The Cats of Roxville Station by Jean Craighead George

The action at the start of this book will upset any cat lover, but sets the story of how outside cats survive and learn which humans they can trust. Rachet has learned not to trust humans and now she has to learn the ways of feral cats to survive. A small colony of cats live in the neighborhood near a train station. While some humans are helpful, like the lady who puts out cat food, other do anything they can to "get rid of the cats". Mike, who lives with a foster mother that hates cats, wants to befriend Rachet but how can a cat learn to trust one of the creatures that harmed her and tried to kill her. While this is a fiction story, it has more facts than some non fiction. I learned a few thing about cats and I have lived too many for years. If you love the Warriors series, instead of rereading while you wait for the next book, try this. All my students who love the Warriors series and read this loved it.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

When I first saw the cover, I wondered if any student would ever pick this book up. When the book won the 2010 Newbery Award, I remembered that you shouldn't judge a book by the cover. After reading it, I now understand what makes this special. Miranda just loves the book Wrinkle in Time, her life in New York, and her mom. As the book starts, she loses her best friend. She gets weird notes found in even weirder places from someone who tells her that s/he has come to save her friend. It seems that that person knows what happens even before it does. The subplots about finding a new best friend and surviving the ups and downs of a parent's appearance on a national televised game show only adds to the mystery. Even though the story is set in the late 1970's, any junior high student will enjoy the parts set in a school. The times may change, but the characters that are part of any school seem to always stay the same. If you have read and love Wrinkle in Time, you will love this book. It is not only the main character's favorite book, the plot of Wrinkle is the key to solving what is going on in this story.