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Reading Circle Program

MARK TWAIN AWARD NOMINEES

Bringing the Boy Home, by N.A. Nelson. HarperCollins, ©2008. Two young members of a South American tribe tell this story in alternating chapters. Tirio has lived in Miami with his adoptive mother since he was cast out of his village at age 6, considered weak due to a malformed foot. As Tirio approaches 13, he feels drawn to return to his village to prove his manhood in a rite of passage. Tirio's village-raised counterpart, Luka, has his own fears about how well he'll perform his own test.

Found, by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Simon and Schuster, ©2008. Thirty-six infants show up on a plane that arrives at an airport with no adults or crew. Thirteen years later, two of the children begin searching for their true identities. Book one of The Missing series.

  Go Big or Go Home, by Will Hobbs. HarperCollins, ©2008. After a meteorite crashes through the roof of his family's house, Brady and his cousin set off on an outdoors adventure in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Brady finds himself suddenly surpassing his normal physical abilities and all signs point to the meteorite.

 The Leanin' Dog, by K.A. Nuzum. HarperCollins, ©2008. At age 11, Dessa Dean powerlessly watched her mother freeze to death when they were caught in a winter storm. The arrival of a dog near her family's remote Colorado cabin is the one thing that helps her to heal. 

The Magic Half, by Annie Barrows. Bloomsbury USA, ©2008. Miri often feels overlooked as the lone sibling sandwiched between two sets of twins. Soon after the family moves into an old Victorian home, Miri is transported through time to meet one of the home's earlier occupants. Miri puts together a plan to bring the girl to the present with her.  

Margret and Flynn: 1875, by Kathleen Duey. Penguin, ©2008. Orphans Margret and Libby are living with a kind woman in Colorado, but Margaret knows her older, distrustful sister will want to move on quickly. Margret has nursed an injured horse back to health and taught herself to ride. The horse can be hers forever if she can convince Libby to stay. From the Hoofbeats series.  

The Mysterious Case of the Allbright Academy, by Diane Stanley. HarperCollins, ©2008. Franny is thrilled when she gets to attend the elite Allbright Academy, but she becomes intimidated when she realizes that her classmates appear perfect in every way. The Allbright perfection begins to rub off on Franny, but that changes again when one of her friends falls ill and must leave the campus.

Safe at Home, by Mike Lupica. Penguin, ©2008. Nick Crandall doesn't feel like he fits in anywhere, including with his new foster parents. They know nothing about sports, instead wanting him to be an academic whiz. He's also too young to be playing for a varsity baseball team. Still, Nick is determined to seek acceptance from his new family, his team and from himself. From the Comeback Kids series.

Seer of Shadows, by Avi. HarperCollins, ©2008. Horace Carpetine has been raised to believe in science and reason, and does not believe in the supernatural. This makes everything even more shocking when Horace becomes a photographer's apprentice and discovers he has the ability to photograph ghosts.

Stolen Children, by Peg Kehret. Penguin, ©2008. Amy's babysitting job turns into terror when she and her 3-year-old charge are kidnapped. Amy's savvy and daring eventually allow her to reach safety.

Suddenly Supernatural: School Spirit, by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel. Little, Brown Book Group, ©2008. Kat worries she'll become an outcast when she starts to see spirits after her 13th birthday. She befriends Jac, a budding cellist who has stage fright. The two share a supernatural experience in the school library when the ghost of a flute-playing student seeks their help. From the Suddenly Supernatural series.

The Totally Made Up Civil War Diary of Amanda MacLeish, by Claudia Mills. Macmillan, ©2008. Amanda MacLeish is so devastated by her parents' divorce that she can't even tell her best friend. Instead she becomes consumed by a school assignment — authoring an imaginary diary of the U.S. Civil War. Penning the story of a young girl whose older brothers are fighting on opposite sides allows Amanda to come to terms with what has happened.