Savvy by Ingrid Law

Grades 6 through 8

Life is challenging enough for anybody who is about to turn 13, but for Mibs Beaumont, turning 13 changes everything.  Every Beaumont has a “savvy” or a special talent that starts on the 13th birthday.  One Beaumont can control electricity, and one can create huge storms and hurricanes.

Mibs convinces herself that her savvy can wake up her dad, who is hospitalized in a coma.  When she gets on a bus to sneak to the hospital, she and her siblings end up on quite the adventure.

My Rating:  4 Stars

Joey Pigza Loses Control by Jack Gantos

Grades 4 through 8

Joey gets to spend the summer with his dad who convinces (forces) Joey to stop taking his ADHD medications.  As Joey loses control of himself, he also has to come to terms with some other difficult issues:  his parents’ divorce, his dad’s alcoholism, and his grandmother’s addiction.

My Rating:  5 Stars

The Tale of Desperaux : Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and   a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo

Ages 5 to 105

This story is a story of a mouse, Desperaux, who is not content with his lot in life.  He is a dreamer, and falls in love with a princess, named Pea.  As Desperaux fights for a life that is more than what he was offered he has to confront rejection, fear, darkness, and the rats in the dungeon.

My Rating:  4.5 Stars (4 the first time I read it; 5 the second time)