Appelt, Kathi Keeper On the night of the blue moon when mermaids are said to gather on a sandbar in the Gulf of Mexico, ten-year-old Keeper sets out in a small boat, with her dog BD and a seagull named Captain, determined to find her mother, a mermaid, as Keeper has always believed, who left long ago to return to the sea.399 p. 2010
Barry, Dave Peter and the Starcatchers A fast-paced, impossible-to-put-down adventure awaits as the young orphan Peter and his mates are dispatched to an island ruled by the evil King Zarboff. They set sail aboard the Never Land, a ship carrying a precious and mysterious trunk in its cargo hold but the journey quickly becomes fraught with excitement and danger. 442 p. 2004
Carman, Patrick The Dark Hills Divide When she finds the key to a secret passageway leading out of the walled city of Bridewell, 12-year-old Alexa realizes her lifelong wish to explore the mysterious forests and mountains that lie beyond the wall. 253 p. 2005
Colfer, Eoin, Artemis Fowl Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is a millionaire, a genius—and, above all, a criminal mastermind. But even Artemis doesn’t know what he’s taken on when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit. 277 p. 2001
Collins, Suzanne Gregor the Overlander When 11-year-old Gregor and his 2-year-old sister are pulled into a strange underground world, they trigger an epic battle involving men, bats, rats, cockroaches, and spiders while on a quest foretold by ancient prophecy. 311 p. 2003
DiTerlizzi, Tony The Field Guide When the Grace children go to stay at their Great Aunt Lucinda's worn Victorian house, they discover a field guide to fairies and other creatures and begin to have some unusual experiences. 107 p. 2003
Dowell, Frances O'Roark Falling In Middle-schooler Isabelle Bean follows a mouse's squeak into a closet and falls into a parallel universe where the children believe she is the witch they have feared for years, finally come to devour them. 245 p. 2010
DuPrau, Jeanne The City of Ember In the year 241, 12-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a Messenger to run to new places in her decaying but beloved city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions.270 p. 2003
Funke, Cornelia Caroline Dragon Rider Learning that humans are headed toward his hidden home, Firedrake, a silver dragon, is joined by a brownie and an orphan boy in a quest to find the legendary valley known as the Rim of Heaven. 523 p. 2004
Hardinge, Frances Fly By Night Mosca Mye and her homicidal goose, Saracen, travel to the city of Mandelion on the heels of smooth-talking con-man, Eponymous Clent .Soon they are living a life of deceit.487 p. 2007
Hunter, Erin Warrior Series For generations, four clans of wild cats have shared the forest. When their warrior code is threatened by mysterious deaths, a house cat named Rusty may turn out to be the bravest warrior of all. 272 p. 2003
Law, Ingrid Savvy Recounts the adventures of Mibs Beaumont, whose thirteenth birthday has revealed her savvy -- a magical power unique to each member of her family -- just as her father is injured in a terrible accident. 342 p. 2008
Mull, Brandon Fablehaven When Kendra and Seth go to stay at their grandparents' estate, they discover that it is a sanctuary for magical creatures and that a battle between good and evil is looming.351 p. 2007
Nimmo, Jenny Midnight for Charlie Bone Charlie Bone's life with his widowed mother and two grandmothers undergoes a dramatic change when he discovers that he can hear people in photographs talking. 401 p. 2002
Sage, Angie Magyk After learning that she is the Princess, Jenna is whisked from her home and carried toward safety by the Extraordinary Wizard, those she always believed were her father and brother, and a young guard known only as Boy 412. 564 p. 2005
Stewart, Trenton Lee The Mysterious Benedict Society After passing a series of mind-bending tests, four children are selected for a secret mission that requires them to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules. 485 p. 2007
Mystery
Bell, Michael The Mistaken Masterpiece Sophie and her friends, who call themselves The Red Blazer Girls, embark on solving a case involving mistaken identities, switched paintings, and some priceless family heirlooms.
