Best Juvenile Fiction from 2001-2008

Alvin Ho

By Lenore Look

A young boy in Concord, Massachusetts, who loves superheroes and comes from a long line of brave Chinese farmer-warriors, wants to make friends, but first he must overcome his fear of everything. Includes Alvin Ho's woeful glossary.

Lucy Rose, Here is the Thing about Me

By Katy Kelly

In her fourth book, eight-year-old Lucy Rose, a not-so-average girl with a not-so-boring life in Washington, D.C., helps a friend turn a plumbing store into a bakery--among the many, many other things that are keeping her a busy bee. Illustrations.

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If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period

By Gennifer Choldenko

Seventh-graders Kirsten and Walk alternate telling how race, wealth, and weight shape their relationships as they and other misfits stand up to a mean classmate, even as they are uncovering a long-kept secret about themselves.

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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

By Sherman Alexie

Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

Roxie and the Hooligans

By Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Roxie Warbler, the niece of a famous explorer, follows Uncle Dangerfoot's advice on how to survive any crisis when she becomes stranded on an island with a gang of school bullies and a pair of murderous bank robbers.

Ida B

By Katherine Hannigan

Who is Ida B. Applewood? She is a fourth grader like no other, living a life like no other, with a voice like no other, and her story will resonate long after you have put this book down. How does Ida B cope when outside forces—life, really—attempt to derail her and her family and her future? She enters her Black Period, and it is not pretty. But then, with the help of a patient teacher, a loyal cat and dog, her beloved apple trees, and parents who believe in the same things she does (even if they sometimes act as though they don't), the resilience that is the very essence of Ida B triumph...and Ida B. Applewood takes the hand that is extended and starts to grow up. This first novel is both very funny and extraordinarily moving, and it introduces two shining stars—Katherine Hannigan and Ida B. Applewood.

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid # 1

By Jeff Kinney

Collects the diaries of middle-schooler Greg Heffley as he faces the challenges of school, deals with his annoying older brother, misses the comforts of modern life when his town voluntarily goes electronics-free, and faces other challenges.

Flipped

By Wendelin Van Draanen

The first time she saw him, she flipped. The first time he saw her, he ran. That was the second grade, but not much has changed by the seventh. She says: “My Bryce. Still walking around with my first kiss.” He says: “It’s been six years of strategic avoidance and social discomfort.” But in the eighth grade everything gets turned upside down. And just as he’s thinking there’s more to her than meets the eye, she’ s thinking that he’s not quite all he seemed. This is a classic romantic comedy of errors told in alternating chapters by two fresh, funny voices. Wendelin Van Draanen is at her best here with a knockout cast of quirky characters and a hilarious series of misunderstandings and missed opportunities. But underlying the humor are two teens in transition. They are each learning to look beyond the surface of people, both figuring out who they are, who they want to be, and who they want to be with.

Schooled

By Gordon Korman

Capricorn Anderson had never watched a television show before. He'd never tasted a pizza. He had never even heard of a wedgie. And he had never, in his wildest dreams, thought of living anywhere but Garland Farm commune with his hippie caretaker, Rain./DIV Capricorn (Cap for short) had lived every day of his life on Garland Farm growing fruits and vegetables. He was homeschooled by Rain, the only person he knew in the world. Life was simple for Cap. But when Rain falls out of a tree while picking plums and is hospital-ridden, he has to attend the local middle school and live with his new guidance counselor and her irritable daughter. While Cap knew a lot about Zen Buddhism, no amount formal education could ready him for the trials and tribulations of public middle school. Cap doesn't exactly fit in at Claverage Middle School (dubbed C Average by the kids). He has long, ungroomed hair, wears hemp clothes, and practices Tai Chi out on the lawn. His weirdness basically makes him biggest nerd in school. This is great news for Zach Powers, big man on campus. He can't wait to instate the age-old tradition in C-Average School: The biggest nerd is nominated for class president--and wins. So when Cap becomes president, he is more puzzled than ever. But as Cap begins to take on his duties, the joke starts to turn on Zach. Will Cap turn out to be the greatest President in the history of C-Average School? Or the biggest punchline? DIV

That Girl Lucy Moon

By Amy Timberlake

Lucy Moon is the kind of girl who loudly supports animal rights - during hunting season. She wears a woven cap made of hemp in support of third world workers. Lucy Moon is the kind of girl who spots injustice and isn't afraid to fight it. So when two of her classmates are caught sledding on Wiggins Hill and the local paper refuses to report it - or the role of Ms. Ilene Viola Wiggins, richest woman in town, in the arrest - Lucy begins a campaign to fight against corruption in her hometown - and for sledding rights on Wiggins' hill.

Shug

By Jenny Han

A twelve-year-old girl learns about friendship, first loves, and self-worth in a small town in the South.