Keeping The Castle by Patrice Kindl

Keeping the Castle: A Tale of Romance, Riches, and Real Estate
Patrice Kindl
Viking Press
261 pgs.

In order to support her family and maintain their ancient castle in Lesser Hoo, seventeen-year-old Althea bears the burden of finding a wealthy suitor who can remedy their financial problems.

Chickadee by Louise Erdich

Chickadee

Louise Erdich

Harper Collins Children's Books

196 pgs.

In 1866, Omakayas's son Chickadee is kidnapped by two ne'er-do-well brothers from his own tribe and must make a daring escape, forge unlikely friendships, and set out on an exciting and dangerous journey to get back home.

Sequel to The Porcupine Year

Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine

Lions of Little Rock
Kristin Levine
GP Putnam and Sons
298 pgs.

In 1958 Little Rock, Arkansas, painfully shy twelve-year-old Marlee sees her city and family divided over school integration, but her friendship with Liz, a new student, helps her find her voice and fight against racism. 

Dragon's of Silk by Laurence Yep

Dragon's of Silk by Laurence Yep
Harper Collins Children's Books
2011
339p.

Four generations of Chinese and Chinese-American girls, beginning in 1835, are tied together by the tradition of raising silkworms and the legacy of the legendary Weaving Maid.

Second Fiddle by Rosanne Parry

Second Fiddle by Rosanne Parry
Random House Books for Children
2011
233p.

Six months after the fall of the Berlin Wall, three eighth-grade girls living on an American military base with their families in Berlin try to save a Russian soldier, who has been beaten and left for dead, by smuggling him to Paris, where they are going to perform in a music competition.

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
Philomel Books
2011
344p.

In 1941, fifteen-year-old Lina, her mother, and brother are pulled from their Lithuanian home by Soviet guards and sent to Siberia, where her father is sentenced to death in a prison camp while she fights for her life, vowing to honor her family and the thousands like hers by burying her story in a jar on Lithuanian soil. Based on the author's family, includes a historical note.

All the World's a Stage by Gretchen Woelfe

All The World's a Stage: A Novel in Five Acts by Gretchen Woelfe
Holiday House
2011
163p.

Twelve-year-old orphan Christopher "Kit" Buckles becomes a stage boy in a London theater in 1598, tries his hand at acting, and later helps build the Globe Theater for playwright William Shakespeare and the Chamberlain's Men acting troupe.

The Year We Were Famous by Carole Estby Dagg

The Year We Were Famous by Carole Estby Dagg
Clarion Books
2011
250p.

A novel based on the true story of seventeen-year-old Clara Estby's walk across America with her mother Helga in 1896, to win a ten thousand dollar prize and save their home from foreclosure.

Ten Miles Past Normal by Francis O'Roark Dowell

Ten Miles Past Normal by Francis O'Roark Dowell
Atheneum Books For Young Readers
2011
211p.

Because living with "modern-hippy" parents on a goat farm means fourteen-year-old Janie Gorman cannot have a normal high school life, she tries joining Jam Band, making friends with Monster, and spending time with elderly former civil rights workers.

Dogtag Summer by Elizabeth Partridge

Dogtag Summer by Elizabeth Partridge
Bloomsbury Books for Young Readers
2011
229p.

In the summer of 1980 before she starts junior high school in Santa Rosa, California, Tracy, who was adopted from Vietnam when she was six years old, finds an old ammo box with a dog tag and picture that bring up painful memories for both her Vietnam-veteran father and her.

The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson

The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson
Delacorte Press
2011
176p.

Throughout the twentieth century, Miss Kanagawa, one of fifty-eight dolls made to serve as ambassadors from Japan to the United States, travels the country learning to love while changing the lives of those who need her.

Trouble With May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm

Trouble With May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm
Atheneum Books For Young Readers
2011
204p.

Living with seven brothers and her father, who thinks girls are useless, a thirteen-year-old Finnish American farm girl is determined to prove her worth when a enterprising gentleman tries to purchase their cash-strapped family settlement in Washington State in 1900.

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Harper Collins Children
2011
262p


Through a series of poems, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama.

Storyteller by Patricia Reilly Giff

Storyteller by Patricia Reilly Giff

Wendy Lamb Books
2010
166 p.

Summary:  Forced to spend months at an aunt's house, Elizabeth feel a connection to her ancestor Zee, whose picture hangs on the wall, and who reveals her story of hardships during the Revolutionary War as Elizabeth comes to terms with her own troubles.

Finding Family by Tonya Bolden

Finding Family by Tonya Bolden
Bloomsbury
2010
181 p.
Summary:  Raised in Charleston, West Virginia, at the turn of the twentieth century by her grandfather and aunt on off-putting tales of family members she has never met, twelve-year-old Delana is shocked when, after Aunt Tilley dies, she learns the truth about her parents and some of her other relatives.