Seven Clues to Home

Seven Clues to Home
Author: Gae Polisner
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2020-06-09
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0593119614

An endearing story of love and grief as one girl follows the clues in a scavenger hunt left behind by her best friend, perfect for fans of Bridge to Terabithia and Nine, Ten. WHEN YOU'VE LOST WHAT MATTERS MOST, HOW DO YOU FIND YOUR WAY BACK HOME? Joy Fonseca is dreading her 13th birthday, dreading being reminded again about her best friend Lukas's senseless death on this day, one year ago -- and dreading the fact he may have heard what she accidentally blurted to him the night before. Or maybe she's more worried he didn't hear. Either way, she's decided: she's going to finally open the first clue to their annual birthday scavenger hunt Lukas left for her the morning he died, hoping the rest of the clues are still out there. If they are, they might lead Joy to whatever last words Lukas wrote, and toward understanding how to grab onto the future that is meant to be hers. "I truly loved it! Baskin and Polisner seamlessly unfold one touching relationship after another in this gorgeous story about everlasting friendship. This tender tale is indelibly etched on my heart." --Leslie Connor, author of the National Book Award finalist The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle "Polisner and Baskin's brief tale of two quite distant friends magically manages to bridge an uncrossable gap. Seven Clues to Home is both a charming mystery and a real meditation on the complexities of the young heart in love." --Tony Abbott, Edgar Award-winning author of Firegirl and The Great Jeff "I read this whole book with a lump in my throat. A perfect gem." --Wendy Mass, New York Times bestselling coauthor of Bob

Seven Clues to Home

Seven Clues to Home
Author: Gae Polisner
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2020-06-09
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0593119630

An endearing story of love and grief as one girl follows the clues in a scavenger hunt left behind by her best friend, perfect for fans of Bridge to Terabithia and Nine, Ten. WHEN YOU'VE LOST WHAT MATTERS MOST, HOW DO YOU FIND YOUR WAY BACK HOME? Joy Fonseca is dreading her 13th birthday, dreading being reminded again about her best friend Lukas's senseless death on this day, one year ago -- and dreading the fact he may have heard what she accidentally blurted to him the night before. Or maybe she's more worried he didn't hear. Either way, she's decided: she's going to finally open the first clue to their annual birthday scavenger hunt Lukas left for her the morning he died, hoping the rest of the clues are still out there. If they are, they might lead Joy to whatever last words Lukas wrote, and toward understanding how to grab onto the future that is meant to be hers. "I truly loved it! Baskin and Polisner seamlessly unfold one touching relationship after another in this gorgeous story about everlasting friendship. This tender tale is indelibly etched on my heart." --Leslie Connor, author of the National Book Award finalist The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle "Polisner and Baskin's brief tale of two quite distant friends magically manages to bridge an uncrossable gap. Seven Clues to Home is both a charming mystery and a real meditation on the complexities of the young heart in love." --Tony Abbott, Edgar Award-winning author of Firegirl and The Great Jeff "I read this whole book with a lump in my throat. A perfect gem." --Wendy Mass, New York Times bestselling coauthor of Bob

7 Clues to Winning You

7 Clues to Winning You
Author: Kristin Walker
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 285
Release: 2012-04-26
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1101561831

When a humiliating picture of Blythe goes viral, she's instantly the target of ridicule at her new school. To salvage her reputation, Blythe teams up with Luke to win the Senior Scramble scavenger hunt. But Luke is an unlikely ally and potentially can't be trusted. Perhaps it's his Shakespearean witticisms that reel Blythe in despite her better judgment . . . or maybe she just craves the thrill of the game. But as the hunt progresses, their relationship heats up. Soon their madcap mischief spirals out of control. Blythe is faced with arrest and expulsion, among other catastrophes - until Luke shows her what the Scramble (and love) is really about.

The Memory of Things

The Memory of Things
Author: Gae Polisner
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2016-09-06
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1250095530

"[A] gripping, emotional story set in the part of history we’ll never forget." - New York Daily News On the morning of September 11, 2001, sixteen-year-old Kyle Donohue watches the first twin tower come down from the window of Stuyvesant High School. Moments later, terrified and fleeing home to safety across the Brooklyn Bridge, he stumbles across a girl perched in the shadows, covered in ash, and wearing a pair of costume wings. With his mother and sister in California and unable to reach his father, a NYC detective likely on his way to the disaster, Kyle makes the split-second decision to bring the girl home. What follows is their story, told in alternating points of view, as Kyle tries to unravel the mystery of the girl so he can return her to her family. But what if the girl has forgotten everything, even her own name? And what if the more Kyle gets to know her, the less he wants her to go home? The Memory of Things tells a stunning story of friendship and first love and of carrying on with our day-to-day living in the midst of world-changing tragedy and unforgettable pain—it tells a story of hope.

