Pax, Sara Pennypacker. Peter, a young boy and Pax, his pet fox are inseparable. Peter's mother died on her way to the grocery store and his unfeeling father must leave for war, meaning Peter must go to live with his grandfather. On their way, they stop by the edge of a woods to drop Pax off, who has never had to fend for himself. Realizing he made a terrible mistake, Peter runs away from his grandfather's to go back to hopefully find Pax in the same spot. He trips. He breaks his leg. He wakes up in the home of Vola, a reclusive woman who has her own demons to work through. She insists Peter stay with her so his leg can be casted and healed. Despite his protests, he stays; however, itching to leave and make his way back to Pax. She gives him three conditions and then she will let him go. When he senses he must leave, she says she can take him into town to catch a bus that will take him two-thirds of the way there. He consents; however, he has his own three conditions for her.

Told in alternate chapters by Peter and Pax. the reader follows the two as they make their way through war torn lands, coyote attacks and uncertain futures, back to one another. This is an emotional story sure to tug at the heartstrings as they realize they may not be able to go back to the way things once were.

The Boy on the Wooden Box, Leon Leyson. This is a memoir written by a man that survived the Holocaust due to Oskar Schindler, the very man renowned for saving hundreds of Jews during WWII. Leon and his family moved from rural Narewka, Poland to the bigger city of Krakow when his father got a new job. When the Nazis conquered Poland, Leon, his parents, three brothers and sister were taken away by train to live in the ghetto behind the barbed wire fence. From there, they were transported to work camps where their hope was tested over and over. Beatings, starvation, sickness, fatigue and separation were a constant. Gas chambers, massacres, massive graves were all around. Sunken eyes, caved in bodies, hollow souls. Leon remembers the day his older brother Tsalig was taken away by train and never seen again.

Leon's father, good with locks, happened to impress a Nazi soldier who allowed him to stay in his employ. It was none other than Schindler himself.  Despite the horror of the camps, the family had an angel looking out for them. Little did they realize how much Schindler himself was going out on a limb to protect his Jewish employees.

When the allies came to Poland, capturing the German soldiers and releasing the Jews, Leon, his parents, one brother and his sister lived to tell their stories. Leon followed his parents to Los Angeles where he closed himself off from his past and made a new life. His experiences remained silent, until others encouraged him to tell the world his story. Here it is. Read it. Be moved. Never forget.

The War that Saved My Life, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. Young Ada, living in England at the start of WWII, has never left the rat-and-roach-infested apartment where she lives with her younger brother, Jamie and her Mam. Ada has a club foot and her Mam deems it too embarrassing to let her outside. Her only connection with the world is looking out a window and waving. She gets around by crawling, until she forces herself up on her feet, painfully learning to walk. One night, when all the children are leaving on trains for the countryside, Ada and her brother sneak out, joining the evacuation. Upon arriving to the outskirts of England, when all the children are provided a home, Ada and Jamie are forced upon Susan, the local spinster, who doesn't want them either. However, through Ada's nightmares and Jamie's bed wetting, Susan warms to them, despite their resistance. She encourages Ada to go outside, getting her a pair of crutches to get around. Butter, the pony, becomes her first friend, whom she learns to ride like the little girl she saw from the train window. Wanting to get Ada the surgery she needs to correct her foot, Susan consistently sends letters to Mam asking for permission, only to be met with silence. Despite feelings of unworthiness, Susan is persistent and shows Ada she is smart, capable and lovable. Ada makes friends, Jamie goes to school and life takes on a routine until the air raid sirens go off, forcing them to below ground shelters. Susan is encouraged to send them further away, but she holds tight, maintaining they will stay together.

One day, on her trek to help Fred with the horses, she notices an unusual sighting: a man rowing ashore, burying something in the ground and walking toward the road. Told that any suspicious behavior should be reported to the authorities, she races to the police station, only to be met with chuckles. Standing strong and waiting to tell someone that will listen, they soon find out that the man was, indeed, a spy.

As war is getting closer and closer, Ada and Jamie arrive home one afternoon to find Mam standing outside the house. She forces them to go home with her and there is nothing Susan can do, but try to give Jamie his cherished copy of The Swiss Family Robinson. The stench, the rats, the lack of food, the hatred all come rushing back to them both. With Mam having taken Ada's shoes and crutches and air raid sirens going off, they hold each other tight, wanting to go "home."

This is beautiful and I couldn't stop reading it. The reader will be right next to Ada as she continues to triumph over the hand life dealt her. She learns to love and accept and believe and hang on. She is a character with grit and fortitude and fingernails to hang on. Read it and be moved.

