The Miracle Stealer by Neil Connelly

This book really made you think about faith, in all it's different shapes and sizes.  Andi (Anderson Grant) loves her 6 yr. old little brother Danny.  When Danny was younger he fell down an old mine shaft and was miraculously unhurt.  That is why people think he is a "miracle boy."  Many come to their little town of Paradise, PA looking to be healed by this little boy.  Andi worries about what all of this attention is doing to her little brother.  She devises a plan to help stop this religious fervor.  A great, quick read.

If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth

I enjoyed this piece of historical fiction.  7th Grader, Lewis Blake, lives in two different worlds.  He lives on the "rez" (reservation) but attends the white school.  He is the only American Indian that attends his gifted classes.  This leaves him feeling friendless and often leads to episodes where he is bullied.  A new family moves to town.  George's father is in the military and he is used to moving around and starting over.  When he moves into the Upstate NY town that Lewis lives in, they become friends.  Their love of music overcomes a lot of differences.  I really liked all the musical references in this book. I liked Lewis and felt for him when he was so embarrassed by the poverty in which he lives with his mom and uncle on the reservation.

Cameron and the Girls by Edward Averett

This is a wonderful book.  Cameron attends the Emotionally Disturbed Program (EDP) at his middle school.  He suffers from schizophreniform disorder.  It is a less chronic form of schizophrenia that can sometimes have periods where patients are symptom free.  Cameron, however, must take his meds to be symptom free and when he does that he feel blank.  His meds make him feel foggy with no feelings or emotions about anything and he hates it.  He decides to try making some decisions on his own by NOT taking his meds and that's when the voices come back.  He has always had the "professor" telling him things but now he has some new voices one of which is a girl...a girl he is falling for.  There is also Nina, a new (real) girl in the EDP program who suffers from depression who wants to be a part of Cameron's life.  So, it is a kind of a love triangle, but one of the people just happens to be a hallucination.  Just a fabulous read!