Starred Children's Fiction
The books in this display received starred reviews from at least four different national review journals* during 2015. Lost in the Sun by Lisa Graff received six, and The Nest by Kenneth Oppel received five starred reviews.
Six Stars
by Lisa Graff
Philomel Books, 2015. 289 p.
As Trent Zimmerman struggles to move past a traumatic event
that took place several months earlier, he befriends class outcast Fallon
Little, who helps him understand that he can move on.
Five Stars
by Kenneth Oppel
Simon and Schuster, 2015. 244 p
When wasps come to Steve in a dream offering to fix his sick
baby brother, he thinks all he has to do is say "yes." But
"yes" may not mean what Steve thinks it means.
Four Stars
by Laura Amy Schlitz
Candlewick Press, 2015. 387 p.
Fourteen-year-old Joan Skraggs, just like the heroines in her
beloved novels, yearns for real life and true love. But what hope is there for
adventure, beauty, or art on a hardscrabble farm in Pennsylvania where the work
never ends? Over the summer of 1911, Joan pours her heart out into her diary as
she seeks a new, better life for herself--because maybe, just maybe, a hired
girl cleaning and cooking for six dollars a week can become what a farm girl
could only dream of--a woman with a future.
by Alex Gino
Scholastic Press, 2015. 195 p.
When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But
she knows she's not a boy. She knows she's a girl. George thinks she'll have to
keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is
going to be Charlotte's Web. George really, really, REALLY wants to play
Charlotte. But the teacher says she can't even try out for the part . . .
because she's a boy. With the help of her best friend, Kelly, George comes up
with a plan. Not just so she can be Charlotte -- but so everyone can know who
she is, once and for all.
Listen Slowly
by Thanhha Lai
Harper, 2015. 260 p.
Assisting her grandmother's investigation of her grandfather's fate during the Vietnam War, Mai struggles to adapt to an unfamiliar culture while redefining her sense of family.
by Hal Johnson
Workman Publishing, 2015. 176 p.
Just for kids, twenty bone-chilling tales about the most
dangerous fantastical beasts in American folklore. Illustrated throughout,
including eight drawings printed with glow-in-the-dark ink, Fearsome Creatures
of the Lumberwoods is for every young reader who loves a good scare.
The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate
By Jaqueline Kelly
Henry Holt and Co., 2105. 312 p.
In rural Texas in 1900, when a storm blows change into town in the form of a visiting veterinarian, twelve-year-old Callie discovers a life and a vocation she desperately wants. But with societal expectations as they are, she will need all her wits and courage to realize her dreams.
The Marvels
By Brian Selznik
Scholastic Press, 2015. 665 p.
The journey begins on a ship at sea in 1766, with a boy named Billy Marvel. After surviving a shipwreck, he finds work in a London theatre. There, his family flourishes for generations as brilliant actors until 1900, when young Leontes Marvel is banished from the stage. Nearly a century later, Joseph Jervis runs away from school and seeks refuge with a reclusive uncle in London. Albert Nightingale's strange, beautiful house, with its mysterious portraits and ghostly presences, captivates Joseph and leads him on a search for clues about the house, his family, and the past.
The
Thing About Jellyfish
By Jaqueline Kelly
Henry Holt and Co., 2105. 312 p.
In rural Texas in 1900, when a storm blows change into town in the form of a visiting veterinarian, twelve-year-old Callie discovers a life and a vocation she desperately wants. But with societal expectations as they are, she will need all her wits and courage to realize her dreams.
The Marvels
By Brian Selznik
Scholastic Press, 2015. 665 p.
The journey begins on a ship at sea in 1766, with a boy named Billy Marvel. After surviving a shipwreck, he finds work in a London theatre. There, his family flourishes for generations as brilliant actors until 1900, when young Leontes Marvel is banished from the stage. Nearly a century later, Joseph Jervis runs away from school and seeks refuge with a reclusive uncle in London. Albert Nightingale's strange, beautiful house, with its mysterious portraits and ghostly presences, captivates Joseph and leads him on a search for clues about the house, his family, and the past.
by Ali Benjamin
Little Brown and Co, 2015. 343 p.
Twelve-year-old Suzy Swanson wades through her intense grief
over the loss of her best friend by investigating the rare jellyfish she is
convinced was responsible for her friend's death.
by Emma Shevah
Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2014/2015. 267 p.
Amber's Japanese father left when she was little, and her
sister Bella was just a baby, so now she fills in the frustrating gap in her
life with imagined conversations, and writes letters to Bella that seem to come
from their father.
Stella by Starlight
by Sharon Draper
Antheneum Books, 2015. 320 p.
When a burning cross set by the Klan causes panic and fear in 1932 Bumblebee, North Carolina, fifth-grader Stella must face prejudice and find the strength to demand change in her segregated town.
Stella by Starlight
by Sharon Draper
Antheneum Books, 2015. 320 p.
When a burning cross set by the Klan causes panic and fear in 1932 Bumblebee, North Carolina, fifth-grader Stella must face prejudice and find the strength to demand change in her segregated town.
by Rebecca Stead
Wendy Lamb Books, 2015. 289 p.
As Bridge makes her way through seventh grade on Manhattan's
Upper West Side with her best friends, curvacious Em, crusader Tab, and a
curious new friend--or more than friend--Sherm, she finds the answer she has
been seeking since she barely survived an accident at age eight: "What is
my purpose?
by Kevin Sands
Aladdin, 2015. 371 p.
In 1665 London, fourteen-year-old Christopher Rowe,
apprentice to an apothecary, and his best friend, Tom, try to uncover the truth
behind a mysterious cult, following a trail of puzzles, codes, pranks, and
danger toward an unearthly secret with the power to tear the world apart.
Echo: A Novel
by Pam Munos Ryan
Scholastic, 2015. 585 p.
Lost and alone in a forbidden forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and suddenly finds himself entwined in a puzzling quest involving a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica.
Echo: A Novel
by Pam Munos Ryan
Scholastic, 2015. 585 p.
Lost and alone in a forbidden forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and suddenly finds himself entwined in a puzzling quest involving a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica.
* Review Sources
Booklist, The Bulletin, Hornbook, Kirkus, Publisher's
Weekly, School Library Journal.
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