15 Minutes by Steve Young

Casey, a seventh grader, finds himself continually late. If he could just be on time for things - classes, football practice, even breakfast, all would be well. While searching through his attic, Casey discovers an old watch that belonged to his grandfather. He puts it on, but like most of Grandpop's inventions, it doesn't seem to work right. When Casey discovers that he can't take the watch off, he reads Grandpop's journal and discovers that the watch is actually a time machine that can transport its wearer 15 minutes into the past. At first Casey is delighted, and uses the power of the watch to enhance his "coolness rating." However, he soon realizes that altering the past has serious implications. This humorus story combines science fiction, sports action, and laughs with a strong underlying message about personal responsibility and honesty. 

Reed Reads Score: 4

The Poet Slave of Cuba by Margarita Engle

A biography of Juan Francisco Manzano, born in in Cuba in 1797 and told through poetry in the voices of Juan himself, his mother and father, and the family that has enslaved him. A powerful, moving story of a boy who is gifted with the power of verse, but who must face the cruelty, jealousy, and spitefulness of the women that keep him as a slave. Juan perseveres and maintains hope even when each moment of freedom is crushed by severe brutality. Vividly illustrated by Sean Qualls with black and white drawings.
Reed Reads Score: 4.5

Elephant Run by Roland Smith

Nick is fourteen and has just been shipped off to his father's timber plantation in Burma because London is under attack. It's World War II and the timber elephants owned by Nick's dad are a valuable commodity to the deadly Japanese soldiers who take over the plantation. Nick becomes a slave on his family's land while Dad is sent to a labor death camp. With the assistance of some heroic Burmese friends, including the beautiful Mya, and a dangerous elephant called Hannibal, Nick will become something he is not, will discover secret tunnels, will experience the atrocities of war, and will live to tell about it. I enjoyed Mr. Smith's descriptions of timber elephants and their handlers: amazing creatures. I eagerly read about how Nick survived his enemies and I loved the old monk who could converse with the elephants. Enjoy.

Reed Reads Score:     5

Everlost by Neal Shusterman

When Nick and Allie collide with each other in a fatal car accident, they find that they have been "bumped" into an alter world called Everlost - a limbo for kids somewhere between life and death. At first, Allie decides she needs to get back to her home to see her family. Nick follows, and as they travel the two learn the rules of Everlost. As they approach New York, they see the Twin Towers which has also been caught in Everlost. Here they meet Mary Hightower, who has taken on the role of caretaker to the children of Everlost. Nick is content to stay in Everlost with Mary, while Allie continues to search for a way to see her family. As they battle terrifying creatures and try to keep from sinking to the center of the earth, they learn that there are some fates that are more frightening than death.
Reed Reads Score: 4

The White Mountains (Book1 of Tripod Trilogy) by John Christopher

If you start with the first book, The White Mountains, and if you enjoy science-fiction, you will end up devouring all the books in The Tripod Trilogy, including a prequel. A boy, Will Parker, avoids being "capped" by the alien Masters who now rule the modern world.  But even though he retains his freedom of thought, he is captured and made a slave. The world of the non-human Masters is vividly repressive and luxurious at the same time. Will is a victim, a renegade and, ultimately, a hero. Be mesmerized by the world that British writer, John Christopher created back in the late 1960's. It could one day be you.  The trilogy was a BBC TV series that I would love to find and watch. I've also heard rumors that a motion picture is in the pre-production stages.  Ah, someone else could not forget how wonderful is "The Tripod Trilogy."

Reed Reads Score: 5

Sirena by Donna Jo Napoli

This beautiful and talented mermaid can't figure out whether immortality and true love can co-exist. How she yearns for love! Perhaps she is fated. Does she - or does she not - have free will? Do any of us? Read this book to find out. The story is especially fun if you are familiar with ancient Greek epic poems such as Homer's Iliad and/or Odyssey, characters from which pop in and out of the story. The book contains delightful description of life under the sea as a mermaid. Almost makes you want to be a mermaid, until you remember the immortality vs. true love dilemma.
Reed Reads Score: 3.5

