The Crossover by Kwame Alexander. HMH Books for Young Readers, 2014, 240 pages.

Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2000, 137 pages.

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. Puffin, 2015, 318 pages.

A Different Pond by Bao Phi. Capstone Young Readers, 2017, 28 pages.

Hello, Universe by Erin Estrada Kelly. Greenwillow Books, 2017, 320 pages.

Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo. Candlewick Press, 2016, 272 pages.

a Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle. Square Fish, 2007, 256 pages

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery, Tundra Books, 2000.

Wishtree by Katherine Applegate. Feiwel & Friends, 2017, 224 pages

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill. Algonquin Young Readers, 2016. 400 pages

Looking for Alaska by John Green. Dutton, 2005. 221 pages.

John Green's first novel. Printz Award. My first John Green book. It is fiction, not autobiographical, but he really did live in Florida and he really did go to boarding school in Alabama and a student really did die while he was a student there. A very good book.

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson. Viking Books for Young Readers. 2014. 391 pages.

PTSD in the family. Daughter and her very messed up Dad. Frightenly realistic.

Listening for Lions by Gloria Whelan. Harper Collins, 2005, 195 pages.

I adored this book. a strong young girl living in Africa loses her family and everything she knows and loves. She is sent off to England to live a lie with strangers- carrying secrets and sorrow. But she is strong and kind and her desire to return to Africa shapes her decisions. A lot more too. loved it. Deserves every accolade it receives.

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai. Harper, 2011, 262 pages.

Beautiful, lyrical, powerful. A young girl arrives in Alabama from War ravaged Vietnam. Recommended by a lovely young patron with a good eye for story. Recommend, Recommend, Recommend for everyone.

Rules by Cynthia Lord. Scholastic, 2006. 200 pages

Saw Cynthia Lord at MLA once, years ago. Loved her and resolved to read RULES. She has a daughter who is sister to a sibling with autism. A great and quick read, I have been recommending it- and telling Lord's story-- for years. only just read it now. Wow! and it was the first of a whole slew of excellent books with main characters having disabilties, Rules was the first.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. Yearling, 2010, 208 Pages.

Audio, so, so good. Reads like a book written for adults.

Flora & Ulyssess: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo. Candlewick Press, 2013, 231 pages

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Harper Collins, 2008, 3007 Pages.

Bod, (Nobody) Owens's entire family is killed when he is a baby. But while the killer searches in vain to complete the job, Baby Nobody wanders into a graveyard where the folk who live there raise him as their own. There is lots for a living boy raised in a graveyard to learn. I listened to the audio book-- one of the very best-- read by Gaiman himself. The story told as the author intended. FABULOUS on every level.

Alanna: the first adventure by Tamora Pierce. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1983, 249 pages.

First of Song of the Lioness series. A Librarian I know and respect once told me that Tamora Pierce was her favorite author. This is my first Tamora Pierce book. I loved it. Pierce is a wonderful writer-- and whisks us into another world full of high fantasy magic, medieval social structures and a believable characters in otherwise unbelievable situations. So well written. Recommend it freely. Strong Girls from a master of the genre.

Savvy by Ingrid Law, Dial Books for Young Readers, 2008, 342 pages.

Well written and easy reading- children's fantasy told in the voice of a soon to be 13 year old. Recommended by a rising 4th grader.