Wake Up Missing, Kate Messner. Cat had a concussion, leaving her with headaches and dizziness. When her parents come across a scientific experiment that she can be a part of, they jump at it. She is flown to a remote region to begin the trial with two doctors: Dr. Ames and Dr. Gunther. Once there, she meets up with other kids there for the same reason. Phase one gives her instant relief, which includes oxygenation, walking on a treadmill to re-calibrate her system and new medicines. Early in her stay, she ventures out of her room only to overhear a conversation between the two doctors that leaves her suspicious and uncomfortable. One of the other girls, Sarah, already has her suspicions because the boy she liked, Trent, is changing and not for the better. Cat begins to agree with her. Her fears are confirmed by Molly, the woman that transported the kids by boat to the island, so they plan to meet up with her that night and escape back to the mainland. When she doesn't show up, Dr. Ames finds them and gets suspicious and stays outside Cat's room all night. The next morning, the kids are told the trial is over and that all parents have been called to come and pick them up.

The truth is that the doctors aren't planning on sending them home but somewhere else to further their experiment. Their plan it to take DNA from famous dead scientists, like Albert Einstein, Marie Curry and Robert Oppenheimer, to recreate their genius. The kids finally find a way to escape but not before Cat insists on sneaking into Dr. Ames' office to grab his computer. While traveling through the swamps, they must hide from Ames and his henchmen. They soon learn why Molly didn't meet them that night.

Readers will be on the edge of their seat as they traverse swampy terrain where alligators roam, escaping men with guns and a mad doctor on the loose.

Took, Mary Downing Hahn. Daniel and Erica are forced to leave their home in Connecticut for Brewster's Hill, Massachusetts because their dad lost his job. They move into a beaten down old farm house with no neighbors or friends near by. The school kids do not welcome them, except to tell them scary stories about the old witch, called Old Auntie and her pet, Bloody Bones, that "took" a girl 50 years ago. Now, they say, it is time for a new girl. Erica begins to grow reclusive and talks to her doll more and more, causing concern. Daniel gets worried when Erica disappears and knows she has been "took." He must find Old Auntie himself, confront her in the deep dark woods and save his sister.

Mary Downing Hahn is the queen of scare and this book will not disappoint her fans. This is her latest ghost story sure to keep readers pinned to their seat.

Promises to the Dead, Mary Downing Hahn. At the prelude to the Civil War, Jesse is out turtle hunting for his uncle's soup when he comes across a runaway slave with her boy, Perry. She is about to give birth and asks Jesse to get help. During the delivery, but knowing she is about to die, she forces Jesse to promise to take her son to his aunt in Maryland. Keeping his word, he takes little Perry with him but runs into the colonel that is looking for his runaway slave girl. Realizing Jesse knows more than he will tell, he stalks him and follows him to Maryland. Jesse finds Perry's rightful aunt and grandmother, fulfilling his promise. He soon confronts the colonel again and learns surprising information that leaves him conflicted.

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.

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.

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.

Spy School, Stuart Gibbs. Ben is a math whiz, but not a spy. Yet, he was recruited by Alexander Hale, to attend spy school as a ruse. His first night there, he gets attacked by ninjas, yet, able to defend himself with a tennis racket . . . not exactly spy equipment. He is not sure whom to trust: Chip Schacter, the bully that ridicules his lack of talents, Erica, the beautiful daughter of Alexander Hale, that attacks him while serving time in The Box, yet leads him to freedom, Alexander Hale, himself, who isn't much of a spy, or Murray Hill, the boy that rescued him from Chip. Being a first year student, he doesn't hold much credibility with the other students or professors. Learning he was a plant, he is determined to prove himself a capable and worthy spy for the CIA. His best friend, Mike, who thinks Ben is away at science school gets wrapped into the frenzy of finding the double agent that planted a bomb. When Ben finally discovers and confronts the guilty one. a bomb has been set with five minutes left before the bomb goes boom. How will Ben, along with an unconscious Erica, stop the explosion and find the dirty culprit?

Excitement, intrigue and curiosity await the reader. Readers who enjoyed Belly Up, Gibbs' first book, will be delighted with this next story.

100 Cupboards, N.D. Wilson.  The first in a series of three books, this will delight young fans of the fantastical world of what lies on the other side of the doors - cupboard doors, that is. Young Henry, off to live with his Uncle Frank, Aunt Dotty and three cousins: Anastashia, Penelope and Henrietta, the one with whom he travels to other worlds, hears some thumps and bumps in the night. Henry pulls the wall apart in his room to find various sized cupboard doors, of different sizes and shapes that had been hidden for years. Some lead to goodness and others lead to evil. He and Henrietta, having found a journal, explore many of the doors, only to get lost, escape danger and pursue the mystery of their grandfather and how the cupboard doors came to be. This book was recommended to me by a student and this story is sure to win the hearts of many young readers.

Loot, Jude Watson. March McQuin and his father, Alfie are jewel thieves. After watching his father fall to his death, March soon learns that he has a twin sister, Jule and both are being sent away to an orphanage. However, they have no intention of staying. Carlotta Grimstone, a rich baronness wants March and Jules to find her seven stolen moonstones, return them to her and earn seven million dollars. She needs them before the next blue moon (two full moons within one month) to prevent her own death. With their new found friends, Izzy and Darius, they embark on a jewel heist of all heists. With hints from their dead father and their own skills, they come face to face with danger and a sliver amount of time remaining. A fast paced, thrilling story with likable characters, readers will find themselves rooting for the young thieves to outwit those out to stop them and continue the legacy of their father, Alfred March.

