The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm

When Ellie's mom brings her grandfather home from the police station, Ellie does not really question his appearance, but she should have!  The brilliant scientist is no longer an old man, somehow he has discovered the secret to eternal youth and is now a teenage boy.  Because of his brush with the law, the teenage "long lost cousin" is now required to attend school with Ellie.  While her grandfather tries to enlist Ellie's help in breaking into his lab, to recover his ground breaking research, Ellie questions everything she thought she knew about science and life.  Will Ellie be able to deal with her embarrassing grandfather at middle school?  Will her grandfather finally get the fame and recognition he has worked so hard to accomplish?  What would life be like if everyone could be young again?  

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

So, this book is an autobiography in prose.  Both things usually do not make me happy.  But this was a beautiful autobiography about Jacqueline Woodson's remarkable childhood.  The book talks about her very early years in Ohio, where her father's successful black family was accepted.  After her parent's split, her mother decided to move the children back to Greenville, South Carolina, where her grandmother still felt safer on the back of the bus and did not go into certain stores because she didn't want to be followed around because she was black.  Woodson loved her grandparents and her summer days spent outside.  When her mother leaves to explore life in New York, Woodson is torn between missing her mother and enjoying her life with her grandparents.  Eventually the children move to New York, which is an adjustment (all that concrete) to her life in South Carolina.  Gradually Woodson finds her place and a new best friend.  A stunning walk through a period of history, with Woodson's powerful narration.

Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper

After seeing the Ku Klux Klan burning a cross in the middle of the night, Stella's life begins to change.  In the 1930's South, Stella has become accustomed to being treated like a second class citizen.  She attends an all black school, she lives in an all black neighborhood, and she accepts the fact the whites in town look down upon her. Gradually, Stella starts to notice the people in her neighborhood are getting tired of waiting for things to get better.  Stella becomes an example of strength and perserverance while those around her struggle to fight against racism.  This struggle results in the burning down of houses by the Ku Klux Klan, someone almost dying because the "white" doctor refuses to treat them because they are black, and the constant fear of retribution.  This book shows the perils of standing up for one's rights through the eyes of a young girl.

Nightbird by Alice Hoffman

This was one of the best middle grade books I have read.  I loved that it was mystical, intriguing, and thought provoking. Twig is a mysterious young girl who lives in the equally peculiar town of Sidwell.  Twig and Sidwell have their share of secrets.  There are rumors of a winged monster which lives in the unearthly woods on the outskirts of town.  Twig is a lonely girl who lives a life of hiding with her mother near their family's orchards.  When a new family moves into an abandoned cottage, old legends begin to seem true.  Twig has to find out how to keep her secrets safe but still live the life she has always wanted.  This is a page turner, full of surprises.