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Will's Race for Home by Jewell Parker Rhodes

For as long as he can remember, Will's father has seemed dissatisfied. Will never knows what it will take to make his father, a sharecropper in Texas, happy. Until, one day he comes back from town with a notice about a land rush that will be happening in Oklahoma the following April. Right away, everything changes when the decision is made for the family to try to get some land of their own. But Will's dad acts like he isn't sure Will is up for the journey. Will thinks he is, but as their travel begins, things happen along the way that make Will begin to doubt himself.

Recommended for 6th grade and up.

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Very Bad at Math by Hope Larson

Verity, or Very, as everyone calls her, has everything going for her in 8th grade, except for Math. Even though she is the Student Council President and has tons of great ideas and plans, she can't get out from under the issue of Math and how she can try super hard, and it just doesn't seem to make sense to her! But now, if she can't figure out how to bring up her Math grade, all the things that she has worked so hard for might just be taken away from her!

Recommended for grades 6 and up.

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Louder Than Hunger by John Schu

In 8th grade, Jake finds himself lost, except for the voice in his head, that tells him things will get better if he can just make himself small enough. As in, physically small, so no one will see him and therefore, can't hurt him. He feels the only one who really sees him is his grandmother, who is becoming concerned about his weight. And when things get really bad, Jake finds himself in a treatment center, that he really doesn't want to be in. Because if the voice he has listened to for it feels like, a very long time, is wrong, than how will he figure out what is right? How can he stop the voice and create a new path for himself?

Recommended for grades 6 and up.

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The Enigma Girls by Candace Fleming

Ever wonder just how everyone communicated during World War II? And all the secrets, spies, and information that could fall into the wrong hands? Who was out there intercepting all of that "chatter"? It turns out, in England there was a place that was dedicated to breaking the German's Enigma Machine that Germany was using to disseminate their battle plans and that place was called Bletchley Park. This "park" was the place where all the secrets were collected and some of the greatest code breaking minds in the country were recruited to work on the war effort. And it turns out, that teenage and young adult woman were some of the best and helping to turn the tide of the war. This books shares some of their stories.

Recommended for grades 6 and up.

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Click'd by Tamara Ireland Stone

Allie is sure her app, called Click'd that she developed over the summer at a coding camp could actually be a contender for winning a huge competition called Games for Good. But when a classmate shows his gaming app for the same competition to their class, Allie gets worried. Is the small sample of playing the game that she did actually enough for the judges? With only a week until the big day, Allie makes a decision. Why not let it go live in her school? What is the worst that could happen?

Recommended for grades 6 and up.

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Dating and Dragons by Kristy Boyce

Quinn is happy to be in a new school - especially since her hold school has no good memories and unfortunately, no friends anymore. So when she gets invited to a new Dungeons and Dragons group, she is excited. And when she finds out it includes a guy named Logan, who she secretly thinks is pretty awesome, it makes everything seem better. But when Logan treats her differently once she gets into the group, she doesn't understand why. Until she learns about the rules of the game!

Recommended for 8th grade and up.

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Stay Dead by April Henry

Milan's life feels like it spiraling out of control. She and her father were in a car accident 8 months ago, and he was killed, and she was left with a leg that was severally broken - and has pins in it. But after her father's death, her mom decided to send her off to a boarding school - because her mom took over her father's US Senate seat. Milan feels abandoned, and appears to be acting out (she isn't sure herself) because she has just gotten kicked out of her third boarding school. Not a great look for a Senator's daughter. So when her mom comes to pick her up from the latest school, Milan is hoping to have some time with her. But before she can make amends with her mom, their plane crashes and some deadly secrets are revealed.

Recommended for grades 8 and up.

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Drawing Deena by Hena Khan

It is frustrating to Deena that her mom always seems to be fighting with her dad about money. It makes her worried that they might split up, and it makes her feel like she can never ask for anything - like the art classes she would love to take. She thinks if she can come up with a plan to help her mom's business make more money then perhaps that will solve things and she won't have to worry quite so much - because it turns out, the worrying isn't good for Deena.

Recommended for grades 6 and up.

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