Ayres, Katherine. Macaroni Boy. Synopsis: In Pittsburgh in 1933, sixth grader Mike Costa notices a connection between several strange occurrences, but the only way he can find out the truth about what’s happening is to be nice to the class bully. Includes historical facts.

Collins, Suzanne. Gregor the Overlander. Synopsis: When eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister are pulled into a strange underground world, they trigger an epic battle involving men, bats, rats, cockroaches, and spiders while on a quest foretold by ancient prophecy.

Cushman, Karen. Rodzina. Synopsis: A twelve-year old Polish girl is boarded onto an orphan train in Chicago with fears about traveling to the West and a life of unpaid slavery.

DeFelice, Cynthia. Under the Same Sky. Synopsis: While trying to earn money for a motorbike, fourteen-year-old Joe Pedersesn becomes involved with the Mexicans who work on his family’s farm and develops a better relationship with his father.

DuPrau, Jeanne. The City of Ember. Synopsis: In the year 241, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a messenger, to run to new places in her beloved but decaying city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions.

Hesse, Karen. Aleutian Sparrow. Synopsis: An Aleutian Islander recounts her suffering during World War II in American internment camps designed to “protect” the population from the invading Japanese.

Hobbs, Will. Jackie’s Wild Seattle. Synopsis: Fourteen-year-old Shannon and her little brother, Cody, spend the summer with their uncle, helping at a wildlife rescue center named Jackie’s Wild Seattle.
 

Korelitz, Jean. Interference Powder. Synopsis: Fifth-grader Nina Cabin happens upon a strange powder that causes events in her life to change, and not always for the better, as the School’s Brain Buster Extravaganza approaches and she takes her best friend’s place as representative for their class.

Murphy, Jim. An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793. Synopsis: It’s 1793, and there’s an invisible killer roaming the streets of Philadelphia. The city’s residents are fleeing in fear. This killer has a name ? yellow fever ? but everything else about it is a mystery. Its cause is unknown and there is no cure. This powerful dramatic account by award-winning author Jim Murphy traces the devastating course of the epidemic. An American Plague offers a fascinating glimpse into the conditions in American cities at the time of our nation’s birth while drawing thought-provoking parallels to modern-day epidemics. 

Paulsen, Gary. How Angel Peterson Got His Name. Synopsis: Author Gary Paulsen relates tales from his youth in a small town in northwestern Minnesota in the late 1940s and early 1950s, such as skiing behind a souped-up car and imitating daredevil Evil Kneivel.

Ray, Delia. Ghost Girl. Synopsis: Eleven-year-old April is delighted when President and Mrs. Hoover build a school near her Madison County, Virginia home but her family’s poverty, grief over the accidental death of her brother, and other problems may mean that April can never learn to read from the wonderful teacher, Miss Vest.

Swallow, Pamela Curtis. It Only Looks Easy. Synopsis: On the first day of seventh grade when Kat “borrows” a bicycle to go see her dog who was hit the day before by a woman with Alzheimer’s disease, she learns about the serious consequences of impetuous actions and manages to make some new friends in the process.

White, Ruth. Tadpole. Synopsis: In rural Kentucky in 1955, Sheridan Collins, single mother of four lively girls, discovers that her orphaned nephew is being subject to brutality. 

Woodruff, Elvira. The Ravenmaster’s Secret. Synopsis: The eleven-year-old son of the Ravenmaster at the Tower of London befriends a Jacobite rebel being held prisoner there.

Woodson, Jacqueline. Locomotion Synopsis: In a series of poems, eleven-year-old Lonnie writes about his life, after the death of his parents, separated from his younger sister, living in a foster home, and finding his poetic voice at school.