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.

Al Capone Does My Shirts, by Gennifer Choldenko, 2004

Al Capone really does launder 12-year old Moose Flanagan's shirts, ever since his family moved to Alcatraz, where rent's cheap during the Great Depression and his dad is able to get two jobs at the prison. They need the money to send Natalie, Moose's (younger? older?) sister to a special school for children with mental disabilities. Only problem is, the school has an age cutoff for admission, and Natalie's been celebrating her tenth birthday for the past six years straight. Thoughtful, funny middle grade historical realism that successfully mixes autism, baseball, and the mafia, with an enviably original and well-researched setting. Recommended.

The Tail of Emily Windsnap, by Liz Kessler, 2003

For folks living on a houseboat, Emily and her mom are more than shy of water. So when Emily takes her first swimming lesson in gym class and finds her legs fusing into a scaly tail, no one's more surprised than she. Why didn't her mother tell her she had a merman for a dad? And why does that creepy Mr. Beeston keep coming over to feed her mother doughnuts? Light middle grade fantasy.

The Magicians of Caprona, by Diana Wynne Jones, 2001

In both of the dueling magical families of Caprona, spell-making is taught even to the youngest children. But Tonino, of the Casa Montana, can barely summon a spell. All he's good for is reading and talking to cats. If only he could muster some ability, perhaps he could help the Montanas, and the Petrocchis, their enemies, unravel the mystery of why both families' magic seems to be eroding while the Duke of Caprona does nothing but watch Punch and Judy plays. And who's the strange redhead cousin courting cousin Rosa? Great big Italian warmth envelops this ambitious and successful Chrestomanci-meets-Romeo and Juliet. Recommended.

Eyes of the Emperor, by Graham Salisbury, 2005

Pop is furious when he learns Eddy Okubo lied about his age to enlist early in the Army. But when the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, both Pop and Eddy see his service as a chance for honor, to show that though they have "the eyes of the emperor," they are loyal Americans. But what America asks of its soldiers of Japanese descent is only a cause for shame. Exemplary historical fiction, written with authenticity, dignity, and compassion. Strongly recommended.

The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson & The Olympians, book 3) by Rick Riordan, 2007

When Percy, Thalia, and Annabeth head to a military academy in Maine to rescue Grover who's in trouble rescuing a pair of half-bloods, they run afoul of Dr. Thorn, a manticore (a poison-dart throwing man-lion) and cross paths with Artemis, goddess of the hunt, and her maiden Hunters. Annabeth is captured, and Artemis leaves on a quest to track down a mysterious beast who may prove the downfall of the gods. But in Percy's nightmares, their dooms are linked. Without Blackjack, his mobster pegasus friend, all might be lost indeed. Adolescent love and angst clash spears with titanic forces in book 3, which nicely escalates all the prior tensions, and shows more depth and heart without sacrificing its breathless excitement or nutty humor. Strongly recommended.

The New Policeman, by Kate Thompson, 2005

J.J. Liddy never knew the scandal that explained why the Liddys were shunned in Kinvara, even though their cíelís (folk dances) were legendary for their fiddle tunes. Neither he, nor his mother, nor anyone knew where all the hours in a day disappeared to. And nobody knew the origins of the absent-minded but handsome new policeman in town, even if some old-timers had their suspicions. Only when a cheese delivery goes underground does J.J. begins to find out. Sophisticated, intricate fantasy dressed in tight, seamless prose. It left this would-be author envious. Most strongly recommended.

Slake's Limbo, by Felice Holman, 1974

Aremis Slake, a neglected and ill-used foster child, had learned how to dodge conflict by slipping into the subway system at the first sign of a threat. One day he slipped in and stayed. His first brushes with order, dignity, and compassion were found underground, where he slept on newspapers in a cave he made his home, and shared his food with a rat. 33 years after publication the novel still feels remarkably current, despite an unusual, omniscient voice; unsentimentalized, candid realism that offers Slake convincing victories and hope. Strongly recommended.

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, by Wendy Mass, 2006

Jeremy Fink gets a box in the mail from his father's lawyer, containing a wooden box with four separate locks, and an engraving saying that it contains "The Meaning of Life." Jeremy and his best friend Lizzy spend a memorable summer hunting down the keys and sniffing out ideas from the colorful characters they meet about what the meaing of life could be. Middle grade realism, intricate, with many bright moments of humor and charm; Jeremy does not feel like a boy, though, and the outcome feels contrived.

Owl in Love, by Patrice Kindl, 1993

14-year old Owl Tycho is in love with her science teacher, Mr. Lindstrom. Hers is no ordinary schoolgirl crush; she's chosen her mate for life, for she is a were-owl, daughter of witches with owl blood in the family, er, tree. But even her unblinking obsession with Mr. Lindstrom, who sleeps in nothing but Fruit of the Looms size 34, suffers distraction when she discovers a deranged boy lurking in the woods outside her beloved's house. Innovative and convincing first-person fantasy, a forerunner in its genre. If Owl's voice felt overly formal at times, well, she's an owl. Strongly recommended.