Science Fair

By David Barrry
"Grdankl the Strong, president of Kprshtskan, is plotting to take over the American government. His plan is to infiltrate the science fair at Hubble Middle School, located in a Maryland suburb just outside Washington. The rich kids at Hubble cheat by buying their projects every year, and Grdankl's cronies should have no problem selling them his government-corrupting software. But this year, Toby Harbinger, a regular kid with Discount Warehouse shoes, is determined to win the $5,000 prize-even if he has to go up against terrorists to do it. With the help of his best friends, Tamara and Micah, Toby takes on Assistant Principal Paul Parmit, aka "The Armpit", a laser-eyed stuffed owl, and two eBay buyers named Darth and the Wookiee who seem to think that the Harrison-Ford-signed BlasTech DL-44 blaster Toby sold them is a counterfeit. What transpires is a hilarious adventure filled with mystery, suspense, and levitating frogs."
J BAR

Green Algae and Bubble Gum Wars

by Annie Bryant

Beacon Street Girls

Science isn't exactly Maeve's favorite subject, but she's still excited to be going to the Sally Ride Science Festival at MIT with her hunky tutor, Matt. Sure, the BSG and her annoyingly brilliant younger brother are going as well, but it's still almost kind of a date, isn't it?
The festival gives the BSG a super idea -- an environmental science fair at Abigail Adams Junior High. But plans for a bubble gum factory nearby put Avery and Katani on opposite sides of an environmental issue -- and Avery finds herself in a bubble gum war with the Queens of Mean!
J PB BRY

Chains

By Laurie Halse Anderson

As the Revolutionary War begins, thirteen-year-old Isabel wages her own fight...for freedom. Promised freedom upon the death of their owner, she and her sister, Ruth, in a cruel twist of fate become the property of a malicious New York City couple, the Locktons, who have no sympathy for the American Revolution and even less for Ruth and Isabel. When Isabel meets Curzon, a slave with ties to the Patriots, he encourages her to spy on her owners, who know details of British plans for invasion. She is reluctant at first, but when the unthinkable happens to Ruth, Isabel realizes her loyalty is available to the bidder who can provide her with freedom.

Great research makes this a good example of historical fiction.

J AND

Hard Gold

An I Witness Novel: A Tale of the Old West
"Early Whitcomb's family needs a miracle. Their Iowa farm has been in the family for generations, but a long drought has withered their savings and left them in debt. Meanwhile, the great Chicago and Northwestern Railroad wants their land, and if the Whitcombs can't pay their loans, the local banker, Judge Fuslin, will foreclose and sell the farm as his own. Early's uncle (though he's more like a brother), Jesse, thinks he has the solution: to head West and dig for gold. Fueled by reports of prospectors striking it rich in the Rocky Mountains, Jesse can't think about anything but gold, and his determination to get to the western territories grows stronger by the day. Early is wild to go with him, as much for the adventure as for the gold. But the journey costs money--more than the boys can afford--and when Jesse flees during the night, after being accused of a robbery, Early doesn't know what to believe. "
J
AVI

Dog Lost

by Ingrid Lee
"11-year-old Mackenzie has got one friend in the whole world: Cash, his brown-eyed pit bull. His dad won the runt after a long night of drinking and gambling--ever since Mac's mom died, that's all he seems to do, and soon he erupts in a rage at the innocent pup, takes her away in the trunk of his car, and dumps her in the middle of nowhere. Mac vows to find Cash and bring her back home--he has to: all strays are about to be outlawed! Little does he know that while he searches for Cash, she's surviving her own adventures and proving in the process that all dogs--even pit bulls--are born good.
J
LEE