Bound by Donna Jo Napoli - In a novel based on Chinese Cinderella tales, fourteen-year-old stepchild Xing-Xing endures a life of neglect and servitude, as her stepmother cruelly mutilates her own child's feet so that she alone might marry well.
Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything In It by Sundee Frazier - Brendan Buckley, a biracial ten-year-old applies his scientific problem-solving ability and newfound interest in rocks and minerals to connect with his white grandfather, the president of Puyallup Rock Club, and to learn why he and Brendan's mother are estranged.
Football Hero by Tim Green - When twelve-year-old Ty's brother Thane is recruited out of college to play for the New York Jets, their Uncle Gus uses Ty to get insider information for his gambling ring, landing Ty and Thane in trouble with the Mafia.
Ghost in the Tokaido Inn by Dorothy Hoobler - While attempting to solve the mystery of a stolen jewel, Seikei, a merchant's son who longs to be a samurai, joins a group of kabuki actors in eighteenth-century Japan.
Gilda Joyce: Psychic Investigator by Jennifer Allison - During the summer before ninth grade, intrepid Gilda Joyce invites herself to the San Francisco mansion of a distant cousin Lester Splinter and his thirteen-year-old daughter, where she uses her purported psychic abilities and detective skills to solve the mystery of the mansion's boarded-up tower.
Gossamer by Lois Lowry - While learning to bestow dreams, a young dream giver tries to save an eight-year-old boy from the effects of both his abusive past and the nightmares inflicted on him by the frightening Sinisteeds.
Kiki Strike Inside the Shadow City by Kristin Miller - Life becomes more interesting for Ananka Fishbein when, at the age of twelve, she discovers and underground room in the park across from her New York City apartment and meets a mysterious girl called Kiki Strike who claims that she, too, wants to explore the subterranean world.
Ranger's Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan - When fifteen-year-old Will is rejected by battleschool, he becomes the reluctant apprentice to the mysterious Ranger Halt, and winds up protecting the kingdom from danger.
Ruby Electric by Theresa Nelson - Twelve-year-old Ruby Miller, movie buff and aspiring screen writer, tries to resolve the mysteries surrounding her little brother's stuffed woolly mammoth and their father's five year absence.
Schooled by Gordon Korman - After his hippie grandmother ends up in the hospital, Cap Anderson is forced to leave the commune where he is homeschooled and attend the Claverage Middle School, where his odd looks and behavior make him the target of bullies.
-All summaries taken from the Novelist database.
