Mrs. Malecha Reads!

by Lisa Bullard Lexile:  850 Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Mystery Travis has hopped on a bus and traveled halfway across the country to Minnesota to find out more about his father.  He is tired of his mother ignoring his questions and now that she has remarried, Travis doesn't feel like he has a place in her life anymore.  When Travis gets to Minnesota, he doesn't get the warmest welcome.  As it turns out, his father was a bank robber and there are many in the town who think he buried the money that he stole as it has never been found.  Travis and his new friends, Iz and Kenny, decide to try to solve the mystery about what happened to his dad and the stolen money.  They have no idea what secret they are about to reveal.

by Benjamin Renner Genre:  Fantasy, Graphic Novel The Big Bad Fox wants to be the terror of the barnyard and scare all the animals, but nobody is afraid of him.  Mostly the animals just find him to be very annoying.  He turns to the wolf to help him become scarier.  The wolf suggests that he steal some eggs and that he can then raise as chicks so that he can get a decent meal.  The fox gets the eggs, but he is unprepared for how attached to the chicks he gets.  Now the chicks think that the fox is their mom, which makes them baby foxes.  This barnyard is getting more mixed up by the minute!

by Mary Downing Hahn Lexile:  690 Genre:  Ghost Story, Spooky Erica and Daniel and their parents have moved into the old Estes place.  Rumor has it that 50 years ago, a little girl named Selene lived in the house and one night she mysteriously disappeared and was never seen again.  Erica and Daniel try to ignore what the kids at school are telling them about their creepy old house, but they both know that something isn't right.  Their parents are fighting, neither of them like their new school, and now Erica is spending more and more time talking to her doll.  Daniel watches as she disappears into the woods each day after school and one time decided to follow her. They get in a fight and Erica runs off.  Daniel runs home, but Erica never returns.  Where is she?

by Kelly Jones Illustrated by Katie Kath Lexile:  880 Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Fantasy Sophie Brown has just moved to her great-uncle Jim's farm with her parents.  None of them have ever lived on a farm before, but when Jim died he left the farm to her parents so they have decided to give life a try there.  Apparently, her great-uncle Jim had some chickens, but these chickens were not your regular, ordinary kind of chickens.  No, these chickens are unusual chickens and now it is up to Sophie to find them and figure out how to take care of them.

by Ursula Vernon Lexile:  810 Genre:  Fantasy Harriet Hamsterbone is not an ordinary princess.  When she was born, the evil fairy Ratshade, put a curse on her that will cause her to fall into a deep sleep on her 12th birthday.  Harriet's parents are devastated, but Harriet has decided that this is the greatest thing every because it means that for her first twelve years, she is invincible.  Harriet sets off on all kinds of adventures, but as her 12th birthday nears, she realizes that she will have to come up with a plan to outsmart the evil Ratshade. Can Harriet save herself from a lifetime of deep sleep?

by Mac Barnett and Jory John Illustrated by Kevin Cornell Lexile:  620 Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Humor 2018-19 Maud Hart Lovelace Nominee Miles Murphy is the new kid at the Yawnee Valley Science and Letters Academy.  Miles does not want to be the new kid.  He was quite content at his old school where he was known as the biggest prankster of all time.  He plans to award himself that title at this new school so he designs the birthday party prank.  But someone is on to him and pulls off a suprise prank on him right at the end of the party.  Niles, the school helper, and the only one who has really spoken to Miles since he moved, is the culprit.  Niles wants to team up with Miles to create the biggest pranks of all time. Miles isn't sure he wants a partner so he and Niles launch the great prank war.  Who will win the battle?

by Watt Key Lexile:  650 Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Adventure Thirteen year old Cort is growing up along the Gulf Coast of Alabama where his father is an expert swamp and hunting guide.  Cort often times accompanies his father on his trips and has learned a lot about what it takes to survive in the wild world of the swamps.  But one night when a category 3 storm makes landfall while Cort is home alone, all of his survival training is going to need to kick in if he is going to save himself and his neighbors.  Cort's dad should never have left him alone...but he did.

