Baseball Great

Josh is the new kid at Grant Middle School, but things are starting off pretty well.  A reporter for the school paper (who happens to be a cute girl who knows a lot about sports) has written an article praising his baseball talents and predicting a winning season.  He even has a best friend, Benji.

Unfortunately, he also has an enemy who is bigger and stronger and who thinks Josh is trying to steal his girlfriend.  And he's about to get a lot more enemies when his dad gets him a place on Rocky Valentine's U14 travel team.  Josh wants to play with his friends, but his dad thinks this is his best chance for a future career in the majors.  Plus Rocky Valentine gave him a job, too.

The Titans are scary big and intense.  Josh is intimidated and exhausted, but Rocky's supplements and workouts are making him stronger.

When a member of the team offers him something than the supplements to improve his game and the team's prospects, Josh is in a difficult position.  He doesn't want to risk his health, but he doesn't want to get his father in trouble, too.

Josh and his friends will have to rely on each to find the truth against an enemy more dangerous than any they've faced before.

Read the latest book from Tim Green for a story packed with sports, mystery, and danger!

Watch the video below to hear Tim Green talk about what makes a good story.

Silhouetted by the Blue

Serena Shaw has never been so stressed, and life seems to be getting more complicated every day.  Her family is still struggling to move on with life since her mother's death over a year ago, but her father is getting worse instead of better.  He has always gone through "blue" times, but he hasn't showered in weeks, and he barely seems awake even when he's out of bed.

She wanted more than anything to get the lead in the school musical, but now her involvement in the play is creating more problems.  Not only does she have to add play practice to already towering stack of responsibilities, but the play has to be perfect in order to win a grant for the school or the drama program will be cut.

It doesn't seem possible to take care of her little brother, do the shopping, clean the house, do the laundry, pass her classes, and keep up with the play.  Add her increasing worry about her father, and you can forget about being a normal girl like figuring out her friends and the little flutter she gets in her stomach when Elijah talks to her.

Serena desperately wants her father to step up, but things are just getting desperate with no one to be the adult.

Visit author, Traci L. Jones's website to find out more about her and her inspiration for writing.

Hidden

Wren Abbott was hiding in the back seat of her mother's minivan the day it was stolen from a gas station parking lot.

Darra Monson's father is the man who stole that minivan.

As eight year old girls, these two met without meeting in an experience that would change both of them forever.

Now it is six years later, and each girl has her own memory and interpretation of that time together.  Wren is headed off to summer camp like she does every year, but as she is reconnecting with old friends, she hears a voice, sees a face from the past that paralyzes her with an old long buried anxiety.

Darra doesn't want to go to some summer camp for rich kids with perfect lives.  She feels there stares and hears their whispers as she and her mom pull up in their rusted out car.  Then she sees someone she never thought she'd see again.  Wren looks the same, older, but the same.

Now these two girls are caught up in a web of emotions and secrets that may not allow them to see the truth about who they are now or about what happened all those year's ago.

Helen Frost's new novel is written in verse, so it is a quick but intense read.  Be sure to read the author's note at the end, so you can go back into the story for something extra!

Camo Girl

Z isn't just Ella's best friend; he's her only friend.  Ella doesn't really know how it happened.  It seems like one day everything was fine, and the next everyone had turned against Ella and Z.  The kids call Ella Camo Face because her skin has patches of brown and black.  Ella knows she's ugly, but it still hurts to hear the taunts of other kids.


Ella is Z's protector, and partner in the fantasy he's created.  He calls her lady Eleanor and milady and talks like he's in a story about King Arthur and Camelot.  Ella knows the fantasy helps him deal with life since his daddy left and they lost the house, but sometimes she's ready for the fantasy to be over.  Everyone else teases Z and calls him a freak.


One day a new boy shows up at school.  His name is Bailey, and Ella thinks he's beautiful.  Plus, he's the only other black kid in school.  For the first time in a long time, Ella wants to break out the protective circle she's drawn around Z and herself.  But part of her knows it's pointless.  Bailey is cool and normal and good-looking.  Why would he want to be friends with Camo Face?


But things aren't always what they seem on the surface, and Bailey, Z, and Ella have more in common than she would've thought.  Maybe being "normal" isn't as hard as Ella thought, but Z may not be able to handle all these changes, and all three kids may not be able to keep their secrets for much longer.  


Camo Girl is the newest book by Kekla Magoon, who also wrote one of my favorite books, The Rock and the River, so read that one, too!