All the Answers, Kate Messner. When Ava fumbled through a desk drawer, looking for a pencil, she never would have thought the ups and downs that pencil would give her. While taking a test at school, she learns that the blue pencil gives her answers to questions she writes down. She shares it with her best friend, Sophie, who also hears the voice. Through giggles and laughter, they ask all kinds of benign questions and get answers to almost everything. They use the pencil for good when they find out what the elder residents truly want when they visit the home where Ava's grandfather lives. Some are easy to acquire, like an old baseball or a pair of wool socks. Others are more challenging, like her grandfather wanting Ava's mother's forgiveness. The pencil brings Ava anxiety when she learns her mother has cancer but doesn't yet know it. She convinces her mom to keep her mammogram appointment instead of chaperoning on her field trip to the nature center high ropes course. To keep her mind off her mom's day, she forces herself to fret through each obstacle despite her wretched anxiety. She ends up being only one of ten kids to complete all ten obstacles.

One day in school, she learns her grandfather is not doing well. She leaves school, walking to the home, hoping to convince her mom to forgive her father. But, she also learns more about the voice behind the pencil.

This is a moving story that, at first, appears lighthearted and magical, yet has so much depth. It goes far beyond a talking pencil, but latches onto loss, life and acceptance. It wraps its arms around you, hugs you and stays with you. Don't miss out on this moving story.

Circus Mirandus, Cassie Beasley. Micah is on a quest to save his grandfather, Ephraim Tuttle, who lies in bed waiting to die. His great aunt Gertrudis, come to help out, is strict and won't let Micah spend too much time with his grandfather and his crazy circus stories, but on his rare visits with him, Grandfather Ephraim tells Micah that the stories are true and that Micah has to find the get the Lightbender to come and fulfill his long ago promise to Ephraim when he offered him one miracle. Along with his new best friend, Jenny Mendoza, she and Micah, sneak out, find their way to the awesome Circus Mirandus, but without a ticket, they are denied, until Micah realizes he has his quipo, a school project full of perfect knots, that it is accepted as an invitation - much better than a ticket. Making their way through all the dizzying circus acts, they finally find the Lightbender, begging him to come save his grandfather, but it is not as easy as Micah thought. He is directed to Rosebud's little wagon where she gives him a potion to give his Ephraim, which Micah does. Miraculously, he is up and out of bed and he and Micah spend the entire day and night together, much to the chagrin of Aunt Gertrudis. It is a night of enchantment, story telling and memory building. When Ephraim goes to his bed again, Micah learns more about the miracle and who it was truly intended for.

This is a wonderful story by a first time writer. Reminiscent of The Polar Express, written by Chris van Allsburg, this is a story for those that truly believe. Read it and be enchanted.

A Handful of Stars, Cynthia Lord. Lucy's dog, Lucky, is blind, so she hopes to raise $2000 for her to have cataract surgery. One day, when Lucky runs away and can't hear Lily calling her, she is stopped by Salma, a migrant worker who picks blueberries for the summer. Lily and Salma become friends and go into business together painting and selling birdhouses, raising money for the surgery. Lily realizes that people love Salma's whimsical painting style and despite Lily's envy she comes to appreciate her talent. Hannah, Lily's former best friend, who is more interested in boys than playing paper dolls, takes an interest in Salma and encourages her to enter the Downeast Blueberry Queen contest. Lily is worried that the judges will not accept her migrant status because all previous contestants, including her mom and Hannah, have been local blondes. Hannah loans Salma her dress from the previous year and they practice responding to questions she could be asked.

Lord, the author of Rules, writes another charming story of an unexpected friendship. The handful of characters are likable and the story will leave you wanting to try a blueberry enchilada.

The Marvels, Brian Selznick. Most definitely, Selznick has created a new style of writing. With the first 386 pages all strikingly beautiful pencil drawings, a story unfolds that takes us back to 1766. When two brothers escape the sinking Kraken, and land on an island with their dog, Tar, one brother is buried. The surviving brother, Billy Marvel, stumbles upon the Shakespearean Royal Theater stage as an actor, leaving his mark. His future heirs follow in his footsteps, until Leo seeks a different path and goes in search of the sea. When a fire blazes through the theater, Leo rushes back, hoping to save his grandfather. There, the pictures stop, leaving us to wonder.

Following is the written story of Joseph, a boarding school runaway, on a quest to find his uncle, Alfred Nightingale (his mom's brother), in the small village of Spitalfields at 18 Folgate Street, London. Once he finds him and is reluctantly invited into the house, he is transported back years and years to fancy chandeliers, crystal tea cups and china dishware, all laid out with a detailed precision. Trying to piece together the story of his family and convinced A. Nightingale has the answers, he and Frankie, or Frances, his new found friend, steal a box of cassette tapes that tells  it all, which correlates exactly with the illustrated story. Glued to his uncle's every word, the story unfolds until it just stops . . . like the drawings. Joseph will not quit until he gets answers.

The reader will be as surprised as Joseph when he learns the truth. What commences is a relationship that endures. Pick up this book and get immersed in the story within a story within a story. I dare you to put it down before you finish.