Shirley & Jamila Save Their Summer by Gillian Goerz

Jamila Waheed mother has her whole summer planned out, but all Jamila wants to do is play basketball. When Jamila's mother meets quirky Shirley Bones' mother at a garage sale, the two girls reluctantly come to an understanding that they hope will meet both of their needs and keep the mom's off their backs. The plan is simple: Shirley accompanies Jamila to the basketball court every day and reads while Jamila shoot baskets. Then this kid Oliver shows up begging for Shirley's help. His pet gecko has disappeared, and he's sure it was stolen. That's when Jamila discovers Shirley's secret: She's the neighborhood's best kid detective, and she's on the case. At first Jamila is put off that Shirley doesn't tell her what's going on. Then Jamila discovers she's got some detective skills of her own and a crime-solving partnership is born. All they needed was a good mystery to become best friends.

The Next Great Jane by K. L. Going

Jane Brannen thinks she has everything planned out. She will become a famous author like her namesake Jane Austen. The first step to her plan is  meeting bestselling author J. E. Fairfax who has come to the seaside village of Whickett Harbor and is giving a talk at the public library. Locked out of the program because they are serving wine, Jane plans to listen in from a secret spot in the attic and learn the secrets of becoming an author. Which is where the real-life Jane Austen story begins. A hurricane rolls in and Jane gets stuck with the author's snobbish son, Devon, instead. They survive their first adventure together, but stormy seas are still headed Jane's way. Her familiar life with her frumpy marine biologist dad is about to be threatened by the sudden return of her mom and her movie director fiance, Erik. They've come to file for custody and Jane decides she needs to find her father a suitable mate, and thus a suitable step-mother. She latches on to the sophisticated J. E. Fairfax, even though the perfect choice is the reliable nanny/housekeeper already there. Jane's efforts to hook up dad and the author throw Devon even more annoyingly into her life. Of course any Jane Austen fan knows the story will unfold in unexpected ways and stand-offish boys have their charms, too.

When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson & Omar Mohamed

 

Based on Mohamed’s actual experiences, this is a compelling and moving account of Somali brothers Omar and Hassan. They’ve witnessed their father’s murder and lost their mother in the flight to the Kenyan refugee camp of Dadaab. An elderly woman oversees their care, but Omar feels he is responsible for the care of his younger brother who has been left mute by the ordeal, As a result, Omar doesn’t go to the camp school until a teacher is alerted to his intelligence and challenges him to join.  The frustrating uncertainty of the boys’ future is balanced by humor and glimpses of kindness, as well as Jamieson’s beautiful artwork.

Twilight Hauntings by Angie Sage

 

Desperate to save their child, Hagos, the King’s enchanter and his wife Pearl, force the babe into the arms of a woman who reluctantly takes baby Alex in a basket with a mysterious wallet tucked in the blankets. As Alex grows, a Cinderella to her cruel stepmother and stepsisters, she learns how to use the magical cards in her father’s wallet. She just might be an Enchanter herself, and Enchanters are banned in Luma. When her stepsister turns her in, Alex sees the sentinels coming for her in the cards and escapes just in time. Outside the city lurk the Hauntings, menacing creatures that hunt down those who practice magic. Alex’s only clue to who she is and how to survive are the mysterious hexagonal cards.

Beverly, Right Here by Kate Di Camillo

 

"Beverly put her foot down on the gas. They went faster still. This was what Beverly wanted --what she always wanted. To get away. To get away as fast as she could. To stay away."

Running away has always been part of Beverly's life. Now that Buddy, her dog, is dead and buried under the orange trees, Beverly is ready to leave for real. But this time, unexpectedly, she makes a home, with  a job and people who really see who she is, and who she cares about.

Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

  A devastatingly honest, age-appropriate account of events that no child should have to endure. Sisters Della, 10, and Suki, 16, are put in foster care after escaping a sexually abusive home. Della’s story slowly reveals itself as she copes with a new school, a new foster home and her sister’s night terrors and moods. Betrayed by their now incarcerated mother who took them to a motel to cook meth. Betrayed by the boyfriend who gave them a place to live but left them for days while on the road. Readers will understand the girls’ reluctance to trust new friends, their new foster mother, and the other adults in their lives. This intense book has a powerful, hopeful resolution, but a trusted adult will help readers understand what’s going on.

When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller

On the drive from California to move in with her grandmother, Lily mysteriously sees a tiger in the road that no one else notices. She has always known, thanks to her Halmoni’s stories, that tigers can’t be trusted. And when she tells Halmoni what she saw, she learns that when Halmoni was Lily’s age, Halmoni stole something from the tiger. Then the magical tiger appears in her grandmother’s basement with a deal to heal the ailing woman, Lily is willing to do whatever it takes—even if that means trapping the tiger. A beautiful mix of Korean folklore and magic realism.

Wolfpack by Abby Wambach

 

The co-captain of the 2015 Women's World Cup championship shares her rules for being a champion. How to lead on and off the field, whether you're on the field or on the bench. Initially intimidated by the request to give the commencement speech at a prestigious college, she takes eight common leadership themes, and give them her own spin with the goal of empowering girls to "find their voice, unite their pack, and change the world."

Becoming Muhammad Ali by James Patterson & Kwame Alexander

 

It's a biographical novel, its a novel in verse. Cassius Clay was just a kid growing up in Louisville, Kentucky in the 1950s. Patterson frames the story in prose written as a friend of Cassius, and Alexander adds the verse in Cassius' voice. Together they tell the story of the proud Clay family, and a young boy's trouble at school, growing awareness of the racism around him, and most of all, his drive to become the greatest. At the age of twelve his prized bike is stolen and Cassius discovers a gym where young boxers train. The book reveals the drive and passion that took him to Chicago for victory in the Golden Gloves and to Rome for an Olympic Gold Medal.

Glitch by Laura Martin

 

Glitchers travel through time to preserve important historical events from meddling time travelers. Regan Fitz and Elliot Mason were enemies in training school, but now they must join forces when they uncover a letter from future Regan warning the Glitchers of coming disaster. Will they be able to set aside the past in order to save the future?

Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson

 

Everyone loves to play at ZJ's house because ZJ's dad is an all pro tight end with a Super Bowl ring. But then ZJ senior is mysteriously benched, suffering with chronic migraines. He yells at ZJ and his friends, he mysteriously starts forgetting things. Sudden outbursts disturb the neighbors. Finally testing reveals that ZJ's dad has developed chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).  

Ikenga by Nnedi Okorafor

 

Nnamdi's father kept his Nigerian village safe from crime as chief of police., After his murder, Nnamdi dreams of avenging the crime and keeping everyone safe again like his favorite superhero, the Hulk. But in real life, how is a 12-year-old boy supposed to do that? Then exactly one year after the murder, Nnamdi meets a shadowy figure who gives him a magical object. When Nnamdi gets angry enough, he becomes The Man: a legend, a shadowy avenger.