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Middle School: Get Me Out of Here, by James Patterson

Rafe is on to new adventures and a new town! After a fireball takes out the diner that Rafe's mom works at, he and his family are forced to move to the city and live with his Grandmother. It's not his Grandmother isn't a great person, but she has too much stuff and not enough space for it, so the addition of Rafe, his sister Georgia and his Mom make it beyond cramped.

A new town mean a new school. Rafe is caught off guard when his Mom takes him for an interview at Cathedral School of Arts, but he is even more surprised when he is actually accepted. Leo, Rafe's imaginary friend, helps Rafe get through and come up with "Operation Get a Life" which consists of doing things in the city that he has never done before.

Rafe is glad to meet not imaginary friend, Matty, who is brimming with all sorts of ideas for having fun in the city. The only problem is that some of the ideas lead to them getting in trouble.

Rafe happens upon an old picture of his Mom and his Dad, who left when he was four, and he and Matty go on a mission to find out more about the man, Harry, that own the diner that is in the background of the picture.

Following one bad run-in too many at school, Rafe finally makes a break for it and returns to his home town of Hills Village. His first stop is Jeanne's house; who is the girl of his dreams. Jeanne's Mom calls Rafe's Mom to let her know he is okay and she makes her way down to pick him up.

SPOILER ALERT: Rafe's Mom finds a job in the new diner that opened after the old one burned down and takes Rafe to the grave of his Dad who she found out from Harry, who happens to be his Dad's Uncle, that he was a soldier and was killed in the war.

This book offers some closure in Rafe's story and hits home for anyone that has ever struggled with moving schools, finding new friends, trying to stay out of trouble, and dealing with the unknown of one's own family. Patterson's mix of pictures with text is, as always, effective, fun and makes for a fast and enjoyable read.

Ghost Knight, by Cornelia Funke

Harry Potter made boarding schools cool to everyone. Everyone, that is, but Jon Whitcroft, who is far from happy when his mother sends him away. Jon is already unhappy about his mother's new boyfriend, "the beard" as he calls him, and this is just the cherry on top of a horrible life.

Not long after his arrival, Jon starts seeing things. Ghosts, in fact. Now, we're not talking about sweet cuddly ghosts like Casper. No. These ghosts are out for blood to revenge the blood that they lost centuries before.

Thankfully, Jon also quickly finds a friend in a pretty girl with long locks named Ella. She also has a penchant for the scary, so the two begin their quest to uncover how these spirits met such untimely deaths while trying to juggle school. Longspee, an ancient knight, is summoned by Jon for protection, but questions arise as to whether or not he is there to protect the duo or bring them to an early end as well.

In the end, his mother's offer for him to return home and her decision to not marry the beard are met with a response very different from the one Jon would have given before arriving at boarding school. After finding new places and friends, both of this world and not, and having had a ghostly run-in with "the beard," Jon's opinion has changed and the decision is made to stay. Even if he still isn't a Potter fan.

This ghost tale will be liked by guys and gals alike as they are propelled from one chapter to the next in this spooky mystery. 

Imagine, by Jonah Lehrer

It seems impossible to quantify or qualify what creativity is exactly, but Lehrer has taken a stab at this elusive aspect of the mind in Imagine. There are seemingly infinite approaches to improving creativity, the sources of creativity and the personality type that lines up most exactly with an overabundant imagination.

Lehrer discusses why the shower is a popular place for epiphanies, the reason that Google's bathrooms are in the middle of the building and why naivety of a certain field of thought can actually lead to more breakthroughs. I was especially intrigued by the discussion of multiple creative companies always having inexperience individuals in the mix to amp up the creative flow and the fact that the more ideas are shared, no matter if it was during Shakespeare's time or Steve Jobs, is crucial to the blossom of breakthroughs.

So, if you have ever wondered why Pixar only has hits, why you should dive into areas you are completely unfamiliar with, and whether or not it is a coincidence that creative geniuses are often also manic depressives, eccentric, and recluses at times this is the book you have been looking for. While this could have been a bland discussion, Lehrer's conversational approach and logical flow from one point to the next in the complex area make this a must read.

