Hope Is a Ferris Wheel

The Diamond Girls

Jacqueline Wilson · 240 pages

Another hit novel for readers of 9+, from the bestselling Jacqueline Wilson - with a new introduction and cover look!Dixie is the youngest of the Diamond family. She and her sisters, dreamy Martine, glamorous Rochelle and tough Jude, could hardly be more different from each other but their Mum's tried to teach them the value of sticking together. Now Mum's expecting yet another baby and she's conv

Eight Keys

Suzanne LaFleur · 216 pages

When twelve-year-old Elise, orphaned since age three, becomes disheartened by middle school, with its bullies, changing relationships, and higher expectations, keys to long-locked rooms and messages from her late father help her cope.

The Mighty Miss Malone

Christopher Paul Curtis · 313 pages

Little Audrey

Ruth White · 145 pages

In 1948, eleven-year-old Audrey lives with her father, mother, and three younger sisters in Jewell Valley, a coal mining camp in Southwest Virginia, where her mother still mourns the death of a baby, her father goes on drinking binges on paydays, and Audrey tries to recover from the scarlet fever that has left her skinny and needing to wear glasses.

Crenshaw

Katherine Applegate · 250 pages

From the author of The One and Only Ivan, winner of the Newbery Medal, Katherine Applegate delivers an unforgettable and magical story about family, friendship, and resilience. Jackson and his family have fallen on hard times. There's no more money for rent. And not much for food, either. His parents, his little sister, and their dog may have to live in their minivan. Again. Crenshaw is a ca

This Journal Belongs to Ratchet

Nancy J. Cavanaugh · 307 pages

Homeschooled by her mechanic-environmentalist father, eleven-year-old Rachel "Ratchet" Vance records her efforts to make friends, save a park, remember her mother, and find her own definition of "normal."

When You Reach Me

Rebecca Stead · 199 pages

As her mother prepares to be a contestant on the 1980s television game show, "The $20,000 Pyramid," a twelve-year-old New York City girl tries to make sense of a series of mysterious notes received from an anonymous source that seems to defy the laws of time and space.

Just Juice

Karen Hesse · 138 pages

Realizing that her father's lack of work has endangered her family, nine-year-old Juice decides that she must return to school and learn to read in order to help their chances of surviving and keeping their house.

Hating Alison Ashley

Robin Klein · 182 pages

Classmates Erica Yurgen and Alison Ashley vie with each other to become the undisputed star of their class.

Amina's Voice

Hena Khan · 208 pages

"A Pakistani-American Muslim girl struggles to stay true to her family's vibrant culture while simultaneously blending in at school after tragedy strikes her community"-- A Pakistani-American Muslim girl struggles to stay true to her family's vibrant culture while simultaneously blending in at school. After her local mosque if vandalized, she is devastated. Her friend Soojin is talking about chan

Tony Hogan Bought Me an Ice-cream Float Before He Stole My Ma

Kerry Hudson · 266 pages

When Janie Ryan is born, she's just the latest in a long line of Ryan women, Aberdeen fishwives to the marrow, always ready to fight. Her violet-eyed Grandma had predicted she'd be sly, while blowing Benson and Hedges smoke rings over her Ma's swollen belly. In the hospital, her family eyed her suspiciously, so close she could smell whether they'd had booze or food for breakfast. It was mostly boo

The Most Beautiful Place in the World

Ann Cameron · 57 pages

Anita and Me

Meera Syal · 336 pages

The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child

Francisco Jimenez · 134 pages

Bastard Out of Carolina

Dorothy Allison · 309 pages

Bone, an illegitimate child in a family of social outcasts, sees her mother's happiness with her new husband and will not tell when the stepfather begins abusing her in the 1950s.

The Meaning of Maggie

Megan Jean Sovern · 220 pages

Eleven-year-old Maggie Mayfield is an A-plus student with big plans for herself, but at this moment she is also facing a lot of problems--like starting middle school and figuring out how to help her father who is out of work and in a wheelchair. Eleven-year-old Maggie Mayfield is an A-plus student with big plans for herself, but at this moment, she is also facing a lot of problems, such as starti

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Mildred D. Taylor · 276 pages

Set in Mississippi at the height of the Depression, it is the story of one family's struggle to maintain their integrity, pride, and independence. It is a story of physical survival, but more important, it is a story of the survival of the human spirit. And, too, it is Cassie's story -- Cassie Logan, an independent girl raised by a family for whom independence is primary, a family determined not t

Notes from a Liar and Her Dog

Gennifer Choldenko · 216 pages

Eleven-year-old Ant, stuck in a family that she does not like, copes by pretending that her "real" parents are coming to rescue her, by loving her dog Pistachio, by volunteering at the zoo, and by bending the truth and telling lies.

No Ordinary Day

Deborah Ellis

Valli is an orphan who lives on the streets of Kolkata, India. No matter how bad her life seems, there are people who are worse off than her - the lepers. And then, one day, she finds out that she also has leprosy. This is a powerful story about poverty, leprosy suffering and survival, but it's also about hope and compassion, and the power of each individual to make a difference.

Words with Wings

Nikki Grimes · 84 pages

Gabby daydreams to tune out her parents' arguments, but when her parents divorce and she begins a new school, daydreaming gets her into trouble. Her mother scolds her for it, her teacher keeps telling her to pay attention, and the other kids tease her...until she finds a friend who also daydreams and her teacher decides to work a daydreaming-writing session into every school day. With a notebook "

Summer of the Gypsy Moths

Sara Pennypacker · 288 pages

A foster child named Angel and twelve-year-old Stella, who are living with Stella's great-aunt Louise at the Linger Longer Cottage Colony on Cape Cod, secretly assume responsibility for the vacation rentals when Louise unexpectedly dies and the girls are afraid of being returned to the foster care system.

The Spaghetti Detectives

Andreas Steinhofel

Living with his mother in a Berlin apartment house, Rico, a young boy with ADHD, enjoys playing detective games but when his friend Oskar suddenly disappears, possibly taken by a serial kidnapper, Rico determines to use his skills to find his friend.

Almost Home

Joan Bauer

Almost Home is a heartwarming tale about a young girl named Sugar. Sugar and her mother have been struggling, but through it all Sugar manages to stay sweet. Just before she and her mother get thrown out of their home, Sugar gets Shush. Shush becomes Sugar's forever companion. Sugar pours her feelings into heartfelt poems and sends them to her former teacher Mr.B, who encourages her to stay strong

Mr Stink

David Walliams · 269 pages

The second original, touching, twisted, and most of all hilarious novel for children by David Walliams.Mr. Stink stank. He also stunk. And if it was correct English to say he stinked, then he stinked as well...Chloe sees Mr. Stink every day, but she's never spoken to him. Which isn't surprising, because he's a tramp, and he stinks. But there's more to Mr. Stink than meets the eye (or nose) and bef