First Light by Rebecca Stead

A mystery unfolds as Peter Solemn accompanies his parents on a scientific expedition to Greenland. While Mr. Solemn and his young assistant, Jonas, study global warming with sophisticated equipment, Peter explores the vast snow land with his sled dog team.
Peter is about to collide with a hidden world where he will learn the answers to his mother's spells of sadness and his own frequent headaches.
Deep underneath the ice, a community that fled from danger generations ago lives in comfortable secrecy, until Thea, 14 years old, challenges her elders. Thea's determination to learn about her heritage and her connection to the world above leads her and her cousin Mattias to an old tunnel.
Clues and puzzles are examined and secrets are revealed against a dazzling background of ice where the future meets the past.
Reed Reads Score: 4

I Am Not Joey Pigza by Jack Gantos

Joey now has his ADHD under control. Everything seems to be going well. Until. Until he finds out that his mother has been dating. Dating not just anyone, but dating his father. I Am Not Joey Pigza is the unexpected fourth installment of the Joey Pigza series. If you've read the series, you know that his father is unpredictable, untrustworthy, and unloved by Joey. In this installment his father, Carter, has won a large sum of money in the lottery and has taken a new lease on life. Carter changes his name to Charles, and has a grand plan for Joey and his mother. To join in the change Joey will become Freddy to begin a laugh out loud story that is about forgiveness, family, and personal identity. While not as strong as the first three in the series, this is still an enjoyable read, and was like rediscovering an old friend.
Reed Reads Score: 4

Taking Liberty by Ann Rinaldi

What was it like in late eighteen century America to be born smart and beautiful, into well-favored circumstances, but be born a slave non-the-less? Meet Oney Judge, who became not only a personal servant, confidant, and "almost a daughter" to Martha Washington, but also Martha Washington's most famous runaway slave.

Ann Rinaldi's Taking Liberty is a page turner of a novel, telling the story of Oney's life with rich historic detail and accuracy. Gradually we find out how and why Oney left a familiar life of comparative ease for the almost certain hardship and loneliness of being a "fugitive slave". Although this story is told with great sympathy for all involved, you will never be able to look at George and Martha Washington the same way again!

Reed Reeds Score: 5

The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt

If you've every had the experience of feeling that a certain teacher just doesn't like you or is too hard on you, then this is a story with which you will relate. It's 1967 and Holling Hoodhood is in 7th grade. Over the course of the school year, Holling's experiences are both comic and moving, especially when he's forced to wear tights. The great thing about this book is the way the people change their own points of view during the course of the year. It's also an amazingly accurate look at middle-school life in the 1960's. Trust me, I know. After you read this, get Gary Schmidt's Newbery Honor book, "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy." These are worth your reading time. Reed Reads Score: 5

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing by M.T. Anderson

And astonishing is this book. It’s also NOT for kids. It takes place in the era of the American Revolutionary War when a beautiful slave woman and her young son are part of an intellectual experiment. They live on a scholarly estate with white scientists and academics and serve as a laboratory study. What has been an environment rich in learning, dining, and luxurious beginnings, becomes a dark disaster reflecting the times, the reality of slavery and the will of men who think they are doing the right thing. We learn about Octavian’s strange childhood and now I can’t wait for Volume II! Reed Reads Score: 5

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

Read this book in one evening. I dare you not to cry, tough guy! A kid hates poetry and writes in his class journal to his teacher about it throughout the school year. Then read other books by Sharon Creech and enjoy.
Reed Reads Score: 5

The Killing Sea by Richard Lewis

The author lives in Bali, Indonesia and participated in the rescue efforts of the 2004 TSUNAMI. He follows the lives of an American tourist teenage girl and an Indonesian teenage guy as they survive the killer waves only to battle the aftermath for days and days: destruction, crime, dead bodies, lack of medical help and survival skills are the keys to making this an “can’t put it down until I finish” book. It’s an easy and engrossing read. Reed Reads Score: 4

The Runaway Princess by Kate Coombs

Princess Margaret is NOT your fairy tale princess. She loves frogs, her best friend is the gardner, and she is definitely not ready for marriage. Her parents have a different plan...her father needs an heir to the throne so he decides to have a competition for her hand. The first prince to kill the dragon, return with the dragon's booty, and kill the witch in the woods will win. Margaret will have nothing to do with this, so her father imprisons her in a tall tower (sound familiar?). With the help of her friends, she escapes the tower to warn the dragon and the witch...and so the adventure begins. This is a very funny blending of many fairy tales, that will have you laughingall the way through. Reed Reads Score: 4.5

