The House of the Scorpion, by Nancy Farmer, 2002

Matteo Alacran foot bears a tattoo: Property of the Alacran Estate. Matt is no mere slave; he's a clone, with no more legal rights than cattle. But unlike other clones whose minds are stunted at birth, Matt is ultimately raised as a pampered prince, led to believe he's the heir of El Patron, the drug lord whose clone he is and whose opium empire he thinks he'll inherit. Provocative science fiction with memorable characters that asks probing questions not only about science and ethics but international trade, law, economics, and drug trafficking. Recommended.

Clay, by David Almond, 2005

Is Stephen Rose disturbed, or daft, or devilish? Maybe all three. That's why he was expelled from Catholic school and sent home, then from there to live with his aunt, Crazy Mary in the town where Davie and Geordie, circa 1960, are busy doing nothing but sneaking cigarettes and avoiding Mouldy, the town heavy. Stephen Rose is freaky-odd, to say the least. He sees visions, talks to angels, and has artist's hands that can make clay practically come alive. Psychological and supernatural, frightfully uncertain and unsettling. Excellent young adult horror; but then, when does David Almond ever disappoint? Strongly recommended.

How I Live Now, by Meg Rosoff, 2004

Daisy goes to England to stay with her aunt and cousins to escape her evil stepmother, and finds herself on the threshold of both a passionate love affair and an international war. When her cousin's family is wrenched apart by the military commandeering their homestead, she's forced into a heroism she didn't know she had, and takes a hard second look at her anorexia in a world without food. An extraordinary voice and perspective; Daisy's love affair may disturb some American readers who interpret relationship rules differently than Europeans tend to. Sex alert. Masterfully written.

Day of Tears by Julius Lester, 2005

Based on true events, this "novel in dialogue" reads in part like a play, part like a documentary, though it combines fictive and historical personalities. In 1859 the largest slave auction in America took place in Savannah, Georgia, where over 400 slaves belonging to a once-prosperous plantation were sold off to pay the owner's gambling debts. On that day a rain of Biblical proportions seemed to try to wash away the taint of what took place, and the tears of the families ripped apart by the auction mirrored the rain.

Crispin: The Cross of Lead, by Avi, 2002

The boy who only knows himself as "Asta's son" has scarcely buried his dead mother before he's branded a wolf's head, one whom anyone may freely kill. Is it because of an overheard conversation between the manor's steward and a nobleman? Or does it have something to do with his mother, and the engraved lead cross which is the only relic she left behind? A meticulously-placed historical adventure. Strongly recommended.

The Adventures of Captain Underpants, by Dav Pilkey, 1997

Life imitates art when George and Harold's confiscated comic books fall into mean ol' Principal Krupp's hands -- and a 3-D Hypno-ring falls into theirs. They've created a monster, who thinks he's a hero, and solves crime with bravado and Wedgie Power. But will it be enough to catch bank robbers, thwart Dr. Diaper and his evil robots, and save George and Harold from a life of servitude and/or a pounding from the football team? There's only one way to find out. Strongly recommended -- if you wear underwear.

Pippi Longstocking, by Astrid Lindgren, 1950

What's not to like about a child with invincible strength, a fortune in gold pieces, no parents to give her pesky rules, and no social inhibitions? That's what Tommy and Annika think, and everyone who's ever read Pippi is bound to agree. Her unfettered impulsivity, wild exaggerations, and eccentric ways are perfectly balanced by the leisurely, episodic pace of the book -- something I rarely see in contemporary titles. Always strongly recommended for a genial visit to my own childhood, where reading Pippi never failed to satisfy.

Loser, by Jerry Spinelli, 2002

Donald Zinkoff embraces life in a joyful and simple way, but his clumsiness and naievete brand him first as a nobody and ultimately as a loser. His unfolding life and his intrinsic value are painstakingly presented; his ultimate actions made me cry. Slow to start, more character sketch than story, but I came to care deeply for Zinkoff, and will see a bit of him in other so-called "losers."

Holes, by Louis Sachar, 1998

Innocent but faced with the choice of jail, or Camp Green Lake, Stanley Yelnats chooses camp. It's neither green nor a lake -- more of a God-forsaken Texas desert where juvenile delinquent boys dig five-foot holes every day under the Warden's all-searching eye. Destiny, bad luck, broken promises, lipstick, peaches, onions, and foot odor converge and alter forever the fortunes of Stanley, the Warden, and tent-mate "Zero." Modern realism meets wild western mythos; most strongly recommended.

Half Magic, by Edward Eager, 1954

Jane, Mark, Katherine, and Martha wish for adventures at the start of a hot, dull summer ruled by stern babysitter Miss Bick. They get more than twice what they wish for when a shiny nickel -- or is it? -- appears on the sidewalk. Wishes that are only granted by halves pose messy and inventive problems indeed, but the magic nickel has romance along with moralizing up its sleeve. A nostalgic and charming read, wonderfully witty; E. Nesbit's plots meet C.S. Lewis's genial voice. The four co-main characters are painted warmly and convincingly. Strongly recommended.

Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator, by Jennifer Allison, 2005

At thirteen, Gilda Joyce's star-studded careers as novelist, psychic, and spy are off to a frustrating start. When her best friend heads off to music camp, Gilda cooks up a scheme to travel to San Francisco and visit her wealthy second cousin, whose antique house just might be haunted. This could be a lucky break for Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator, and she and her leopard-skin disguises aren't about to miss it. Fun, absorbing, well-paced, substantial. Strongly recommended.

The Traitor's Gate, by Avi, 2007

John Huffam's life as the son of a profligate London gentleman dissolves the day his family's belongings are seized and they're hauled to a "sponging house," their last stop on the way to debtor's prison. Strange people approach John's father, and still stranger ones follow John, for reasons that must go beyond mere gambling debts. This mystery, tour through Dickensian London, and love letter to Dickens introduces the memorable characters of Sary the Sneak and Mr. Snugsbe, great of coat and cauliflowered of hair. Recommended.

Half-Moon Investigations, by Eoin Colfer, 2006

Fletcher Moon is an official detective with a badge, even if he is only twelve. When popular April Devereux hires Fletcher to investigate the theft of a lock of celebrity hair, the case gets personal. And Red Sharkey, the charismatic scion of the notorious criminal Sharkey family, has reasons of his own for making sure "Half-Moon" solves the case. Hilarious middle-grade detective fiction, set in in Ireland, with Colfer's trademark ratcheted stakes. Strongly recommended.

Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos, by R.F. LaFevers, 2007

(1905) 11-year old Theodosia Throckmorton sleeps in a sarcophagus and lives in a dusty London museum of antiquities, because her father usually can’t be bothered to go home at night and send her to school like he ought to. Her mother returns home from Egypt bearing loads of artifacts positively steeped in curses, which only Theo can detect and eradicate. But when a plot of German conspirators steal the Heart of Egypt from Theo’s mother, Theo takes matters into her own hands.

The Lemonade War, by Jacqueline Davies, 2007

It was the letter from the school that ruined Evan’s summer and turned his friendship with Jessie, his younger sister, sour. Their lemonade-stand hobby turns into a fierce end-of-summer rivalry to see who can earn the most money selling lemonade before Labor Day. But there’s more at stake than just the money. Engaging middle-grade realism told from dual points of view. Recommended.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick, 2007

Hugo Cabret lives alone among the rafters of a Paris train station. It’s 1931, and he winds the clocks, steals food to live, and tries to repair a strange machine that his father had discovered in the attic of a museum before he died. But Hugo needs parts, which he can only get by stealing wind-up toys from a strange toymaker who runs a shop in the train station. A wonderfully inventive story, mixing fiction and film history, rendered in an unusual mix of hundreds of moving black and white illustrations, with snippets of text throughout. Rewarding on many levels, and strongly recommended.

Flush, by Carl Hiassen, 2005

When Noah's dad gets into trouble, as he frequently does, he tends to go a bit overboard, even if his heart is in the right place. This time he sunk Dusty Muleman's casino boat, the "Coral Queen," for dumping its sewage into the ocean. But the Coast Guard has no proof, and Noah's mom's had it with her husband's antics. Noah and his sister Abby have more to save than loggerhead turtles -- their home and livelihood's at stake if they don't find a way to bust Dusty's foul-smelling operation. Environmentally conscious middle-grade fiction, lyrical Florida Keys setting, villians, and humor. Recommended.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling, 2007

Harry sets out to finish the task Dumbledore has left him, against impossible odds and despite the tourniquet-like surveillance of the Ministry, now overrun by Voldemort and his Death Eaters. But finding and eliminating the remaining Horcruxes is a nearly impossible mission, and is it even the right mission? Posthumous revelations of Dumbledore's history show a less than pristine past, and an obsession with obtaining objects of power that would establish wizard supremacy over Muggles forever. Rowling's masterful resolution of Harry's complex epic shows an expert hand at story with exceptional thematic control. Most strongly recommended.

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation: Volume One, The Pox Party, by M.T. Anderson, 2006

Octavian, both the protege and the property of the Novanglian College of Lucidity, embarks upon a prolonged awakening, as cataclysmic as it is eloquent, to his status as a classically educated African slave in pre-Revolutionary Boston. A setting starkly convincing even its Gothic extremes, the Novanglian College of Lucidity with its absurdities and excesses is bound to feel rather more like modern America than not. An uncomfortable but necessary read; a staggering accomplishment; as a book jacket reviewer said (and I wish I'd thought of it), "A brilliantly complex interrogation of our basic American assumptions." Most strongly recommended (though not for very young or immature readers).

The Folk Keeper, by Frannie Billingsley, 1999

Corin, nee Corinna, has learned to survive in the Foundling Home by turning herself into a boy and extorting the secrets of Folk-Keeping from other Cellar-bound keepers. Her cover is almost blown at 15, when an ailing lord summons her by name to his manor, breathing his last breath in her ear. A fantasy at once bloodthirsty, mysterious, and romantic; a well-rewarded read, if at times confusing. Strongly recommended.