MAYHAPS THE MAYPOP TEA?

The Maypop Kidnapping is set in a small coastal Maine village filled with eccentric locals. When 13-year-old Quinnie's beloved teacher, Blythe Stilford, doesn't show up for their first day of school, Quinnie sets off to search for her.  She sees what she believes are clues showing foul play; perhaps a kidnapping because why else wouldn't she be home.  

Her mother, the town sheriff (also the town realtor, postmaster and mayor) doesn't believe her and decides to let her handle it.  Quinnie, believing that time is of the essence and outraged that the sheriff won't listen to reason, enlists the help of two friends to follow any suspicious people and viable clues through the town to figure out what happened to favorite teacher.  

C.M. Surrisi  has put together a wonderful small town who dunnit with a great main character in Quinnie, who is full of righteous fervor.  

For readers in grades 6th - 8th.  

A MO AND DALE MYSTERY

In The Odds of Getting Even by Sheila Turnage nothing goes as planned and everything goes sideways before Mr. Macon even sets foot in the courtroom to stand trial where Dale, his youngest son, must testify against him.  In this third story of Mo and Dale, of the Desperado Detective Agency, set inTupelo Landing, NC, the two must solve multiple crimes seemingly linked to Mr. Macon, but Dale is sure that his father is being framed. After all, a professional criminal such as Mr. Macon would never leave such obvious clues at the crime scenes to incriminate himself.  

Sheila Turnage, the author of Three Times Lucky and The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing tells another amazing story of these two best friends and the cast of characters living in their small town.  

For readers in grades 6th-8th.  

IT STARTED ONE SUMMER

Poor Truly Lovejoy, only 12 years old and tall beyond anyone in her class.  With a size 10 1/2 size shoes, she thought at least she would have a new perfect start, with her cousin, and the rest of her family in Texas, but everything changed when her father was hurt by an IED on his last tour of military service. The family plans are changing and now they were all packing up once again, moving to Pumpkin Falls, New Hampshire, the smallest town ever and founded by her ancestors.  

Her father has changed.  There's no more jokes, no more swimming, and she has flunked math and now has to be tutored by him everyday. The only bright thing in her life in this tiny town is watching for birds. She's been a birder ever since her grandfather turned her on to the hobby.  

A great read by Heather Vogel Frederick, author of The Mother-Daughter Book Club series, Absolutely Truly:  A Pumpkin Falls Mystery is not so much a mystery as a story of changes, adapting, belonging and patience. 

For readers in 6th and up. 

AN OLD STORY WITH A NEW TWIST

You would be wise not to anger the Brixen witch. But what if you make her angry by accident? Nope, doesn't matter. She is still going to haunt and hex you. That's what happens to Rudi when he stumbles upon a gold coin while he's out foraging around the forest. The next thing he knows he is being haunted by a creepy noise. Even after he puts the coin back on the mountain (sort of) a plague of rats infects the town! 

THE BRIXEN WITCH by Stacy DeKeyser will have you guessing about what happens next, and it's not what you expect! This is a retelling of the classic Pied Piper story, but with many great twists and a completely different ending. 

For 3rd - 6th grades.

MUSIC, WORDS AND NAIL POLISH

In Sarah Weeks' new novel, instead of a cat, she writes about a dog plus the usual friendship between a girl and a boy set in a small town with seemingly random characters and unrelated stories. 

There are 100 colors of nail polish created by BB, the new beauty shop owner in Royal, Indiana.  Melody and her friend Nick are off to the new beauty parlor to find out who her father is calling "Honey" over the phone.  Her mother died when she was born and life has just been about Melody and her father since then.  

Has he found a wife finally?  Who could it be? She desperately wants her father to be happy and has been making the same wish on her birthday for as long as she could remember but is her dream about to burst when she hears that her awful math teacher is also getting married?!  Could her father be marrying her?!!

Honey is a magical tale of loss, love and the search for a happy ending for everyone.  A solid and lovely story as good as Pie that's perfect for a summer read. 

For readers in 4th - 6th grades.  

