When I was a Soldier by Valerie Zenatti
“For immigrant Valerie, 18, the required two-year Israeli army service is an exciting rite of passage. She gets to leave home, be considered equal to boys, and feel like a real citizen. The military training fascinates her, even if she misses her bitchy best friends ("friends and rivals forever"), and she is haunted by memories of the boyfriend who dumped her. Zenatti's fast, wry, present-tense memoir, translated from the French, begins like a contemporary YA novel: "What will I wear?" is the important question for Valerie's farewell party. But later, when Valerie confronts the politics and propaganda, she has a breakdown: "Who is the enemy?" she wonders. "Why am I fighting?".” (Booklist)

Where I Want To Be by Adele Griffin
“Teen sisters Jane and Lily tell the story of their relationship in alternating chapters. The gradually developing plot brings a growing understanding that Jane is telling her story after her death. In life, she had a difficult time separating the real from the pretend. She needed to surround herself with items of comfort and preferred her grandparents' home to anyplace else on Earth; after she dies, she returns to their home and re-creates it as it was when they were alive. Attractive, popular Lily, one year younger than Jane, is coming to terms with her sister's death and mental illness. Also confronting her is the tight hold she has on her recently graduated boyfriend and her return to high school without him.” (School Library Journal)

Invisible Allies: Microbes that shape our lives by Jeanette Farrell
“…a fascinating, broad-ranging and imminently readable book on the beneficial roles of microbes. After stating some amazing facts about microbes and advising readers against "running, somewhat futilely, for a bar of soap," the introduction provides a vivid picture of Antony van Leeuwenhoek's discovery of microorganisms in 1676. The chapters that follow consider beneficial microbes in the production of bread, cheese, and chocolate as well as their vital role in the gut, where they break down certain foods, kill harmful microbes, and enable certain genes in the intestines to maximize digestion. Finally, Farrell explains the process by which microbes dispose of human waste in sewage treatment plants, noting that they are also used to clean up oil spills and toxins in the environments.” (Booklist)


Guys Write For Guys Read edited by Jon Scieszka
“Chris Crutcher reminisces about a disgusting high-school initiation rite involving raw oysters; M. T. Anderson recalls his constant worrying; Richard Peck writes of a Halloween prank gone awry; and Darren Shaw provides a "manguyifesto," asserting that guys burp and wrestle and "don't do pink." Short entries and often lively subject matter make this a fine choice.” (Booklist)


Shark Life by Peter Benchley
“Benchley draws upon four decades of diving and studying ocean creatures in these insights and lessons about sharks. He goes to great lengths to counter the common misperception of sharks as aggressive predators of human beings, which is ironic given that Benchley's best-selling adult novel, Jaws, has probably done more than anything to perpetuate that very myth. Benchley shares many anecdotes of his personal encounters with sharks, including the Great White, in stories that are always exciting and sometimes terrifying. In addition to the anecdotes, he offers practical advice to readers on how to swim safely in the ocean and how to avoid shark attacks and potentially dangerous encounters with other sea creatures.” (Booklist)


Invisible by Pete Hautman
“Seventeen-year-old Dougie takes everything literally, lacks social graces, and is a loner, except, perhaps, for his one friend, athletic and popular Andy Morrow. But readers know almost immediately that something tragic has happened in the recent past: "Andy and I had some bad luck with fires when we were kids. We're more careful now." Other students feel threatened by Dougie's disturbing behavior and react by targeting him with cruelty and violence, which only serves to escalate his descent into unreality, isolation, and obsession. The teen has been working for nearly three years on his model railroad set, using 22,400 headless matches to build a bridge connecting portions of the "Madham Line." As his life deteriorates, this obsession and his nightly talks with Andy are the only things that keep him clinging to normalcy. He resists the help of his psychiatrist and hides his medication. Ultimately, he is forced to remember what actually happened on that fateful night.” (School Library Journal)


Finding Lubchenko by Michael Simmons
“Evan Macalister, 16, never thinks twice about making wrong decisions, especially when it comes to relieving his overbearing, penny-pinching father of a few minor pieces of computer equipment from his high-tech medical company to hock on eBay. But when his dad is arrested for the murder of a colleague and the evidence to clear him just happens to be on a laptop that Evan lifted from the victim's office just before he was killed, the teen realizes that he's faced with two choices. One, turn the laptop over to the police and face the wrath of his father, or two, solve the mystery himself. Of course ever-impulsive Evan chooses the latter, and, with his dad's credit card in tow, he and two friends travel first class to Paris to find Lubchenko, the missing link who supposedly can clear his dad's name.” (School Library Journal)


The Crimes And Punishments of Miss Payne by Barry Jonsberg
“Calma Harrison, the smart, sassy narrator of this memorable first novel by an Australian high school teacher, shares an unlikely friendship with class clown and ne'er-do-well Jaryd Kiffing, known as "Kiffo." Jonsberg reveals the source of their bond in flashbacks on tinted pages, which hint at something terrible happening to each of them four years before. The main narrative begins in Year 10 English class with Kiffo driving off the teacher in a hilarious (unless you are a teacher) opening scene. The replacement, naturally, is far worse. Miss Payne has the "sensitivity of a paving slab," and looks ferocious enough to "disembowel a horse with her teeth." "The Pitbull" instantly makes it plain she plans to "break [Kiffo's] spirit." Calma agrees to help Kiffo get rid of her with a vague strategy that involves stalking which, miraculously, actually raises suspicions she's connected with drug dealing.” (Publisher’s Weekly)


