Mrs. Malecha Reads!

 by Tae Keller Genre:  Fantasy Lily and her family have moved in with her grandmother who is ill.  Her grandmother is known for her stories about a magical tiger and on the way to her grandmother's house, she sees a real tiger.  Or is it real?  The tiger keeps reappearing and Lily becomes convinced that if she is brave enough to face the tiger, she might be able to save her grandmother.  Lily makes a new friend, Ricky, and together they come up with a plan to trap a tiger in her grandmother's basement.  Will their trap work?  Will the tiger come in time and will Lily be able to save her grandmother?

 by Lindsey Stoddard Genre:  Realistic Fiction Robinson and her Grandpa have always been a family, just the 2 of them.  But as Grandpa has gotten older, Robinson has noticed that he seems to be more confused about things and she is having to help him at home and at his auto repair shop.  Robinson doesn't mind, because they are a team, but she wants to keep their struggles a secret so that nobody thinks about splitting them up.  Keeping secrets is hard though, and when Robinson starts having trouble in school, and Grandpa has an accident at home, she realizes that she is going to need to ask for some help.

 by Gillian McDunn Genre:  Realistic Fiction Cat has a lot of responsibilities now that her dad died.  Her mom has to work a lot to support their family which leaves Cat in charge of her younger brother, Chicken.  Chicken has special needs that require extra work and Cat is one of the few people who knows how to help manage his behaviors.  Caring for Chicken means that Cat has to give up a lot of things, like hanging out with friends or having time alone with her mom.  Cat is hanging on until summer when their family will go to Atlanta to visit friends.  But on their way to Atlanta, they get the news that their friends will no longer be able to host them so Cat and Chicken are going to have to spend 3 weeks with grandparents they have never met.  Cat is prepared for the worst, but what she finds on Gingerbread Island might actually be the best thing that ever happened to her.

 by Rebecca Stead Genre:  Realistic Fiction Bea's parents have been divorced for two years and she has adjusted to having two sets of things at her mom's house and at her dad's house.  But now her dad is planning to remarry.  She loves Jesse and knows that he makes her dad happy, but she is also worried about how their lives will change.  When they get married, she will have a new sister.  Bea has always wanted a sister, but Sonia lives across the country in CA.  What will she think of New York and her new family?  Bea has lots to worry about, but it is possible that her worries will not all come true.  She knows that her mom and dad love her, no matter what, and that is something that will not change.

 by Alex Gino Genre: Realistic Fiction Rick is a 6th grader starting middle school and he's not sure who he really is.  He has always been best friends with Jeff who he is realizing now is a real bully.  When Rick decides to join the Rainbow Spectrum Club he knows that he will have to keep it a secret from Jeff.  Rick is interested in meeting new people and exploring new friendships while he tries to figure out where he fits into the world.  The one thing he loves about the Rainbow Spectrum Club is that it is a place where everyone can be themselves.  But when Jeff finds out that he is a member, Rick will have to make a decision about their friendship.  No one ever said that middle school was going to be easy...

 by Jewell Parker Rhodes Genre:  Realistic Fiction Donte is struggling with growing up.  He and his mom are Black and his dad and his brother are White.  As a 12 year old, he is starting to see the differences in the way he and his mom are treated.  He is especially noticing this at school when teachers are quick to blame him for anything that happens.  When he tries to speak up to defend himself, the headmaster of the private school that he and his brother attend, calls the police.  Donte finds himself taken off to jail and it is up to his family to come to his rescue.  Donte feels blessed to have the supportive family that he does, but what about all the other kids who don't?  Are they struggling with the same issues that he is?  Donte and his mom have an opportunity to speak up for all of the students of color who are being treated unfairly.  Will Donte be willing to stand up and fight for what is right?

 by Jeff Kinney Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Humor Greg and the family are ready to hit the road for a fun filled family camping trip.  They have their uncle's RV and no plans other than just to drive and see where the road takes them.  They run into some obstacles, as one would expect for the Heffley family, and struggle with finding activities that they all want to do together.  Just when they think the entire trip is a bust, things turn around and they discover that maybe, just maybe, it is possible for their family to have a good time together.

 by Varian Johnson Illustrated by Shannon Wright Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Graphic Novel Maureen and Francine Carter are twins and best friends.  They pretty much do everything together.  But now that they are in 6th grade, things are changing.  They are in different classes, hanging out with different people, and then they both decide to run for student council president!  It is twin against twin...will they be able to compete in the election and remain best friends?  One thing is for sure, life is about to get very interesting...

