Swindle by Gordon Korman

What a great story!  The action moves from spending the night in an abandoned and possibly haunted house to planning and executing a major heist.  When Griffin Bing discovers he has been cheated out of a million-dollar baseball card, he vows to steal it back.  Even though the main characters are kids, they are so well-developed that the reader never doubts that they are capable of such an amazing feat.  Along the way, they deal with bullies, dangerous guard dogs, and a completely unlikeable and sleazy villain.  The ending is perfect with a twist of irony that ties all the pieces together in a neat little package.  Even though there are two more books featuring the same cast of characters, this one can stand on its own.  Swindle would make a great read-aloud and will appeal to both boys and girls.

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan was an action-packed thriller.  From the early chapters through to the very end, the action was non-stop.  The two main characters, Sadie and Carter, tell the story, with the narrator changing every chapter or two.  Being brother and sister, their relationship is not always friendly, but the way they learn to trust each other and like each other gives an added depth to the story.  Being pursued by the awakening gods and goddesses of Ancient Egypt puts them in many situations where their relationship is tested, and they must lean on each other in order to survive.  The ending was satisfying, and the book can stand on its own, even though it is apparently the beginning of a series entitled The Kane Chronicles.  Highly recommended either as an independent read or a read-aloud.

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Fans of her Among the Missing series will find a lot to love in this new set of historical suspense novels by Margaret Peterson Haddix.  It all starts with a mysterious plane that appears with no adults on board, only babies, and disappears as soon as the babies are rescued.  In Found, the story begins when two boys realize (through a combination of first class sleuthing and stumbling discoveries) that they are part of this group of babies who have been adopted out but are now, for some reason, being drawn into the same area.  Strangers who appear and disappear at key points add to the suspense as we discover the beginnings of the true identities of these children.  As with all first books in a series, the story is really just getting started when the first book ends, but it would appear that there will be some interesting adventures throughout history as the two boys work to save all these children without wrecking time.  Fast-paced and intelligent with likable characters and just enough mystery to keep the reader guessing, this appears to be the beginning of a very interesting series.

Flawed Dogs by Berkeley Breathed

I have enjoyed this author's work through his Bloom County and Opus comic strips, and now he brings that same irreverently satirical wit to, of all things, a novel.  There are layers here, both in story and in message, so it is a book that may need to be read more than once to get the whole picture.  In a nutshell, we have the world of the perfect purebred dog and the world of the flawed, abandoned mongrel colliding at the Westminster Dog Show in an act of revenge that turns into an act of heroism.  Dog lovers will treasure the message that all dogs exist to love and be loved, but beware!  The humor is sharp, the wit bites, and both dogs and owners will break wind. 

The Unfinished Angel by Sharon Creech

This deceptively small volume holds a deeply layered, intricate novel of sparse beauty.  The basic premise appears simple: an angel who lives in a tiny village high in the Swiss Alps is forced into action by Zola, a determined American girl who has moved into the village with her father.  A group of orphaned children need help, and Zola expects the angel to "do something".  What happens and how it is relayed to the reader make this book anything but simple.  The angel doesn't speak the words very well, so the reader is required to make sense of a lot of mistakes in word choice and pronunciation.  Multiple elderly characters suffering from grief, loneliness, and the beginnings of dementia add another layer of complex emotional content.  Add in language and cultural differences, and there is a lot for a reader to process in 164 pages.  I wouldn't recommend this novel for independent reading unless the student is quite advanced; however, I think it will make a great read aloud, especially since the voice of the angel is so expressively Italian and the characters are so clearly developed.  Overall, it is a great book for an adult to read with children.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

A strange and wonder-full book.  If you haven't read A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle, you may feel a bit lost at the beginning of this tale, but don't worry; everyone who reads this book will be a bit lost at some point or another.  It seems, at first, to have too many weird and unconnected characters, to be disjointed and awkward, and for awhile, I thought that was a mirror of the feelings of main character.  As I read further, however, I realized that, while she is the connection between all these strange and quirky people, the real action of the story was occurring somewhere else.  The strange notes and little clues made it clear that, as in A Wrinkle in Time, someone else, from some other time, was the key.  In the end, when it all came together, I was filled with wonder at how this author made it all work.  While I wouldn't recommend this for someone who struggles with reading, this is a definite must for those who need something with more sophistication and deeper character development.  Now, I may have to go back and re-read A Wrinkle in Time!

Merlin's Dragon by T.A. Barron

I like T.A. Barron's books.  They show a depth of thought and an understanding of how all things are connected without being preachy.  Also, he knows how to tell a story without having to make a 12 volume set out of it.  One of his strengths is pacing, so I was somewhat disappointed to find so little actual story in Merlin's Dragon.  He introduces a very interesting, likable character -- Basil, the...well, no one is sure exactly what Basil is, but he is little, curious, and brave.  The book takes us along on Basil's journey of discovering who -- and what -- he is.  Along the way, he meets Merlin a couple of times, but readers have to wade through a lot of description before hitting any action.  Basil's frantic journey to save Merlin from a deadly foe makes for some good reading, but it is a long reading journey to get to that point.  Those who haven't read the Tree of Avalon or Lost Years of Merlin books may get lost and discouraged along the way.  I know the story will continue, but like most introductions, this one was a slow read.