Grades 7-8, fiction
Children of the Fox by
A magic-infused fantasy that brings together a ragtag group of kids to pull off a crime so difficult, countless adults have already tried and failed. Lured by the promise of more money than they've ever dreamed of, five young criminals are hired to steal a heavily guarded treasure from the most powerful sorcerer in the city. There's Callan the con artist, Meribel the expert at acrobatics (and knives!), Gareth the researcher, Lachlan who can obtain anything, and Foxtail, whose mysterious eyeless mask doesn't hinder her ability to climb walls like a spider. Though their shadowy backgrounds mean that they've never trusted anyone but themselves, the five must learn to rely on each other in order to get the job done.
But as Callan has been warned most of his life, it's best to stay away from magic. It can turn on you at any moment, and make you think you're the one running the con game, when in reality you're the one being fooled. Faced with these unsurmountable odds, can the new friends pull off this legendary heist, or has their luck finally run out?
The King of Jam Sandwiches by
★ "Tug at the heartstrings and tickle the funny bone...This warm tale is definitely one for the keeper shelves. Highly recommended."--School Library Journal, starred review Thirteen-year-old Robbie leads a double life. It's just Robbie and his dad, but no one knows that his dad isn't like most parents. Sometimes he wakes Robbie up in the middle of the night to talk about dying. Sometimes he just leaves without telling Robbie where he's going. Once when Robbie was younger, he was gone for more than a week. Robbie was terrified of being left alone but even more scared of telling anyone in case he was put into foster care. No one can know. Until one day when Robbie has to show the tough new girl, Harmony, around school. Their first meeting ends horribly and she punches Robbie in the face. But eventually, they come to realize that they have a lot more in common than they thought. Can Robbie's new friend be trusted to keep his secret?
Bloom by
"It was just rain. But after the downpour, odd black plants began to shoot up. Suddenly -- They. Are. Everywhere. They take over fields and twine around houses. They bloom and throw off toxic pollen--and feed. Strangely, three Salt Spring Island teens seem immune. Anaya, Petra and Seth. What's their connection? What's their secret? A week ago, they wouldn't have thought they had one. But they'd better figure it out fast--the invasion has already begun." - Provided by publisher
No Fixed Address by
Felix Knutsson is nearly thirteen, lives with his mother and pet gerbil Horatio, and is brilliant at memorising facts and trivia. So far, pretty normal. But Felix and his mom Astrid have a secret- they are living in a van. Astrid promises it's only for a while until she finds a new job, and begs Felix not to breathe a word about it. So when Felix starts at a new school, he does his very best to hide the fact that most of his clothes are in storage, he only showers weekly at the community centre, and that he doesn't have enough to eat. When his friends Dylan and Winnie ask to visit, Felix always has an excuse.But Felix has a plan to turn his and Astrid's lives around- he's going to go on his favourite game show Who, What, Where, When and win the cash prize. All he needs is a little luck and a lot of brain power . . .Susin Nielsen deftly combines humor, heartbreak, and hope in this moving story about people who slip through the cracks in society, and about the power of friendship and community to make all the difference.--internet
A World Below by
"A swift-paced survival tale that's a cool blend of Lord of the Flies and Journey to the Center of the Earth." --School Library Journal "A sharp meditation on the seemingly universal difficulties of being young, smart, and uncertain." --BCCB "A multifaceted journey from darkness to light." --Kirkus Reviews Winner of the Red Maple Fiction Award A class field trips turns into an underground quest for survival in the latest middle grade novel from the author of Edgar Award winner OCDaniel. Mr. Baker's eighth grade class thought they were in for a normal field trip to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. But when an earthquake hits, their field trip takes a terrifying turn. The students are plunged into an underground lake...and their teacher goes missing. They have no choice but to try and make their way back above ground, even though no one can agree on the best course of action. The darkness brings out everyone's true self. Supplies dwindle and tensions mount. Pretty and popular Silvia does everything she can to hide her panic attacks, even as she tries to step up and be a leader. But the longer she's underground, the more frequent and debilitating they become. Meanwhile, Eric has always been a social no one, preferring to sit at the back of the class and spend evenings alone. Now, he finds himself separated from his class, totally by himself underground. That is, until he meets an unexpected stranger. Told from three different points of view, this fast-paced adventure novel explores how group dynamics change under dire circumstances. Do the students of Mr. Baker's class really know each other at all? Or do they just think they do? It turns out, it's hard to hide in the dark.
