Too Cool For This School by Kristen Tracy - OPTIONAL

Tracy, Kristen Too Cool For This School, 278 pgs. Random House, 2013. $16.99. Language G (0 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: G; 

Lane is loving middle school and 6th grade. Her life couldn’t be anymore perfect. Her crush Todd is just so perfect and dreamy. Her friends are amazing. Her best friend Ava always has her back. To top it all off, she has just been elected 6th grade class captain! One fateful day her life takes a turn for the worse. 

As an adult reader I found the plot of this book a little slow and the descriptions rather dull. However, it was a cute, drama packed story, about making and keeping friends and the importance of family that young adolescents will enjoy. 

MS - OPTIONAL.AHoyleTeacher.

The Treasure of Way Down Deep by Ruth White - ADVISABLE

White, Ruth The Treasure of Way Down Deep, 165 pgs. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2013. $16.99. Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: G. 

A sweet story about a 13-year-old girl named Ruby in the 1950’s set in a small town in West Virginia. The town of Way Down Deep like many towns around there are going through tough times when all the coal mines start to shutdown. Ruby who is loved by everyone in the town makes a wish for her birthday, and little did she know that a special birthday gift could lead to that wish coming true. In the meantime, her and her friend Peter are searching for the lost buried treasure that has been rumored to be in the town somewhere. I loved the story and the main character Ruby. Ruby is a Pollyanna type girl that everyone loves and she loves her town so much that she is constantly thinking of others before herself.

 The book has mystery, adventure, and even a little magic. Very clean, easy to read, and helps you understand economy and social structure in that time era. 

EL, MS – ADVISABLE. Reviewer: Carie Middle School Librarian

Sky Jumpers by Peggy Eddleman - ESSENTIAL

Eddleman, Peggy Sky Jumpers, 275 pgs. Random House, 2013. $16.99. Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG. 

Hope is the protagonist of this story and she has a lot to prove to her family and her town. She was not a very good inventor and that is all that matters in the town of White Rock. White Rock is a town that was established after World War 3 and the townspeople are trying desperately to come up with inventions to replace all the things that were lost due to the war. Hope has to dig deep and find her own talents to help her family and the whole town. 

I loved this book, it grabbed me right away and it made me smile and tear up a few times. It is a very clean book and only got a PG rating from me for violence because of the way the bandits treated the townspeople and used a gun once. I loved the way the author wrote this book, it flowed from beginning to end and I could hardly put it down. The story is one girls quest to find herself and the talents she has to offer her family and community. 

EL-ESSENTIAL. Reviewer: Carie Middle School Librarian