Guys! These titles are for you!

Crispin:
The Cross of Lead
by Avi
(Historical Fiction)

Crispin is the name of the thirteen-year-old peasant main character, although, the only name he's known for himself is "Asta's Son." That is until his mother dies, and in his blinding grief he stumbles upon a secret meeting in the woods between John Aycliffe-the steward of the manor-and a wealthy stranger. In a flash he finds himself the target of a plot in which he is falsely accused of a theft and declared a "wolf's head," allowing anyone to kill him on sight. On his way out of town, the village priest tells the boy his real name, asks him to hide out for 24 hours until the priest can round up some provisions, and promises to reveal some more vital information about him and his family the next day. Then the priest proceeds to get his throat slit and Crispin is on the run with the theft AND the priest's murder hanging over him.

The Gospel According to Larry
by Janet Tashjian
(Realistic Fiction)

In a supermarket, a young man hands the author of this book a tied up manuscript. It is the tale of an anonymous person named Larry. He has been inspired by the writings of Thoreau, not only to throw off the shackles of a consumeristic society, but also to change the world by creating a web site extolling the wisdom of living simply. The Larry site-with its sermons, advertising parodies, and photos of Larry's simple collection of belongings takes off like the greatest of web success stories.
The story is told by Josh, the kid in the supermarket, whose life is changed by Larry. Along with Josh, we meet his best friend, Beth, who is a wonderful young lady, except for the fact that she wants to be with someone who will give her access to the in-crowd. Meanwhile, Josh has secretly loved her for years.
But as the Larry site grows and gains international attention, there are those who are working to discover Larry's real identity. Unfortunately, Larry has inadvertently given away information about himself on the web site, so it is inevitable that his real identity will not stay a secret forever. The news of Larry's real identity would destroy Josh and Beth's relationship like a bombshell. And what about all of the other loyal Larry followers? Will Larry's message become lost amid the media frenzy of interviewing the person responsible for the Larry web site?

The Grave
by James Heneghan
(Science Fiction/Fantasy)

"My name is Tom, and I'm small for my age, which is thirteen and three-quarters. My mother left me crawling in Toys on the fifth floor of Lewis's department store when I was a baby and never came back for me."

Since being left in the toys department, Tom has been passed from one foster home to another, never finding a loving family. When he hears rumors that a mass grave has been found on his school grounds, he feels himself drawn to it like nothing else in his life has affected him before. So Tom gets up in the middle of the night to go and have a good look at the grave, hopefully without getting caught. When Tom climbs under the fence, he falls, or really, gets pulled into the pit. He blacks out, spins through time, and awakens in Ireland in 1847, during the height of the potato famine. Thousands of people are starving to death and dying of disease. But despite the difficulty of feeding her own children, Mrs. Monaghan takes Tom into her home. Tom helps the Monaghans, but they also help him. He receives a sense of identity and belonging from the Monaghans that he has been searching for his whole life. Because of his unhappiness with his real life, Tom is in no hurry to return. Besides, Tom figures there has to be some reason he has traveled back in time to this particular place. Of course, there is a reason, and it is the key to his destiny.

Home of the Braves
by David Klass
(Romance)

Joe Brickman appears to have everything going his way at the start of his senior year. He expects to be the captain and star of his high school's soccer team and finally work up the courage to ask out his best friend and next-door neighbor, Kristine. But things don't work out as Joe expected. Events begin spiraling downward when Antonio Silva, also known as the Phenom transfers to Joe's high school. Phenom, short for Phenomenon, is the nickname he received on the Brazilian soccer fields. The Phenom takes over a starring role on the soccer team-Joe's soccer team-and begins dating Kristine-Joe's Kristine. But Joe is not totally devastated by the demolition of his dreams for his senior year and in the end manages to overcome the obstacles in his path to success and happiness.

The Land
by Mildred D. Taylor
(Historical Fiction)

Land.
Paul Logan's dream is to own his own land.
That dream becomes his obsession as he tries to find a way for a black man, like himself during Reconstruction in the South, to take possession of land like his white daddy owns.
Land.
Paul puts in years of backbreaking work to get his own land.
Then, after Paul works seven days a week clearing the land, chopping the trees, hacking the branches, burning the brush, and planting the cotton, his contract for ownership of the land is torn up in his face by the white landowner.
Land.
Paul ruthlessly remains determined to own his own land.
The banks refuse Paul the credit he needs to purchase the land he wants so badly.
Paul sells off his most precious possessions to earn enough money to buy the land.
But still that is not enough.
Land, though, is Paul's dream, and he won't give it up.

