The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds 

Matt is trying to cope with his mom’s death from cancer and his dad’s  drinking. A job at a local funeral home gives him comfort and then he meets a girl who helps him share his feelings. This is a story of growing from loss. 

Endangered by Eliot Schrefer 

During summer vacation in the Congo, 14 year-old Sophie rescues an ape, Otto, from a poacher. After her mother takes a group of apes to a re-mote release site, militants attack the camp. Sophie and Otto escape death by hiding in an enclosure. Their only hope is to reach the release site on the other side of the country.

I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora 

In honor of their recently deceased teacher, a group of friends hatch a plot to popularize the classic To Kill a Mockingbird, by creating a controversy surrounding the novel. Their efforts increase demand for the book but have consequences they don’t expect.  

The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier 

Irish orphans Molly and Kip travel to England to work as servants in a crumbling man-or house where nothing is as it seems. The siblings are confronted by a mysterious and menacing stranger and the spine tingling secrets of the cursed house begin to unfold. 

The Seventh Most Important Thing by Shelley Pearsall 

After his father’s death,  Arthur throws a brick at the local “Junk Man” when he sees him wearing his father’s favorite hat. He is sentenced to community service working with the Junk Man to complete his mysterious  project.  

Sure Signs of Crazy by Karen Harrington 

It’s summer in Texas and a genealogy project has sixth - grader Sarah Nelson stressed out. How can she avoid sharing her secrets—that her mother is institutionalized and that her father is an alcoholic? Through writing and with support from two empathetic grown-ups, Sarah makes sense of the world and has an extraordinary summer.