Sahara Jones is going
into fifth grade-again. Although she won't be "Sahara Special" anymore
(special needs, that is), she doesn't expect this year to be any better
than last year.
Until she gets a new teacher. Not only does she dress different but, Miss Pointy is
like no other teacher Sahara has ever known. With her help, Sahara just
might find a way to redefine special for herself. This is a cute Young Adult novel.
Ten-year-old Opal has just moved to a Florida town with her preacher father, and she is very lonely. At the local Winn-Dixie supermarket, she instantly takes a shine to a scraggly stray dog that she adopts. The pooch, Winn-Dixie, named for their meeting place, becomes a trusted companion with whom Opal can share her thoughts and fears, and her hurt, confused feelings about the mother who left the family when Opal was three. Winn-Dixie is soon helping Opal in other ways, too.
You have to be warped and not mind cursing in order to enjoy this book. I laughed out loud reading this at the airport and on the plane. It is hilariously funny. It is short enough that you don't get tired of the harsh humor. Definitely something for when you are in the right mood and need a laugh.
This is the 3rd book I have read by Laurie Halse Anderson and, this may even surpass Wintergirls, which I loved. This is a young adult book about Melinda, teenager who chooses not to speak rather than to give voice to what really happened to her.
I loved how the author didn't just tell you what happened to Melinda in order for her to stay so silent - instead, bits of the incident unfolds as you read along. Melinda is a wonderful character with a cutting sense of humor that made you feel her anger, hurt and pain. Excellently written.
Eliza Benedict, a 38-year-old married mother of two receives a letter from Walter Bowman, the man who kidnapped her the summer she was 15 and is now on death row. The narrative shifts between the present and that long ago summer, when Eliza involuntarily became a part of Walter's endless road trip, including the fateful night when he picked up another teenage girl, Holly Tackett. Soon after Walter killed Holly, Eliza was rescued and taken home. 
This is the story of Miles (Pudge) who goes off to Boarding school in Alabama and quickly joins a tight knit group of friends - his roomate Chip (The Colonel), a Japanese boy Takumi, and Alaska a smart impulsive girl who loves to read. The chapters of the novel are headed by a number of days "before" and "after" so you know that an "event" is coming when you are in the 'before' section. This is an outstanding coming-of-age novel