DEAR JOURNAL... UGH!

13 year old Henry never wanted to start writing in a journal. But then again, he never wanted any of the things that have happened to him in the past year. In fact, everything would have been fine if his brother Jesse had never…

But, Henry doesn't want to talk about that. He wants to start over at a new school, in a new town where no one has ever heard of his family. He wants to have a normal life- watching his favorite wrestlers on “Saturday Night Smash Up” and not getting noticed by the bullies who roam the halls of his new school. And he definitely doesn't want to join “Reach For The Top” – the nerdy trivia team at his new school. But, life for Henry is far from normal. Especially after “IT” happened.

The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen by Susin Nielsen is a powerfully moving story of  a young teen trying to make sense of tragedy and rebuild the walls that are crumbling around him. This is an important story. It touches on the devastating consequences of bullying and how much it can mean to stand up for someone else.

Grades 6 and up

FAMILY SECRETS

WATCHING JIMMY by Nancy Hartry is about a young girl named Carolyn who's best friend Jimmy has been involved in a horrible accident that makes him brain damaged. Only Carolyn knows the truth to how Jimmy got that way, and she's not sure how to tell people. As the weight of this knowledge continues to press down on her, Carolyn learns what it means to "find her voice" when she is asked to audition for a local choir group AND perform an important speech on Canada's Remembrance Day. This is an easy-to-read story set in the late 1950's and does a great job of portraying that era from a non-stereotypical perspective. For grades 4 and up.

Summer vacation has just started and brother and sister Ned and Hazel Frump are looking forward to sleeping in, shooting hoops and all the other joys of summer but when their dad disappears, their summer plans change in The Mystery of the Martello Tower by Jennifer Lanthier. At first they assume that he is just off on a short business trip then when they see a photo of him in handcuffs being put in a Turkish jail it appears that this not one of his usual trips. Soon life for the pair becomes dangerous when they babysitter leaves town and their apartment is burgled. Safety comes in the form of some previously unknown relatives who take the kids in and help them solve not only their father's mysterious disappearance but some long unanswered questions about their family as well in this very exciting and suspenseful mystery.

For grades 5 through 8.