Hold Fast

by Blue Balliett

320 pages

With the sudden and inexplicable disappearance of her father, Early, her mom and her brother are forced from their home and into a shelter in downtown Chicago. It is only with courage and resourcefulness that Early can help her family to survive when all hope seems lost.

Grade 5. 

 

Wildwood

By Colin Meloy, illustrated by Carson Ellis

541 pages
 

Prue McKeel lives an ordinary life - until the day her baby brother is snatched and carried off by a murder of crows into Wildwood, an "Impassable Wilderness."  Prue and her friend Curtis know they have to rescue him, but they are not prepared for the world they find there.  A fantastical quest journey full of animals; illustrations by Carson Ellis (The Mysterious Benedict Society).  Grade 5.

The Whispering House

by Rebecca Wade

272 pages

A great summer thriller!  Due to renovations, fourteen-year-old Hannah Price and her parents are forced to move into Cowleigh Lodge.  It has a history of short-term tenants and it is soon clear why:  the house is old, dilapidated and full of secrets.  The creepy discoveries Hannah makes, the dreams she has, and eerie incidents in the house all point to the unresolved death of an 11-year-old girl, 140 years before.  Will Hannah be able to understand the whisperings of the house and bring peace to it at last?  Grade 4.