Fish in a Tree
by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Sixth grader Ally is an army brat who has bounced around seven schools in seven years. All of her teachers have labeled her as slow and a trouble maker; her current teacher who is going on maternity leave is no exception.  Along comes Mr. Daniels, the new replacement, who properly assesses Ally’s dyslexia and adapts his teaching methods to match her learning style. During this difficult journey, Ally makes two close friends and realizes that maybe she is not so stupid or such a misfit after all.  “Everybody is smart in different ways. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its life believing it is stupid.

Cinder
by Marissa Meyer

This book takes the basic Cinderella story and adds a sci-fi twist. Cinder, the main character, is a cyborg (part human, part machine) who lives with her stepmother and two stepsisters after the death of her adoptive father.  In the kingdom Cinder lives in, there is a terrible plague that kills without warning and has no cure. One of Cinder’s stepsisters becomes infected with the plague; the stepmother blames Cinder and sends her to the plague research facility where every participant has died thus far.  Cinder is found to be immune to the pathogen so the lead doctor decides to use her to develop a cure. After meeting the prince several times, Cinder develops feelings for him.  As the annual ball draws near, the Lunar queen visits and threatens to bring about a terrible war, because there has always been strife between the Lunar people and the earth.

Burn Baby Burn
by Meg Medina

This book is set in New York City during the summer of 1977, one of the worst years in the city’s history due to numerous fires and the terror of serial killer Son of Sam. Nora lives with her spineless pushover mother and abusive derelict brother, Hector. Nora is just finishing high school and many people encourage her to attend community college for carpentry, but she just wants to escape from her current dysfunctional household. Her brother is an arsonist and a druggie who wastes the family’s money, hangs around with a bad crowd, and does not contribute in any way to the struggling household. Nora’s father left many years ago and has a new family and a successful job, but gives pathetically limited contact and support to Nora, Hector, or his ex-wife. Nora has a job with a very supportive boss; they hire a college-aged male employee and a romantic relationship develops between him and Nora. Devastation occurs during a black-out when Nora and her boyfriend witness criminal activity in which her brother is involved. Nora must decide between turning her brother in and causing chaotic familial disruption or remaining silent.