Wonder by R.J. Palacio (audio)

Wonder by R.J. Palacio (Brilliance Audio)
Audience: Grades 4-6

My Rating: 3.5* of 5

Summary: Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, who was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not expected to survive, goes from being home-schooled to entering fifth grade at a private middle school in Manhattan, which entails enduring the taunting and fear of his classmates as he struggles to be seen as just another student.
Comments: Given the buzz surrounding this title, my expectations were high. They were met, though just barely. Palacio smartly varies narrators throughout the book, ensuring that the reader does not tire of Auggie's inevitable self-centeredness. I could have done without the dog plot line, which these days seems an out-dated literary crutch. All told it was an empathetic slice of a different sort of life.
Read-alikes: Out of My Mind by Draper.
Awards: Texas Lone Star list 2013, Texas Bluebonnet list 2013.

Almost Home by Joan Bauer

Almost Home by Joan Bauer.
Audience: Grades 5-8

My Rating: 5* of 5

Summary: Sixth-grader Sugar and her mother lose their beloved house and experience the harsh world of homelessness.
Comments: When I finished "awwwwing" the cover, I decided I would never read this book. As a person sensitive to bad things happening to animals, I steer well clear of books like this. Buuuut...I cracked it open and accidentally fell in. This story about newly homeless Sugar and her puppy, Shush, is like a perfect glass of iced tea--sweet (but not saccharine), strong, and everything that feels right about the South. Spoiler to ease the minds of sensitive readers like me: Shush's abuse by a previous owner is briefly mentioned, but from then on he is safe and nothing but loved. His elderly dog friend does pass of old age during the story, but he lived a good life and was loved till the end.
Read-alikes: Each Little Bird that Sings by Deborah Wiles; Ida B. by Katherine Hanningan
Awards: Texas Lone Star list 2013

Every Day by Levithan

Every Day by David Levithan (audio, read by Alex McKenna)

Audience: Grades 8 & up

My Rating: 3.5* of 5

Summary: Every day 16 year old A wakes up in a new body. When A wakes up as Justin and falls for his girlfriend, Rhiannon, everything changes. But how can you love someone when you are in a new life every morning?
Comments: I enjoyed this book’s interesting premise and the difficult questions it makes the reader consider.

Charley's First Night by Amy Hest (Ill. by Helen Oxenbury)

Audience: Preschool & up (and any dog lover!)

My Rating: 5* of 5

Summary: A little boy spending his first night with his new puppy promises to be responsible, but then decides to change the whimpering puppy's sleeping place.
Comments: Sweet, warm and baked to perfection.
 

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.
Audience: Grades 7 and up

My Rating: 5* of 5

Summary: Witnessing the horrific death of his adored Grandfather sets sixteen-year-old Jacob to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and the reality of his Grandfather's once unbelievable tales.
Comments: An interesting, exciting, often chilling story of unlikely superheroes known here as "peculiars." A compelling protagonist takes us through fun twists, peppered with many effective holocaust metaphors, and the supernatural elements are easy to swallow. Found vintage photographs throughout the book are often creepier than the writing.
Read-alikes: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness; Bruiser by Neal Shusterman