Forest Born

Rin grew up in the forest the youngest child and only girl in a family of boys.  She learned as a child that she could go to the trees to find peace and comfort, but she also learned as a child that she could use her words to get people to do her will no matter what they want.  She has only done this twice, the first time by accident, the second intentionally.  Now she feels the guilt of her actions every day.  To avoid making this mistake again, she has learned to be quiet, watchful, and helpful.  She knows that if her ma discovered the truth about her beloved daughter, she would hate her.

One day her favorite brother, Razo, returns from the city for a visit, and Rin decides to go back with him.  She is hoping that in the city she will escape the sadness and self-loathing she feels.  There she meets Razo's friends, including the queen of Bayern who tells Rin to call her Isi!  Rin can tell these new friends have special gifts, too, and she is drawn to them.  She is so good at being silent and watchful that everyone welcomes her as Razo's sister, and no one guesses her fearful secret.

But life is not perfect in the city, and soon there are rumors of war.  Before it is over, Isi will have to face an old and deadly enemy, and Rin will discover the terrible truth about what her "gift" can do.  Will she have the courage to defend the kingdom and resist the temptations of her gift?

Forest Born is the fourth book in Shannon Hale's Bayern series, but you can read and enjoy this book without having read the others.  But I highly recommend the other books:  Goose Girl, Enna Burning, and River Secrets!  (I just realized we don't have Enna Burning, but I will fix that ASAP!)

You should also read The Princess Academy which is one of my all time favorites because the sequel is coming out in August!  Can't wait!

13 Gifts

It all started when Tara Brennan agreed to break into her school and steal the principal's prize goat.  Of course she gets caught, expelled, and utterly humiliated.  Her parents are angry and disappointed, so how can she tell them her real reason for going along with this crazy scheme was because of her mother's constant pressure for Tara to make friends.  That's hard to do when the whole family moves to a new town every year; Tara is used to being the girl on the sidelines, and she's comfortable there.

But thanks to the goat incident, Tara is on her way to Willow Falls, alone!  Willow Falls is her parents home town, but Tara's never been there, and she hasn't seen her Aunt Bethany, Uncle Roger, and cousin Emily in years.

Things go wrong before they can even get started, and Tara has no choice but work with this crazy old lady with a duck-shaped birthmark named Angelina.  Angelina is basically blackmailing Tara to find 13 crazy items on a list.  It seems impossible, but the kids in Willow Falls surprise Tara.  Not only do they want to be her friends, it seems like they can't wait to help her work through the list.

Along the way, Tara will learn some things about herself and how friendship can enrich her life.  She'll also learn some pretty shocking truths about her own family and maybe find a way to become a whole person.

This is the third book in the 11 Birthdays cycle, and judging by the ending, author Wendy Mass, and Willow Falls, aren't finished with us yet!

Guys Read: Funny Business

This collection of short stories is the first in a new series edited by Jon Scieszka, author of The Stinky Cheese Man, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, and other hilarious tales.  These ten stories are by some of our favorite authors, and the book even includes a brief bibliography for each author.

Some of the stories include:

• a boy who will do anything for the chocolate adventure of a lifetime!
• a series of letters between a seemingly unconcerned kid and a surprisingly snarky author.
• a homicidal turkey!
• a boy who's parents give his bedroom to a particularly disgusting biker.
• and a really disgusting, but hilarious story about a boy who will do anything!

If you enjoy Funny Business, you should also try Guys Read:  Thriller and Guys Write for Guys Read.

Check out the Guys Read website for more info about the series, including upcoming publications, additional recommendations, and lots of other guy friendly stuff. 

Hero

Zach Harriman's father is the man who saves the day.  He's always gone on some secret mission, but he always comes home again until the day when Zach gets a feeling that something terrible as happened.  Now his father is dead, and nothing will ever be the same.

Even as he grieves for his father, he notices strange things happening to him.  He has strangle energy and powers he's never had before, and he's losing his cool much faster than he once did.  Zach was always good at basketball, but now he's got amazing coordination and lightning fast reflexes.  Sometimes this is pretty cool, but he's mostly confused.

He meets a mysterious stranger who calls himself Mr. Herbert and seems to know a lot about Zach and his father, but Zach's own uncle doesn't trust him.  Zach has always trusted Uncle John, but now he's confused about him, too.

