The Honest Truth, Dan Gemeinhart. The cancer has returned for a second time and 12-year old Mark is dying. With $100 in his pocket and Beau, his dog, in his backpack, he sets out to climb Mt. Rainier, the tallest mountain in North America. No notes, no hints are left for his parents to have a clue where he might have gone. Only Jessie, his best friend and confidant, knows where he went and swore she wouldn't reveal his plan. Despite her personal turmoil, she is keeping her promise. Along his journey, he comes across bullies that knock him down, stealing from him, and sweet Hispanic angels that hold him up and remind him of Jessie's family. Mark is sick and weak and tired and alone. He is making this climb for his grandfather. But with his face plastered on TV screens, he avoids people at all costs, until a gentle man in a pick-up truck finds him near frozen, picks him up, and recognizes him; yet, gives him a small window of time to complete his task before he will make a phone call. With Beau at every step, he begins his ascent of the mighty mountain.

This book will grip you from the very first page, the very first sentence, and hold you until the last sentence wraps itself around to the beginning. Each chapter shares how many miles Mark has left to get to the mountain and each half chapter is told from his one dear friend, Jessie. The climb will have you biting your nails with horror and fear. I found myself thinking about Mark and worried for his family, desperately looking for him. Was Mark selfish or selfless? A question I found myself asking over and over again. Perhaps, you will, too.

Rain, Reign, Ann Martin. Rose Weldon is a fifth grade autistic girl that has her own school para pro and is a collector of homonyms. In her notebook of alphabetized homonyms, she leaves blank spaces for new additions; however, if there is not enough space to add a new pair or trio, she starts the entire list over again. Rose lives with her dad, who gets impatient with her perseverations and obsession for following rules. Her mom left years ago, but her adoring uncle takes her to school each day and picks her up. One day, her dad brings home a stray dog that he found and Rose names him Rain/Reign because he was found in the rain. They become inseparable.

Hurricane Susan is approaching and the community begins to prepare. She comes with a vengeance: closing school, knocking out bridges, falling trees, but all survive. In the middle of repairing the damages, Rose's dad lets Rain out but forgets to bring her back in. Rose doesn't understand how he could do that . . . and without her collar for identification. She creates a plan for locating her by identifying all the animal shelters within a several mile radius of home and calling each one. Days and days pass. Finally, a shelter has a dog that fits Rain's description; however, when Rose and her uncle get to the shelter and identify her, they learn that Rain is actually named Olivia due to a microchip planted by her "real" owners. Being the rule follower that she is, she sets out to find Rain's true owners.

The author pulls at the reader's heartstrings with tenderness. Do we want Rose to find Rain's real owner? Aren't we happy that Rain and Rose have one another? Will Rain want her previous owner more than Rose? Will Rain's previous owner see the love between Rose and Rain? The ending brings surprises, tears and smiles. Be prepared to fall in love.

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.

Love, Ruby Lavender, Deborah Wiles. Ruby Lavender and her grandmother, Miss Eula, share a close, warm relationship and it is no secret in their small town that they stole three chickens, saving them from the slaughterhouse. A tree serves as their mailbox, sharing notes back and forth. When her grandmother decides to visit her newest grand baby in Hawaii, Ruby is devastated and misses her terribly, however, Ruby writes her regularly to keep her grandmother current with local events, secretly hoping that she doesn't fall in love with the baby, replacing her. Her grandmother is also missing her husband, who died a year earlier, along with Melba Jane's dad, Lavender's friend, in an accident. Their friendship shatters soon after, but with a little help from a new friend, Dove, they find their way back to each other. This is a lovely little story, sure to make any young reader smile.

Bluish, Virginia Hamilton. Natalie, or Bluish, as she comes to be called, has cancer. She lives in a wheelchair, wears a hat to cover her hairless head and falls asleep easily. The cancer treatments cause her to have a "bluish" cast to her skin. Dreenie and Tuli, classmates, struggle with how to befriend her because they are both scared and curious of Natalie. But become friends they do. This is a heartwarming tale of what it means to be a friend to someone that most others ignore. This slim book reads quickly and is interspersed with journal entries written by Dreenie.

See You at Harry's, Jo Knowles. A book for more mature readers because of the content. The story revolves around Fern (Charlotte's Web), the third child of four. Charlie (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), her three-year old brother, lovingly hangs on her, much to her dismay. Her 14-year old brother, Holden (Catcher in the Rye), is coming to grips with his sexuality, while fighting off bullies and avoiding the topic with his family who have already guessed that he is gay. Sara (The Little Princess), the oldest has no time for her family that owns an ice cream restaurant keeping mom and dad much too busy. Tragedy strikes, leaving each family member to deal with it in his/her own way. Ran and Cassie, Fern's best friends remain by her side, when her mother is unable to do so. Slowly, as the family struggles through their tears and heartache, they find one another and hold on tight. Though, their lives will never be the same and all that is left is love, they learn to give it away again. Have a box of tissues handy, as it is an emotionally charged story that will have you feeling the pain right along with them.

Lincoln's Grave Robbers, Steve Sheinkin. A favorite non fiction writer, this award winning author of Bomb, writes a juicy story of the real account of the attempt to steal the body of Abraham Lincoln. Counterfeiting money was a common crime in the mid-late 1800's, and at that time, the main role of the Secret Service was to collar the bandits. When the best known counterfeiter, Ben Boyd was imprisoned, plans were put into place to steal the president's body, ask for a ransom and the release of Boyd and continue with their counterfeiting business. However, the clever police Chief Patrick Tyrrell, thwarts their plans and Lincoln's body is able to finally rest in peace. This is a page turner of a story, sure to keep readers engrossed until the end.