Adventure, Mystery, and Humor

Kennedy, J. (2008). The Order of Odd-Fish. New York, NY: Delacorte Press.

JO LAROUCHE HAS lived her 13 years in the California desert with her Aunt Lily, ever since she was dropped on Lily’s doorstep with this note: This is Jo. Please take care of her. But beware. This is a dangerous baby. At Lily’s annual Christmas costume party, a variety of strange events take place that lead Jo and Lily out of California forever—and into the mysterious, strange, fantastical world of Eldritch City. There, Jo learns the scandalous truth about who she is, and she and Lily join the Order of Odd-Fish, a collection of knights who research useless information. Glamorous cockroach butlers, pointless quests, obsolete weapons, and bizarre festivals fill their days, but two villains are controlling their fate. Jo is inching closer and closer to the day when her destiny is fulfilled, and no one in Eldritch City will ever be the same.

Lexile Level: 820L

LA Themes: Learning who you are; Becoming who you are

Universal Theme: Heritage; Beating the odds; Peer pressure

Scott, J., & Borgman, J. (2013). Zits: chillax. New York: HarperTeen.

Jeremy Duncan is a high school sophomore. He’s essentially average, in that he’s not popular or a jock or anything. He doesn’t get super high grades or anything. However, Jeremy does have something that makes him unique, he is in a band with his best friends. He loves obnoxious loud, rock and roll music. When his favorite rock band Gingivitis comes to town, Jeremy finds himself determined to go to the concert, along with his bandmates Hector Garcia and Tim. ONLY! Tim can’t go because he is donating bone marrow for his mother’s cancer treatment. So then, Jeremy and Hector make it their mission to go to the concert FOR Tim and while yes, it does kind of sound like a selfish move at first (and kind of is), you’ll see how it blossoms into an unselfish thing by the end. 

Lexile Level: N/A

LA Theme: Sacrificing for others

Universal Themes: Family; Friendship; Parent-child relationships

Strand, J. (2012). A bad day for voodoo. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks Fire.

When your best friend is just a tiny bit psychotic, you should never actually believe him when he says, "Trust me. This is gonna be awesome."
Of course, you probably wouldn't believe a voodoo doll could work either. Or that it could cause someone's leg to blow clean off with one quick prick. But I've seen it. It can happen.
And when there's suddenly a doll of YOU floating around out there—a doll that could be snatched by a Rottweiler and torn to shreds, or a gang of thugs ready to torch it, or any random family of cannibals (really, do you need the danger here spelled out for you?)—well, you know that's just gonna be a really bad day. 

Lexile Level: 730L

LA Theme: Even though people might think something is not real, doesn’t mean that it’s not.

Universal Theme: Faith

Wizner, J. (2007). Spanking Shakespeare. New York: Random House Children's Books.

SHAKESPEARE SHAPIRO HAS ALWAYS hated his name. His parents bestowed it on him as some kind of sick joke when he was born, and his life has gone downhill from there, one embarrassing incident after another. Entering his senior year of high school, Shakespeare has never had a girlfriend, his younger brother is cooler than he is, and his best friend's favorite topic of conversation is his bowel movements.  But Shakespeare will have the last laugh. He is chronicling every mortifying detail in his memoir, the writing project each senior at Shakespeare's high school must complete. And he is doing it brilliantly. And, just maybe, a prize-winning memoir will bring him respect, admiration, and a girlfriend . . . or at least a prom date.

Lexile Level: 850L

LA Theme: Trust in yourself and don’t worry about what people think about you. At the end of the day it only matters what you think about yourself. ; Learn from your mistakes and move on. Don’t let them haunt you.

Universal Themes: Courage; Coming of age; Seizing the moment

Shen, P., & Hicks, F. E. (2013). Nothing can possibly go wrong. New York: First Second.

Charlie is the laid-back captain of the basketball team. Nate is the neurotic, scheming president of the robotics club. Their unlikely friendship nearly bites the dust when Nate declares war on the cheerleaders and the cheerleaders retaliate by making Charlie their figurehead in the ugliest class election campaign the school has ever seen. At stake? Student group funding that will either cover a robotics competition or new cheerleading uniforms--but not both. 

            Lexile Level: N/A

LA Theme: Unlikely friendships; Cooperation; Divorce; Heartbreak; Discovering what you really want; Warring social groups

            Universal Themes: Friendship; Winners and losers; Family; Courage