlet, by Matthew Cody.  Knopf, 20134, 272 pages.  Age/interest level: 12-up. We’re introduced to William Shackley as a callow, nervous 14-year-old on his ...
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Rounding Up Some Good YA Reads

As Hayley noted earlier this week, the much-heralded final volume of Veronica Roth's Divergent trilogy was a disappointment.  Much-heralded final volumes often disappoint, but what's ...
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*Unspoken by Henry Cole

*Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad, by Henry Cole.  Scholastic, 2012, 40 pages.  Reading Level: Picture Book, Ages 8-10 Recommended for: ages 8-10 and ...
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The Dogs of History

Duke, by Kirby Larson.  Scholastic, 2013, 229 pages.  Reading Level: Middle Grades, 8-10 Recommended for: ages 8-12 Boy loves dog; boy loses dog.  That’s what ...
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Lara’s Gift by Annemarie O’Brien

Lara’s Gift, by Annemarie O’Brien.  Knopf, 2013, 193pages, including appendix Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12, Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended for: ages 10-15 Bottom ...
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Rose Under Fire: Sequel/Companion to Code Name Verity

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein. Disney, 2013. Age: 14 and up. Last year, I read one of the best books I've ever read: Code ...
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Hattie Ever After: A Review

Today, I'm happy to welcome our current intern,Hayley Schoeppler, again.  You guys may recall that she did a review of Mara, Daughter of the Nile ...
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No Battlefield Like Home

Chasing Jupiter, by Rachel Coker.  Zondervan, 2012, 221 pages.  Age/interest level: 12-up. Our story begins in small-town Georgia, 1969—but 16-year-old Scarlett’s world seems even smaller ...
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cover of The Gardener

*The Gardener by Sarah Stewart and David Small

Lydia shares her efforts to bring beauty to the world around her in this epistolary picture book. *The Gardener by Sarah Stewart and David Small. ...
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The Hard Work of Growing Up

It’s what every child has to do, and they accomplish it with varying degrees of success.  In a sense, "growing up" is the theme of ...
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Ancient History: Mara, Daughter of the Nile

This week, we'll be looking at several books that deal with ancient history--including Greek and Roman culture.  Toward that end,  I asked our intern, Hayley ...
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16th Century Travels: Jepp and Will Sparrow

Jepp, Who Defied the Stars, by Katharine Marsh.  Hyperion, 2012, 369 pages plus author note.  Age/interest level: 12-up. Jepp’s diminutive size has always been a ...
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Other Lives: Reading and Watching Anna Karenina

The latest movie version of Anna Karenina is not for family viewing, because it deals with "adult" themes more graphically than it needs to.  The ...
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Hand of Vengeance

Tomorrow we have a real treat for you: two Christian dads, one a pastor and one a teacher, who both happen to write books for ...
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Burdens of the Past

Seventy-three years ago, on September 1, German tanks rolled across the border of Poland and the conflict that soon became known as World War II ...
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Keeping the Castle by Patrice Kindl

Keeping the Castle: a Tale of Romance, Riches, and Real Estate, by Patrice Kindl.  Viking, 2012, 261 pages.  Age/interest level: 13-up. Althea Crawley, age 17, ...
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Hoping Against Hope: Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt

Doug Swietek finds a new life in his new town, despite his boorish father. Perfect for fans of The Wednesday Wars. Okay for Now, by ...
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May B by Caroline Starr Rose

May B., by Caroline Starr Rose, Schwartz & Wade, 2012, 225 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, Ages 10-12 Recommended for: Ages 10-12 and up Bottom Line: ...
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Countdown by Deborah Wiles

Countdown (the Sixties Trilogy) by Deborah wiles.  Scholastic, 2010, 377 pages.   Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12 Maturity Level: 4 (ages 10-12) and up Bottom ...
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The Apothecary by Maile Meloy

The Apothecary, by Maile Meloy.  Putnam/Penguin, 2011, 353 pages. Reading Level: Young Adults, ages 12-15 Maturity Level: 5 (ages 12-14) Bottom Line: The Apothecary is ...
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Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Between Shades of Gray, by Ruta Sepetys.  Penguin/Philomel, 2011, 338 pages. Reading Level: Young Adults, ages 12-15 Maturity Level: 6 (ages 15-18) and up  June ...
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Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin

Breaking Stalin’s Nose, written and illustrated by Eugene Yelchin.  Henry Holt & Company: 2011, 154 pages.  Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12 Maturity Level: 5 ...
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What’s Lefse?

