Avi  True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

Charlotte takes over the command of a ship on a transatlantic voyage, when she learns that the captain is murderous and the crew rebellious.

Blos, Joan  Brothers of the Heart

Fourteen-year-old Shem spends six months in a native village in Michigan with a dying Indian woman. She teaches him to survive and to return to his family and to the difficulties of being a cripple in a frontier village.

Brooks, Bruce  The Moves Make the Man

An African-American boy and an emotionally troubled white boy in North Carolina form a precarious friendship.

Cooper, Susan  Over Sea, Under Stone (Dark is Rising Series)

Three children on a holiday in Cornwall find an ancient manuscript, which sends them on a dangerous quest for a grail.

Curtis, Christopher Paul   Bud, not Buddy

A boy escapes a foster home in Flint MI to find the man he believes to be his father, the famous bandleader, H.E. Calloway of Grand Rapids.

Cushman, Karen  The Midwife’s Apprentice

In medieval England, a homeless girl is befriended by a sharp-tongued midwife and eventually gains the three things she wants most.

Dickinson, Peter  Eva

When Eva is desperately injured in an auto accident, her brain is placed in the body of a chimpanzee.

Farmer, Nancy  The Ear, the Eye and the Arm

In 2194 in Zimbabwe, three mutant detectives use their special powers to find three kidnapped children.

Fleischman, Pau  Whirligig

Sixteen-year-old Brian finds forgiveness and atonement as he travels to each corner of the country to build a whirligig in memory of a girl whose death he caused.

Hamilton, Virginia   The Planet of Junior Brown

Buddy Clarke takes on the responsibility of protecting his emotionally disturbed over- weight friend with whom he has been playing hooky all semester.

Hesse, Karen  Out of the Dust

In a series of poems, fifteen-year-old Billie Jo relates what it is like to live on an Oklahoma farm during the dust bowl years of the thirties.

Hunt, Irene  Across Five Aprils

Jethro Creighton grows from a boy to a man when he must care for his family farm during the years of the Civil War.

Konigsburg, E.L.  The View from Saturday

Four students win the attention of their teacher, a paraplegic, who chooses to represent their sixth grade in an academic bowl competition.

Le Guin, Ursula   The Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Series)

Ged, an apprentice wizard, pursues an evil being he released during a frivolous contest and during his arduous journey grows from a conceited boy to a mature wizard.

Lowry, Lois   The Giver

When Jonas becomes the receiver of memories for his community, he realizes the terrible truth about the society in which he lives.

McKinley, Robin  The Blue Sword

Harry discovers magic within her when a native king kidnaps her.  Read "The Hero and The Crown" when you are done with this one!

Montgomery, L.M.   Anne of Green Gables (Anne of Green Gables Series)

An orphan comes to live with an elderly couple on Prince Edward Island and finds love, acceptance and adventure.

Myers, Walter Dean  Somewhere in the Darkness

A teenage boy accompanies his father on a trip, which turns out to have painful revelations for them both.

Napoli, Donna Jo  The Magic Circle

After learning sorcery to become a healer, a good-hearted woman resists evil forces within her until she meets Hansel and Gretel.

Naylor, Phyllis  The Agony of Alice (Alice McKinley Series)

Alice tries to confront her fears, among which is her fear of deep water.

Paterson, Katherine  Lyddie

Lyddie Worthen is determined to gain her independence by becoming a factory worker in the 1840’s.

Paulsen, Gary  Hatchet (Brian Series)

After a plane crash, Brian spends 54 days in the Wilderness learning to survive, and trying to understand his parent’s divorce.

Peck, Richard  A Long Way from Chicago

A boy recounts his annual summer trips to his larger-than-life grandmother.

Pierce, Meredith Ann  The Darkangel (Darkangel Trilogy)

A servant girl must chose whether to destroy her vampire master for the evil he does or try to save him because of the spark of goodness and beauty she sees in him.

Raskin, Ellen  The Westing Game

The mysterious death of a multi-millionaire brings together an unlikely assortment of heirs who must uncover the circumstances of his death before they can inherit his money.

Sachar, Louis  Holes

Stanley Yelnats is sent to a hellish correctional camp in the Texas desert, where he meets his first real friend.  Read "Small Steps" when you are done with this book!

Speare, Elizabeth George  The Witch of Blackbird Pond

In 1687 in Connecticut,  Kit Tyler befriends an old woman and finds herself on trial for witchcraft.

Staples, Suzanne Fisher  Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind

Shabanu, daughter of a nomad in Pakistan, is pledged in marriage to a man who will bring prestige to the family.

Stevenson, Robert Louis  Treasure Island

Jim Hawkins and his mother find a treasure map, which leads them to a pirate fortune and great danger.

Tolkien, J. R. R.  Fellowship of the Ring (Lord of the Rings Trilogy)

Frodo Baggins and his companions set out on a quest to find and destroy a ring, which could destroy the world.

Voigt, Cynthia  Homecoming (Tillerman Series)

Abandoned by their mother, four children set off to find their grandmother and start a new life.

Yolen, Jane and Bruce Coville  Armageddon Summer

Fourteen-year-old Marina and sixteen-year-old Jed accompany their parents to a mountaintop to await the end of the world.