Martyn Pig
by Kevin Brooks
(Mystery)

The scene of the crime: Martyn and his father are watching television, a detective show. Now you have to understand that mysteries and suspense are the most important things in Martyn's life-more important even than his father. Martyn's father is very drunk by this time of the evening. He is making jokes about the detective and imitating the way the detective talks. Suddenly, Martyn explodes at his father, because since his father has talked through most of the program, Martyn realizes that he has missed the whole point of the show. Martyn yells a whole lot of things at his dad-things he shouldn't have said to a drunken man. And his dad doubles up his fist and swings at Martyn. Martyn dodges and shoves his dad away. His dad staggers across the room and falls against the fireplace wall, hitting his head with a sickening crack of bone on stone and collapses to lie much too still on the hearth.
Now Martyn is in shock. He knows that his father is dead, and he realizes that he has two choices. He can either tell the police what happened, that is was an accident, or he can get rid of the body and pretend to get on with the rest of his life. He decides to get rid of the body, and with the help of Alex, a girl from next door, Martyn makes plans to dispose of his father's dead body.
At first, he has everything under control. He and Alex have a plan. It even looks like everything is going to work out. Everything is going along so well. Too well, because when everything goes wrong, Martyn doesn't even see it coming.

Monster
by Walter Dean Myers
(Realistic Fiction)

Monster. What do you think of when you hear the word "Monster?" Horrible, scary creatures from science fiction movies, things that lurk in the dark corners when you are home all alone, or perhaps a teenager from a middle-class family who goes into and comes out of a drugstore where a murder takes place just minutes later? Monster is exactly what the prosecutor calls Steve, the teenager who spent time in the drugstore before a murder occurred. How Steve copes with these events is relayed through his journal entries and movie script. This is "the incredible story of how one guy's life was turned around by a few events and how he might have to spend the rest of his life behind bars. Told as it actually happened."

Night of the Bat
by Paul Zindel
(Horror)

I am NOT recommending this book to everyone. If you are at all weak of stomach, or freaked out by horror movies, this is NOT the book for you. But if you think you can handle it, this is THE grossest, most disgusting book I have read all year.
Jake travels to the Amazon to meet up with his father, a bat biologist and his expedition. It is clear from the beginning that his father did not want Jake to come and does not want him to stay. Why? Well, it is partly because Indian workmen are disappearing from the expedition. While Jake is temporarily allowed to stay at the camp, it is on his first climb up the rope bridges and suspended walkways that he discovers the mutilated bodies of the missing workmen and also triggers an attack by a winged beast four times the size of a man with saber-like fangs. Nobody thinks about what will happen though when the beast returns or what it will want with the rest of the expedition. Only Jake can figure a way for the rest of the expedition to escape, leaving him alone with the terrible winged creature.

Skeleton Key
by Anthony Horowitz
(Adventure)

Skeleton Key is the latest Alex Rider adventure by popular writer Anthony Horowitz. Of course the main character in this book is Alex Rider, the fourteen-year-old spy that MI6 has recruited and trained. In the previous two books in the series, Stormbreaker and Point Blanc, Alex has used his intelligence and cunning to defeat the evil forces and save the day. In this book, when MI6 begins to suspect something happening on Cuba, they send Alex to the CIA to work with two of their agents, so the three will look like a family. As usual Alex carries a collection of cunningly disguised gadgets, like a cell phone that disguises a hypodermic needle. These gadgets come in handy at just the right times. However when the two CIA agents are killed, Alex is on his own and unfortunately gets captured by the crazy General, Alexei Sarov, who wants Alex to become the son he has lost and help him to rule the world. But when Alex discovers what the General plans to do, Alex knows that he has to be stopped; however, the General is determined to succeed. Will Alex be able to stop the General in time? Or will the General succeed in detonating his nuclear bomb?

Son of the Mob
by Gordon Korman
(Humor)

Vince Luca is just like any other high school senior. All he wants is romance, friendship, and to get through school. Unfortunately, Vince has a problem. His wealthy family runs the "vending machine business" in New York City, and Vince doesn't want any part of it. Since his dad is really King of the Mob and his older brother serves as his father's lackey, Vince can't seem to avoid being tainted by the business. For example, Vince lands in jail because his sixteen-birthday present, a Porsche, turns out to be stolen. Even though Vince keeps a low profile at school, his family connection still brings him unwanted advantages like the football game where he makes touchdown after touchdown because word has gotten around about who is father is and no one is willing to tackle him. Even private conversations at home have to be carried out in the basement because the FBI has bugged the house and an agent is always listening. Vince's life is tangled up with the family's business no matter how hard he tries to separate himself from it. The Vince meets Kendra, and when she innocently reveals that her father's an FBI agent-the FBI agent assigned to listen to the Luca's every conversation-Vince thinks it's a match made in heaven.

