by Priscilla Cummings (2006)
Brady loves life on the Chesapeake Bay with his friends J.T. and Digger. But developers and rich families are moving into the area, and while Brady befriends some of them, like the DiAngelos, his parents and friends are bitter about the changes. Tragedy strikes when the DiAngelos' kayak overturns in the bay, and Brady wonders if it was more than an accident. Soon, Brady discovers the terrible truth behind the kayak's sinking, and it will change the lives of those he loves forever. Priscilla Cummings deftly weaves a suspenseful tale of three teenagers caught in a wicked web of deception.
Kathleen T. Pelley
As the town's official measurer, Magnus Maximus is consumed with measuring and counting everything and everyone, missing out on life's simple pleasures, until one day when he breaks his glasses.
Sharon Creech
Set in the breathtaking landscape of Lugano, Switzerland, Bloomabilityis Sharon Creech at her very best.When 13-year-old Dinnie Doone is plucked out of her troubled life by her aunt and uncle and whisked away to an international school in Switzerland, her world is turned upside down. Suddenly surrounded by different cultures, languages, and beliefs, Dinnie struggles to holdon to her past life. Gradually, through friendships and experiences she could have nowhere else, she learns to trust herself and discovers the beautiful "bloomabilities" her new life has to offer.01 Blue Spruce Award Masterlist (YA Cat.), 00-01 Young Hoosier Book Award Masterlist (Grds. 6-8), Pacific NW Library Assoc. 2001 Young Reader's Choice Award Masterlist, and 00-01 South Carolina Book Award Masterlist(Grds 6-9) Young Adult's Choices for 2000 (IRA)