Bucking the Sarge by Christopher Paul Curtis

Luther Farrell has dreams. Dreams of winning first place in the Science Fair (by besting his rival and love interest, Shayla), of attending Harvard, and of getting out of Flint, Michigan. But if the Sarge has her way, Luther will be shaving and bathing elderly men at the Happy Neighbor Group Homes in Flint forever. Sarge is Luther's mom. There's a reason she's called The Sarge. To make is dreams come true, Luther is going to have to muster up the courage to stand up to Sarge.

Schooled by Gordon Korman

Capricorn Anderson has lived a very sheltered life at Garland Farm with his grandmother, Rain. Garland Farms was once a thriving commune in the 1960s but now just Cap and Rain work the farm. Cap is homeschooled and hasn't had much contact with people. When Rain breaks her hip from a fall off a ladder in the orchard, Cap finds himself living in foster care with the Donnelly family and attending Claverage Middle School. He might as well be living on another planet! With his long blonde hair, tie-dyed clothes and woven sandles and his non-violent, trusting and naive personality, Cap is the perfect specimen for Zach Powers eighth grade prank. But Capricorn Anderson may have a few surprises in store for Zach and the other 1,099 students at C average Middle School.

Acceleration by Graham McNamee

Duncan works in the lost and found at the Toronto Transit Commission. Items that are lost on buses and the subways are brought to the subbasement of the Bay subway station, and it is Duncan's job to retrieve them from the bins when a person comes to request their lost item. Sometimes when work is slow, Duncan sets a lawn chair up in front of the book bin and searches for an entertaining book. A plain brown leather journal catches his eye. As he flips through the journal, he finds newspaper clippings and very disturbing journal enteries. Duncan believes the journal writer is just one step away from committing murder but because he has a juvenile record Duncan thinks the police will not believe him if he brings the journal forward. But Duncan has a plan.

The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin

(originally posted May 16, 2007 on BookTrail@edublogs.org)

When Matt and Callie witness Murdoch McIlvane defuse a situation between an abusive father and his small son at the Cumberland Farms convenience store, Matt knows he must to get Murdoch to help Callie, Emmy and him get away from Nikki. Nikki, their unstable mother, would be a fantastic villian if this story was a fantasy, but this is realistic fiction and Nikki is down-right scary. Matt doesn't trust the system and won't go through the regular channels to seek help. When he finally does involve Murdoch, Nikki ups the level of her psychotic game. Werlin keeps you turning pages to find out if these kids will ever be able to break away from Nikki.