One Came Home, Amy Timberlake. A unidentifiable body is buried in a pine box and all but Georgie, or Georgiana, assume it is Agatha, Georgie's older sister. The year is 1871 and she goes to Billy McCabe, the man who kissed her sister, to rent a horse. Instead, she gets a donkey named Long Ears and Billy's company, who insists on traveling with her. They set out to search for Agatha. They make it to Dog Hollow and meet the Garrow family, who provide little information but enough suspicions to keep Georgie and Billy curious. As they continue on, she comes across a cave full of counterfeit money and printing presses. They know they will be hunted so they make a run for it, only to be found, trapped and threatened. Billy is shot and in need of medical attention. Georgie must get him help. Mr. Olmstead, the other man in Agatha's life, finds them, helps out, but also must tell Georgie that her Grandpa Bolte has died. When she arrives home, she is no closer to finding her sister and must accept that her sister is dead. Until . . . a letter arrives.

This is a Newbery Honor book worth its award. From the first page, the reader is among the mourners at Agatha's funeral. A decomposed body, a familiar looking dress, a pine box, disbelief. Readers will be pleased.

The False Prince, Jennifer Nielsen. Sage, along with three other boys are found by Mr. Connor, who is looking for an orphaned boy to replace the dead Prince Jeron, He, his parents and older brother, the rightful heir to the thrown, perished in a sinking boat. Because the boys resemble the late prince, they are chosen, but must become proficient in various tasks to be deemed the winning choice: sword fighting, reading, learning manners, magic, cleanliness. Each have strengths and weaknesses. The first night, when the boys are offered the opportunity to leave with no repercussions, Latamer chooses to do that. He is shot in the back by Cregan, leaving Rodin, Tobias and Sage to compete for the thrown. The two left behind fear the same fate as Latamer. Imogene, a small mute servant girl aids Sage when he endures beatings, solitary confinement and starvation. Sage is most like Jeron; however, his mischievous behavior causes friction between him and Connor.

For the readers of fantasy, this is a sure fire win. The deeper one gets into the story, the more one cannot be pulled out easily. It is fast paced, with a mix of curiosity, thrilling scenes, good vs. evil and a touch of romance. The Runaway King, the follow-up will surely be sought out.

Chomp. Carl Hiaasen. The Florida everglades. Alice, the alligator. Reality TV.  Pythons, gators and bats. A boy named Wahoo, a girl named Tuna and a hamster named Floyd all make for a thrilling story sure to keep readers engaged. Wahoo and his dad, in need of money to pay the mortgage, take on the job of assisting Derek Badger, the celebrity TV survivalist star. However, they soon learn how unrealistic the star is and how out of place he is in the raw wild. While wielding snakes and alligators, Wahoo and his dad, Mickey, chance upon a school friend of Wahoo's, named Tuna, who is running away from her abusive, drunken father. They take her with them on the boat ride into the everglades where Tuna, an Expedition Survivor! fan witnesses the stunt double used by Badger when he parachutes from a helicopter beginning his newest adventure. When Tuna makes a phone call to her father, wanting to tell him to feed Floyd, he realizes where she is and comes looking for her with a fully loaded pistol. With heart pounding, pages fly as the reader worries for Mickey, caught in the grasp of Tuna's dad, Link, the boater with a bullet in his shoulder, Derek, lost somewhere in the wild and Tuna, caught in the middle. A sure fire enjoyable read.

A Mango-Shaped Space, Wendy Mass. The ability to see numbers in colors can be a good thing or a bad thing for Mia. It is certainly bad when it interrupts with  her understanding math. Yet, her world is full of precise colors helping her stay connected to her grandfather who passed away. While burying him, a cat meandered his way into her life and Mango came home with her to live. When she finally tells her parents about her unique gift, she is taken to Dr. Jerry who labels her with synesthesia, or when ones senses and colors intertwine. She is invited to attend a workshop hosted by her new doctor and meet others dealing with variations of the same thing, including Adam, a boy she thinks she likes.

She is avoiding Roger and the other group members on finishing their group project and her best friend, Jenna, is preoccupied with her upcoming birthday party and doesn't know what Mia is going through. Beth, her sister, and Zach, her brother, have no sympathy for her . It seems as though Mango is the one friend that continues to be there for her, until one day he is not. Mia's life spirals out of control and her world turns colorless.

Wendy Mass proves herself with each book to be a writer worth reading.  She brings her characters to life, with emotions and feelings that find us rooting for them. I find myself eagerly awaiting her next story.

Masterminds, Gordon Korman. What a ride of a story. Serenity is home to 185 people and voted the country's best spot to live. And, with the town boasting honesty, harmony and contentment, who would want to leave. Everyone knows everyone and the adults either work for the Serenity Plastics Works, the world's largest producer of orange construction cones, or the Surety, dubbed the Purple People Eaters, by the kids. When Randy talks Eli into riding their bikes out past the sign, Now Leaving Serenity -- America's Ideal Community, Eli gets violently ill and must be helicoptered back home. Soon after, Randy, his best friend, is leaving to go live with his grandparents. Confused that Randy is forced to leave so unexpectedly, Eli searches for clues and finds a letter left by his friend saying that something "screwy" is going on in Serenity. He shares the letter with a few classmates, thus setting off a heart racing, page turning climb into the heart of this cozy little town, the Plastics Works factory. It is a race against evil, a race against the unknown, a race against the Purple People Eaters. Their only hope is Randy and how to get to him.

This is surely going to leave the reader ready for the next installment and yearning for answers left untold.  What a delicious read aloud this would make for any upper elementary classroom.

The Girl Who Threw Butterflies, Mick Cochrane. Molly Williams lost her father in a mysterious car accident and her mom is unable to come out of her grieving rut to give her much attention. She lost interest in playing softball with the girls and decides to try out for the boys baseball team. Her father taught her everything about the American pastime, inluding how to throw the unpredictable and inconsistent, yet mighty effective knuckleball. During tryouts, she grabs the attention of Coach Morales and makes the team, much to the chagrin of her teasing teammates. Lonnie, the one teammate who will throw pitches with her, becomes her personal catcher and friend. Echoes of Molly's father and their close relationship whisper throughout the story, and readers find themselves missing him just as much. This is a sweet story about loss and friendship and remembering and moving on. We, along with her teammates, find ourselves rooting for her and wishing her father were in the stands yelling her name.