BETTER OFF FRIENDS

Noah and Macallan have been friends since junior high, after Macallan takes pity on the new boy and invites him to sit with her during lunch. The two discover that they share a favorite TV show, and a new friendship is formed. But when they start high school, things get more complicated. First, things get tricky when Levi starts dating Macallan's other best friend. Then, Levi starts spending more time with the guys and having less and less time for Macallan. And through it all, they have to deal with everyone's automatic (and awkward) assumption that they are dating. Will the two manage to stay friends through the ups and downs of high school, and will they be able to prove that boys and girls can be just friends?

Elizabeth Eulberg's novel perfectly captures the transition from middle school to high school and the friendships that inevitably are made stronger or perish in the aftermath. It is a story of friendship and romance, told in alternating chapters from the points of view of Noah and Macallan that is at times heartbreaking and heartwarming, and definitely a page-turner.

For grades 7 and up.

TURNING TWELVE IS NOT EASY

It all starts the summer Suzy is going to turn twelve. First, her mother leaves to take care of her sick grandmother. Then, her little brother Parker saves the life of their neighbor by calling 911 after she collapses at home. Now Parker is a neighborhood hero and he is letting it go to his head. To add to her woes, Suzy is starting to think of her friend Gilbert as a little more than a friend, and her best friend is chosen for a play while she is rejected. When her brother’s hero antics ruin her twelfth birthday, it is the last straw for Suzy.  

After deciding that she has had enough of being Suzy Quinn, she tries to be like her favorite poet, the reclusive Emily Dickinson. But there is a chance that she might be taking it too far when she decides to only communicate with her friends via letters and refuses to do anything that Emily could not do.

This breezy verse novel by Eileen Spinelli is a perfect book for those leisurely summer afternoons, at home or on the beach.

For grades 4-6.

DROWNING MEMORIES

Old Lower Grange was buried under water 12 years ago, the same day that Cassie's family rushed to the hospital because she came 2 months early.  Everyone in town says that New Lower Grange is better.  Cassie's not sure she agrees.  There is something about Old Lower Grange that she obsesses over.  As a child, she learned all about Atlantis, wondering if her town would become a lost world.  Her mother told her to stop obsessing.  That time moves on and progress calls.  The past was drowned and now it's time to look towards the future.  Cassie knows, though, that even though you drown things, not everything stays underwater where you want it to.

Join Cassie and her friend Liam as they solve the mystery of Lower Grange that no one knew even existed until the water started drying up and Old Lower Grange tried to meet New Lower Grange.  Below by Meg McKinlay is for kids in grades 4 and up.

FRANKIE JOE IS NOT A FREAK, JUST LONELY.

Frankie Joe is a total misfit within his new family.  His mom will be in jail for awhile. He's being sent to live with a dad he barely knows all the way in Illinois, far far away from his trailer park home on the border of the Chihuahua Desert in Laredo, Texas.  His half-brothers are not very welcoming, especially the oldest, who is now bumped to the second place and boy does he hate that.  There's nothing more important to Matt than being number one.  Come the first day of school and Frankie Joe finds out he hasn't been going to school enough to put him in the sixth-grade, so he's going to be demoted and be in the same class as Matt!  Arrrghhh!  The injustice and loneliness sets him on a path to scheme and plot his way back to Laredo.  

Frankie Joe is trapped in a small town with all kinds of rules not suited to a young free spirit like himself.  All he wants is to be reunited with his mom and go back to the trailer park and hang out with his retired friends just like before.  Life just threw him a curve ball and all he can do is be Freaky Fast Frankie Joe and make a new start for himself.  

An endearing coming of age story by Lutricia Clifton for readers in grades 6-8th.  

NEW MYSTERY SERIES

Right before the school custodian died, he made Ben promise not to let the school be torn down. All he gave him was an old coin to save the school with. Intrigued, Ben and his classmate Jill scour the school for clues put in place many years ago by the founders for just this kind of emergency.

Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School is a new mystery adventure series for 4th - 6th by Andrew Clements. Short and fast paced, it's perfect for reluctant readers.

PEELING BACK THE LAYERS = INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM

Hildy Biddle and the other reporters on her high school newspaper are young but not stupid. Knowing something rotten is going on with the town newspaper and the Ludlow property, the teen reporters are determined to get to the core of the "mysterious haunting" at the old abandoned house and reveal the truth before fear overtakes the whole town. A uplifting story of growth, determination and and justice in the face of daunting odds.

Peeled by Joan Bauer is an engaging story for 6th - high schoolers looking for something different yet inspiring to read.