 by Lesa Cline-Ransome Genre:  Historical Fiction Lymon's momma left him and moved to Chicago and his daddy is serving time in prison so he is being raised by Grandpops and Ma.  When Grandpops dies and Ma gets sick, Lymon's family decides it would be best if he goes to live with the momma he doesn't even remember.  Life in Chicago is tough and even though Lymon's dad gets out of prison, he doesn't think he can take care of him.  When live in Chicago gets to be too much, Lymon decides to try to get back to his dad's family in Milwaukee.  Will he get the happy ending he deserves?

 by Wesley King Genre:  Fantasy Mr. Baker's 8th grade class thought they were going on a boring old field trip to explore some underground caves.  He had been talking about caves for weeks and was so exited to explore with his 8th graders.  The kids admitted that the caves were cooler than they thought and they were actually having a pretty good time, until an earthquake struck.  Now they are lost below the earth in a world that they didn't know even existed.  Will they be able to find their way back to the surface?

 by Gennifer Choldenko Genre:  Realistic Fiction Liam, Dakota, Izzy, and their dog, Cupcake, are learning to live in their new apartment with their mom and not their dad.  They are all having to make adjustments, but the biggest problem is their new landlord, Mr. Torpse.  He doesn't like noisy kids or big dogs. When Cupcake starts to have accidents in the house, Mr. Torpse is furious and tells them that they have to ind a new home for Cupcake or they will all have to move out.  The kids are shocked when their mom suggests that maybe a new home for Cupcake would be best.  They decide they must figure out a way to save Cupcake!

 by Kashmira Sheth Genre:  Realistic Fiction Nina Soni is trying to figure out what to write her personal narrative about for her school project.  It has to be perfect, but she has spent so much time trying to figure out the perfect topic, that she is down to the wire.  It's her sister's birthday weekend and her project is due on Monday.  Nina needs time to make an amazing discovery that she can write about.  Normally her best friend Jay would help, but he's mad at her because she accidentally broke his art project.  Nina feels like she might have to work alone to figure out this mess she's gotten herself into.

 by Janae Marks Genre:  Realistic Fiction Zoe Washington has never met her real father because he has been in prison since before she was born.  So she is shocked when she gets the mail and finds a letter addressed to her.  She soon realizes that her dad, Marcus, has been writing to her for a long time, but her mother has never given her the letters.  Zoe decides to write back and begins a relationship with her father while keeping it a secret from her mom.  Zoe learns that her father is in prison for murder, but he tells her that he is innocent.  Zoe decides to look into his case to find out whether or not he is telling the truth.  

 by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed Genre: Memoir, Graphic Novel Omar and Hassan are refugees at Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya.  They were separated from their mother when their village in Somalia was destroyed.  Their UN appointed foster mother has kept them safe as best as she could, but Omar feels fully responsible for caring for his brother, who has special needs.  Omar is given the opportunity to go to school, but he is not sure if it makes sense for him to plan for a future that seems so uncertain.  Ultimately, he decides that an education will best prepare him for whatever his future looks like and he knows that a better future for himself means a better future for Hassan too.  Some people in the camp are getting the opportunity to resettle in Canada or the United States.  Will Omar and Hassan get that chance>. And if so, is resettling their best option?

 by Erin Entrada Kelly Genre:  Historical Fiction Cash, Fitch, and Bird are trying to survive middle school.  Cash is repeating 7th grade because the first time just didn't go well.  He is trying to figure out what exactly he is good at.  Fitch is having girl troubles.  Why does Amanda keep calling him Henry and why does Vern have to make such a big deal about it? Bird just wants to work on her drawings and wishes that her whole family could sit down at the dinner table together and eat dinner just one time.  All 3 have different wants and needs...if they worked together as a family, would life improve for all of them?

 by Cindy Baldwin Della Kelly is growing up in North Carolina with her mom, dad, and baby sister Mylie.  Their farm isn't doing well because of the drought and 18 month old Mylie is a handful.  If that wasn't enough, Della is noticing that her mom isn't acting quite like herself.  Her mom has been sick in the past and had to go away to the hospital for awhile so Della wants to do whatever is necessary to keep that from happening again, including keeping secrets from her dad and her best friend.  Della is convinced that she is the only one who can help her mom, but even her best efforts might not be enough.