The Winnowing by
"Marivic Stone lives in a small world and that's just fine with her. Home is with her beloved grandfather (Gumps) in Darby, New Mexico, a small town that just happens to be famous for a medical discovery that saved humankind -- though not without significant repurcussions. Marivic loves her best friend, Saren, and the two of them promise to stick together, through thick and thin, and especially through the uncertain winnowing procedure, a now inevitable -- but dangerous -- part of adolescence. But when news of Saren's death thrusts Marivic into a world of conspiracy, rebellion and revolution, for the first time in her life, Marivic is forced to think and act big. If she is going to avenge Saren and right a decade of wrongs, she will need to trust her own frightening new abilities, even when it means turning her back on everything, and everyone, she's known and loved. A gripping exploration of love and loss, The Winnowing is a page-turning adventure that will have readers rooting for their new hero, Marivic Stone, as they unravel the horror and intrigue of a world at-once familiar but with a chilling strangeness not far beneath the everyday."-- Provided by publisher.
Shooter by
A lockdown catches five grade 12 students by surprise and throws them together in the only unlocked room on that empty third floor wing: the boys' washroom. They sit in silence, judging each other by what they see, by the stories they've heard over the years. Stuck here with them--could anything be worse? There's Alice: an introverted writer, trapped in the role of big sister to her older autistic brother, Noah. Isabelle: the popular, high-achieving, student council president, whose greatest performance is her everyday life. Hogan: an ex-football player with a troubled past and a hopeless future. Xander: that socially awkward guy hiding behind the camera, whose candid pictures of school life, especially those of Isabelle, have brought him more trouble than answers. Told in five unique voices through prose, poetry, text messages, journals, and homework assignments, each student reveals pieces of their true story as they wait for the drill to end. But this modern-day Breakfast Club takes a twist when Isabelle gets a text that changes everything: NOT A DRILL!! Shooter in the school! Suddenly, the bathroom doesn't seem so safe anymore. Especially when they learn that one of them knows more about the shooter than they realized...
The Dogs by
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch something moving by the barn. When I look, it disappears. Wait. There it is again, at the cornfield. Some movement, some thing. Mom and I have been on the run for years. Every time he catches up with us, we move to a new place and start over. But this place is different. This place is full of secrets. And they won't leave me alone.
The Rule of Three by
"A person can last 3 minutes without air, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food. A community begins to die in just seconds.
One shocking afternoon, computers around the globe shut down in a viral catastrophe. At sixteen-year-old Adam Daley's high school, the problems at first seems to be a typical electrical outage, until the students discover the cell phones are down, municipal utilities are failing, and the only vehicles that function are a few ancient computer-free cars like Adam's. Driving home Adam encounters a storm tide of anger and fear as the region becomes paralyzed. Soon - as resources dwindle, crises mount, and chaos descents - he will see his suburban neighbourhood band together for protection. And Adam will understand that having a police captain for a mother and a retired government spy living next door are not just the facts of his life but the keys to survival." - Author's website
The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen by
13-year-old Henry's happy, ordinary life comes to an abrupt halt when his older brother, Jesse, picks up their father's hunting rifle and leaves the house one morning. What follows shatters Henry's family, who are forced to resume their lives in a new city, where no one knows their past. When Henry's therapist suggests he keep a journal, at first he is resistant. But soon he confides in it at all hours of the day and night. Susin Nielsen has created a fantastic new character in Henry, whose journal entries are infused with humour and provide a riveting read.
The Vindico by
When supervillains of the Vindico realize they are getting too old to fight the League of Heroes, they kidnap and begin training five teens, but James, Lana, Hayden, Emily, and Sam will not become the next generation of evil without a fight.
Half Brother by
"It isn't long before Ben is Zan's favourite, and Ben starts to see Zan as more than just an experiment. His father disagrees. Soon Ben is forced to make a critical choice between what he is told to believe and what he knows to be true -- between obeying his father or protecting his brother from an unimaginable fate." -Author's website
Not Suitable for Family Viewing by
"Robin has everything a girl could ever want. Thanks to her mother - the internationally beloved talk show host Mimi Schwartz - she's got the money, the means and the connections to live a life others only dream of. So why, then, does Robin choose to spend her days alone in a dark room, watching endless reruns of You, You and Mimi?