The Invention of Lefse: a Christmas Story, by Larry Woiwode.  Crossway, 2011, 63 pages.  Age/interest level: 8 and up. “Lefse? What’s lefse?” is the epigraph ...
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War Horse

War Horse, by Michael Morpurgo.  Scholastic, 2011 (originally published 1982), 192 pages.  Age/interest level: 8 and up. Michael Morpurgo was already established in the UK ...
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Salem’s curse

Wicked Girls, by Stephanie Hemphill.  HarperCollins, 2010, 389 pages.  Young Adult Father of Lies, by Ann Turner.  HarperTeen, 2011, 326 pages.  Young Adult There are ...
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Small Town Summers

The Luck of the Buttons, by Anne Ylvisaker. Candlewick, 2011, 224 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages  8-10 Recommended for: ages 8-12 Bottom Line: The ...
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Is Historical Fiction Dead?

Short answer: no, but it's showing signs of dementia. Historical fiction has one of the longest roots of any literary form. You might say that ...
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Covenanters: Then and Now

Duncan's War, by Douglas Bond (Crown and Covenant #1).  P&R Publishing, 2002. 270 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-12 and up ...
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The Betrayal of Maggie Blair by Elizabeth Laird

The Betrayal of Maggie Blair by Elizabeth Laird

The Betrayal of Maggie Blair, by Elizabeth Laird.  Houghton Mifflin, 2011, 420 pages. Reading Level: Young Adult, Ages 12-15 Recommended for: Ages 14 and up ...
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The Year We Were Famous by Carole Estby Dagg

*The Year We Were Famous by Carole Estby Dagg

*The Year We Were Famous by Carole Estby Dagg.  Clarion, 2011, 241 pages with author note. Reading Level: Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended for: Ages ...
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Saving Zasha by Randi Barrow

Saving Zasha by Randi Barrow

Saving Zasha, by Randi Barrow.  Scholastic, 2011, 225 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades (ages 8-10) Recommended for: Ages 10-12 One-line Summary: In post-WWII Russia, Mikhail ...
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90 Miles to Havana by Enrique Flores-Galbis

90 Miles to Havana by Enrique Flores-Galbis

An 11-year-old boy flees revolutionary Cuba with his brothers and learns American enterprise in this vivid, fast-paced middle-grade historical novel. 90 Miles to Havana, by ...
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Escaping the Tiger by Laura Manivong

Escaping the Tiger by Laura Manivong

Escaping the Tiger by Laura Manivong. HarperCollins, 2010. 210 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 12-14 Recommended for: Ages 15-18 Bottom line: The experience of ...
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Shooting Kabul by N. H. Senzai

Shooting Kabul by N. H. Senzai

Shooting Kabul, by N. H. Senzai.  Simon & Shuster, 2011, 253 pages plus glossary and author note. Reading level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ...
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The Perilous Gard

*The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope

The Perilous Gard, by Elizabeth Marie Pope.  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2001, 288.  Age/interest level 12-up. Reading Level: Teens/Young Adults Recommended for: Ages 15-18 Bottom line: ...
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Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

Moon Over Manifest, by Clare Vanderpool. Delacorte, 2010, 342 pages plus historical notes. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: Ages 10-12 Bottom line: ...
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Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer Holm

Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer Holm

Turtle in Paradise, by Jennifer Holm.  Random House, 2010, 177 pages plus historical notes.  Reading level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10 Recommended for: Ages 10-12 Bottom ...
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One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia. HarperCollins, 2010, 215 pages. Reading level: Middle Grades, 10-12 Recommended for: Ages 10-12 Bottom line: One Crazy Summer is ...
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THe book thief cover image

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

The Book Thief, a literary novel for teens and adults, explores Nazi Germany and the Holocaust through the eyes of a child, in prose that ...
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Annexed cover image

Annexed by Sharon Dogar

Annexed is the fictionalized story of Peter van Pels, Anne Frank's fellow inmate, who offers a moving account of the Holocaust for teens, but no ...
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