One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

I finally got around to reading this Newbery Honor book, and I'm glad I did! Delphine is eleven, and is used to "mothering" her younger sisters. Their own mother left them when Fern, the youngest, was a newborn baby, and now the three sisters are flying on their own to California to visit a mother they haven't seen or heard from since that day. Cecile didn't want her kids then, and she doesn't want them now, and it's up to Delphine to make sure they get fed (though Cecile won't let them in her kitchen) and stay out of trouble (though Cecile sends them to the Black Panthers center every day to get them out of her way). It's the final straw, though, when Cecile is arrested with two members of the Black Panthers, and Delphine and her sisters are really on their own.

Darth Paper Strikes Back by Tom Angleberger

Not only has Harvey created an origami Darth Vader to battle with Dwight's Origami Yoda, Dwight gets kicked out of school and might be sent to the school for juvenile delinquents! His friends prepare a new case file to explain to the school board why Origami Yoda (and Dwight) are needed at McQuarrie Middle School, but Harvey threatens to write a letter proving that Dwight really deserves to be punished. Tommy is doing the best he can, but can he win out over the Dark Side? A great sequel to Origami Yoda!

Hero of Hawaii by Graham Salisbury

Calvin Coconut and his friend Willy think the hurricane is great--until Willy is swept away down the river and into the sea! With no time to wait for help, Calvin sets off in his small rowboat to the rescue.

The Boneshaker by Kate Milford

This is an unusual book--you need to jump on, hang in there and trust the author, just as Natalie Minks has to do the same and trust herself to learn to ride the "boneshaker", an unusual, old-fashioned bicycle. When a strange, sinister travelling carnival comes to town, selling cure-alls to the townspeople, Natalie must thwart the Devil himself to save her town.

Where the Streets Had a Name by Randa Adbel-Fattah

I really liked this book--I love reading about real, modern-day kids in other countries,and I like stories where people are presented realistically, not in a phony good-guy/bad-guy scenario. This book meets both criteria wonderfully! Hayaat and her best friend, Samy, live in Bethlehem and have hatched a plan to travel to Jerusalem to visit her grandmother's former home--but it is illegal for them to go into Jerusalem. Even a trip to a neighboring town takes hours because of the checkpoints residents must go through to travel short distances, and because of the wall that now separates families and former neighbors. But Hayaat knows her grandmother can never return to Jerusalem to visit her beloved home--confiscated by the Israeli government and turned over to Jewish settlers--so Hayaat is determined to bring back some Jerusalem soil in a jar. Things don't quite go as planned, and both Samy and Hayaat come to terms with some painful past experiences on the journey.

The Danger Box by Blue Balliett

Zoomy has never met his father, so when he shows up suddenly with a stolen truck, a mysterious box and a nasty attitude, Zoomy is both intrigued and a little scared. The box contains an old notebook filled with crossed-out lists and names of strange places, but no identification. Zoomy also keeps notebooks and lists, and crossing things off keeps him balanced. He wants to know more about the mysterious author of this old journal, but he can only make out a few words--names of strange places--wehre in the world is Galapagos? But someone else is also interested in this old journal, and will do almost anything to find it. You may guess the author of the journal before Zoomy does, but the suspensful plot and the characters of Zoomy, his loving grandparents, his new friend Lorrel will keep you reading right up to the end!

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger

Dwight is a total loser, who acts weirder than any other 6th grader at Tommy's school. But when Dwight puts on his origami Yoda finger puppet, everyone starts getting wise advice--is it really coming from Yoda, or can it possibly be coming from Dwight--who could use a little wise advice himself! Tommy is determined to figure this out, and interviews all the kids who have gotten advice from origami Yoda. Some believe it's the Force, others scoff--but whether you think origami Yoda or Dwight is delivering the advice, enjoy this book you will!