Summary:  Wonderstruck, “a novel in words and pictures,” tells two stories, one of Ben and one of Rose.  Ben lives at Gunflint Lake, Michigan in 1977.  After his mother passes away, he sets out to New York City to find the father he never knew.  Fifty years earlier, Rose lived in Hoboken, New Jersey, and she, too, set out …

Summary:  After his father is killed in a car accident and his mother (not dealing well with his father’s death) has to check into rehab, Mickey must move to a new area and live with his uncle.  But fitting into his new school is the least of Mickey’s worries.  His girlfriend has disappeared and a mysterious lady in town has told him that …

Summary: Felix has been living in an orphanage for years in Nazi-occupied Poland.  He is Jewish and completely unaware of what is going on beyond the walls of the orphanage.  Convinced his parents are searching for him, Felix runs away, literally taking his life into his hands as he tries to find his family. Thoughts: Once is a true standout among Holocaust novels.  …

Summary:  Lucy has a secret.  Her mother is a hoarder.  Lucy doesn’t let people get too close, so there is no danger of them finding out about the chaos at her house.  But, she has a friend for the first time and things are starting to spin out of control.  How much longer can she hold things together?  And, …

Summary:  Karou, an art student in Prague, creates amazing drawings of chimera in her sketchbook.  Her classmates assume the mythological creatures come from Karou’s imagination.  But, the chimera are actually real … the only family Karou has ever known.  And, now they are threatened.  The doorways that lead to their enchanted world are being scorched with a single hand print from winged strangers – a …

Summary: In a futuristic Chicago, society exists in five factions.  When teens turn 16, they choose the faction they will join, based on their interests and beliefs. Beatrice shocks everyone when she decides to leave the selfless faction of Abnegation where she grew up and joins the bold, brave faction of Dauntless.  But, that is just the …