The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

Imagine being raised a princess- and knowing all the princess things but nothing about how to actually LIVE.  That’s how Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee (Ani) Crown Princess of Kildenree feels.  Ani’s been restrained and held back her whole life, and now that her mother has betrayed her she has to go to a foreign country to marry some unknown prince.  But things don’t go as planned as Ani is betrayed again and left for dead.  Ani becomes a master of disguise and becomes a palace goose girl in a foreign country.  Will anybody believe her true identity now that she looks like a goose girl?  Will her new love Geric believe her?  Will she ever see her home again?  And how has she developed the ability to speak to animals?  Read Shannon Hale’s The Goose Girl to find out.

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

Gemma was raised in India but is sent back to England after she witnesses her mothers murder.  Not only does she see her mother get killed, but the way in which she is killed is so strange and mystical that she is haunted by the images.  She enrolls in an academy called Spence where the richest and most powerful families of England send their daughters to be raised.  As if starting a new school isn’t hard enough, Gemma starts having visions that become increasingly graphic and powerful.  Why is she having these visions?  Who will become her friend?  Will she ever solve her mothers murder?  Read A Great and Terrible Beauty to find out. Grade 8+

House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

Matt has been raised in a house by himself.  The only other human being that he has seen is his nanny.  He watches tv and knows that there are other people out there- but in his home all of the windows and doors are nailed shut.  One day Matt sees children playing outside of his house.  He breaks through a window, climbs a chair, and jumps out onto the broken glass of the window.  The children carry him back to their house where a doctor looks at Matt’s wounds.  The doctor sees that Matt has markings on the bottom of his foot- marking him as a clone.  But clones are less than dogs, so how does Matt have intelligence?  Who’s clone is he?  And how will he survive in a world where clones are less than nothing?  Read House of the Scorpion to find out.  

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

This book is based on a true story.  Karana is twelve years old and her people are being moved from their island home to a new one.  Everyone boards the ships but she cannot find her little brother anywhere.  As the ship leaves she sees her brother standing on the beach.  She jumps overboard and goes to him.  This begins their life of living alone on the island.  It is a story of survival and loneliness, perseverance and determination.  Karana builds weapons, clothing, even a house for her survival.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Nobody “Bod” Owens is the sole survivor of the attack that killed both of his parents- but the knife was meant for him!  As a baby he crawled out of his crib and escaped the murderer by crawling to the graveyard.  Mr. and Mrs. Owens, who happen to be ghosts, take pity on him and raise him.  But how is  a living child raised in a graveyard?  And will the relentless killer ever find his true target?  Read The Graveyard Book to find out.