Three Times Lucky, Sheila Turnage. Mr. Jesse turns up dead shortly after Mo and her best friend Dale Earnhardt Johnson III "borrow" his boat for a fishing expedition. Although it is returned, Dale's footprints are at the scene of the crime. Together, they form the Desperado Detective Agency to help Joe Starr and Deputy Marla solve the murder. Moses "Mo" LoBeau belongs to Miss Lana and the Colonel when she found herself in Tupelo Landing at the height of a major hurricane. She continues to write letters to Upstream Mother, or send messages in a bottle, hoping to find her biological mother. One day a Mr. Slate shows up in town, asking questions that arise suspicion and busy body Mo keeps herself invested in the mystery. The Colonel disappears frequently and if gone for more than three days, he knows to make a quick call to put her and Miss Lana's mind at ease. His last disappearance comes at an improbable time because Miss Lana goes missing. Clues are coming closer and closer and time is running out to save her.

Turnage earned a Newbery Honor award for this delightful story. Getting lost and being found, friendship, and family make this a book worth reading. Find a comfy spot and dig in.

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.

Paperboy, Vince Vawter. This truly delightful Newbery Honor book about Victor Vollmer, III, is a treasure. A stutterer that uses as few words as possible is an unforgettable character. He is in charge of his best friend, Rat's, paper route for the month of June while he is away. He fears asking for his weekly collections and must think of words that start with less painful letters to ask for payment. However, he learns that adults, unlike kids, are not so cruel and he has favorite patrons that he hopes to see each week: Mrs. Worthington, the prettiest, but maybe the loneliest woman he has ever met, Mr. Spiro who tells him stories and gives him part of a dollar each week with a new word written on it, and TV boy, who comes to be an unlikely friend.

This story takes place in Memphis, during the time of civil unrest. Although that is not the focus of the book, his colored Mam takes care of him and she is his protector and his defender. She warns him to stay away from Ara T, the local shopping cart wielding thief. Mam has a past with him, and she shows her tigress when Victor's prized possessions and stash of newspaper money are stolen from his own room. She knows exactly who stole it and she sets out to make it better.

This is a new favorite story. The author, a stutterer himself, wrote a beautiful book worth reading.

Hattie Big Sky, Kirby Larson. The same author of my previous chat, has this Newbery Honor Book set three miles north and west of Vida, Montana during the height of WWI in 1918. Orphaned sixteen year old Hattie Inez Brooks is left 320 acres of land by her dying Uncle Chester. She, along with Mr. Whiskers, her cat for catching mice, decides to leave Aunt Ivy and Uncle Holt in Arlington, Iowa to stake her claim. Once there, she learns that she has to set 480 rods of fence and farm 40 acres within ten months. Hattie is hard working and determined to do all that is necessary to keep the land; however, lack of money, natural hardships and exhausting work make her task challenging. Perilee and Karl Mueller, with their three children and one on the way, become her steadfast friends. Leafie, Rooster Jim, Mr. Ebgard, the banker, also become important folk in her life. Then, there is charming, questionable Travis Martin, set on getting her land. Most chapters begin with a letter to Charlie, a childhood friend, off fighting the war in France, with whom she shares her life experiences. Never having been to Montana, Larson paints a lovely picture of this big sky country and its harsh beauty. For your historical fiction reader, this is a great read, with a strong female character sure to earn admirers.

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.