It's only the bizarre discovery of an old high-school ring that propels her to action. Robin follows the ring's mystery from New York City to a tiny Nova Scotian fishing village, where she at last finds love, the truth of her own background - and the shocking secret that helped make her mother a star," -Publisher's website
Word Nerd by
Twelve-year-old Ambrose is a glass-half-full kind of guy. A self-described "friendless nerd," he moves from place to place every couple of years with his overprotective mother, Irene. When some bullies at his new school almost kill him by slipping a peanut into his sandwich -- even though they know he has a deathly allergy -- Ambrose is philosophical. Irene, however, is not and decides that Ambrose will be home-schooled. Alone in the evenings when Irene goes to work, Ambrose pesters Cosmo, the twenty-five-year-old son of the Greek landlords who live upstairs. Cosmo has just been released from jail for breaking and entering to support a drug habit. Quite by accident, Ambrose discovers that they share a love of Scrabble and coerces Cosmo into taking him to the West Side Scrabble Club, where Cosmo falls for Amanda, the club director. Posing as Ambrose's Big Brother to impress her, Cosmo is motivated to take Ambrose to the weekly meetings and to give him lessons in self-defense. Cosmo, Amanda, and Ambrose soon form an unlikely alliance and, for the first time in his life, Ambrose blossoms. The characters at the Scrabble Club come to embrace Ambrose for who he is and for their shared love of words. There's only one problem: Irene has no idea what Ambrose is up to. In this brilliantly observed novel, author Susin Nielsen transports the reader to the world of competitive Scrabble as seen from the honest yet funny viewpoint of a boy who's searching for acceptance and for a place to call home.
Out of the Cold by
"Nick has disappeared without a word, and Robyn doesn't know what to make of it. Could this be the end of their relationship? To keep her mind off her romantic woes, she decides to volunteer at a drop-in centre for the homeless. On her first day there, she meets one of the other volunteers, a boy named Ben, who seems hostile towards her. When one of the centre's clients, Mr. Duffy, injures Robyn, he's banished from the shelter for a week. On the coldest night of the year, he is found dead. Ben blames Robyn for getting him banned from the shelter. Determined to have Mr. Duffy properly remembered, Ben tries to find out more about him. To make amends, Robyn agrees to help out. But what seems like another tragically sad death due to exposure might be something much more sinister. As Robyn and her friends find out more about Mr. Duffy, they realize that he was a man with a past, and the chance that his death was an accident is very slim." -Publisher's website
Safe As Houses by
"On October 15th, 1954, Lizzie Hardy walks the children she babysits - David McBride and his kid sister, Suzie - home from school through the pouring rain to their new house near the Humber River in Weston, Ontario. Soon the children realize this is no ordinary rainstorm: first Lizzie notices the river rolling over its banks and into the back yard, then the McBrides call to say the roads are flooded and they are having trouble getting home. Soon the lights go out, then the phones go dead. In a few short hours, the freezing water has invaded the house - and it's rising fast! Based on the true accounts of that terrifying night when Hurricane Hazel hit southern Ontario." -Author's website
We All Fall Down by
Today is September 10, 2001, and Will, a grade nine student, is spending the day at his father's workplace tomorrow. As part of a school assignment, all the students in his class will be going to their parents tomorrow, but Will isn't excited about it. He'd rather sleep in and do nothing with his friends. His father doesn't even have an exciting job like his best friend James's father who is a fireman. Will's dad works for an international trading company and has to wake up early every morning to commute to his office on the eighty-fifth floor in the south building of the World Trade Center in Manhattan. Will doesn't see his father very often because of the hours he puts in at the office. He doubts that his dad will bother making time for him tomorrow even when they are supposed to be spending the day together. In this fast-paced and dramatic new novel by bestselling author Eric Walters, Will discovers a new side of his father during an event that continues to affect the world. As Will's new teacher says, tomorrow might be an experience that changes your entire life.
Skybreaker by
"The Sequel to Airborn
At 20,000 feet drifts a legendary ghostship...