The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman. This is a deliciously creepy story about a young boy, named Bod, for Nobody Owens, who escapes being murdered at a very young age. The man Jack murders the boy's parents and older sister and is on his way to the nursery, only to find the crib empty and the toddler nowhere to be found. Thus begins the story of how Bod comes to live in the cemetery to be taken care of by ghosts, followed by many adventures that take him outside the graveyard among the living. This 2009 Newbery Medal book will be well received by young readers that enjoy the thrill of being on the edge. The few illustrations add the right amount of intrigue. Be sure to read the author's Newbery Medal acceptance speech at the back of the book, including this: "Reading is important. Books are important. Librarians are important. Children's fiction is the the most important fiction of all."

Revolver, Marcus Sedgwick. What a thrill of a read. The cover and title are enough to draw a reader into its fast turning pages. This was a "Chloe-you'll-have-to-wait-until-I-finish-this-book-before-our-walk" kind of story. It drew me in from the first two quotes, followed by the first line, "Even the dead tell stories." And those stories will arise from young Sig's dead father laying on the table only feet from him, who can't be buried because the ground in Giron, 68 Latitude North is just too frozen. The year is 1910 and hopes of gold brought Einar Andersson, his wife and two children north to the frigid temperatures. Stranded in this remote area, finding work as an Assayist (one who checks the purity of gold), Einar comes across Mr. Wolff, a giant of a man, demanding to have his gold tested. When told his gold is worthless, Wolff strikes a deal with Einar, only to be tricked and angered, setting off a ten year search for the constantly moving Andersson family. He finally finds him as Einar's chilling, decaying corpse lays on the table with Sig watching over him. demanding his share of the gold, of which Sig and his sister, Anna, know nothing. Their only hope of survival lives in a box in the pantry: an 1873 single action Army Colt revolver. But Wolff has his own gun. The ending has a satisfying twist that may surprise you.

I recommend reading this before suggesting it to mature readers, due to content that some may consider questionable. If this were a movie, it would probably be rated PG-13. This book earned the Prinz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature.

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library, Chris Grabenstein. Kyle Keeley is on a quest to earn the top prize by escaping from the newest library created and designed by none other than the Mr. Lemoncello, game wizard and book nerd, himself. In similar fashion of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, 12 contestants are allowed entry and slowly, many are tossed out due to selfish and greedy reasons. The contest begins in the library with 24 hours to find their way out of the library. With loads of mind games, puzzles and references to book titles, contestants must use their library knowledge, especially the Dewey Decimal System to come out on top. Holograms and game tactics, such as "ask a friend" and "shout out" can be utilized to further gain information. Soon, teams form and brains work together to solve the clues.

This is a fun book and would make a great read aloud. It smacks of "7 habits" because the two final teams clearly demonstrate how synergizing gets the job done, or not done, in the case of one team.

Under the Egg, Laura Marx Fitzgerald. Times are tough for Theodora (Theo) Tenpenny and her mother, more obsessed with solving mathematical theorems, than being a mother. Theo's beloved grandfather, Jack, worked as a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and she was a frequent visitor, becoming knowledgeable of famous pieces of art and their artists. Upon Jack's deathbed, he uttered these words to her, "It's under the egg. Look under the egg. There's . . . a letter. And a treasure." These few "misinterpreted" words, along with finding a painting in the house believed to be of significant value, leads Theo and her new friend, Bodhi, a famous, pampered movie star, on a hunt. With help from the local librarians, the Internet and primary resources, they learn that Jack was a POW during WWII and creatively hid a famous, unknown painting by Raphael. This leads to more questions about who her grandfather really was and how he came to have such a painting in his possession.

The author provides some background information on Raphael and his work, along with other famous painters. This is a great story; however, more for your sophisticated readers that are ready for an art history lesson, as well as Nazi Germany and the Monument Men.

Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy, Karen Foxlee. Ophelia Jane Worthington-Whittard, a young cynic of anything beyond the ordinary, moves to a museum with her sister, Alice, and their father who takes the job as curator of swords. Upon exploring the seven floors of the museum which houses everything from stuffed elephants to crowns and tiaras, she comes across a boy trapped behind a door on the third floor. After accepting that he is real and needs her help to free him from the Snow Queen, she sets off on several adventures to obtain three keys necessary to open the door. She must endure talking ghosts, hungry birds and the watchful eye of Miss Kaminski. Throughout the story, she learns the story of how "the boy" came to lose his name and how he got trapped for hundreds of years behind the door.

This would make a great read aloud. I found it to be fun with just the right amount of intrigue to keep kids wanting more. Once the kids know the book, it would make a marvelous mentor text for how to use lists; they are prolific throughout.

Doll Bones, by Holly Black. Middle schoolers Poppy, Zach and Alice are best friends and unashamedly use their imagination to play make believe using dolls as pirates, thieves and mermaids. The Great Queen, a China doll, rules from behind a locked cabinet inside Poppy's home. Tension arises, however, when Zach's dad, who has come back home after being absent for three years throws away all of Zach's action figures, hoping he will give up childish games and play basketball. Zach is devastated, and rather than tell the girls, he simply says he won't play the game anymore. The girls struggle with trying to determine the real reason for his sudden disinterest and yet keep their own secret from him. Poppy tells Zach and Alice of her dream requesting her to put the Great Queen in her rightful resting place, the cemetery in East Liverpool a couple of hours away. After some convincing by Poppy, they combine their money, along with backpacks full of necessities and head out for the bus that leaves in the wee hours of the morning. Many adventures await them, and strange things happen along the way, making Zach think that the Great Queen's ghost is real. Wanting to warm up, they sneak into a nearby library and accidentally fall asleep. The next morning, they are discovered by the librarian, who demands they each call their families. The quest is in jeopardy, until a final plan is put into place.

This Newbery Honor Book is a delightful story that would be a fun, juicy read aloud or to recommend to that student that likes a bit of spookiness but not too much to truly scare.