Stead, Rebecca. When You Reach Me. New York: Wendy Lamb Books, 2009. Print.When You Reach Me is so amazing that I don't want to write about it. I put off reading this Newbery winner until today because of a review that made me think I wouldn't like it.
Smiley, Jane, and Elaine Clayton. The Georges and the Jewels. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009. Print.The Georges and the Jewels isn't just a horse book. It's also a story about family dynamics, friendship, and the politics of 7th grade. This is Jane Smiley's first book for young people. Her adult novel A Thousand Acres won the Pulitzer prize in 1992..
Vanderpool, Clare. Moon Over Manifest. New York: Delacorte Press, 2010. Print.
A motherless girl is sent away by her drifter father to spend the summer with a preacher/moonshiner. I don't usually like historical fiction, but this book about small town life in Kansas during the Great Depression had me riveted from the very first page.