The Thief Lord
by Cornelia Funke
(Mystery)

This story begins with the orphaned brothers, Prosper and Bo, who flee their evil aunt and uncle by running away to Venice. Once there, they join 3 other street kids who are living in an old movie theater called the Star Palace. Life in the abandoned theater is precarious. The kids support themselves by scavenging and stealing. Their ringleader is the mysterious Thief Lord, who appears from time to time with stolen riches that he gives to his poor friends. But before long, the fragile security of this little band comes under threat from adults, specifically the detective, Victor Getz, who is hired to find Prosper and Bo. Victor catches up with the orphan thieves just as the Thief Lord accepts a commission for a daring robbery. But Victor actually likes Bo and Prosper, and he doesn't want to turn them over to their aunt and uncle. Deciding that he is just the person to help them actually pull off a successful robbery, Victor gets a lot more adventure than he bargained for.

Things Not Seen
by Andrew Clements
(Humor)

"It's a Tuesday morning in February, and I get up as usual, and stumble into the bathroom to take a shower in the dark. Which is my school-day method because it's sort of like an extra ten minutes of sleep. It's after the shower. That's when it happens. It's when I turn on the bathroom light and wipe the fog off the mirror to comb my hair. It's what I see in the mirror. It's what I don't see.
I look a second time, and then rub at the mirror again. I'm not there. That's what I'm saying. I'm. Not. There."
What fifteen-year-old Bobby Phillips can't see is himself. Overnight, due to some strange scientific phenomenon, he turned invisible. His parents, leery of the media and the government, insist that he tell no one, but a car crash lands them in the hospital, temporarily leaving Bobby on his own.
But let me explain to you some of the problems involved with suddenly becoming invisible. When Bobby ventures out to the library, for example, he has to go naked, so that his clothes won't be seen floating through the streets with no body in them. Once there, he meets Alicia, a blind teenager whom he impulsively decides to trust but must convince that he's not crazy. Eventually, Children and Family Services begin hounding the Phillips, and Bobby is desperate to devise a plan to become visible again.

Wild Man Island
by Will Hobbs
(Adventure)

I had a plan. Unfortunately, my plan has totally fallen apart, but it sounded good when I first started out.
You see, on the last day of a sea kayaking trip in southeast Alaska, I paddled away from the group early in the morning. My heart told me that I had to visit the place where my father, an archeologist, died just a few miles away from where we were camping. Unfortunately and not according to plan, a sudden gale propelled me across the strait. I swam ashore, freezing and barefoot, onto Admiralty Island, which the Indians called the Fortress of the Bears.
I spent a few days hoping that the organizers of the kayak trip would send rescuers looking for Andy Galloway-that's me. But so far, no one has seen me here, so I've started walking. I am half numb with cold, and starvation is leading me further into the wild and closer to the bears and wolves. But if I don't find food soon, the animals won't be a concern any longer.

The Year of the Hangman
by Gary Blackwood
(Science Fiction/Fantasy)

The year is 1776. The British have just defeated the American rebels, captured General George Washington, and banished other known patriots like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin from the colonies. Now perhaps you have studied the American Revolution and know that the Americans actually defeated the British. But it didn't have to happen that way. The course of history often hinges on very small events. If any if a dozen things had taken a slightly different turn, the outcome might have been very different.
Into this new political mix, Creighton is dumped. Since his father, a loyal British soldier, has gone to the American colonies and been killed there, Creighton's mother has been unable to control her unruly son. Instead of disciplining Creighton, she sends him off to the colonies for his uncle to deal with. However, Colonel Gower, Creighton's uncle, soon demolishes Creighton's plans to return to England. The Colonel, along with his men and nephew, manage to get captured by the American revolutionaries who are now based in Florida, Spain's territory. Creighton finds himself at the center of political intrigue, a prison escape, arson, code cracking, and even a real duel. But the longer her stays with the American rebels, the more he thinks their cause is just. Will he turn on his own country, becoming a traitor, to help the American revolutionaries if given the chance? The Americans are not sure of Creighton's loyalty, and even Creighton himself cannot know what path her will choose until he is faced with that decision.