Falling in by Frances O'Rourk Dowell

Love fantasies? Feel like you don't fit in? Then you will relate to Isabelle Bean in Falling In. Isabelle has always felt out of place and never really made any friends at her elementary school. Then, one day, after being sent to the principal's office, she opens a closet in the school nurses' office and falls into another world. Suddenly she is surrounded by children who are afraid of a witch in a primitive world without electricity, cell phones and the like. She befriends a young girl named Hen and together they meet up with an older woman healer, Greta. There she discovers many things about herself, the witch, and her place in the universe, while helping treat an epidemic and save Greta's life after a horrible mix up. Fallin in by Frances O'Rourk Dowell. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2010.

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

Carter and Sadie Kane have lived apart since their mother died, Sadie in London with her grandparents, and Carter travelling the world with his Egyptologist father. Until, during a visit with Sadie in London, their father takes them to the British Museum to see the famed Rosetta Stone. Suddenly, their world changes as their father is captured by an evil Egyptian god, Set. Carter and Sadie take off with their father's brother Amos to figure out how to stop the evil Set from destroying the world. Excitement and disasters follow as they travel through portals around the world, develop their magical powers, and figure out what they have to sacrifice to save the world. Exciting, fun, full of fascinating facts about Egyptian mythology, the Red Pyramid delivers. The Red Pyramid by Rich Riordan. Disney-Hyperion Books, 2010

The Last Newpaper Boy in America by Sue Corbett

A book right out of the newspaper headlines. Wil, the main character, is ready to take over the delivery of the newspaper in his small town of Steele, Pennsylvania, a family tradition. Unfortunately, Steele has fallen on hard times. The hairpin factory started by his great-grandfather has closed, leaving his father and many of the the town citizens out of work. Wil hopes to save money from his job to buy a computer so he doesn't have to always use the one at the library. His hopes are dashed when his brother is notified on his first day that the newspaper is canceling delivery to Steele. With the encouragement of his grandmother, Wil fights back by circulating a petition and getting the townspeople up in arms about the change. Meanwhile, the fair is coming to town, and Wil suspects one of the new games of chance might be rigged and sets about finding a way to prove it. Everything comes together at a town council meeting where Wil's father is discussing ways for the town to encourage a new tenant for the factory that could put the local people back to work. Timely and up-to-date and fun. The Last Newspaper Boy in America by Sue Corbett. Dutton's Children's Books, 2009.