Bernice Buttman, Model Citizen

Bernice Buttman, Model Citizen
Author: Niki Lenz
Publisher: Yearling
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2021-01-26
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1524770434

Bernice Buttman is tough, crass, and hilarious, and she just might teach you a thing or two about empathy in this novel for fans of The Great Gilly Hopkins. When you're a Buttman, the label "bully" comes with the territory, and Bernice lives up to her name. But life as a bully is lonely, and if there's one thing Bernice really wants (even more than becoming a Hollywood stuntwoman), it's a true friend. After her mom skedaddles and leaves her in a new town with her aunt (who is also a real live nun), Bernice decides to mend her ways and become a model citizen. If her plan works, she just might be able to get herself to Hollywood Hills Stunt Camp! But it's hard to be kind when no one shows you kindness, so a few cheesy pranks may still be up her sleeve. . . . Get ready to laugh out loud--and maybe even shed a tear--with this fantastic new middle-grade voice!

You Have Seven Messages

You Have Seven Messages
Author: Stewart Lewis
Publisher: Ember
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2012-09-11
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0385740298

A smart, heartbreaking mystery about unexpected love, art, family, and finding yourself. It's been a year since Luna's mother, the fashion-model wife of a successful film director, was hit and killed by a taxi in New York's East Village. Luna, her father, and little brother are still struggling with grief. But when Luna goes to clean out her mother's old studio, she's stunned to find her mom's old cell phone there—charged and holding seven unheard messages. As Luna begins to listen, she learns more about her mother's life than she ever wanted to know . . . because the tidy tale she's been told about her mother's death may not be the whole truth. With the help of Oliver, the musically gifted boy next door, Luna won't stop until she finds answers. But what else will she find along the way?

The Pull of Gravity

The Pull of Gravity
Author: Gae Polisner
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2011-05-10
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1429923156

While Nick Gardner's family is falling apart, his best friend, Scooter, is dying from a freak disease. The Scoot's final wish is that Nick and their quirky classmate, Jaycee Amato, deliver a prized first-edition copy of Of Mice and Men to the Scoot's father. There's just one problem: the Scoot's father walked out years ago and hasn't been heard from since. So, guided by Steinbeck's life lessons, and with only the vaguest of plans, Nick and Jaycee set off to find him. Characters you'll want to become friends with and a narrative voice that sparkles with wit make this a truly original coming-of-age story.

Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me

Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me
Author: Gae Polisner
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2020-04-07
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1250312256

"Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me is an absolutely real, raw and emotional read, and it's a book that touched my heart with every page." - Katie McGarry, critically acclaimed author of Only a Breath Apart Fifteen-year-old JL Markham’s life used to be filled with carnival nights and hot summer days spent giggling with her forever best friend Aubrey about their families and boys. Together, they were unstoppable. But they aren’t the friends they once were. With JL’s father gone on long term business, and her mother struggling with her mental illness, JL takes solace in the tropical butterflies she raises, and in her new, older boyfriend, Max Gordon. Max may be rough on the outside, but he has the soul of a poet (something Aubrey will never understand). Only, Max is about to graduate, and he's going to hit the road - with or without JL. JL can't bear being left behind again. But what if devoting herself to Max not only means betraying her parents, but permanently losing the love of her best friend? What becomes of loyalty, when no one is loyal to you? Gae Polisner’s Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me is a story about the fragility of female friendship, of falling in love and wondering if you are ready for more, and of the glimmers of hope we find by taking stock in ourselves.

The Summer Before Boys

The Summer Before Boys
Author: Nora Raleigh Baskin
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 212
Release: 2012-04-03
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 141698674X

Twelve-year-old best friends and relatives, Julia and Eliza are happy to spend the summer together while Julia's mother is serving in the National Guard in Iraq but when they meet a neighborhood boy, their close relationship begins to change.

Consider the Octopus

Consider the Octopus
Author: Nora Raleigh Baskin
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company (BYR)
Total Pages: 183
Release: 2022-04-05
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1250793521

When chance, or fate, throws two twelve-year-olds together on board a scientific research ship at the edge of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, it’s not all smooth sailing! Jeremy “JB” Barnes is looking forward to spending the summer before seventh grade hanging on the beach. But his mother, a scientist, has called for him to join her aboard a research ship where, instead, he’ll spend his summer seasick and bored as he stares out at the endless plastic, microbeads, and other floating debris, both visible and not, that make up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Miles and miles away, twelve-year-old Sidney Miller is trying to come up with an alternate activity worthy of convincing her overprotective parents that she can skip summer camp. When Jeremy is asked to find the contact information for a list of important international scientists and invite them to attend a last-minute Emergency Global Summit, he's excited to have a chance to actually do something that matters to the mission. How could he know that the Sidney Miller he messages is not the famous marine biologist he has been tasked with contacting, but rather a girl making podcasts from her bedroom—let alone that she would want to sneak aboard the ship? Nora Raleigh Baskin and Gae Polisner's Consider the Octopus is a comedy of errors, mistaken identity, and synchronicity. Above all, it is a heartfelt story about friendship and an empowering call to environmental protection, especially to our young people who are already stepping up to help save our oceans and our Earth.