Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff

Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
Philomel (Penguin)
2014

From Goodreads:
Albie has never been the smartest kid in his class. He has never been the tallest. Or the best at gym. Or the greatest artist. Or the most musical. In fact, Albie has a long list of the things he's not very good at. But then Albie gets a new babysitter, Calista, who helps him figure out all of the things he is good at and how he can take pride in himself.

Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd

Snicker of Magic, A by Natalie Lloyd

Scholastic Press, 2014

From Goodreads:
Midnight Gulch used to be a magical place, a town where people could sing up thunderstorms and dance up sunflowers. But that was long ago, before a curse drove the magic away. Twelve-year-old Felicity knows all about things like that; her nomadic mother is cursed with a wandering heart.

But when she arrives in Midnight Gulch, Felicity thinks her luck's about to change. A "word collector," Felicity sees words everywhere---shining above strangers, tucked into church eves, and tangled up her dog's floppy ears---but Midnight Gulch is the first place she's ever seen the word "home." And then there's Jonah, a mysterious, spiky-haired do-gooder who shimmers with words Felicity's never seen before, words that make Felicity's heart beat a little faster.

Felicity wants to stay in Midnight Gulch more than anything, but first, she'll need to figure out how to bring back the magic, breaking the spell that's been cast over the town . . . and her mother's broken heart.

A Snicker of Magic is well-loved by the Nerdy Bookclub and has been all over twitter.  I hear Lloyd read from the book at ALA Midwinter in Philadelphia and if that excerpt carries throughout the book - Lloyd would do well in style and delineation of characters.  But how will this early release debut fair with some of the seasoned authors releasing books this year including 2013 Honor Book winner Sheila Turnage? We shall see.

A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff - 2014

A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff
Philomel Books
230p.

Summary:
"Destiny leads 11-year-old Cady to a peanut butter factory, a family of children searching for their own Talents, and a Talent Thief who will alter her life forever"--Provided by publisher.

Center of Everything, The by Linda Urban - 2014

The Center of Everything by Linda Urban

Harcourt
197p.

 Summary:  For Ruby Pepperdine, the center of everything is on the rooftop of Pepperdine Motors, stargazing from the circle of her grandmother Gigi's hug. That's how everything is supposed to be--until it goes spinning out of control. Now Ruby's best friend, Lucy, is mad at her. Her new friendship with Nero is pretty bumpy too. Worst of all, Ruby regrets what happened with Gigi. How Ruby didn't listen. And now it's too late to make things right. But Ruby has one last hope. It all depends on what happens on Bunning Day, when the entire town will hear her read her winning essay. And it all depends on her twelfth birthday wish-- unless she messes that up too.

Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead

Liar & Spy
Rebecca Stead
Wendy Lamb Books
180 pgs.

Seventh-grader Georges adjusts to moving from a house to an apartment, his father's efforts to start a new business, his mother's extra shifts as a nurse, being picked on at school, and Safer, a boy who wants his help spying on another resident of their building.

Kindred Souls by Patricia MacLachlan

Kindred Souls by Patricia MacLachlan
HarperCollins Children's Books
119 pg.


Ten year-old Jake shares a special bond with his grandfather, Billy, but when Billy asks Jake to build him a sod house, Jake is not sure he wants to do it.

Curveball by Jordan Sonnenblick

Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip by Jordan Sonnenblick
Scholastic Press
285 pg.


After an injury ends former star pitcher Peter Friedman's athletic dreams, he concentrates on photography which leads him to a girlfriend, new fame as a high school sports photographer, and a deeper relationship with the beloved grandfather who, when he realizes he is becoming senile, gives Pete all of his professional camera gear.

Crow by Barbara Wright

Crow
Barbara Wright
Random House
297 pg.


In 1898, Moses Thomas's summer vacation does not go exactly as planned as he contends with family problems and the ever-changing alliances among his friends at the same time as he is exposed to the escalating tension between the African-American and white communities of Wilmington, North Carolina.

