THE LIAR'S DAUGHTER by Megan Cooley Peterson

Piper is busy taking care of her younger siblings and following the directions of the Aunties. She misses her parents, but she knows they are busy with the running of the Community. They come to visit as often as they can. When the Aunties announce an impending visit from their parents, Piper makes sure the littles are properly cleaned and dressed before the limo pulls up to the house.

The Community was created by Father in an effort to protect its members from the Outside. He believes the Government is drugging people and nuclear war is inevitable. Piper knows she and the rest of the children are kept separate from the adults in the Community for their safety. Father says the Government is preparing to kidnap the children if they get the chance.

THE LIAR'S DAUGHTER by Megan Cooley Peterson is told in an alternating "Before" and "After" format. Piper relates her story "before" she is taken from the Community's protection and "after" she begins living with a woman on the Outside. Readers will soon learn that Piper isn't sure which reality truly represents her life. 

CREEP by Eireann Corrigan

Glennon Heights is a quiet place. When the Donahues buy the house at 16 Olcott Place, things begin to change.

Olivia is excited when she learns that her new neighbors have a kids, and when one of them is a girl her age, it's even better. Janie and Olivia will be starting high school together. The older Donahue children, twins Lucy and Ben, will be seniors. In the weeks before the start of school, Olivia spends much of the time in the home of her new neighbors.

The fun and sun of the last days of summer are interrupted when the Donahues receive several frightening and threatening letters from someone identifying as The Sentry of Glennon Heights. Evidently, the previous owners of the huge, old house had also received letters. Was that why they sold the place and moved?

After several police visits that end without clues of any kind, Mr. Donahue is furious and afraid for his family. He files a lawsuit against the realtor claiming they should have been warned about the creepiness of these threatening letters.

Olivia, along with Janie and Ben, decide to do some investigating of their own. What they find is even more disturbing than they anticipated. 

CREEP by Eireann Corrigan is a fast-paced, thriller. It is perfect for middle grade and older readers looking for a good mystery.

STARGAZING by Jen Wang

Christine has heard rumors about the new girl. She supposedly likes to fight, and it may be the reason she had to leave her old school. Imagine Christine's shock when her parents invite the new girl and her family to move into the adjoining unit where Christine's grandfather used to live.

Moon is outgoing and confident. She appreciates that Christine's family has offered them a place to live. As the new girl, she wants to make a good impression and a new best friend who lives next door sounds perfect.

The two girls hit it off. Moon is welcomed into Christine's circle of friends, but the more time Christine spends with her, the stranger she seems. First off, Moon is the only Buddhist Christine knows. Moon loves to dance and urges Christine to join her in a routine for the upcoming talent show. Moon paints her fingernails and toenails, something Christine isn't allowed to do. Christine isn't sure about how to react when Moon secretly reveals her belief that her real home is in outer space and that she draws fantastic creatures she says are her friends.

Being Moon's friend is a bit challenging especially when Christine discovers she does have an angry side. When Christine learns Moon has yet another secret, the friendship may be permanently damaged.

Author and artist Jen Wang puts friendship to the test in her graphic novel STARGAZING. Readers will witness the ups and downs of forming a new relationship. With certain elements taken directly from her own childhood, Wang has created a sure hit for middle grade readers.

DRY by Neal Shusterman & Jarrod Shusterman

People in Southern California are used to the drought and water restrictions. Cars aren't washed, lawns aren't watered, and limits are placed on filling swimming pools. It's just a way of life. Then one day the taps go dry.

Southern California is cut off from water provided by the Colorado River. The day it happens is known as Tap Out. Alyssa's family's reaction is to head out to the local Costco to stock up on bottled water. It doesn't take long to realize everyone has the same idea. According to news reports, desalination plants will be up and running in a few days. That doesn't work out as planned either.

Next door Kelton and his parents have it under control. Kelton's dad is a prepper and has been preparing for the inevitable for years. They have a safe room fully supplied with everything they need to survive and booby traps surround the house. They are also preparing to leave for their bug-out in the nearby mountains. 

Alyssa's parents head off to the beach to get promised water from the desalination machines, but they don't return. Kelton offers to help Alyssa locate her missing parents. That's when everything falls apart. Neighbors are frantically looting and Kelton's father accidentally shoots Kelton's brother when he mistakes him for one of the crazy neighbors. Now Alyssa, Garrett, and Kelton's lives depend on making it to the bug-out on their own.

DRY is a chilling look at the future written by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman. Taking the very real water shortage to crisis level makes for a frightening novel that has the potential of becoming more than fiction. 

OTHER WORDS FOR HOME by Jasmine Warga

Jude lives in Syria with her family. She worships her older brother, Issa. Home is a coastal city that attracts many tourists, but war is threatening everyone everywhere in Syria.

A decision is made for Jude and her mother to leave the only place she's known as home and travel to America. They will live with Jude's uncle and aunt in Cincinnati. It will be safer for a young girl and for a pregnant woman, but it won't be home.

Leaving Syria means learning a new language and new adjusting to unfamiliar customs. Jude's cousin Sarah isn't exactly welcoming. When Jude starts school as a seventh grader, she finds there is only one other Muslim girl in her class. She is the victim of taunts and teasing and only feels comfortable in her ESL class. The teacher there makes everyone feel welcome and encourages them as they learn English and much more.

Despite her fears, Jude begins to assimilate with the help of a kind boy who always wear t-shirts with space references and a surprising part in the school musical. Jude feels more at home every day. The birth of her baby sister and the relief of knowing her brother and father are safe in Syria help Jude learn that home may have different meanings.

Author Jasmine Warga gives readers a look at the refugee life most only hear about on the news. OTHER WORDS FOR HOME is a must have for libraries and classrooms.

LIGHT IT UP by Kekla Magoon

#BlackLivesMatter is being chanted once again. This time it is unarmed, thirteen year old girl. Will the officer who discharged his weapon in the name of self-defense be acquitted or will there be justice for young Shae?

In HOW IT WENT DOWN, Tariq is the victim of a police shooting. Author Kekla Magoon revisits the same neighborhood in LIGHT IT UP. Late in the afternoon Shae is hurrying home. Listening to her headphones may have meant she didn't hear the police officer, but that wasn't reason enough to be shot in the back.

LIGHT IT UP tells of the unrest in the Underhill community after yet another young black teen is killed. Alternating voices including Shae's best friend, a community organizer, the police officer and his daughter, and many more spill their feelings across the pages of this powerful book. Magoon brings an all too common tragedy to life on the pages of her newest novel. LIGHT IT UP is a necessary read and should be in libraries and classrooms everywhere.