The Control Car of the giant airship is almost entirely encased in ice, the ship’s name barely visible on her tattered skin: Hyperion. Matt Cruse can’t believe his eyes. Can this really be the legendary lost craft, now a frozen mausoleum to a ghostly crew and a vast treasure? At 20,000 feet, aboard a decrepit training ship, Matt is almost unconscious from the high altitude, but of all the oxygen-starved crew, he alone remembers the Hyperion’s coordinates.
Back in Paris, it suddenly seems that everyone is after those coordinates. Kate de Vries, Matt’s rich, young lady friend, has her reasons. But what about the handsome captain, who’s going to pilot them back to the Hyperion? Or the mysterious gypsy girl, whose past is inextricably linked to Matt’s?
In an adventure that will test his courage, his skill, and his heart, Matt is about to take off on the ride of his life." -Author's website
Airborn by
"Matt Cruse is the 15-year-old cabin boy aboard the Aurora, the 900-foot luxury airship he has called home for the past two years. While crossing the Pacificus, Matt fearlessly rescues the unconscious pilot of a crippled hot air balloon. Before he dies, the balloonist tells him about the fantastic, impossible creatures he has seen flying through the clouds. Matt dismisses the story as the ravings of a dying man, but when Kate de Vries arrives on the Aurora a year later, determined to prove the story is true, Matt finds himself caught up in her quest. Then one night, over the middle of the ocean, deadly air pirates board the Aurora. Far from any hope of rescue, Kate and Matt are flung into adventures beyond all imagining. . ." -Author's website
Hit and Run by
"Fifteen-year-old Mike McGill has been living with his Uncle Billy since his mother's death. Only ten years older than Mike, Billy loves to party, and doesn't pay much attention when Mike starts getting in trouble. But Mike's history teacher, an ex-cop named Riel, does pay attention. Especially when long hidden information starts coming to light that makes it seem that the death of Mike's mother might not have been an accident at all!" -Publisher's website
Losing Forever by
In this novel by Gayle Friesen, normal life for Jes is slipping away. Her mother is getting married again and is totally preoccupied with planning the perfect wedding. And if one fool in love is not enough, Jes's best girlfriend has fallen for a complete jerk. To make matters worse, Jes also has to deal with Angela, her soon-to-be stepsister, who has come to stay for a month before the wedding. A half-crazed mother, a lovesick friend, a perfectly evil stepsister -- could things for Jes get any worse?
Clara's War by
It's already a dangerous time for thirteen-year-old Clara and her family. They have just been imprisoned in Terezin (Terezinstadt), a ghetto in a medieval town near Prague--which was built to show the world how "well" the Nazis were treating Jews during World War II.
Rebound by
It's like I said, it isn't what you do with the shots you make, but the ones that don't go in. The rebounds. Sean vows that this year will be different: he'll stay out of trouble and make the basketball team, even if it means ditching his old friends. David also needs to make a new start. A serious accident has left him confined to a wheelchair and horribly bitter about how his life has changed. Forced together, the boys learn to like each other, and their friendship may be what they both need to get back in the game.
What They Don't Know by
On Saturday night I lost my girl, and where do you think I found her? When Hannah was little she used to make her father repeat the nursery rhyme over and over. But she isn't a little girl any more, and she isn't truely lost. No one, especially her dad, can't reach her. To her older sister, Kelly, Hannah's terrible anger is a cry out for help as well as a source of shame and frustration. What could a science fair project have to do with Hannah's sudden destructive behaviour? Clues lie hidden in Hannah's secret box and Kelly must piece the puzzle together quickly because time is running out. Through her frightened eyes we watch as a struggling, loving family draws closer to disaster.
Janey's Girl by
Fourteen-year-old Claire and her mother, Jane, are on their way across the country to visit Claire's grandmother. As they approach the family farm, Claire watches her mother become more and more anxious. Until now, she thought they had an open relationship with a healthy respect for each other's privacy. This trip unlocks the key to the many questions Claire has about their past - including the identity of her father and the reason her mother never went back home until now. Gayle Friesen's novel Janey's Girl is a coming-of-age story with a twist: Claire's mother is the one who reaches maturity.
After the War by
After being released from Buchenwald at the end of World War II, fifteen-year-old Ruth risks her life to lead a group of children across Europe to Palestine.