My Jasper June

My Jasper June
Author: Laurel Snyder
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2019-09-03
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0062836641

“This book is a treasure—a touching story of friendship, loss, and finding beauty in the everyday, with characters who stay with you long after you’ve turned the final page. I absolutely loved it.”—R. J. Palacio, New York Times bestselling author of Wonder Laurel Snyder, author of Orphan Island, returns with another unforgettable story of the moments in which we find out who we are, and the life-altering friendships that show us what we can be. The school year is over, and it is summer in Atlanta. The sky is blue, the sun is blazing, and the days brim with possibility. But Leah feels. . . lost. She has been this way since one terrible afternoon a year ago, when everything changed. Since that day, her parents have become distant, her friends have fallen away, and Leah’s been adrift and alone. Then she meets Jasper, a girl unlike anyone she has ever known. There’s something mysterious about Jasper, almost magical. And Jasper, Leah discovers, is also lost. Together, the two girls carve out a place for themselves, a hideaway in the overgrown spaces of Atlanta, away from their parents and their hardships, somewhere only they can find. But as the days of this magical June start to draw to a close, and the darker realities of their lives intrude once more, Leah and Jasper have to decide how real their friendship is, and whether it can be enough to save them both.

Orphan Island

Orphan Island
Author: Laurel Snyder
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 162
Release: 2017-05-30
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0062443437

A National Book Award Longlist title! "A wondrous book, wise and wild and deeply true." —Kelly Barnhill, Newbery Medal-winning author of The Girl Who Drank the Moon "This is one of those books that haunts you long after you read it. Thought-provoking and magical." —Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson series In the tradition of modern-day classics like Sara Pennypacker's Pax and Lois Lowry's The Giver comes a deep, compelling, heartbreaking, and completely one-of-a-kind novel about nine children who live on a mysterious island. On the island, everything is perfect. The sun rises in a sky filled with dancing shapes; the wind, water, and trees shelter and protect those who live there; when the nine children go to sleep in their cabins, it is with full stomachs and joy in their hearts. And only one thing ever changes: on that day, each year, when a boat appears from the mist upon the ocean carrying one young child to join them—and taking the eldest one away, never to be seen again. Today’s Changing is no different. The boat arrives, taking away Jinny’s best friend, Deen, replacing him with a new little girl named Ess, and leaving Jinny as the new Elder. Jinny knows her responsibility now—to teach Ess everything she needs to know about the island, to keep things as they’ve always been. But will she be ready for the inevitable day when the boat will come back—and take her away forever from the only home she’s known? "A unique and compelling story about nine children who live with no adults on a mysterious island. Anyone who has ever been scared of leaving their family will love this book" (from the Brightly.com review, which named Orphan Island a best book of 2017).

The Song of the Quarkbeast

The Song of the Quarkbeast
Author: Jasper Fforde
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 303
Release: 2013
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 054773848X

International bestselling author Fforde invites fans to return to the witty, wizardly world of the Chronicles of Kazam with the fabulous follow-up to "The Last Dragonslayer."

Jasper and the Riddle of Riley's Mine

Jasper and the Riddle of Riley's Mine
Author: Caroline Starr Rose
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2017-02-07
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0698174003

Hoping to strike it rich, two brothers escape an abusive father and set out on a treacherous journey to Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush. Desperate to get away from their drunkard of a father, eleven-year-old Jasper and his older brother Melvin often talk of running away, of heading north to Alaska to chase riches beyond their wildest dreams. The Klondike Gold Rush is calling, and Melvin has finally decided the time to go is now—even if that means leaving Jasper behind. But Jasper has other plans, and follows his brother aboard a steamer as a stowaway. Onboard the ship, Jasper overhears a rumor about One-Eyed Riley, an old coot who's long since gone, but is said to have left clues to the location of his stake, which still has plenty of gold left. The first person to unravel the clues and find the mine can stake the claim and become filthy rich. Jasper is quick to catch gold fever and knows he and Melvin can find the mine—all they have to do is survive the rough Alaskan terrain, along with the steep competition from the unscrupulous and dangerous people they encounter along the way. In an endearing, funny, pitch-perfect middle grade voice, Caroline Starr Rose tells another stellar historical adventure young readers will long remember.

Bigger Than a Bread Box

Bigger Than a Bread Box
Author: Laurel Snyder
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2011
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0375869166

Devastated when her parents separate, twelve-year-old Rebecca must move with her mother from Baltimore to Gran's house in Atlanta, where Rebecca discovers an old bread box with the power to grant any wish--so long as the wished-for thing fits in the bread box.