Dumpling Days by Grace Lin

Dumpling Days
Grace Lin
Little, Brown
261 pgs.

When Pacy, her two sisters, and their parents go to Taiwan to celebrate Grandma's sixtieth birthday, the girls learn a great deal about their heritage.

Money We'll Save, The by Brock Cole

The Money We'll Save by Brock Cole
Farrar Strauss Giroux
2011
unpaged

In nineteenth-century New York City, when Pa brings home a young turkey in hopes of saving money on their Christmas dinner, his family faces all sorts of trouble--and expense--in their tiny apartment.

Never Forgotten by Patricia McKissack

Never Forgotten by Patricia McKissack
Schwartz and Wade
2011
Unpaged

In eighteenth-century West Africa, a boy raised by his blacksmith father and the Mother Elements--Wind, Fire, Water, and Earth--is captured and taken to America as a slave.

City of Orphans by Avi

City of Orphans by Avi
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
2011
351p.

In 1893 New York, thirteen-year-old Maks, a newsboy, teams up with Willa, a homeless girl, to clear his older sister, Emma, from charges that she stole from the brand new Waldorf Hotel, where she works. Includes historical notes.

The Aviary by Kathleen O'Dell

The Aviary by Kathleen O'Dell
Alfred A. Knopf
2011
33p.

In late nineteenth-century Maine, isolated, eleven-year-old Clara Dooley gains a friend and uncovers a magical secret that changes her life when she learns to care for the once-feared birds in the aviary attached to the Glendoveer mansion where she lives.

Hound Dog True by Linda Urban

Hound Dog True by Linda Urban
Harcourt
2011
152p.

Mattie, a shy fifth-grader, wants to hide out at her new school by acting as apprentice to her Uncle Potluck, the custodian, but her plan falls apart when she summons the courage to speak about what matters most and finds a true friend.

Luck of the Buttons by Anne Ylvisaker

Luck of the Buttons by Anne Ylvisaker
Candlewick Press
2011
224 p.


In Iowa circa 1929, spunky twelve-year-old Tugs vows to turn her family's luck around with the help of a Brownie camera and a small-town mystery that only she can solve.

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
Scholastic Press
2011
608p.

Having lost his mother and his hearing in a short time, twelve-year-old Ben leaves his Minnesota home in 1977 to seek the father he never knew in New York City, and meets there Rose, who is also longing for something missing from her life. Ben's story is told in words; Rose's in pictures.

Mostly True Story of Jack by Kelly Barnhill

Mostly True Story of Jack by Kelly Barnhill
Little, Brown
2011
323p.



Jack is practically invisible at home, but when his parents send him to Hazelwood, Iowa, to spend a summer with his odd aunt and uncle, he suddenly makes friends, is beaten up by the town bully, and is plotted against by the richest man in town.

Mo Wren, Lost and Found by Tricia Springstubb

Mo Wren, Lost and Found by Tricia Springstubb
Balzer + Bray
2011
248p.


When eleven-year-old Mo's mother dies in an accident and Mo's devastated father deals with the loss by moving the family to a new town and starting a new life as the owner of a sports bar, Mo must leave her much loved neighborhood on Fox Street to live in an apartment above the "cursed" Corky's Tavern.

Lunch-Box Dream by Tony Abbott

Lunch-Box Dream by Tony Abbott
Farrar Straus Giroux
2011
178p.

Told from multiple points of view, a white family on a 1959 road trip between Ohio and Florida, visiting Civil War battlefields along the way, crosses paths with a black family near Atlanta, where one of their children has gone missing.

Dancing Home by Alma Flor Ada

Dancing Home by Alma Flor Ada
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
2011
147p.

When Margie's cousin Lupe comes from Mexico to live in California with Margie's family, Lupe must adapt to America, while Margie, who thought it would be fun to have her cousin there, finds that she is embarrassed by her in school and jealous of her at home.