Mrs. Malecha Reads!

 by Erin Entrada Kelly Genre:  Realistic Fiction Nothing ever changes in Fawn Creek.  There have been 12 students in the 7th grade forever, so the day that Orchid moves to town is a big day for everyone!  Dorothy and Greyson work up the courage to talk to Orchid at lunch and they learn that she has lived all over the world, most recently in Paris.  They can't believe that someone like Orchid has moved to Fawn Creek and are so excited to hear about all of her trips and adventures. All of the kids in Fawn Creek start to look and think about themselves differently as a result of getting to know Orchid.  Unfortunately, change can make people feel uncomfortable and things in Fawn Creek are about to get real uncomfortable.

 by Christian Diaz Gonzalez Genre:  Historical Fiction The summer of 1980 brought big changes to the country of Cuba.  Hector and his brother had adjusted to life without their father, who had to flee to the United States to save his life.  Cuba is now opening the port of Mariel for anyone who wishes to leave.  Hector has never thought about what life outside of Cuba would be like.  He misses his father, but is also comfortable with the life and future he has in Cuba.  However, his mother has other ideas and it is her dream with Hector's father in Miami.  As soon as friends and family learn of their plans, they are denounced as traitors and the violence escalates.  Hector's best friend is caught in the wrong place at the wrong time which leads to a life changing tragedy.  Will Hector be able to find a way forward?

 by Leslie Connor Genre:  Realistic Fiction Frenchie and Aurora are best friends, even though Frenchie has never said a word to her.  Aurora has enough words for both of them and Frenchie is happy following Aurora around on all of her adventures.  One day, Aurora walks into school and thinkst that Frenchie is following her, but Frenchie is distracted by a rare piebald deer they have seen in the forest, and decides to follow it.  Suddenly, no one has seen Frenchie!  Where did Frenchie go and can they find him in time to save his life?

 by Kate DiCamillo Genre:  Animal Story Mercy Watson, Mr. and Mrs. Watson's porcine wonder, is missing and all of Deckawoo Drive is searching for her.  Baby Lincoln comes up with the idea to hire a private investigator.  They hire Percival Smidgely, PI, who doesn't really seem to know how to lead an investigation so if may be that someone else will have to put the clues together to figure out where Mercy has gone.  For sure it will have something to do with the smell of butter...

 by Emma Otheguy Genre:  Realistic Fiction Sofia's whole family loves ballet so she has never questioned the fact that she should love ballet too.  She is super excited when she get cast to dance in the party scene of the Nutcracker.  But as the rehearsals get going, Sofia struggles to get the dance steps just right.  She realizes that she would rather be behind the scenes designing costumes.  How can she explain this to her ballet loving family?  Sofia is going to need to find a way to use her voice to speak up about her hopes and dreams of her future.

 by Kereen Getten Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Paranormal Clara has lived on an island for her whole life and has basically grown up in the water.  She loves to surf and hangout with her best friend Gaynah.  They have a secret hideout that nobody knows about.  But lately, Gaynah and Clara haven't been getting along and Clara doesn't really understand why.  All she knows is that something happened last summer that she can't remember. Her memories start to return just as a hurricane threatens to strike the island.  Can Clara get her memories back and figure out why she and Gaynah are no longer friends?