Grade: 8

Ann Maria Weems was a slave who lived during the mid-1800s in Maryland. When she was 13 years old, she disguised herself as a boy and escaped to Canada. This carefully researched historical novel tells her story, which is one of adventure and escape fused with careful details about the Underground Railroad.

When eleven-year-old Nicholas Young secretly boards Captain Cook’s ship Endeavor in Plymouth, England, he’s more than just a stowaway — he’s a runaway! To escape a violent employer and harsh father, Nick settles aboard Cook’s ship which is sailing to Australia. His secret hideaway is known only to a few seamen — bribed to keep silent. Inevitably, Nick is discovered, and he spends the rest of the journey proving he is an able-bodied seaman. Based on true accounts, Hesse carefully supports this 1768 historical novel with journal entries, real dates, and nautical terms. The seafaring setting and a plot including squalls, scurvy, slavery, and shipwreck anchor the novel’s unique characters. As the salty accounts of the trip crest, Nick learns the depth of his own character.

Hollywood actor Dayne Matthews and Katy Hart are married and living in Bloomington, Ind., where Dayne has found a solution to his on-camera love scenes-he wants Katy to star in his next film. Katy wins the part and is cast opposite her super-star husband. The story of a small town girl’s dream come true is too much for the press to resist, and in an effort to appease them, the couple agrees to a 12. It seems like the perfect compromise but by the time they finish filming the movie, they feel cracks around the edges of their marriage. Now they face an uncertain future, and possibly the end of everything that truly matters to them.

The Baxter family learns that Ashley and Kari are both pregnant, but an ultrasound reveals that something is wrong with one of the babies. As the summer progresses, the sisters pray for a miracle while trying to face the unthinkable. It’s in this trying season that they must all learn the lesson God has been trying to teach them-He is still in control, and He will be with them regardless of the outcome.

The Flanigans continue to draw closer to their only daughter, yet Bailey struggles to find her way amidst the turmoil of adolescence. She has always made good decisions, but she wants to experience more of life. Her friendship with Cody Coleman-the young border staying with the Flanigans-continues to blossom in this summer after his graduation. But when Cody decides to enlist in the Army, he’ll have to say goodbye to the family he’s come to love and the girl he’ll never forget.

This is a compelling chronicle about black American writers. It’s told by a man to his granddaughter after she says, “Please tell me a story. Write it down so I can put it in my pocket and carry it around. Tell me about the people from Africa who came before me.” Bold oil paintings and inspiring quotes tell the history of African American storytellers, writers, and orators beginning with slaves. Featured authors range from Phillis Wheatley, the first published African American poet, to Toni Morrison, the first African American to win the Nobel Prize for literature.

As children, Jennifer Harris and Cameron Quick were both social outcasts. They were also one another’s only friend. So when Cameron disappears without warning, Jennifer thinks she’s lost the only person who will ever understand her. Now in high school, Jennifer has been transformed. Known as Jenna, she’s popular, happy, and dating, everything “Jennifer” couldn’t be—but she still can’t shake the memory of her long-lost friend. When Cameron suddenly reappears, they are both confronted with memories of their shared past and the drastically different paths their lives have taken.

President Carter’s highly accessible book for teenagers helps them understand the causes and cures for conflicts. It’s helpful not only to find solutions to the large political process of peace, but to work through the daily conflicts often found in a teenager’s life. To learn more about Jimmy Carter and his projects for peace, visit www.jimmycarter.org

Percy isn’t expecting his freshman orientation to be any fun. But when a mysterious acquaintance reappears, followed by demon cheerleaders, things quickly move from bad to worse.

In this fourth installment of the blockbuster series, time is running out as war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos draws near. Even the safe haven of Camp Half-Blood grows more vulnerable by the minute as Kronos’s army prepares to invade its once impenetrable borders. To stop them, Percy and his demigod friends will set out on a quest through the Labyrinth — a sprawling underground world with stunning surprises at every turn. Full of humor and heart-pounding action, this fourth book promises to be their most thrilling adventure yet.

Ben Hunter received two oddly connected gifts for his 12th birthday. One was a room given to him by his parents — to use as an art studio — and the other was a letter from his uncle inviting him to visit. The last time he and his Uncle Ian (also an artist) were together, Ben was injured in a woodworking accident and lost his little finger. When Ben and his mother arrive at Uncle Ian’s home in Oregon, the relatives work hard at reconstructing relationships and crafting new ones with Uncle Ian’s pregnant wife and some local kids. When Ben feels responsible for one child’s accidental fall, he builds him a tree house as a gift (inspired by one of his uncle’s sketches). After he returns home, Ben starts renovating his “birthday room” into a guest room as a “gift” to his reconciled relatives.