Even More Reads that You Might Not Know About...

UNCLE MONTAGUE'S TALES OF TERROR by Chris Priestley - As Edgar spends an afternoon with his great uncle Montague he hears a variety of spooky stories that Uncle Montague claims are true. Montague’s dimly lit and creaky house is the perfect environment for the telling of the tales and Uncle Montague himself is a master at revealing a spooky tale. The stories include ghosts, demons and anamorphic items that do damage to youngsters about Edgar’s age, and each story is tied to a curious item that Edgar finds in Uncle Montague’s study, where the stories are told. F PRI HORROR

PRETTY IS by Elizabeth Holmes - Erin is spending the summer before entering sixth grade trying to minimize opportunities for her older sister, Monica, to embarrass her. Monica is different from other girls; socially clumsy and physically unkempt, Monica is a constant embarrassment to Erin. Erin’s friend Kayla gradually turns away from Erin due to Monica’s awkwardness, and Erin’s only remaining friend, Hannah, convinces Erin to exact revenge on Kayla by cutting Kayla’s long and beautiful hair. Erin regrets the incident immediately but is then shut out of any other possible friendships because of her behavior. Once Erin and Monica go to summer camp, Erin begins to see the cruelty that teens inflict upon each other and begins to cope with being Monica’s sister. F HOL REALISTIC

A DOG CALLED GRK by Joshua Doder - When Tim Malt, the only child of tidy workaholic parents, finds a small dog near his home in London, adventure is set in motion. Tim soon learns that the dog, Grk, belongs to the family of the ambassador from a country called Stanislavia; when Tim tries to return Grk to his owners, he find that the family has recently been arrested and returned to their homeland by the force of Stanislavia’s new dictator. Tim is determined to reunite the dog and family and travels alone to Stanislavia, only to find that the parents of the family have been killed. With much adventure and suspense Tim is able to liberate the children, Natascha and Max, from prison, reunite them with Grk and help them make their way back to London, where they move in with the Malt family. F DOD ADVENTURE

OUTSIDE BEAUTY by Cynthia Kadohota - Thirteen year old Shelby and her three sisters live with their gorgeous, man- and money-hungry mother, and like it that way. The sisters each have different fathers, some of who are occasionally present. When Shelby’s mother is involved in a serious car accident each sister is farmed out to her own father; Shelby is devastated to be separated from her sisters and is nervous about spending time with her father. Throughout her mother’s hospitalization Shelby comes to terms with the lessons about the importance of beauty that her mother has reinforced to her and lives by (and that Shelby has always kept a distance from, as she feels she is the least attractive of the bunch), and manages to pull her sisters back together through her intelligence and persistence, rather than because of her physical attributes. F KAD REALISTIC

THE CROSSROADS by Chris Grabenstein - Eleven-year-old Zack is still struggling with the death of his mother when his father remarries and moves him to Connecticut. Once in his new home, he discovers that the ghosts from a bus accident that occurred in the crossroads by his house 50 years ago are haunting the area. And if that isn’t enough, an old woman, whose boyfriend was killed in the 1950s, has a vendetta against Zack’s ancestors and is determined to seek her revenge on Zack. With the help of his new stepmother and a newfound friend, Zack tries to thwart the evil spirit that resides in the tree behind his house (written by Lori Loranger, Librarian, Walsh Middle School). On order at Canyon Vista Middle School; look for this one at your public library.

THE OPPOSITE OF INVISIBLE by Liz Gallagher - Alice has been best friends with Jewel (nickname for Julian) since they were children; they have weathered being on the outskirts of popularity and now view the mainstream kids with disdain while they concentrate on the artier aspects of life. However, while Alice is opening up to being friends, and maybe more, with some of the popular kids, Jewel has let Alice know that he would like to be more than friends. Alice wants to date popular Simon but dreads hurting Jewel’s feelings and is afraid of the derision Jewel might feel for her when she “gives in” to the popular crowd. Alice has to figure out her own priorities and learn to do so without hurting others, and make decisions between love and friendship. F GAL REALISTIC