Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
When a twelve-year-old evil genius tries to restore his family fortune by capturing a fairy and demanding a ransom in gold, the fairies fight back with magic, technology, and a particularly nasty troll.
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
Two brothers, having run away from the aunt who plans to adopt the younger one, are sought by a detective hired by their aunt, but they have found shelter with–and protection from–Venice’s “Thief Lord.”
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Looking for excitement, Coraline ventures through a mysterious door into a world that is similar, yet disturbingly different from her own, where she must challenge a gruesome entity in order to save herself, her parents, and the souls of three others.
Among the Hidden by Margaret Haddix
In a future where the Population Police enforce the law limiting a family to only two children, Luke has lived all his twelve years in isolation and fear on his family’s farm, until another “third” convinces him that the government is wrong.
Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan
Troubled by family problems, Henry finds his life taking a whole new dimension when he and his friend, old Mr. Fogarty, become involved with Prince Pyrgus Malvae who has been sent from the faerie world in order to escape the treacherous Faeries of the Night.
The House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton
A family tries to unravel the secrets of their new home which was once a stop on the Underground Railroad.
The View From Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg
Four students, with their own individual stories, develop a special bond and attract the attention of their teacher, a paraplegic, who chooses them to represent their sixth-grade class in the Academic Bowl competition.
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
The mysterious death of an eccentric millionaire brings together an unlikely assortment of heirs who must uncover the circumstances of his death before they can claim their inheritance.
City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
In the year 241, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a Messenger to run to new places in her decaying but beloved city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions.
Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
Twelve-year-old Abilene Tucker is the daughter of a drifter who, in the summer of 1936, sends her to stay with an old friend in Manifest, Kansas, where he grew up, and where she hopes to find out some things about his past.
Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson
On his thirteenth birthday, foster child Alcatraz Smedry receives a bag of sand which is immediately stolen by the evil Librarians who are trying to take over the world, and Alcatraz is introduced to his grandfather and his own special talent, and told that he must use it to save civilization.
Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo by Obert Skye
When fate brings fourteen-year-old Leven and thirteen-year-old Winter together, they discover that for people to continue dreaming, the gateway between reality and dreams needs to be found and demolished.
The White Gates by Bonnie Ranthum
When his mother becomes the doctor in Snow Park, Colorado, twelve-year-old Tor learns of a curse placed on the town’s doctors many years before by an eccentric Ute woman, but suspects that a modern-day villain is hiding behind that curse.
Touch Blue by Cynthia Lord
When the state of Maine threatens to shut down their island’s one-room schoolhouse because of dwindling enrollment, eleven-year-old Tess, a strong believer in luck, and her family take in a trumpet-playing foster child, to increase the school’s population.
Crispin by Avi
Falsely accused of theft and murder, an orphaned peasant boy in fourteenth-century England flees his village and meets a larger-than-life juggler who holds a dangerous secret.
A Friendship for Today by Pat McKissack
In 1954, when desegregation comes to Kirkland, Missouri, ten-year-old Rosemary faces many changes and challenges at school and at home as her parents separate.
Rash by Pete Hautman
In a future society that has decided it would “rather be safe than free,” sixteen-year-old Bo’s anger control problems land him in a tundra jail where he survives with the help of his running skills and an artificial intelligence program named Bork.
The Cupcake Queen by Heather Hepler
While longing to return to life in New York City, thirteen-year-old Penny helps her mother and grandmother run a cupcake bakery in Hog’s Hollow, tries to avoid the beastly popular girls, to be a good friend to quirky Tally, and to catch the eye of enigmatic Marcus.
The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman
Born in the eighth year of Enclosure, ten-year-old Honor lives in a highly regulated colony with her defiant parents, but when they have an illegal second child and are taken away, it is up to Honor and her friend Helix, another “Unpredictable,” to uncover a terrible secret about their Island and the Corporation that runs everything.
The Name of This Book Is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch
Two eleven-year-old misfits try to solve the mystery of a dead magician and stop the evil Dr. L and Ms. Mauvais, who are searching for the secret of immortality.
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
A black family living in Mississippi during the Depression of the 1930s is faced with prejudice and discrimination which its children do not understand.
Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman
Although housebound following an eerie accident, teenaged Ryan continues to investigate the strange occurrences in his hometown of Skeleton Creek, recording his findings in a journal and viewing e-mail video clips sent by fellow detective Sarah. The reader may view Sarah’s videos on a website by using links and passwords found in the text.
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards’ families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister.
Shark Girl by Kelly L. Bingham
After a shark attack causes the amputation of her right arm, fifteen-year-old Jane, an aspiring artist, struggles to come to terms with her loss and the changes it imposes on her day-to-day life and her plans for the future.
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Living among scholars in the hallowed halls of Jordan College, Lyra hears rumors of a magical dust that supposedly possesses powers that can unite whole universes, and begins a difficult and dangerous journey to find it.