"Three Little Words - A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

Ashley's mother is declared unfit for parenting, and Ashley and her younger brother Luke are taken into state custody for their own protection. Over a period of 9 years, Ashley lives in 14 different foster homes, including one so abusive it made national headlines. All Ashley wants is to be loved and wanted by a family. After finally being adopted by the Courters, Ashley must find her place and identity in a new family and learn to trust those around her. A wonderful story of overcoming hardship and tackling adversity. If you liked "A Child Called It," by Dave Pelzer, this book is for you!

"Waiting for Normal" by Leslie Connor

Addie would give anything for a normal house to live in. Instead, she is trapped living in an old trailer in New York with her dysfunctional mom - Mommers. Addie wants to live with her step-dad, Dwight, and her younger half-sisters, but unfortunately she's stuck.

Her mom is driving her crazy! All she does is chat on the Internet, watch court TV and disappear for days on end. Addie has to be the responsible one - doing the dishes, cooking and cleaning. It's totally not fair.

She learns to cope by practicing the flute, playing with her hamster, and making friends with her neighbors at the convenience store. Dyslexia plagues Addie's schoolwork, but she manages to cope and remain optimistic about her living situation. I fell in love with Addie's character and her determination! Great for 4th-8th grades.

"Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld

Imagine a world where everyone is born an Ugly. Then, when you turn 16, you undergo a radical operation to turn you into a Pretty. No flaws, perfect body, easy life....or so it seems. Tally meets a new friend Shay, who is determined not to have this surgery and encourages Tally to run away with her. The authorities catch up with them and force Tally to make a difficult decision - keeping her best friend or being an Ugly forever. Scott Westerfeld says he was inspired by reading "Liking What You See: A Documentary" by Ted Chiang. King County Library System has this story in a collection called Stories of Your Life and Others.

"The Librarian of Basra" by Jeanette Winter

The librarian of Basra is a woman named Alia Muhammad Baker. When war breaks out, Alia is worried that the library will be destroyed. In this true story, the Iraqi government is unwilling to help Alia protect the books, so she takes matters into her own hands, saving over 30,000 books from a fire that ultimately destroyed the city's library. Beautiful pictures illustrate the fear of war and the power of the human spirit. This story was first reported in the New York Times in 2003.

"Son of the Mob" by Gordon Korman

Vince Luca's finally gotten Angela to go out with him. They're at the beach, things are going well, and Vince heads for the trunk of his car for a blanket. Something's not right. Inside the trunk is Jimmy the Rat, bound and gagged and barely alive. This is what happens when your dad's the powerful head of organized crime.

Vince Luca just wants to be normal at his high school. Good luck. People are scared of his dad, and should be if they want to keep all their limbs!

Vince falls for a new girl, Kendra. She's got it all, looks, brains, personality. Only problem is her dad. He's an FBI agent out to get Vince's father.