by Patricia Maclachlan Illustrated by Marc Boutavant Lexile:  480 Uncle Everton has a dog named Barkus.  But now Uncle Everton has to travel all over the world and Barkus does not like to travel. So his young niece becomes the lucky new owner of Barkus.  They become fast friends and have many adventures together and soon become a very close family.

by Lois Sepahban Lexile:  550 Genre:  Historical Fiction Life became very different for Japanese Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1942 and 10 year old Manami is struggling to understand why she suddenly has to leave her home.  She and her family have been relocated to the Manzanar Prison Camp in the desert of California.  Manami is sad about leaving her home, school, and especially her dog, behind.  Life in the prison camp is a struggle and Manami doesn't understand why things are the way they are.  The grownups in her life aren't explaining much to her. All Manami wants is her old life back.

by A.L. Sonnichsen Illustrated by Amy Jane Bates Lexile:  830 Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Novel in Verse Kara has never met her birth mother.  She was rescued by an American woman in China so for the last 11 years she has grown up thinking that she is more American than Chinese.  What she didn't know is that the woman who rescued her never reported that she had found her.  So the woman who has raised her is not her mother and in the eyes of the Chinese government, her mother has broken many laws.  Kara will be forced to leave the only mother she has ever known and will have to face an uncertain future as the government tries to sort out what should become of her.  Kara just wants to go to America and live in the mountains of Montana with the only person she has ever really known.

by Allyson Condie Lexile:  600 Genre:  Realistic Fiction Cedar Lee is just trying to survive her first summer without her dad and her little brother, Ben.  They were killed in a car accident and now she and her Mom and brother, Miles, are trying to get a fresh start in the town of Iron Creek.  Iron Creek is known for its famous Summerlost theater festival.  Cedar has never really been interested in Shakespeare, but then she meets Leo and he gets her a job there selling programs and concessions.  Cedar and Leo quickly become friends and Cedar begins to enjoy her life in Iron Creek.  But someone is leaving things on her windowsill at night...things that her brother Ben would have liked.  Iron Creek is also famous for the mysterious death of Lisette Chamberlain, one of the summer theater actresses who made it big.  Could these two mysteries somehow be connected?

by K.L. Going Lexile:  790 Genre:  Realistic Fiction Tia loves to sing and has dreams of someday making it big.  She has been able to find happiness in music until one night while at choir practice, she hears gunshots ring out in the neighborhood.  In the process of a carjacking, an innocent baby is killed.  Suddenly, memories of something from Tia's past come rushing to the surface.  She has always known that her dad was in prison, but her mom has always refused to talk to her about what he did to end up there.  Now people are whispering about her and her mother and Tia realizes that it is time to confront her past if she is going to be able to move forward with her life.

by Shelley Pearsall Lexile:  760 Genre:  Realistic Fiction Arthur Owens didn't mean to hurt anyone.  He was just angry.  Angry that his dad had to die.  Angry that the old Junk Man stole his dad's hat.  So Arthur threw a brick at him which caused him to fall and break his arm.  Arthur has been sent to juvenile detention and is waiting to hear his sentence.  Just as Arthur is about to be sentenced, the Junk Man, James Hampton speaks up.  He requests a meeting with the judge.  When the judge returns, he announces that Arthur will be given 120 hours of community service that will be supervised by the Junk Man.  Arthur is given a rickety old shopping cart and a list of 7 things that he has to find in the garbage.  At first the list seems random, and Arthur doesn't take it very seriously. But then he learns that Mr. Hampton might actually be trying to teach him something.  Could throwing that brick be the best thing that ever happened to both of them?

by Ali Benjamin Lexile:  740 Genre:  Realistic Fiction 12 year old Suzy knows a lot of facts.  But mostly those facts don't seem to interest anyone other than her.  She has been best friends with Franny since they met in a swimming class when they were 5. Suzy is looking forward to moving on to 6th grade in a new middle school with Franny.  But all of a sudden, Franny is changing.  She is interested in boys and the way her hair looks and has started hanging out with other girls.  Suzy doesn't feel like she fits in with this version of Franny at all.  Suzy doesn't know what to do to get Franny back, and then suddenly and unexpectedly, her time runs out and Suzy is left feeling lost and alone.

