Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

The first in a series of five books about a young demi-god, Perseus Jackson, Lightning Thief begins an adventure in Greek mythology. Perseus(Percy)Jackson is a twelve-year old boy who feels like an outsider partly because of his dyslexia and ADHD diagnoses. He soon discovers that these "problems" are actually some of the gifts of being a "half-blood", the child of a human and a greek god. By the second chapter, he is battling monsters from Greek mythology, and discovering that there are many other demi-god children like himself.

This is an adventure series,and it is wildly popular with young readers right now. Part of its appeal is the mixture of middle school-age heroes who have to solve adult problems and the contrast with their parent-gods who behave like middle school kids. Percy's story moves quickly, and monsters are destroyed at a rapid pace; but much of the appeal is the balance of humor. Percy notes the absurdity of his situations and his mistakes--he is a very likable hero. The chapter titles entice the reader to the next chapter and make him giggle too. For example, the first chapter title is : I Accidentally Vaporize my Pre-Algebra Teacher. Students engage with the stories of Greek mythology, and they want to read more when they are finished with the five books. As I am writing, I have two students approach me to check out the fourth and fifth Percy Jackson books. One boy explains: " I stayed up until one reading because I lost track of time." That is agift for middle-school readers. This book has appeal from 3rd grade and up.

Lauren, Secondary Teacher and Library Tech

I'd Tell You That I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter

First in the series of three books thus far, I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter is great if you are into espionage. Cammie Morgan is a student at a very special school for girls and her mother is the head mistress (mom went there too). One thing, the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women isn’t some snooty prep school as it appears on the outside; it is actually a spy school. Cammie like all the others girls at the school is a genius, she is highly trained in hand-to-hand combat, is an excellent “pavement artist” in fact, they call her the “chameleon”, and she knows the languages and social skills of fourteen plus cultures. But when she is on a practice assignment in the local town she gets noticed, by an ordinary guy (who happens to be a hottie!). The boy, Josh, is her first “subject” in an offical report and her heart’s first flutter. She can handle just about any spy situation, but to handle a boy? Her life is less than ordinary, both parents were spies, dad never came back from a mission, and now her life is the academy, training for her future life. So how is she going to have a relationship with a normal guy who can never really know the truth? This is a great book and series for any girl or woman who dreams of being a part of a clandestine organization to protect the world from bad people. It is filled with secret passages, tech gadgetry, sub-ground levels that can only be accessed through retinal scans, and quirky ex-spy professors who test them to the brink of life. After all a spy’s life is just that. Because this was written in 2006, it is fresh and contemporary. It is a great vicarious experience! C. Murray

Ask Me No Questions by Marina Budhos

Ask Me No Questions by Marina Budhos unexpectedly answered questions I did not really know to ask.
It is the story of a family of immigrants from Bangladesh. They have been living, illegally, in New York for eight years; and the two teenage daughters see themselves as Americans.The family dreams and plans to become legal citizens, and the high-achieving eldest daughter dreams of becoming valedictorian and entering a good university. The story is told by the younger daughter, and like many young adult novels we see the main character find a purpose and her inner strength in order to guidse the family through adversity. The problems arise when the immigration policies change after September 11, 2001 . The family, like other illegal immigrant Muslim families they know, faces possible incarceration and deportation.

I have to admit that I did not know that the pursuit of illegal Muslim citizens was taking this form, so much of the reason I appreciate this book is that I learned about this piece of our current politics. More importantly for me, right now, this book reveals the story of my own community in a small northern California town. My students are not Bangladeshi nor Muslim, but many of them are illegal immigrants or have family members who are illegal. I know that many of them feel limited by their status or unwanted by their community. I have had students who lose their will to achieve or pursue their dreams, the way the older sister does in Ask Me No Questions. I have had a vague awareness of this part of their lives, and I have seen students and parents respond the way the girls do in this story. I now understand better their perspective. I also think that this would be a good choice for a classroom book in my middle school or anywhere there are students struggling with this dual-identity.

This story can open a conversation about the lives of teenagers who see themselves as part of a community, but know that the community can change its mind at any time and force them out.

By Lauren, a secondary English teacher

So B. It by Sarah Weeks

So B. It by Sarah Weeks takes a subject that could simply be sad and turns it into a search for truth and the meaning of family. The main character, Heidi, is a young girl being raised by her mother , who is intellectually disabled and their neighbor, a woman who has agoraphobia. Heidi has no knowledge of her past; she does not even know her birthdate. "So B. It" is a name of a central character, and it also represents a mindset of acceptance that Heidi may or may not embrace in the end. Heidi wants to find herself , and she takes the reader along , learning what it is to "know" someone else or yourself. One reason I love this book about exceptional people is that the focus is NOT on the disability or the possible "tragedy" of having a parent who is disabled. Her Mom's disability is merely different and a barrier to getting information. None of the main characters have a sense of self-pity or shame.

By Lauren, secondary English teacher

Rapunzel's Revenge
by Shannon and Dean Hale

We all love a good fairy tale, but sometimes we have to question the messages they deliver. I often want to replace the sweet, compliant, sleeping beauty with a smart girl who can rescue herself.
Newberry award-winning author Shannon Hale and her husband Dean present a humorous re-telling of the tale of the princess with outrageously long hair. I especially love that the burdensome tresses of the traditional tale become both Rapunzel's tools and weapons in this story. Rapunzel sets out to save not only herself, but a whole society enslaved by the same woman who trapped her and tried to control her. This tellling is set in a mythical western landscape, and Rapunzel speaks in the vernacular and idioms of a cowboy movie.
I gave it to middle school girls who gravitate to books about cliques of boy-crazed girls, and they each read it through in a night and passed it to a friend. Sixth grade boys also read it through voraciously, with no objections to the female heroine.
Graphic novels provide a visual hook for kids to enter the story, and the illustrations offer clues to the meaning for struggling readers. Rapunzel's Revenge also offers good evidence that a graphic novel can demand the same reading skills of a traditional novel. Students can practice with narrative structure, symbolism, use of puns and inference while reading Rapunzel's Revenge . This story is a hero's quest, filled with fun and adventure.

by Lauren , secondary English teacher