The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow

I read this story after one of my student aides said he would read it for me.  He bought it at the school book fair and when he finished he said, "I don't usually read books but this was a really good book." I'm interested in the book to recommend to boys but I also read it because my mother lived in Berlin during the Nazi rule.  She had really not ever talked about the time so when stories can flesh out the time, I take a personal interest.  

Paper Covers Rock by Jenny Hubbard

Reached by Ally Condie

Matched, Crossed and now Reached!  The end is here.  Find out what happens to Ky, Cassia and Xander.

Ditched by Robin Mellom

This an adventure of miscommunication and great prom expectations.  Justine started confident and then at the first party she gets jealous when she see's her date talking to another girl.  His ex-girlfriend infact!

Cut by Patricia McCormick

Wow!  This book is very real.  It's very powerful and honest.  This is the second book I've read by Patricia McCormick and that was Sold another powerful story.  I was in tears at one point.  It's about a teenager who cuts herself and is now living in a place with girls who have other problems such as anorexia.  Callie is stone silent trying to keep control of every moment of her life.  Her scheduled visits with her therapist are one sided.  The waiting and process is a journey of learning and understanding.

Wildwing by Emily Whitman

This was a fun read.  It has romance, adventure and a bit mystery.  Go back in time, when people hunted with falcons, dined with plates made of bread and meet Will, a boy who trains falcons to hunt and falls in love with Addy.

authors website plus book trailer

If I Should Die by Amy Plum

I haven't read the first two books but I know that I would enjoy them.  Book 3 dives right in and catches the reader up with the unusual characters.  It's a love story of the supernatural kind between a human teen girl and a guy who's be been dead but is alive and immortal (no not a vampire or zombie).
It's a page turner with lots of action and even a good old fashion sword fight.  We get to travel in Paris and also New York City.   A good read.

The Poet Slave of Cuba by Margarita Engle

     This story was written in verses so powerful and evoking images that stay with you for a long time.
The illustrations are just as haunting.  The story of this man who was born a slave and how words made an impact on him and how his life as a slave and what he had to endure paints a vivid picture of a lifetime ago.
      Margarita Engle writes her own verses to retell Juan Francisco Manzano's  life.  You can't help but keep reading till you get to the end.