Jared's mom loves to help people, all people, so when a refugee family from Africa loses their apartment she invites the family to come live in their house. Now Jared will have to share his room with a complete stranger. A complete stranger who may have never ridden in car, used an inside toilet, used a telephone of any kind. Jared's little sister, Mopsy, is thrilled with the idea; she thinks the refugees will be her new best friends. Even Kirk Crick, the expert from the Refugee Aid Society, warns them all of the problems the refugees may have when they come. No one is prepared for how many problems the Amabo family actually has when they arrive in New York, and no knows who these four very strange people really are. This thriller really kept me on the edge of my seat!

This is the most ridiculous story told in verse (poetry that is) I have ever read! That being said I just loved the story of Katrina Katrell who was so creative her mean nanny plotted to have her brain removed. If that sounds scary, well it isn't really, it's just silly and funny. After Katrina escaped from the evil Dr. LeFang, she met Morty the zorgle and the embark on a fantastic adventure to save the lost zorgamazoos. Their adventure takes them in to outerspace and beyond if you can believe it. To find this book on the shelf: FIC WES

The Everafter by Amy Huntley

This realistic ghost story follows Madison Stanton as she figures out how she died. This book reminded me a little bit of Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, in that a dead girl is telling the story of her life. (If you like Everafter, then I would highly recomend Lovely Bones and vice versa.) At any rate, Madison tells the story of her life through these objects she finds in a place she calls "is". Each object, like a pine cone, a sweatshirt, and a bracelet brings Madison back to the specific time in her life when she lost the item. Some of the items take her back to times she spends with her best friend Sandra, and some of them take her back to times she spent with her boyfriend Gabe. The ghost story part of this book comes in when Madison discovers that she can talk to other dead people, and that she can change things in her life like a ghost. In the end, I couldn't put this book down until I found out how and when Madison actually died. If you like a good ghost story or a teen romance then you will like The Everafter by Amy Huntley. To find this book on the shelf look for: FIC HUN