Guinea Pig Scientists: bold self-experimenters in science and medicine by Leslie Dendy
“Scientifically speaking, a "guinea pig" is a person who volunteers to serve as a subject in a scientific study. An easy and interesting read, this book describes 18th-century Italian scientist Lazzaro Spallanzani and his research on himself to explore digestion by swallowing food encapsulated in wooden tubes or cloth satchels and then analyzing the remains of the samples upon their exit from the intestinal tract. Gross enough to capture readers' attention, and startling enough to hold onto it, Spallanzani's story ends with a description of his discoveries and how many of his observations are still valid. Other topics describe guinea-pig scientists who tested internal body temperature in extreme heat and cold conditions, inhaled various gasses to discover one suitable for anesthetic uses (today's laughing gas), and seven more captivating narratives.” (School Library Journal)


The Revolt by Gloria Skurzynski
When their plane crashes, it is only the first tense incident in this action-packed, sci-fi adventure. Other characters from the previous books play large roles in this volume as well, such as Ananda, the athletic and immature teen who is training to fight the next Virtual War; Brigand, Cyborg's clone-twin, who is now tattooed, violent, and more power-hungry than ever; and Sharla, who spends most of this story in a catatonic state after crashing through the domed-city with Brigand. Character development is evident as Corgan grows from a sheltered and moody youth into a young man who must make critical decisions in morally ambiguous moments. The cliff-hanger ending will leave readers anxiously awaiting book four.” (School Library Journal)

If you liked Jonathan Stroud's "Bartimaeus Trilogy" or Jeanne DuPrau's The City of Ember then you’ll love The Revolt.


Under the Jolly Roger by L.A. Meyer
“Leaving Boston behind her, Jacky Faber, 15, is on the run again. In this third installment in the series, the orphan girl from the streets of London returns to her native land in search of her true love, James Jaimy Fletcher. But Jacky's free and easy spirit can never stay away from trouble, and she finds herself onboard a royal naval ship once again, but it is a ship that is filled with a mutinous crew and an incompetent captain. Jacky has to use her wits to keep out of the captain's lecherous hands, and in good standing with her mates. In a surprising turn of events, the resourceful teen finds herself in charge of the crew and is surprisingly good at it. But how long will it last?” (School Library Journal).


Are We There Yet? By David Levithan
“Elijah and Danny are brothers who have grown apart. Elijah is a mellow, kind, live-in-the-moment, pot-smoking teen who likes to wonder about things and to wander without a plan. Danny, six years Elijah's senior, is a young up-and-comer with a prestigious New York law firm, who dresses meticulously and exerts a rigid control both on his own life and on the lives of those around him. In an attempt to draw their sons back together, the boys' parents arrange a vacation to Italy. But the appearance of a girl who may have the power to separate the two brothers even further means the trip may not reach its intended goal.” (Booklist)


Listening for Lions by Gloria Whelan
“Orphaned by the influenza epidemic in British East Africa in 1919, 13-year-old Rachel is sent by conniving neighbors to visit an elderly man in England, passing as their daughter–his granddaughter–to pave the way for their return and the inheritance of his estate. The daughter of a missionary doctor and his wife, Rachel has grown up connected to the African countryside and people. Terrified that to reveal her secret would hasten Grandfather Pritchard's death, and fearing life in an orphanage, she goes along with her new identity as Valerie Pritchard. But she cannot help but get involved with his love for the birds on his land, and she entertains him with stories about what is happening outside his sickroom and what kinds of things her friend Rachel saw in their African world.” (School Library Journal)


Not the End of the World by Geraldine McCaughrean
“Using diverse voices from the ark, McCaughrean offers a story of the voyage that is brutal, physically and mentally, even as some aboard find their humanity. This is not the familiar "two-by-two" vessel. Fetid, filthy, and full of frightened animals, this ark is home to the zealot Noah, his dutiful wife, and his children and in-laws--some angry, some righteous, some who border on insanity. Unbeknownst to most of the voyagers are young Kittem and his baby sister, whom Noah's (unbiblical) daughter, Timna, has smuggled onboard.” (Booklist)


Help Wanted by Gary Soto
“Ten original short stories about Mexican-American teens in central California. The fundamental theme of "needing help" is the common thread among the stories, which range from the satirical to the peculiar to the humorous to the sad. Sometimes the "help" is administered in unusual fashion or never quite arrives at all, and each character is left to puzzle the complexity and edginess of life.” (Booklist)


Good Brother, Bad Brother: The Story of Edwin Booth & John Wilkes Booth by James Giblin
“Actors Edwin and John Wilkes Booth each had a compelling stage presence and a fondness for alcohol, just like their famous father, Junius. Edwin spent his life perfecting his craft and building a reputation as the finest classical actor of his time. John was impulsive, popular with the ladies, and best known today as the man who assassinated Abraham Lincoln. The book traces the events leading up to the assassination, discussing the Civil War, John Wilkes Booth's love for the Confederacy, and the plots he and his colleagues hatched to kidnap Lincoln. The effects that the assassination had on the country, and his family, are clearly presented.” (School Library Journal)


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