Published by Balzer + Bray 

Summary: Charlie’s had more to handle in the last year than any 12-year-old should have to deal with. Not only has his mother died of cancer, but his best friend Frank has disappeared. His dad is working all the time, leaving Charlie to try to help his younger sister Imogen. When Imogen starts acting strange and talking about visiting Mom, Charlie investigates and finds a trapdoor under Imogen’s bed. When he climbs down, he finds himself back in his own house…only Mom is alive in this house. He spends a wonderful evening with her and Imogen, feasting on Mom’s famous spaghetti. Returning to the house without Mom is almost impossibly difficult, though, and much to his dismay, Charlie discovers he has lost his memory of ever eating spaghetti with his family. On the next trip back, Charlie thinks he catches a glimpse of Frank walking with his deceased grandmother. Charlie is drawn to go back with Imogen, but what price will they pay for their visits? And is it too late for Frank to ever return? 304 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros: Wow, it can’t be easy to write a book about a deceased parent that includes a courageous cast of kid characters and a hopeful ending, but Jennifer Maschari has nailed it on her first try. There’s also a trace of Coraline-like creepiness that will draw kids in to the story. And a cute, heroic, slightly magical dog is the cherry on top.

Cons: This book tackles a bunch of difficult themes that kids may appreciate more with some adult guidance.

Published by Katherine Tegen Books 

Summary:  11-year-old Perry Cook has grown up in an unusual home—the Blue River Coed Correctional Facility in Surprise, Nebraska, where his mother, Jessica, is serving a sentence for manslaughter.  Perry was born in prison, and the kind warden there has served as his foster parent, allowing him to grow up near his mother.  He leaves each day to go to school, where his best friend is Zoey Samuels.  Perry loves his life, but a new district attorney changes everything.  Convinced that prison is no place for a child, Thomas VanLeer not only postpones Jessica’s parole hearing, but insists that Perry be placed in a real home…namely VanLeer’s.  It turns out Thomas VanLeer is Zoey’s stepfather, and Perry finds himself living in his friend’s home.  Using the coping skills he’s learned from the other prison inmates, he works hard to stay upbeat, and focuses on a school project collecting the stories of how his friends ended up in jail.  This eventually leads him to learn more about his mother’s own story, and makes him more determined than ever to find a way for the two of them to be together again in their own home…on the outside.  380 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros:  A heartfelt and engaging story about a spunky protagonist who is able to rise above his circumstances to do what he thinks is best.  Although the prison setting is somewhat unrealistic, the characters are well-developed, and are motivated by trying to do the right thing…even when they aren’t really sure what that is.

Cons:  The story could be enjoyed by a third- or fourth-grader, but the almost 400-page length may be a big daunting.

Published by Algonquin Young Readers

Summary:  Kammie Summers, new to her Texas middle school, is trying to get in with the cool girls.  As part of her initiation, they tell her to stand on top of an old well and sing a song.  Before she can finish, the rotten wood breaks and she falls into the well, where she is trapped, arms pinned to her sides.  After a few half-hearted rescue attempts, the three girls disappear, and Kammie is left alone, unsure if they will ever come back.  As the hours pass, she thinks about her past life, especially the recent arrest of her father for embezzlement, and his imprisonment that led to their move to Texas and descent into poverty.  A rescue party eventually arrives, but by then the oxygen in the well has dipped to dangerous levels and Kammie is drifting in and out of consciousness.  It’s a race against time, as the National Guard is called in and an attempt is made to dig her out of her prison.  224 pages; grades 5-8.

Pros:  An engrossing premise allows readers to gradually get to know Kammie and her family as her thoughts travel back and forth in time.  The pages will turn quickly for readers anxious to learn the fate of the girl in the well.

Cons:  Anyone even slightly claustrophobic may want to steer clear of this one.

