Fourteen-year-old John creates alternative realities in his mind as he tries to deal with his mother’s abusive boyfriend, his crush on a beautiful, but shallow classmate and other problems at school.

Liz says:

“Right from the start, John catches the reader off guard as he directs his thoughts toward his mother. It’s almost as if this is told from a 4th person narration. This is a gripping story of mental and physical abuse and there are some harrowing scenes. It’s an amazing story with an amazing ending.”

Seventeen-year-old Vince’s life is constantly complicated by the fact that he is the son of a powerful Mafia boss, a relationship that threatens to destroy his romance with the daughter of an FBI agent.

Liz says:

“This hilariously funny book is a modern day version of Romeo & Juliet without the tough language and the horrific tragedy! You will be laughing from the first scene.” (Sequel – Son of the Mob: Hollywood Hustle)

After being assigned to perform community service at a nursing home, sixteen-year-old Alex befriends a cantankerous old man who has some lessons to impart about jazz guitar playing, love, and forgiveness.

Liz says:

“Sonnenblick’s ability to capture believable voices and to deliver a meaningful story is amazing. There’s some tough stuff in this book but its well worth it.”

Martyn Pig’s life goes from bad to worse when he accidentally kills his father, and he must choose whether to tell the police the truth about what happened and be suspected of murder, or he can get rid of the body and pretend nothing ever happened.

Liz says:

“ “This book is a great example of dark humor. It’s very entertaining and has a real twist. Kevin Brooks is an amazing author!”

After the death of his father, ten-year-old Moon Blake is removed from the Alabama forest where he was raised and sent to a boy’s home, where, for the first time, he has contact with the outside world and learns about friendship, love, and humanity.

Liz says:

“This is the best survival story I’ve read since Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet (see below). Moon’s father, a Vietnam Vet, distrusted the government so much that he took his wife and son to live in the forest with no ties to civilization (except for occasional trips to a convenience store for bare necessities). Moon’s mother dies when he’s very young and his father dies when he’s 10. He’s left to fend for himself. His greatest obstacle is his loneliness. When given the chance to decide between a reclusive life in the woods or a life in society, what will Moon decide? You’ll learn a lot about survival skills and much, much more!”

Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father–the renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway of Grand Rapids.

Liz says:

“You will love Bud as he takes you on his journey and learns much about his father and himself. This is a must read.”

Crash Coogan, rising football sensation, and his friend, Mike make a regular practice of tormenting the school nerd, Penn Webb, but when Mike takes a prank too far, Crash finds himself locked in a moral dilemma.

Liz says:

“This is told from the perspective of an adult Crash looking back on a year in his life. (I believe it’s 7th grade). The voice is fresh and funny and the story deals with the important concept of not judging others and ridiculing them for their differences. This is a very accessible story that boys love and I highly recommend it.”

When he joins a predominantly African American “Teen Dream Team” that will be representing the United States in an international basketball tournament in Rome, Jimmy Doyle makes some unexpected discoveries about prejudice, racism, and politics.

Liz says:

“Boys absolutely love this book and so do I. There are lots of great basketball scenes and many poignant moments. Jimmy and the other characters are believable and the story moves quickly. I would not recommend this before 6th grade.”

When thirteen-year-old Martin arrives at an alternative school for misfits and problem students, he falls in with a group of boys with psychic powers and discovers something surprising about himself.

Liz says:

“From the very first page, you will be laughing! Martin is hilarious. He’s sent to Edgewater Reform School (I think I have the name right) because he just can’t seem to keep it together enough to stay in regular school. At Edgewater he’s surrounded by kids who each have a particular “problem”. Bloodbath, the school bully, is terrorizing Martin. To fight him off, Martin rallies the support of his friends. He has figured out a way to take their “problems” and refocus them as talents. There’s a supernatural quality to all of this. The book is entertaining and meaningful. In addition to the regular text, there are graphic elements such as school memos, letters and pictures. Everyone loves this book!!”

Things get out of hand for a twelve-year-old boy when a neighbor convinces him to expand his summer lawn mowing business.

Liz says:

“This is a fun and funny story of what can happen when a twelve year old boy gets a riding lawnmower for his birthday – big money, big business and sometimes big trouble.”