Broach, Elise Shakespeare's Secret Hero hates her name. She was named after a character in Shakepeare’s play, “Much Ado About Nothing,” and has been teased horribly in her new school. She becomes friends with her elderly neighbor, who tells her that a million-dollar diamond may be hidden in Hero’s home. Hero and Mrs. Roth start looking for Shakespeare’s diamond. 258 p. 2007
Buckley, Michael Fairy Tale Detectives Orphans Sabrina and Daphne Grimm are sent to live with an eccentric grandmother that they have always believed to be dead. 284 p. Sisters Grimm series2005
Clement, Andrew We The Children Sixth-grader Ben Pratt's life is full of changes--the plan to demolish his seaside school to build an amusement park--but when the school janitor gives him a tarnished coin with some old engravings and then dies, Ben is drawn into an effort to keep the school from being destroyed. 142 p. 2010
Daneshvari, Gitty School of Fear Twelve-year-olds Madeleine, Theo, and Lulu, and thirteen-year-old Garrison, are sent to a remote Massachusetts school to overcome their phobias, but tragedy strikes and the quartet must work together--with no adult assistance--to face their fears. 339 p. 2009
Dowd, Siobhan The London Eye Mystery When Ted and Kat's cousin Salim disappears from the London Eye ferris wheel, the two siblings must work together -- Ted with his brain that is wired differently and impatient Kat -- to try to solve the mystery of what happened to Salim. 322 p. 2008
Grisham, John Theodore Boone : Kid Lawyer With two attorneys for parents, thirteen-year-old Theodore Boone knows more about the law than most lawyers do. Because he knows so much—maybe too much—he is suddenly dragged into the middle of a sensational murder trial 263 p. 2010
Riordan, Rick The Maze of Bones What would happen if you discovered that your family was one of the most powerful in human history? What if you were told that the source of the family's power was hidden around the world, in the form of 39 clues? 220 p. 2008
Selznick, Brian The Invention of Hugo Cabret When twelve-year-old Hugo, an orphan living and repairing clocks within the walls of a Paris train station in 1931, meets a mysterious toyseller and his goddaughter, his undercover life and his biggest secret are jeopardized. 2007
Springer, Nancy Case of the Missing Marquess Enola Holmes, much younger sister of detective Sherlock Holmes, must travel to London in disguise to unravel the disappearance of her missing mother.2006
Stewart, Trenton Lee The Mysterious Benedict Society After passing a series of mind-bending tests, four children are selected for a secret mission that requires them to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules.2007
Watson, Stephanie Elvis and Olive, Super Detective When best friends Natalie, age ten, and Annie, nine, form a detective agency to solve neighborhood mysteries, Natalie hopes it will help her win a school election, while Annie seeks the mother who abandoned her.2010
Adventure Books
Collins, Suzanne Gregor the Overlander When eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister are pulled into a strange underground world, they trigger an epic battle involving men, bats,cockroaches, and spiders while on a quest foretold by ancient prophecy.
DiCamillo, Kate The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane Edward Tulane, a cold-hearted and proud toy rabbit, loves only himself until he is separated from the little girl who adores him. He travels across the country, acquiring new owners. 198 p. 2006
Funke, Cornelia Igraine the Brave The daughter of two magicians, twelve-year-old Igraine wants nothing more than to be a knight, and when their castle is attacked by a treacherous neighbor bent on stealing their singing magic books, Igraine has a chance.
Garretson, Dee Wildfire Run A relaxing retreat to Camp David turns deadly after a faraway earthquake sets off a chain of disastrous events. The president's twelve-year-old son, Luke, and his friends are trapped within the compound, as wildfires rage around them. 261 p. 2010
Haven, Paul The Seven Keys of Balabad Unlike his news-reporter father and art-historian mother who find living in the ancient, war-torn country of Balabad endlessly interesting, twelve-year-old Oliver, homesick for New York City, feels very much out of his element until he gets caught up in a centuries-old mystery. 271 p. 2009
Kehret, Peg Escaping the Giant Wave When an earthquake creates a tsunami while thirteen-year-old Kyle is babysitting his sister during a family vacation at a Pacific Coast resort, he tries to save himself, his sister, and a boy who has bullied him for years. 151 p. 2003
Mull, Brandon A World Without Heroes Fourteen-year-old Jason Walker is transported to a strange world called Lyrian, where he joins Rachel, who was also drawn there from our world, and a few rebels, to piece together the Word that can destroy the malicious wizard emperor, Surroth. 454 p. 2011
Riordan, Rick The Red Pyramid After their father's research experiment at the British Museum unleashes the Egyptian god Set, Carter and Sadie Kane embark on a dangerous journey across the globe. 516 p. 2010
Paulsen, Gary Hatchet While on a plane ride to visit his father, the pilot suffers a heart attack and the plane crashes into a lake. As Brian struggles out of the sinking plane, he carries only one thing that will help him survive in the Canadian wilderness: a hatchet.
Sacher, Louis Holes As further evidence of his family's bad fortune which they attribute to a curse on a distant relative, Stanley Yelnats is sent to a hellish correctional camp in the Texas desert where he finds his first real friend, a treasure, and a new sense of himself.233 p 1998
Smith, Roland The Cryptid Hunters Twins, Grace and Marty, along with a mysterious uncle, are dropped into the middle of the Congolese jungle in search of their missing photojournalist parents. 348 p. 2005
Springer, Nancy Rowan Hood, Outlaw girl of Sherwood Forest In her quest to connect with Robin Hood, the father she has never met, thirteen-year-old Rosemary disguises herself as a boy, befriends a half-wolf, half-dog, a runaway princess, and an overgrown boy whose singing is hypnotic, and makes peace with her elfin heritage 170 p. 2001
Tanner, Lian Museum of Thieves Goldie, an impulsive and bold twelve-year-old, escapes the oppressive city of Jewel, where children are required to wear guardchains for their protection. She finds refuge in the extraordinary Museum of Dunt,. 312 p. 2010
Tarshis, Lauren The Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 Excited to board the Titanic with his aunt and little sister, ten-year-old George begins to explore the ill-fated ship's first-class storage cabin when the ship is rocked by a collision with an iceberg and begins to sink
