Wolf Mark by Joseph Bruchac

I would say that Joseph Bruchac is one of my favorite authors.  If you haven't read "Skeleton Man" or "Code Talker" than I must insist that you do!!  Anyway, this was one of the BEST books I read this summer.  (Last summer it was "Ready Player One.")  Luke has always moved around and his parents have taught him how to "handle himself."  Things like how to disarm an attacker before they can even take a breath.  But, now he is tired of moving and wants to be a regular kid.  His mom has died and his dad (former black ops infiltrator) has fallen apart.  So Luke is at a loss when is dad is kidnapped!  Suddenly Luke has to avoid kidnappers, at the same time as avoiding some strange Russian characters at school that have a bizarre secret of their own, AND try to get his dad back.  All this action comes with an AWESOME
 paranormal twist which I thought was Fantastic!  You MUST read this book!

The Mostly True Story of Jack by Kelly Barnhill

This was another of those "couldn't put it down books" that I read in a couple of days.  I just had to keep going to try to figure out what in the world was going on?  Why doesn't Jack's "real" family ever seem to notice he is there?  Jack has to go live with his Aunt and Uncle and discovers that their town has some mysterious magic in it and it revolves around Jack.  He has to figure it out and FAST!  Great story!

Crazy by Han Nolan

I could not put this book down!  It was fantastic.  Jason tells the story of his life.  His mom is dead and his father is crazy.  Not funny crazy, but hearing voices and seeing things, mentally ill crazy.  Not only do you get to "hear" Jason tell his story you get to "hear" the voices in Jason's head interject throughout the book.  I fell in love with the characters in this book.  Jason finds his first "real" friends in a group of students that meet for lunch with their school psychologist.  This band of misfits stand by each other and help each other through the "bad crap" that gets thrown at them.  This is just a fantastic story.  I finished it in a day!!

How Lamar's Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy by Crystal Allen

I LOVE to bowl and so does Lamar, the main character in this book.  Lamar loves bowling and can't understand why the rest of the town is not on board with that.  They love "main stream" sports like basketball, and his brother is a STAR at basketball.  Both he and his brother are resentful of each other after their mom passes away and things just keep going down hill.  Lamar starts hanging with a kid who is not quite the best choice and they start scamming others for money at the bowling alleys.  It is not until Lamar pulls a terrible prank, with prompting from his new "friend," that he starts to think about people besides himself in his attempt to make things right.  I had just a few problems with this book: first off, I have asthma like Lamar, and I kind of hate when they portray asthmatics as "tied to our inhalers" and unable to do stuff.  But maybe Lamar has a very SEVERE case of asthma that keeps him puffing away on his inhaler throughout the book.  Lamar's big prank involved pulling a fire alarm and I think the fine they made him pay was a little unrealistic, I think it would be much more than the $200, especially with the damage that was caused.  BUT even with these minor issues, I enjoyed this story.  I liked the characters and the passion they held for their sport.

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

This book was right up my alley!  The journal of Will Henry has been found after his death.  It tells the story of his time with Dr. Pellinore Warthrop, a leader in his field of study: monstrumology, the study of monsters.  Young Will lived with the doctor from the time of his parents death and instead of being reassured that monsters aren't real, was taught how to study and fight them.  This book had a great mystery.  How did the man eating anthropophagi (scary headless monsters) make their way from their native Africa to New England and stay undiscovered for so long.  I loved all the gory details of the monsters and their lair!  I bought this on audio too, if you want to listen while you read go check out an ipod!!

Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead

This was a quick little read.  I loved this author's other award winning book: "When You Reach Me."  Georges (the s is silent) is in 7th grade and because his father has lost his job they have to sell their house and move to an apartment in Brooklyn.  While there he meets his new friend Safer and gets recruited by Safer to help him spy on the mysterious Mr. X who also lives in their apartment building.  There are some twists at the end that leave you questioning, who really is the Liar. 

Conspiracy 365: January by Gabrielle Lord

What a great concept for a book!  This series starts with January and there are 11 more books (months) to tell the story.  Cal's father has just passed away from some mysterious virus.  Now Cal is getting messages that he is also in danger.  While in Ireland, his father has found out some information about his family, and this is information that others want and will stop at nothing to get it.  Cal has been warned that he has to just survive for the next 365 days and all will be ok.  Therefore, 12 books- 12 months!  The books aren't really long and they are very fast reads because they are just so darn exciting! 

Ghosts in the Fog: THe Untold Story of Alaska's WWII Invasion by Samantha Seiple

I had no idea that the Japanese invaded the Aleutian Islands in Alaska just months after the attack on Pearl Harbor that brought the US into WWII.  Apparently, LOTS, of people didn't know about this.  The US government kept this secret for decades.  Initially it was because they didn't want to cause a panic that Japanese forces were so close and possibly gaining a foothold in the US, later it was because the government did not want to talk about how the native Alaskan people were treated by their own government when they evacuated and placed in camps.  This was one of the bloodiest and deadliest hand to hand combat battles and few people know about it.  I found this narrative nonfiction book fascinating!  Just think, if you read this, you may surprise your parents with something that they don't know about their own countries history!!