by Sharon Draper Lexile:  740 Genre:  Historical Fiction Stella lives in Bumbebee, North Carolina in 1932 when the town was still segregated.  Some stores and people are pleasant, others are not.  One night when Stella and her brother Jojo are outside their house, they see a secret Ku Klux Klan meeting taking place.  Stella and Jojo immediately alert their parents who in turn alert others in their small town.  It has been a long time since the people of Bumblebee have been bothered by the Klan.  What are they up to now and what does this mean for Stella and her family?  Stella has more questions than answers and isn't sure how she and her family will deal with the unfair ways they are being treated.

by Nikki Loftin Lexile:  590 Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Fantasy All Peter Stone wants is a little peace and quiet.  He thinks he was born into the wrong family, because his mom, dad and sisters seem to love noise.  He is surrounded by their noise and feels like no one is happy with who he is and no one is taking the time to listen to what he has to tell them. Then he meets Annie, a young girl with leukemia, who isn't sure how much of her life she has left to live.  The two of them form a unique friendship in the valley where they meet.  The valley seems to have magical qualities that protect the people it likes and cause problems for those it doesn't.  Is the valley the answer to Annie and Peter's problems or the beginning of more?

by Lisa Graff Lexile:  700 Genre:  Realistic Fiction Trent is looking forward to a fresh start in his new middle school.  5th grade was the worst year of his life.  He accidentally hit Jared in the chest with a hockey puck which turned out to cause his death because he had a heart defect that no one knew about.  Trent feels responsible and hasn't been able to play sports ever since.  He is also struggling to get a long with his dad and new stepmom, who are soon to have a new baby.  Then Trent meets Fallon who unexpectedly becomes his closest friend.  Fallon has secrets of her own, but she might be the one to help Trent move past his anger and get on with his life.

by Joan Bauer Lexile:  510 Genre:  Realistic Fiction 2018-19 Maud Hart Lovelace Nominee Baseball is Jeremiah's life.  However, because he had a heart transplant, he can no longer play.  He knows so much about the game though, that he decides that he wants to coach.  When his dad takes a job in Hillcrest, OH, a town known for its winning baseball tradition, Jeremiah has a the perfect opportunity.  His new middle school doesn't really have a team and he is determined to discover why.

by Nora Raleigh Baskin Lexile:  720 Genre:  Realistic Fiction Ruby is about to start middle school, but she has a secret that she doesn't want anyone to find out about.  Ruby lives with Matoo, whom everyone assumes is her mother, but her mother has actually been in prison since Ruby was a little girl.  Ruby doesn't really know what her mother did, nor does she really know how much she wants to know.  Then Ruby meets Margalit, the new girl in their apartment complex, and for the first time Ruby has a friend.  But does she trust Margalit enough to share her secret?

by Chris Grabenstein Lexile:  690 Genre:  Realistic Fiction The Wonderland is the world's wackiest hotel in the world and it's where P.T. Wilkie is growing up. He thinks it's the best place in the world, but unfortunately, not many other people do.  Now the bank is threatening to close them down if they can't raise $100,000 in the next month to pay off an old loan.  P.T. is determined to do whatever he has to do to save The Wonderland. With the help of his new friend Gloria, they may just have a chance...

by Booki Vivat Genre:  Realistic Fiction Abbie Wu is about to start middle school and it is seriously the last thing that she wants to do.  Her family doesn't get her, her friends don't get her, and now she has to go to a new school where things are going to change.  Abbie wants to figure out what the one "thing" she is good at or can be known for.  Everyone else seems to think they have it figured out.  Is Abbie really the only person in the world who can't find one thing that she is good at?  Maybe middle school will be the solution to her problems...or maybe it will be the worst thing in the world.

by Laurie Halse Anderson Lexile:  820 Genre:  Historical Fiction Isabel and Curzon have been fighting for their dream for a long time.  The first step towards realizing their dream is to find Isabel's sister, Ruth, who was stolen away from her a long time ago.  They aren't sure if she is even still alive and in order to find out they have to travel through the forests that are filled with Patriots, British, and bounty hunters who would be willing to kidnap them and put them to work fighting for their respective causes.  Will Curzon and Isabel be able to navigate the dangerous pathway and find their freedom?