The Patient

The Patient
Author: Jasper DeWitt
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Total Pages: 223
Release: 2020
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0358181763

The Silent Patient by way of Stephen King: Parker, a young, overconfident psychiatrist new to his job at a mental asylum, miscalculates catastrophically when he undertakes curing a mysterious and profoundly dangerous patient. In a series of online posts, Parker H., a young psychiatrist, chronicles the harrowing account of his time working at a dreary mental hospital in New England. Through this internet message board, Parker hopes to communicate with the world his effort to cure one bewildering patient. We learn, as Parker did on his first day at the hospital, of the facility's most difficult, profoundly dangerous case--a forty-year-old man who was originally admitted to the hospital at age six. This patient has no known diagnosis. His symptoms seem to evolve over time. Every person who has attempted to treat him has been driven to madness or suicide. Desperate and fearful, the hospital's directors keep him strictly confined and allow minimal contact with staff for their own safety, convinced that releasing him would unleash catastrophe on the outside world. Parker, brilliant and overconfident, takes it upon himself to discover what ails this mystery patient and finally cure him. But from his first encounter with the mystery patient, things spiral out of control, and, facing a possibility beyond his wildest imaginings, Parker is forced to question everything he thought he knew. Fans of Sarah Pinborough's Behind Her Eyes and Paul Tremblay's The Cabin at the End of the World will be riveted by Jasper DeWitt's astonishing debut.

Murder My Deer

Murder My Deer
Author: Jaqueline Girdner
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 142
Release: 2014-04-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1497628741

Kate Jasper, Marin County, California’s own organically grown amateur sleuth, returns in this eleventh mystery in the series. In Murder, My Deer, Kate and her sweetie’s budding romance has finally flowered into a full‐fledged marriage. But no one ever promised them a rose garden. Deer have gate‐crashed their yard to munch every bud, blossom, and petal. Instead of happily honeymooning, Kate and her sweetie attend the deer‐abused support group for those whose dearly beloved plants have been deerly beheaded. Antlers clash during group discussion, since everyone has their own idea for deer prevention . . . from feeding them to killing them. Dr. Searle Sandstrom, ex‐military, would like to use a gun, napalm, and land mines. But someone bashes in his head first, and no one spots any hoofprints near his dead body. Killing season is open, and Kate is game to flush out the hunter before she becomes the hunted game.

To Night Owl, From Dogfish

To Night Owl, From Dogfish
Author: Meg Wolitzer
Publisher: Hardie Grant Publishing
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2019-02-18
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1743586175

Told almost entirely through emails, this is the exuberant, funny story of two girls who try to get their gay fathers back together. It's a novel about the true meaning of family, written by two exceptional and beloved authors. Avery Bloom is anxious and academic and afraid of the water. Bett Devlin is brash and athletic and loves to surf. The only things they seem to have in common are their age – twelve – and the fact that their dads have fallen in love with each other. Now their dads are sending them to the same sleepaway camp, against their will, so that they can become friends. But when the girls reluctantly grow to like each other and start looking forward to becoming a family, their dads fall out of love. Can Avery and Bett figure out a way to bring their fathers back together now that they can't imagine a life without a stepsister?

Eventown

Eventown
Author: Corey Ann Haydu
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2019-02-12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0062689843

Kirkus Best Books of 2019 * Kids’ Indie Next Pick List * Bookpage Best Books of 2019: Middle Grade “Beautiful, mysterious and deeply satisfying.” —Rebecca Stead, Newbery Medal-winning author of When You Reach Me and Goodbye Stranger The world tilted for Elodee this year, and now it’s impossible for her to be the same as she was before. Not when her feelings have such a strong grip on her heart. Not when she and her twin sister, Naomi, seem to be drifting apart. So when Elodee’s mom gets a new job in Eventown, moving seems like it might just fix everything. Indeed, life in Eventown is comforting and exciting all at once. Their kitchen comes with a box of recipes for Elodee to try. Everyone takes the scenic way to school or work—past rows of rosebushes and unexpected waterfalls. On blueberry-picking field trips, every berry is perfectly ripe. Sure, there are a few odd rules, and the houses all look exactly alike, but it’s easy enough to explain—until Elodee realizes that there are only three ice cream flavors in Eventown. Ever. And they play only one song in music class. Everything may be “even” in Eventown, but is there a price to pay for perfection—and pretending? “Engrossing.” —New York Times Book Review “Enchanting, heart-rending, and bittersweet.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “An emotionally complex and wonderfully told story.” —School Library Journal (starred review) “Thought-provoking.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)