Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen

Have you read Hatchet or Dogsong? The latest from Gary Paulsen is all about the Revolutionary War. Told from the perspective of Samuel, a 13 year old, it shows the ugly side of war. Between each chapter is a little nonfiction sidenote that explains an aspect of the War. Paulsen does not glorify or sugar coat what was actually happening at that time. Samuel happens to be at the right place at the right time when the small settlement his family lives in is attacked by the British. Using his hunting skills, Samuel begins to track the soldiers in the hopes of finding his captive parents alive. Any student who loves hunting, an interest in warfare, or history will definitely like this book!

The Gardener by S.A. Bodeen

What lengths will you go to to protect the planet?

Mason has never met his father. The only thing he has is a video of him reading a picture book, Runaway Bunny. Mason's mom works at a nursing home and barely makes ends meet. Mason is the victim of a childhood dog attack, leaving him with an ugly scar on one side of his face.

One day, Mason decides to snoop around in his mom's room and finds some news that greatly disturbs him- his mom actually worked for the biomedical engineering company TroDyn that she despises! He rushes to the nursing home to confront his mom, but finds that she isn't taking care of old people at all. She's taking care of a bunch of comatose teens!

On accident, Mason wakes up one of the girls and she begs him for help. When he doesn't really offer much, she takes off with Mason following. Soon Mason finds himself helping "the girl" figure out her past and get away from TroDyn. What he doesn't know is he is also uncovering his past.

Want to know more? Read the book!

Bruiser by Neal Shusterman

If you could take away the pain of someone you care for, would you? What if taking away that pain means you have suffer that pain for them?

Tennyson is not happy that his sister, Bronte's, new boyfriend is the Bruiser aka Brewster Rawlins. The fact that he was voted Most Likely to Get the Death Penalty is not lost on him. Bronte starts out seeing Brewster as a "project" or just another thing to fix but once she really gets to know him she finds there is much more than meets the eye.

Brewster has spent his entire life avoiding people. Uncle Hoyt told him this was the only way he'd ever make it in the world. Now that he's dating Bronte, he's beginning to think his uncle was right. Brewster is special, but this ability comes with a price.

How much is Brewster willing to pay to finally have friends and people he cares about? And is this price too much to pay? Read the book and find out!

The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin by Josh Berk

Things are not sounding too good for Will Halpin. In fact, Will doesn't hear sound at all because he is deaf. After an incident at his school for the hearing impaired, Will decided to give the local high school a try. Since he doesn't want to attract any more attention to himself, Will doesn't wear his hearing aids and lip reads his way through school. His size and his disability do not make him friends quickly. So far, his only friend seems to be another reject named Devon Smiley. After a tragic "accident" on the coal mine field trip, Will and Devon attempt to solve the mystery around the "accidental" death of the most popular boy in school. Will the most unlikely pair solve the mystery? Will Will ever fit in? Will Will stop eating? Read the book to find out!

The Otherworldlies

Have you ever thought you didn't belong in your family? Fern feels that way all of the time. Her twin Sam and older brother, Eddie, are everything she isn't-blond, athletic, and able to fit in at school. Fern is small, dark, talks to her dog, blisters when in the sun, and predicts the weather. Needless to say, she doesn't fit in at school. One day, Fern does the impossible-she disappears from class and reappears at the beach! Fern has no idea how she managed to do it but after a second disappearance/reappearance on top of a Disneyland ride, she knows that something is definitely strange about her. What is so special about her and who is she really? Read the book and find out!