Aviary Wonders Inc. by Kate Samworth

This is for all of you who miss picture books. Set in the future, a future that we hope doesn't happen when birds have all but disappeared. It isn't just a catalog, it is also an instructional manual that started renewing the world's bird supplies since 2031. Founded by Alfred Wallis, who must have wanted this ancestors to roll in their graves - you will have to read it to see why. You can page through and choose the parts to make real birds or make up your own.  The only rule is that these birds cannot be caged. Would you be able to teach your bird to fly or sing? Just be careful, or you may end up with a problem that only Alfred can solve.

Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School Book the First) by Gail Carriger

You think your parents don't understand you. Sophronia doesn't want to be like all the other young ladies in her world of 1851 England (if you watch Downton Abbey you may understand). When she finally gets her mother so angry, she is shipped off to a finishing school -Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Qualities. That is the last place she wants to be, or so she thinks, but on her way she learns from her travel companions it is not your "normal" finishing school and she is what they call a covert recruit. As she is trying to find out what that is, the stagecoach is attacked by something you will not find in our history of England. This is only the start of surprises and quickly she learns that she may fit in more than she thought. If you think your teachers are weird, you have not met the faculty of this place. I would fit in easily. But there is a more pressing problem than learning how to curtsy and teatime manners while knowing how to hide the knife in your dress. Something has turned up missing and if the school doesn't hand it over, it might not be around much longer and its students may go with it. If you love a fast paced story full of the unexpected and humorous twists, this is for you. All I know is I want the pet dog she hides in her suite at school. I know I am a cat person, but I think that dog is the coolest dog in any book I have ever read. 

Frozen in Time by Ali Sparkes

Some boring summer!! Just when Ben and Rachel think the summer would be boring, they find a secret in the backyard. What they find sends all into an international mystery years in the making. How does a British government clean-up car, the Cold War,  Chernobyl, and a missing uncle help solve a 50 year old mystery? Can they really trust that helpful librarian? (Can you ever trust a helpful librarian??) The biggest question could be how do teens from the 1950s learn to be like teens today when everything you do was not allowed during that time? Will help arrive in time or will Ben and Rachel's new friends not make it to get to the bottom of what really happened to their father? For those of you who love a great mystery wrapped in one of the wildest sci-fi inventions, you will not want to put this down.

Z For Zachariah by Robert c. O'Brien

For those of you who loved the strong heroine of the Hunger Games, this is a must read. Also set in the future where those adults messed up the world, Ann Burden believes she is the only one left. It was always said the valley she lived in with her family had its own environment. No matter what happened to rest of the world, it kept everyone safe that lived there. But when her family and the others left to find help, they never came back. She was left behind just in case the telephones started working again. With only her brother's dog to keep her company, Ann found a way to stay alive, but she kept a look out for any strangers that might have made it through. One day she saw smoke from a fire and each day that smoke came closer. Ann quickly planned how to stay safe, but did she really need to? Who is this stranger and how did he survive? The chilling answers test her survival skills and make her finally realize that the dog must die.  What would drive her to doing that to the one living being who has helped keep her sane? Would you do the same? Would you?

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.

Gameprey by Mel Odom (Tom Clancey' Net Force series)

While this type of book isn't normally EML's cup of tea, I did enjoy it but if you are a gamer or a person who dreams of creating your own games, you will enjoy it more. Set the near future where the internet will be a huge part of our lives, Net Force is like a FBI or a CIA organization that keep the bad guys from using it for crime. One of the junior members is a game designer and while at computer gamers' convention in Los Angeles, she and another junior member are sucked into solving the disappearance of the creator the latest, greatest game. When they realize that someone will kill to keep the game out, they call on the rest of Net Force to help before they are next victims. Once you learn the rest of the story, you may never play online games again without worrying about if this story is based on truth or it could really happen.

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

Mysterious Mr. Benedict is looking for children, orphans in fact, to send undercover to the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, a school that the only rule is there is NO rules. Ads placed in papers for gifted students bring many, but only a few finally pass the tests he gave. It seems that the whole world is in the middle of terrible problems and upsets, and some how the institute is involved. If his spies fail, no one will miss them if they are orphans will they? You get to take the tests along with the characters. See if you can pass them. EML didn't and we all know how smart librarians are. Dangers are every where and the upsets are too close to what is happening in our world now. Maybe this is not that fictional? What if.....

This Place has no Atmosphere, by Paula Danziger

Set in 2057, Aurora's parents just found a new way to ruin her life, they are going to the moon to be part of colony of 750 people who hope to make the moon a new home. She is a freshman and has finally got into the "in" crowd. She decides that if she ruins their life, maybe she can stay with her grandmother. Please don't do to your parents what Aurora tries on hers. Finally, it is agreed if she doesn't like it, she can come back to live with her grandmother, who talks about the olden days of the early 2000. How long can she make a year last and who will give up first, her or her parents? If you have ever had to move, you will relate to all the problems that Aurora has, even those she has caused herself. Are we really going to live in shopping malls and have classes in ESP?

The Night Room by E.M. Goldman

What high schooler wouldn't want to go forward in time to see what his/her 10 year reunion is like? Who makes good and who gets what is coming to them? But when someone is not at the reunion, could this computer simulation really be a cover for an upcoming murder? Can it be stopped or is the future set in stone? Almost every type of student at your school will have someone just like them in the night room - whether you are the jock, brain, popular, or out cast. Who has it in them to survive when survivial is all you can do.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Please, please, please don't judge this book by the movie. Movies are always never as good as the book and that movie version was one of the worst ever. From the 1970's, this book has been loved by readers who like weird humor, sick jokes, and adventure. Even my teenage brothers couldn't stop reading it. Earth has been destroyed to make way for a by-pass and Arthur Dent is saved by his space alien friend. When they hook up with the ex-president of the Universe who has a stolen space ship, life will never be the same. This is the first book of a trilogy, which has 5 books in it, go figure. If you like British humor, all the better.

So you want to be a wizard by Diane Duane

For those of you who loved A Wrinkle in Time and can't find anything like it, this is for you. Two outcast find copies of the a book called So you Want to Be a Wizard and learn they can be. Thinking magic would be a way to get back at those who bully them, they quickly learn that if you try, bad things could happen. With a little guidance from older wizards, they set out to correct their mistake. They have to or our world will be changed forever. You will never look at a car the same way again. I made the mistake of starting this about 8:00 p.m. and didn't get to bed until I finished it. Don't let the number of pages get to you, every page is need to tell this adventure story. First book of a series that seem to get added to every few years.

When the Tripods Came by John Christopher

Presequel to my favorite book in sixth grade, The White Mountains, this will scare any of you that can't get enough of Sponge Bob or other mind numbing cartoons. Aliens are trying to invade the earth. Of course the world's military blew them up, so they have to try another way. This was written to show the doubters who read The White Mountains (which is set many years after the tripods take over the earth) that what we thought was science fiction could really happen. Lots of action and main characters running across Europe to get to safety, but not everyone makes it. Can be read before or after The White Mountains. The 2 sequels of The White Mountains must be read after it in order.

Alcatraz verus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson

Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson was a great read. I made the following wordle about it. I feel kinda bad about letting you know about this book since it will put you in danger from my buddies, but it is a risk you will have to take. The book is worth our lives. Just image finding out everything you thought you knew about the world is wrong and have to out smart a bunch of evil librarians that would kill to keep the "correct" knowledge from the people they rule. That means you, dear reader. There are 3 sequels before we got to the author.