Published by Roaring Brook Press 

Summary: Pete is generally a big goof; in fact, he sometimes feels like his friends get kind of annoyed by some of his shenanigans. He’s just stolen cheerleader Eliza Collins’s pom poms when he ducks into a coffee shop to hide.  He catches the eye of an eccentric woman sitting at one of the tables with two laptops and a cell phone.  Turns out she’s a movie producer, and she invites Pete to come and audition for a film she’s making.  He decides to give it a try, and, lo and behold, is chosen for the part, starring opposite teen sensation Shana Fox.  Life seems pretty amazing until his friends decide that stardom has gone to his head.  Even worse, his girlfriend is sure he and Shana are romantically involved.  When Shana invites Pete to dinner at his parents’ restaurant, the whole crisis comes to a head.  It looks like Pete will have to decide between a normal life and movie stardom.  256 pages; grades 4-6

Pros:  This latest entry in the Charlie Joe Jackson series is sure to please fans.  Pete is a likeable character who tells his story with humor and honesty, sprinkled with his own illustrations and bits of the script from his movie.  Wimpy Kid readers should enjoy moving up to this series.

Cons:  In many of the illustrations, Pete looks more like a fourth grader than an eighth grader.

Published by HarperCollins 

Summary:  Benny feels like he can’t get a break.  His father’s just out of the hospital following an accident that Benny feels was his fault, and he’s far from completely recovered.  He got Mr. Norris, supposedly the best fourth grade teacher, who is proving to be a bit of a disappointment.  And then there are the struggles Benny deals with every year, like low grades on spelling tests and keeping an eye on his older brother George, who has autism.  His oldest brother is on the basketball team and has a pretty girlfriend, even George can do tricks on his bicycle, but Benny can’t seem to find anything he’s good at.  He tries to follow his mother’s advice: when bad things happen, you should think about someone else’s problems and try to help them.  Slowly, with two steps forward and one backward, Benny begins to find his strengths and to realize he has the power to make his own luck.  240 pages; ages 8-12

Pros:  This beautifully written book will be enjoyed by fans of Wonder, Absolutely Almost, and The Meaning of Maggie…all stories of kids in difficult circumstances learning to find their own strengths with the help of caring teachers, friends, and family members.

Cons:  This is one of those books that’s hard to sell to kids.  It sounds like it could be kind of a downer without a lot of action, yet I found it so compelling I read it in less than 24 hours.

Published by Harper

Summary:  Best friends Olivia and Piper are disappointed to discover they have only one sixth grade class together.  To keep each other updated, and to avoid the detection of passing notes, they create a notebook in which they write to each other, then hand it off between classes.  They’re perfectly happy with their friendship until Piper’s  mother offers to give her a birthday party (a rare event for the third of five children), and she realizes she needs to make some more friends.  The two girls start sampling the after-school clubs.  Some are a lot more fun than expected, some a total disaster.  Each girl finds her niche, and there is some friction when they turn out to be different niches.  Drama threatens on the day of the big party, but all is resolved, and true friendship wins the day.  288 pages; ages 8-12.

Pros:  A sweet story of friendship, told in an enjoyable style, mostly through the notebook letters, but also with some texts, flyers, and other memorabilia.

Cons:  Not a lot of action, and the girls’ voices at times sound like middle-aged women trying to write like 11-year-olds.

Published by Capstone Press 

Summary: You’re out in a field looking at Saturn through your telescope when suddenly you spot a UFO. If you decide to investigate, turn to page 12.  Running away? Page 16.  There are 28 choices and 12 different endings in this You Choose adventure.  All the endings are some form of impending doom (I ended up in the aliens’ food pen) or becoming a soldier in the human army fighting off the aliens.  The last few pages look at the possibility of life in outer space; also included are a glossary, sources of additional information, a survival kit checklist, and top 10 survival tips for an alien invasion.  112 pages; ages 8-12.

Pros:  Recommend this to reluctant readers.  If they enjoy it, they may want to move on to the rest of the series, which includes surviving a zombie apocalypse, a virus outbreak, and a global blackout.

Cons:  Each library bound edition retails for a ridiculous $31.32.