Who can Zach trust now that his world is turning upside down?  Everyone seems to know secrets about his father that Zach never imagined.  Something is coming; Zach can feel it.  Will he be ready to take his father's place as hero when the time comes?

Mike Lupica's new book has all the action of his sports stories with a superhero twist!

Chomp

Money is tight for Wahoo and his father, Mickey Crane, but the animal wranglers have just landed a job worth a lot of cash working on the Everglades episode of Expedition Survival.   But the show's star, Derrick Badger, isn't the great survivalist he appears to be on TV.  He knows nothing about animals and outdoor survival, and he doesn't even camp out when he is supposed to be fighting for his life in the wild outdoors.

Right off the bat, Derrick is nearly drowned by an alligator, bitten by a snapping turtle, and squeezed by a python.  Just when Wahoo and Mickey think they will be rid of the temperamental star, he makes them a new offer to go with him into the real wild of the Everglades.  On the way, they pick up a girl named Tuna who is running from her abusive father.

Now Mickey, Wahoo, and Tuna will have to survive wild animals, raging weather, an irresponsible star, and Tuna's violent and drunken father.  Things will definitely get worse before they get better, especially when Derrick's trademark of eating creepy crawlies to survive rears it's ugly head!

Carl Hiaasen's latest book is an outdoor survival adventure with all the character and danger of the Florida Everglades plus Hiaasen's style, charm and humor.  It's a must read for adventure and animal fans, and it's perfect for all Campbell Gators.  Just make sure you don't get chomped!

Take Me to the River

My adventure seekers will love Will Hobbs's latest book!  Dylan is headed to the Terlingua Ghost Town to meet his cousin Rio and his uncle for a river trip on the Rio Grande, but things seem headed in the wrong direction from the start when Rio wants Dylan to hitchhike the last eighty miles.

He'll also encounter scorpions, tarantulas, and black-hawk helicopters, and that's all before they even get on the river. Things get even crazier on this ultimate adventure when they come up against a violent kidnapper and a raging hurricane!

You'll feel like you're on this adventure with Dylan and Rio, and this book will keep you on the edge of your seat!

Warp Speed

This is the newest book by Lisa Yee, and all of the protagonists of her previous books make appearances, so be prepared to greet Millicent Min, Stanford Wong, and Emily Ebers again!

Marley Sandelski is the lowest kid on the scale of popularity at school.  His word for the year is "invisible" because no one notices him unless it is to bully him.  A normal day for Marley includes getting chased, spat on, slammed into his locker, and ignored.

The only place he feels safe is in AV club which meets during sixth period.  When he's there, he's free to be himself and flaunt his love and knowledge of Star Trek.  His best friend Ramen loves Star Wars, and the AV kids spend a lot of time arguing over which better.  When he gets nervous, Marley starts speaking in Klingon, which doesn't help anything.

He thinks this year will be the same as all the others, but there are a few important differences.  Some are not so bad, like the new kid in AV club, even if Max is a Bat fan.  There's also Emily Ebers who is beautiful and normal and nice which is good but also confusing.  Despite all these good things, the bullies are full force, and things just keep getting worse.  Marley is trying to move at Warp Speed to avoid everything, but maybe he just needs to slow down a little and try for more out of life than just survival.

I think the best aspect of the book is Yee's ability to make the reader feel Marley's pain and frustration at the hands of his bullies.  She also honestly portrays the inept ways many adults try to address bullying.  Marley's story is the story of the awkwardness we all feel in middle school from the geeks to the jocks.

Close to Famous

Joan Bauer is one of my favorite authors because her heroines are always strong individuals who are unabashedly unique.  If you enjoy Close to Famous, give some of her other books a try!  Some of my favorites are Squashed, Peeled, and Backwater.

Foster and her mother are leaving Memphis a hurry to get away from a bad Elvis who just happens to be Mama's no good finally ex-boyfriend.  They just keep driving until they get stuck in a fog bank and stop for the night.  The are rescued by a couple from Culpepper, West Virginia, who just happen to have a vacant trailer in their backyard.  Since Foster and her mama just happen to have no money and nowhere to go, it seems like a perfect match.

Foster has more problems than leaving Memphis.  She is still mourning her father who died in Iraq, and her problems in school are worse than she wants anyone to know, but Foster has big talent and big dreams.  She bakes cupcakes and muffins and brownies that can melt anyone's heart, and her goal is to be on the Food Network like her Idol, Sonny Krull, celebrity chef and former Marine.

Culpepper isn't doing so well either.  The new prison was supposed to bring jobs, but it seems to be making the economy worse, the church is for sale, and the main industry in town is closed down.  There's also a former Hollywood starlet living like a hermit because she doesn't want to face the world.

Foster and Culpepper are both struggling, but maybe if they work toether, things can turn around for this baker with big dreams and a town that has forgotten how to dream.

With her usual style, Joan Bauer has created a book that is funny, touching, and true.  You'll laugh at Foster's dry sense of humor and sympathize with her struggles at school.  This is another winner!

Visit Joan Bauer's website for recipes and other extras!

Here's a video of the author talking about writing in general and some of her other books:

The Mighty Miss Malone

This is the newest book from Christopher Paul Curtis, author of The Watsons Go to Birmingham and Bud, Not Buddy, and it is just as wonderful as those books!  Curtis's gift is his ability to create believable characters and situations.  The tone of the books is at times hilarious and at times heartbreaking.  (I'm a fan in case you couldn't tell.)

Deza and her family live in Gary, Indiana, in the 1930's, the heart of the Great Depression.  Money is tight, but the Malones are getting by.  Deza loves school and reading, and everyone believes she will do great things.  Her older brother Jimmy is a gifted singer, but he looks like a child because of an undiagnosed disorder.  Father likes to joke around and tell stories with his Darling Daughter Deza and Genuine Gentle Jumping Giant Jimmy.

But things take a turn for the worse when Father is involved in an accident, and the bad news seems to be coming in more than threes.  The Malones have always been a family on the Road to Wonderful, but now they've lost their way.  Deza wants to be hopeful, but it's hard waiting for things to look up again.  Read the book to find out how the Malone family gets back on that Road to Wonderful.

Fake Mustache

This is the new book from Origami Yoda author, Tom Angleberger, and it's another winner!  The subtitle pretty much says it all:  or, How Jodie O'Rodeo and Her Wonder Horse (and Some Nerdy Kid) Saved the U.S. Presidential Election from a Mad Genius Criminal Mastermind. Hilarity ensues.  One of you lucky gators will win an autographed copy of this book at the Biggest Reader party, too!  (We also have signed copies of Origami Yoda and Darth Paper.)

It all starts when Lenny Flem's best friend Casper buys a new man-about-town suit and the Heidelberg Handlebar Number Seven, a fake mustache with amazing powers of hypnotism and deception.  Soon a string of highly successful robberies begins.  Lenny suspects his friend Casper, but no one believes the robber is a kid.  He's just a sort of short man about town with a mustache, and Casper is too young to have a mustache.

But Casper's plans are bigger than just robbing banks.  He is hungry for power, and with the Heidelberg Handlebar, no one can stop him.  Even Lenny considers giving up until he come face to face with Jodie O'Rodeo, preteen cowgirl and star of her own (recently cancelled) TV show.  Can these two foil Casper's plans?  And perhaps more importantly, can a preteen cowgirl queen ever love a slightly nerdy, slightly short, regular seventh grader?  Read to find out!

No trailer yet, but I'll add one when I can find it. :)

No Passengers Beyond This Point by Jennifer Choldenko

India, Mouse, and Finn have just lost their house due to a financial crisis, and now they are on a plane, alone, on their way to Uncle Red's house in Colorado.  Soon after take off, strange things begin to happen, but the three siblings are distracted by their own frustrations.

India doesn't want to leave her friends and school, and she can't believe her mother is making her babysit her younger brother and sister on the way to Colorado.  They are so annoying!

Finn is worried about everything and sad about leaving his manager position on the basketball team.  Things will never be the same, and they barely even know Uncle Red.  He just doesn't see how everything can work out with so many problems in their path.

Mouse notices everything, and while her older brother and sister are worried and annoyed that she will drift away, she is frustrated because no one is listening when she tries to point out important signs and information.

When the land, they aren't in Colorado.  They are in a place that seems too good to be true.  They soon discover that what seems like paradise really isn't and that they might just want to go back to their normal lives.  But is it too late?  Time is strange in this new place, and it's running out fast.

This book is told from the perspectives of the three kids, so you get different versions of the story.  It gets a little confusing as you read, but it will all make sense in the end, even the reasons why it is a little confusing. :)  Visit Gennifer Choldenko's website for more information.  I recommend this for everyone, especially if you like a little fantasy in your life!