Countdown, by Deborah Wiles

Adolescence is full of tragedies, nuances and excitement. Hormones may be to blame for the more dramatic instances, but embarking on the teenage years in the midst of a time of real fear can add an entirely different element. In Countdown, Wiles tells of Franny Chapman, a 12 year old girl growing up in Washington D.C. during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Franny has a loving father who is gone a good deal since he is a pilot in the Air force, a mother who is all business, a younger brother who is obsessed with being an astronaut (and perfect), an older sister who is in college and has her own ideas about how the future should be (that she keeps hidden through letters in code), and a great uncle that is wrought with flashbacks and totally consumed by the missile threat.

Franny is simply stuck in the middle. She isn't grown, but she isn't a kid. She is consumed with fear of the unknown as the duck and cover drills at school increase. Her nerves are given another hit when Chris, the boy next door moves back, and is something to look at, but it turns out that her former best friend, current enemy, Margie, has her sights set on him as well.

Franny must walk the fine line between breaking the rules to find out what her sister is up to and make it to the boys and girls Halloween dance party, while finishing her chores, making sure her Uncle doesn't faint again from trying to dig a bomb shelter and let her little brother know that he has nothing to be afraid of with the bomb threats, even though she is scared enough herself.

I thoroughly enjoyed the mixture of the story of a young girl during this historic time with actual quotes, news-clippings, background information, TV screen shots, etc. depicting what was actually seen at the time. This is the sort of book that truly makes history come alive. 

When You are Engulfed in Flames, by David Sedaris

Sedaris is a wizard at stirring up the haunts of his past in a witty nihilistic manner that leaves the reader rolling and wondering how the next short story could possibly compete with the one just completed. I read this story on a trip recently and ended up reading a number of the stories out loud to pass the time. It seemed that even more of the humor came forth when the inflection one's tone was heard from reading out loud, but there were a few parts that I could barely get through for laughing so hard.

A few of my favorite stories/characters: a middle aged landlord that shares Sedaris love of all things old, a cuss-happy neighbor in a NY apartment that Sedaris has a soft spot for, his childhood house and neighborhood, and his account of his love of cigarettes, what led him to quit smoking and how he went about it.

This anthology is undoubtedly for the adult reader due to language and mature content, but this should not dissuade the prude. The crude does now outshine the hilarity of what Sedaris calls life. 

One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia

Delphine is one grown up eleven year old. Between helping out her grandmother, Big Ma, and father, Pa, around the house and looking after her younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, she has little time to pause to think about just how grown up she is. So, her mother, Cecile, who left New York for California not long after Fern was born, hardly ever crosses her mind. That is, until Pa decides that the girls need to pay their mother  a visit. 

Each girl has a different idea of the mother they will find, but Delphine, having the most memory of Cecile: writing poetry on the walls, ignoring her, mumbling to herself; has the lowest expectations. All Delphine cares about is getting her sisters back in one piece without making an embarrassment of themselves. 

California seems to be the land of opportunity with Disney Land, sunny weather and movie stars, but Cecile hardly gives the girls a glance upon their arrival and retreats to her printing press located in the kitchen they aren't allowed in. The girls spend the first two weeks going to the Black Panther's hub for breakfast and "school," which consists of filling the children's minds with black power and rising up against the man. 

Delphine isn't so sure about these ideas, but knows they have to find food somewhere, so she makes the most of it. Determined to make the most of the situation, she takes the girls to see the Golden Gate Bridge and Chinatown three weeks in. After a day of fortune cookies and fun the girls make their way back to the house to find Cecile and two black panthers with their hands cuffed behind their backs and being hauled away by the police. 

After a night alone the girls are looked after by people from the club. After her release, Cecile finally gives Delphine some idea of why she left and makes it much easier for her to leave California and return to New York. 

This sobering children's novel reminds us that racism, poverty, ignorance were and still are an issue that not only affects adults, but children.