Eggs by Jerry Spinelli

Eggs are fragile. Eggs are a new life. Eggs can break.
Meet David and Primose. A very unlikely pair. David is 9, Primrose 13. David lives by rules, Primrose loves to break them. David is afraid, Primrose is fearless. So what on earth brings these two together? David is suffering from the loss of his mother, killed by a freak accident at work. Primrose is suffering from a mother whom she lives with, but is mentally not there. This is a story of the sorrow of loss, the pain of memories, gaining friendships, and learning to move on. Not one of Spinelli's best, but certainly a satisfying read that I recommend to all readers. Reed Reads Score: 4.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Hugo lives secretly in the walls of the Paris train station. Orphaned, he now maintains the clocks in the station for his uncle who disappeared. More important, Hugo is trying to complete a project of his father's...rebuilding an old mysterious machine found in a museum attic. To get by, Hugo steals food from station cafés, and parts for the machine from a toy store booth in the station. All goes well until he gets caught by the toy store owner.... Here the story begins where Hugo is forced to befriend the toy store owner's grand daughter, help at the toy store, and unravel the mystery of the machine.

This novel is a beautiful, timeless tale told in a unique format. The book, over 500 pages, is at first intimidating, until you open it up. The opening sequence is a series of pictures, that seem like the opening of a silent movie, or a movie storyboard that blends perfectly into the text that follows. The book is about half illustrations that move the story forward. Brian Selznick's words and outstanding illustrations combine to create a classic, yet innovative book. Reed Reads Score: 5

One of Those Hideous Book Where the Mother Dies by Sonia Sones

A story that reads like a screenplay, the reader quickly becomes involved in the story's two sides: Hollywood fairy tale and overcoming greif. Ruby's mother has passed away, forcing her to move from Boston to L.A. to live in the mansion of her famous actor/father. She is angry and resentful. She misses all that she has left behind - family, friends and first loves. She is painfully greiving the loss of her mother. Her greif blinds her to all that her new life affords - living out the Hollywood fantasy. While the story is resolved neatly, there are some twists that many of you will predict early on. Most will read this in one sitting - it's that good! This story, while written in Ms. Sones' familiar free verse style, is a departure from Stop Pretending or What My Mother Doesn't Know. 
Reed Reads Score: 5

Tree Girl by Ben Mikaelsen

Gabriela, a native Mayan living in Guatemala, loves to climb trees. She is intelligent, talented and has a bright future. Gabriela's story turns violent and heart wrenching when her family, village and country are torn apart by upheaval and violence. Her ability to climb trees saves her life, but also creates conflict for her. This is a true story as told by the real Gabriela to the author. The author does not attempt to sanitize the story, which might make the story difficult for some. I found her story incredibly sad, but an affirmation of the human spirit.
Reed Reads Score: 4

I, Jack by Jack the dog (as told to Patricia Finney)

At first, I questioned the premise - a book written in the voice of a dog? Ultimately, I found the book funny and "believable". The author has captured what might be a canine's voice. Even cat lovers will find this book fun as Jack's "funny-looking dog" friends add their comments throughout the book in footnotes. The story is about Jack's "pack", comprised of apedogs, and the love of his life, Petra, the dog next door. Jack is often confused by the apedogs' behavior, but is always loyal. He soon discovers that he will be the master of his own pack and meets the challenge of his responsibilities.
Reed Reads Score: 4

Shakespeare Bats Cleanup by Ron Koertge

Kevin Boland is a star high school baseball player. He has been diagnosed with Mono, and must remain in bed for several weeks. His father, a professional writer, gives him a book that teaches the form and structure of poetry. Kevin decides to keep a journal to pass time, and does so experimenting with different forms of poetry. His writing becomes sensitive and introspective where topics range from baseball, to girls, and eventually to his sorrow over the death of his mother. A good quick read. Most of the novels (at least the ones I've read) that use the free verse format are written in a female voice. This book is a rare one, not only because it is written in a male voice, but because it explores different forms of poetry.  An English teacher could use this novel as a spring board for a poetry unit.
Reed Reads Score: 4
A sequel has been released; Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs