Among the Hidden- Margaret Peterson Haddix

Title: Among the Hidden
Author: Haddix, Margaret Peterson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 1998
ISBN-13: 9780689824753

Genre: Drama, Mystery
Reading Level: 800 Lexile
Interest Level: 8+
Series: Shadow Children

Readers Annotation: Only two children are allowed in a household, but what happens if a third child comes along? Does the family kill the baby or do they hide the child?

Plot:
Luke has spent his whole life in hiding. He is the third child in a family and he is not supposed to exist. The Population Police will take him away and maybe even kill him if they find out he lives. He has been able to spend time outside even though he cannot leave his yard because there are woods around him. Now, a housing development is going to be built and he must stay in the house all the time. One day when he is looking out the small window wishing he could go outside he sees another face! There is another hidden child. She is blonde and beautiful. Luke is so excited that he wants to meet her badly. He has always followed the rules, but will he continue to even though things have changed?

Review:
This is the first book in a series called the Shadow Children. The children are not allowed to be and yet they are. This book is full of a need to find companionship and the nature of humans to want what they cannot have. The hidden children know the policies but do not understand why they are not allowed in the world. Families cannot bear to kill their children so as the series progresses there are many hidden children. This is an interesting concept and tweens still love reading them today.

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The others in the series
Hoot- Carl Hiaasen
Fever 1793- Laurie Halse Anderson

The Sisters Grimm- The Fairy Tale Detectives- Michael Buckley

Title:The Sisters Grimm- The Fairy Tale Detectives
Author: Buckley, Michael
Publisher: Abrams, 2005
ISBN-13: 9780810959255

Genre: Fantasy
Reading Level: 840 Lexile
Interest Level: 9+


Readers Annotation:What would you think if magic and folktales were real? What if the stories were about your family members?

Plot:
Sabrina and Daphne Grimm are two sisters who have had a rough life. Their parents have disappeared and there is no telling where they went or why they are gone. The girls get sent to live with their grandmother because their parents are gone. What they find at the grandmothers house is strange happenings each day. The fairy tale brothers, The Brothers Grimm, are ancestors of the girls and they find out the tales are real! Sabrina is not pleased about this and does not believe it for a second. Whether she wants to or not the girls must help the family fighting the creatures. They are to help stop a giant from taking over the town and destroying the land. Can they do it?

Review:
This is the first in a series of books about these girls and their adventures. It is a great spin on the Brothers Grimm stories because they are lighter in nature and have a comical aspect to them. Buckly writes with a voice that keeps the reader engaged but does not have too much detail to overwhelm the reader. I look forward to reading more in the series.

Similar Materials:
Sisters Grimm Series
Brothers Grimm

Falling In- Frances O'Roark Dowell

Title:Falling In
Author: Dowell, Frances O'Roark
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition, 2012
ISBN-10: 1416999027

Genre: Fantasy
Reading Level: 850 Lexile
Interest Level: 8+


Readers Annotation: Are fairy-tales real? Isabelle thinks so and then finds out. 

Plot:
Isabelle has a hard time paying attention. Her head is in the clouds a lot of the time. One day, she is sitting in class when she hears an odd buzzing sound. She gets sent to the principal's office to think about her learning. While waiting she checks out the closet and falls in. Isabelle ends up in a fairy-tale land that she has never seen before. Because of her red boots, everyone in this land thinks she is "the witch." Can she convince them otherwise? Isabelle goes on a quest to prove her innocence all the while learning more about this strange land. She encounters strange creatures and is lucky to make it through alive. Maybe this adventure will help her in the real world.

Review:
This is a fun story similar to Alice in Wonderland. Dowell wrote this book in a way that the reader is directly spoken to and part of the book. This makes the book easier to read and adds a personal element to the book that could have otherwise have been lost. Isabelle is a girl who has a hard time making friends and lives in her imagination because of it. There is something comforting about this book because the reader knows in their heart that she will make it back to the real world, even if at some parts it does not seem so.

Similar Materials:
Alice in Wonderland
The Sixty-Eight Rooms- Marianne Malone

Flawed Dogs- Berkeley Breathed

Title: Flawed Dogs
Author: Breathed, Berkeley
Publisher: Penguin Group, 2009
ISBN-13: 9780399252181

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Reading Level: 920 Lexile
Interest Level: 9+


Readers Annotation: Sometimes plans change from what you expect. Is it always a bad thing?

Plot:
Sam is a dachshund and was bread to be a show dog. He lived a life of privilege and love until one day a nasty poodle named Cassius frames him for something terrible. Sam is kicked out of his home and banished to the streets. Because he has never been on the streets before, terrible things happen including the loss of a leg. He uses a ladle as a leg to get around. One man scoops him up to have as a companion and then puts Sam into a dog fighting ring. When Sam escapes the dog fight he sees a sign for the dog show and guess who is on it, Cassius. Sam decides he is going to find and confront his enemy head on.

Review:
This is a cute book about rising even through tough times. Children and tweens can relate to this when they feel as though there are sad things going on in their life. Sam was put in many different situations where many dogs and people would have given up but he didn't He used the ladle like his own leg and became successful. I would recommend this to many readers who want a heart warming story.

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Scat- Carl Hiaasen

Granny Torrelli Makes Soup- Sharon Creech

Title: Granny Torrelli Makes Soup
Author: Creech, Sharon
Publisher: Harper Collins, 2003
ISBN-13: 9780060292904

Genre: Fantasy
Reading Level: 810 Lexile
Interest Level: 9+

Readers Annotation: Soup and other recipes can make the world a better place.

Plot:
Rosie's grandmother is an amazing cook. She is always cooking something delicious and teaching Rosie the way around the kitchen. Her friend Bailey on the other hand has made her mad. She was just trying to be more like him and now he is upset. Bailey is blind and Rosie has helped him for their entire lives to "see" the world. As Grandma finds out about the rift, she decides they need to cook something together to heal the problem. Will it work?

Review:
This is a story about friendship, love and cooking. Rosie's grandmother imparts knowledge of all kinds to her granddaughter while in the kitchen. She reflects on her past to help Rosie. Many readers have had this experience with an adult sometime. The kitchen is a place people come together. I liked this story. It was short but very sweet.

Similar Materials:

Walk two Moons- Sharon Creech
Eggs- Jerry Spinelli

Tale of Despereaux-Kate DiCamillo

Title:Tale of Despereaux
Author: DiCamillo, Kate
Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2003
ISBN-13: 9780763617226

Genre: Fantasy
Reading Level: 670 Lexile
Interest Level: 8+


Readers Annotation: One brave mouse, one different rat, and two women. What could happen?

Plot:
This is a story of love, bravery and the meaning of life. Despereaux was doomed in the mouse community from the start. He was extremely small, had large ears and was the only mouse of his litter to survive. He was different from the beginning and never became a normal mouse. He broke all the rules and not only entered a room to listen to music, but fell in love and talked to a human! He was banished to the dungeon. Roscuro is a rat who wishes to be in the light not the darkness of the dungeon and Miggery Sow is a girl who wants something she cannot have. The three stories come together in an unusual way and the three learn something about themselves.

Review:
This book was very cute and a fast read. I loved the format of the book and the voice in which it was written. DiCamillo did a great job creating characters the reader will love. The story was being told to the reader and the narrator actually addresses the reader throughout the book. I enjoyed this book and understand why it has been read for many years.

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Because of Winn Dixie- Kate DiCamillo
Feathers- Jacqueline Woodson

Baby- Joseph Monninger

Title:Baby
Author: Monninger, Joseph
Publisher: Boyds Mills Press, 2007
ISBN-13: 9781590785027

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Reading Level: 580 Lexile
Interest Level: 13+


Readers Annotation: Bobby helps her escape from foster homes every time, but what if that's not a great thing?

Plot:
Baby's mom disappeared years ago and no one knows where she is. At 15 she is in foster homes where she cannot become happy. She runs from each one for one reason or another. Bobby gets it and he gets her. They smoke together and run together. This is the last place they say before juvenile hall. Still, Bobby finds her and she escapes. One of the sled dogs the family has comes with her. Baby and the dog are on the run. What comes next? Luanne, a girl they are staying with pan handles and wants to fake prostitute for money and drugs. The circles they are in will not go anywhere but Baby is not sure what to do. She is just trying to survive. 

Review:
This is a sad story that has been told a few times and yet it still seems fresh and new. Baby is a character the reader hopes comes out of her hole. She is simply a girl striving to feel love. Many people feel this way at one time or another. Fifteen is a hard age because one is trying to find out who they are. When stability is gone, fifteen can be harder.

Petey- Ben Mikaelsen

Title:Petey
Author: Mikaelsen, Ben
Publisher: Perfection Learning (Reprint), 2010
ISBN-10: 160686825X

Genre: Historical Fiction/ Realistic Fiction
Reading Level: 740 Lexile
Interest Level: 10+


Readers Annotation: Petey is bed ridden but not incapable of learning. In 1920 though, he is officially diagnosed an idiot.

Plot:
Petey was born with the diagnosis of idiot in the 1920's and placed in an insane asylum where he was forgotten and not engaged. What he really had was cerebral palsy. He was cognitively very aware but his body did not work. Over the years Petey makes friends and a few people see past his physical disabilities. When he is in his 40s and is living in a home different from the hospital, a child stumbles into Petey's life. The two become friends with time because they need to unite together to fight off bullies. This story is about finding the beauty inside a person. Petey desperately needs a new wheelchair. The boy is determined to raise the thousands of dollars to get Petey one because the home will not fund it. Can he do it?

Review:
This was a great book. The reader feels for Petey because he is treated sub human. the asylums were places people went to die. Many of the residents were treated poorly and hurt by their caretakers. As time went on and people understood disabilities more, Petey was able to talk more with people although many people were still scared of him. This is a unique perspective of growing up with disabilities.

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Out of My Mind- Sharon Draper

A Long Walk to Water- Linda Sue Park

Title:  A Long Walk to Water
Author: Park, Linda Sue
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin, 2009
ISBN-10: 0547251270

Genre: Historical Fiction
Reading Level: 720 Lexile
Interest Level: 10+


Readers Annotation: She walks eight hours every day to fetch water. He is escaping a war torn town. Their stories are different but its one country.

Plot:
This story follows two different children. Nya is in 2008 and she walks eight hours a day gathering water for her family. While walking she has a lot of time to think about life. When the seasons change, she must walk even farther. She meets people along the way. Salva is a "lost boy" of Sudan in 1985. He is slowly traveling through the country trying to find a place he can call home. The two stories collide even though they are in two different times and situations.

Review:
This book was one I will not forget for a long time. There was so much to it that I had to stop and just think about it for a bit sometimes. This is a wonderful story of how different people and times can still be connected. This is based on a true story which made it even more interesting to read. There were times I cried and times I smiled. I would recommend this to anyone at any age.

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Lost in the River of Grass- Ginny Rorby

Then He Ate my Boy Entrancers- Louise Rennison

Title: Then he Ate my Boy Entrancers
Author: Rennison, Louise
Publisher: Harper Collins, 2005
ISBN-10:  006058937X

Genre: Realistic Fiction/ Comedy
Reading Level: 770 Lexile
Interest Level: 12+


Readers Annotation: The boy she loves is in the United States and guess what? She gets to go to the states too! Can she find him?

Plot:
Georgina and her best friend Jas are headed to Hamburger-a-gogo-land or America for a family vacation. While she is there she has decided that she wants to find Masimo. He is the Italian-American boy she really likes. Little does she know that Masimo is no where near the vacation spot. Will she be able to find him?

Review:
This book was very hard for me to understand. It uses a lot of British humor and language. This is not the first book in the series so it could be part of it but the language in general was very hard for me to read and understand. The other part that was hard for me to read was how she thought everything would be so easy to find. America is big and there are so many people. I did not like that it was all about country western things in America too. This book was hard to get through and I do not understand why people like it.

Clemintine- Sara Pennypacker

Title:Clementine
Author: Pennypacker, Sara
Publisher: Hyperion (Reprint), 2008
ISBN-10: 0786838833

Genre: Comedy
Reading Level: 790 Lexile
Interest Level: 7+


Readers Annotation: Clementine is paying attention at all times, just not to what adults think she should be.

Plot:
Clementine is a busy girl. She spends time "helping" all the people around her. There is so much to help with. She also spends a lot of time seeing what others to not. She is always being told to pay attention but she is! When Clementine's neighbor and friend is in the bathroom a long time, Clementine goes to see why. Margaret had gotten glue in her hair and cut a chunk of it off. Now she is crying. So Clementine helps by cutting the rest off short. Margaret does not like it because it is a brown color. The decide to color it red with art pens. Margaret's mother is very mad when  she finds out but Clementine was just trying to help.

Review:
This book reminds me of Judy Moody and others of that nature. Clementine is a walking, talking disaster. She causes trouble wherever she goes even though she does not mean to. This book is heart-warming, funny and full of antics. I would recommend it and any others in the series.

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Other Clementine books
Judy Moody

Every Soul a Star- Wendy Mass

Title: Every Soul a Star
Author: Mass, Wendy
Publisher: Little, Brown Books, 2008
ISBN-10: 0316002569

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Reading Level: HL740 Lexile
Interest Level: 10+


Readers Annotation: When life is set to change forever, is there a way to stop it?

Plot:
Ally loves her life at The Moon Shadow. It is a unique campground her family runs. There is a labyrinth, an alien detector and other outdoor fun things. There are not cell phones, schools and cliques and she is happy with that. Bree is the opposite. She is just about to hit the highest rung on the popularity scale when she finds out her parents are moving her and her family to The Moon Shadow to take it over for a few years. Bree cannot imagine a life without her friends and phone. Ally does not find out they are moving to the city until Bree and her family arrive a few days early. Neither girl is happy about this and they try to come up with a plan to change their parents' minds. Jack is overweight and quiet. He spends a lot of time alone but gets asked by a teacher to go to Moon Shadow to help with a summer camp. He decides to go and change his summer. What happens when all three of them come together?

Review:
This book is told through all three character's eyes. Each chapter is from a different perspective which makes it an interesting book and ever changing. The reader is seeing the same days in different ways. It is a great story about how certain situations can create friendships that would not have happened otherwise. Sometimes the lessons learned from those friendships are better than others.

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Inside Out and Back Again- Thanhha Lai
Jake and Lilly- Jerry Spinelli
Eggs- Jerry Spinelli

The Watcher- James Howe

Title: The Watcher
Author: Howe, James
Publisher: Simon and Schuster, 1997
ISBN-10: 0689801866

Genre: REalistic Fiction
Reading Level: 890 Lexile
Interest Level: 12+


Readers Annotation: Every day she sits and watches the surrounding people. She records what she sees but will never know what is inside their souls as they will never know about her.

Plot:
This is a story that starts with a little girl who sits and watches the world around her.She writes everything down and yet she can only observe so much. To others, she seems like a very sad and strange girl and yet she is complicated and full of life. She escapes her life by creating stories about others. Evan is a boy she sees on the beach often. His life seems perfect but she does not see that his parents are talking about divorce. Chris is a lifeguard for the summer and the girl sees him as a beautiful person, but he is escaping a life of no love and lots of loss. This book takes three people are brings them together in an unexpected way.

Review:
This book was different from many of James Howe's books. It is serious and sometimes hard to read but gives a different perspective on people's lives. These three teens would not have come together had the girl not been watching so intently. This book surprised me. From the back of the book it seems to be completely different from what it is. This discrepancy could be confusing to the reader and I would advise readers to come at this book with an open mind. This way, enjoyment will be greater.

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Esperanza Rising- Pam Munoz Ryan

Tunnels- Rodrick Gordon and Brian Williams

Title: Tunnels
Author: Gordon, Roderick and Williams, Brian
Publisher: Scholastic Inc., 2008
ISBN-13: 9780439871778

Genre: Adventure/ Fantasy
Reading Level: 990 Lexile
Interest Level: 11+

Readers Annotation: His father is missing and there seems to be some strange tunnels under the ground. Could the two be connected?

Plot:
Will is 14 and not a very popular kid. He gets made fun of a lot and his father is pretty eccentric as well. One day, Will's father disappears without a trace. This is odd and Will decides to look for him. He discovers some tunnels under the streets and since his father was an archaeologist he thinks maybe his father is lost in the tunnels. What he discovers is very different from an ancient civilization preserved under the ground. There is a community thriving in these tunnels and they have taken Will's father hostage. Can will get him back?

Review:
This is an interesting book that starts a series by Gordon and Williams. Tunnels is hard to get through at the beginning but once it gets going the adventures come one after another. The reader is captivated by the characters and civilization. The book leaves the reader ready for more which is a great way to start a series.

Similar Materials:

The Rest of the Series:
Deeper
Freefall
Closer
Spiral

The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things- Carolyn Mackler

Title:The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things
Author: Mackler, Carolyn
Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2003
ISBN-10: 0763619582

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Reading Level: 790 Lexile
Interest Level: 13+


Readers Annotation: Everyone in my family is beautiful and thin. Everyone, that is, other than me. I am over weight, unpopular and unhappy.

Plot:
Virginia feels like she does not fit into her family. Everyone is successful, beautiful and powerful. Virginia feels she is none of these things. She is overweight and spends her time playing on the internet and eating junk food. There is a boy Froggy who has taken interest in her but wont be seen with her in public. His real name is Froggy. Virginia's self esteem is so low but she decides to change her life and go on a diet. This is going great until a terrible call comes to the family. Virginia's older brother Byron has been suspended from college for date rape. As the family struggles with this news and figuring out the reality, Virginia needs to face her inner demons as well as the realization her family is not perfect.

Review:
This is an interesting book about something that is not talked about as often as it should. Virginia is very self conscious but she does not like to let people know this. She is so afraid that Froggy will see her body and run. She is afraid that she will always be fat and not be accepted by her family. It is a good book to help the reader see the beauty inside themselves and that nothing is as it seems.

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The Perks of Being a Wallflower- Stephen Chbosky
Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging- Louise Rennison

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days- Jeff Kinney

Title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
Author: Kinney, Jeff
Publisher: Abrams, 2009
ISBN-13: 9780810983915

Genre: Comedy
Reading Level: 1010 Lexile
Interest Level: 8+

Readers Annotation: It's summer, there is no family vacation, and Greg owes 85 dollars to his friend's dad. It's going to be a long summer.

Plot:
Greg has decided that he is going to spend the entire summer vacation inside playing video games. His mother has other ideas though. She starts a book club for the neighborhood boys but that does not work. The only one in the club is Greg. Then Greg's best friends father comes over angry about smoothies the boys bought at the country club. Now Greg must pay back the money. He needs to figure out how to do so while having his lazy indoor summer as well. Greg's mother still wants a fun filled family summer. What will happen?

Review:
I do not care for the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books but thought I would review one because children and tweens really seem to enjoy them. Maybe it is because Greg is on the lazy side and they think that is funny. Maybe the pictures help reluctant readers. The story line is poorly created and the literary value is low.

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The other Diary of a Wimpy Kid Books
Dork Diaries- Russell

The Lemonade War- Jacqueline Davies

Title:The Lemonade War
Author: Davies, Jacqueline
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin, 2007
ISBN-10:  0618750436

Genre: Adventure, Realistic Fiction
Reading Level: 630 Lexile
Interest Level: 8+


Readers Annotation:
Lemonade. Can one make good money doing it one weekend before school starts? One brother and sister fight to see who wins.

Plot:
Jessie and Evan are very different. Jessie is book smart. She is great at math and is even skipping the third grade. Evan is older and people smart. He is a smooth talker and makes friends very easily. The two decide they are going to see who can make the most money selling lemonade one weekend before school starts. They both will have separate stands and count at the end of the weekend. While both play on their strengths, both need to learn about the subject they do not know well in order to win. Sometimes there are not so nice ways of getting ahead. Who will win?

Review:
This was an interesting and fast paced book about sibling rivalry. Evan is upset his little sister is going to be in the same grade as him and Jessie just wants people to like her. There are layers to this story that are not explicitly focused on which makes it layered without being too stressful to read. I liked the antics in trying to win and the math was explained so children could be learning while reading.

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The other Lemonade books by Jacqueline Davies

Horns and Wrinkles- Joseph Helgerson

Title: Horns and Wrinkes
Author: Helgerson, Joseph
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin, 2006
ISBN-10: 0618616799

Genre: Fantasy
Reading Level: 880 Lexile
Interest Level: 10+


Readers Annotation: Do you believe in river creatures? Claire didn't until one day when her cousin comes out of the river with a horn instead of a nose.

Plot:
His horn grows with time and there is an old woman who says it will continue to grow unless he is truly nice to someone or something. Claire has heard a lot about River Trolls and Rock Trolls always seemed to be a thing of stories. Now, she is seeing them with her cousin and she must help them before they will allow him to come back home. That is, if he even wants to go home. The Trolls need screens to lift a spell that has been placed on them. Claire is one of the only people who can help them reach their goal. Can the spell be lifted?

Review:
This book is not what I usually enjoy reading, but Helgerson did a great job keeping the reader entertained. The story moved forward quickly and the reader wants Claire to help the creatures even though they are mean creatures. This book lets the reader's imagination run wild.

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Cinderella- Sarah Thompson
The Doll People- Ann Martin

The Absolute Value of Mike- Kathryn Erskine

Title: The Absolute Value of Mike
Author: Erskine, Kathryn
Publisher: Penguin Group, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0142421017

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Reading Level: 610 Lexile
Interest Level: 10+

Readers Annotation: Mike handles everything for his genius father. Now his father is going to Romania and he must go life with his great aunt and uncle in the middle of no where.

Plot:
Mike is used to communicating with his friends daily, taking care of the bills and remembering where things are so his father can function. His father is a math genius but has a hard time remembering the day to day tasks. When Mike is told his father is going to Romania and he is not allowed to be home alone, he thinks he gets to go too. Nope. He is sent to Pennsylvania to live with distant relatives to work on an engineering project. Mike dreads this because he has dyslexia when it comes to math. When he arrives in Pennsylvania, nothing is as it seems. The engineering project turns out to be a town-wide project to adopt a child from Romania. He works with a homeless man, his great aunt and a punk girl to try to save this boy. Can he do it?

Review:
This was a heartwarming and comical book about life lessons. Mike realizes that nothing is as it seems. The homeless man is completely different than Mike thought, so is his elderly aunt. The town is coming together for a goal but has no leader. Mike becomes that person. A summer that he was dreading turns out to be one he will never forget.

Similar Materials:

Out of my Mind- Sharon Draper
Mockingbird- Kathryn Erskine

A Mango Shaped Space- Wendy Mass

Title: A Mango-Shaped Space
Author: Mass, Wendy
Publisher: Little, Brown Books, 2003
ISBN-10: 0316523887

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Reading Level: 770 Lexile
Interest Level: 10+
Awards: Great Lakes Great Book Award 2005

Readers Annotation: Have you ever thought something that happened to you happened to everyone and then find out not many do?

Plot:
Mia has a condition called synesthesia. This means letters and number have colors to her. Growing up she believes everyone sees these colors. When she begins algebra, Mia realizes that her grades are slipping because the letters and the numbers are clashing. Their colors do not make sense anymore. This creates problems with her parents. When she says she sees colors, Mia's parents take her to doctors thinking she is crazy. With time they find out the diagnosis and Mia is introduced to an online community of other people with synesthesia. She reads that acupuncture amplifies the colors for those with this condition and she meets a boy who also has synesthesia. This story is about seeing things and people for who they are, embracing your differences and understanding oneself.

Review:
I really enjoyed this book. It gave a different perspective on what normal is and what it means to have a gift. Mia has to first come to an understanding of how she is different then how to embrace it. People who do not understand make fun of her which is hard to handle. This book is a great coming of age novel.

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