Emily Elizabeth Davis (who was named in honor of Emily Dickinson) has been told her whole life that she will be a poet, but she hates poetry. She’s been told that she will meet her father when the time is right, but she needs her father right now. When Emily loses the book containing her life story and the secret to her father’s identity, she must decide which of two paths she will follow.

Does destiny control Emily’s fate, as her mother has always told her, or does God direct her life, as her religion teacher says? Does Emily have any say in the matter? Tired of waiting, she decides to find the book herself and adventure ensues.

In Kathryn Fitzmaurice’s engaging third novel, Destiny, Rewritten, Emily enlists the help of her eccentric younger cousin Mortie and her super-smart best friend Wavey to skip school—just for one day. She gets involved with tree huggers, makes a new friend and joins a club for romance novelists, a genre she likes much better than poetry.

In the process, she begins to change into an empowered young lady, one who has the courage to tell her mother who she really wants to be: a romance novelist and not a poet. It seems that Emily is well on her way to controlling her own fate.

When Emily discovers her father’s identity, destiny may intervene before she or her mother has a chance to meet him. But Emily has changed too much to let fate ruin her plans and take away the romance novel ending she’s always longed for.

For children who feel trapped into being someone they don’t want to be, Destiny, Rewritten teaches that everyone has a choice to take actions that can lead to a better place. Fitzmaurice’s thoughtful treatment of her subject offers a lesson that young readers can appreciate and a story they won’t soon forget.

Imagine having the coolest pets in town. The absolute coolest pets. Then imagine not being able to tell anyone about them. This is what Zoe Kahn has to go through every day. In The Menagerie, the first book in a new series by sisters Tui and Kari Sutherland, Zoe and her family are the latest in a centuries-old line who secretly protect a collection of mythical creatures—dragons, kelpies, mermaids, woolly mammoths and more. When six baby griffins escape, though, the safety of the Menagerie is suddenly in jeopardy.

Logan Wilde is new in town, having moved to Xanadu, Wyoming, with his dad after his mom sent a postcard letting them know she was never coming back home. He knows the names of a few kids in his class, but none of them bother to talk to him. One day, after noticing that Zoe was worried about a missing pet, Logan goes home, and finds something hiding under his bed. After attempting to return the animal, Logan quickly realizes that he has a much larger role to play in the survival of the Menagerie.

Perfect for fans of Brandon Mull’s Fablehaven series, The Menagerie is a promising start to what looks to be an exciting new series. It features strong male and female characters, an engrossing plot and a maddeningly wonderful cliffhanger ending. Told with humor, compassion, tension and honesty, The Menagerie immerses readers in Zoe and Logan’s world and will make them wish there was a zoo of mythical creatures hidden in their town as well.

Is it destiny when 12-year-old Ruby is named the Bunning Day Essay Girl and chosen to deliver a rousing speech at her New Hampshire hometown parade? In Linda Urban’s thoughtful novel, The Center of Everything, Ruby keeps looking for signs like these that her wish will come true and she’ll be able to go back in time and be with her grandmother Gigi on the day she died. Maybe then she will understand the final word Gigi uttered that day.

Despite the weighty topic of Ruby’s mourning, this story also produces plenty of smiles as a delightful narrator gives the history of the fictional town of Bunning. During a fierce storm in 1847, Captain Cornelius Bunning rammed his donuts onto the spokes of the ship’s wheel, thus creating the first donut holes. He later used the beams of his ship to build a schoolhouse in the town. “Hole”-some puns and legends abound in Bunning’s honor.

Dealing with her grandmother’s death is not the only big adjustment in Ruby’s life. When classmate Nero DeNiro (who’s as outlandish as his name) takes an interest in Ruby, she must reconcile her relationship with her longtime best friend and her feelings of first love. In a bittersweet ending, Ruby discovers that her grandmother’s death has given her a new appreciation of the world around her. The only holes in this charming story are the ones served up in this donut-obsessed town.

Early Pearl is very much her father’s daughter, an 11-year-old fascinated with words and puzzles. That interest might help her unravel the mystery of her father’s disappearance and reunite their family of four.

Early’s father, Dash, worked in the Chicago Public Library. Hoping to provide a better home for his family, he began working after hours, cataloguing books for resale. It all seemed innocent, but things aren’t always what they seem. After Dash vanishes from a wintry Chicago steet, people break into the family’s apartment, stealing everything they have left: every book, every dollar, every feeling of safety. With no place to go, mom Summer takes Early and her brother Jubie to a shelter.

Living in a shelter is scary at first; there’s no privacy and there are lines for everything from brushing your teeth to using the telephone. Jubie gets sick, Early has to go to a new school where she is singled out as a shelter kid, and her father is still missing. Things are looking bleak until Early sets her mind to figuring out what happened to Dash by deciphering the clues in his notebook.

Using text from Langston Hughes’ The Book of Rhythms, best-selling author Blue Balliett orchestrates a captivating mystery. Woven into the story are bits of history and philosophy, mathematical puzzles and most importantly, compassion for others.

Dash taught his family to hold fast to dreams; Balliett shows readers that shelters are full of people who need a dream to hold fast to, just like the rest of us.

In the world of Lisa Graff’s new book, A Tangle of Knots—a world not all that different from our own—people are often born with a Talent. That special skill might be something as grand as being able to float on air, but mostly the Talents involve everyday activities like whistling, knitting, climbing trees or baking cakes.

Cake-baking is Cady’s Talent, and she can tell what cake is best for each person she meets. Eleven-year-old Cady has grown up in an orphanage in Poughkeepsie, New York, and while the orphanage’s owner, Miss Mallory, has a Talent for matching homeless girls with new parents, she hasn’t been able to find the right match for Cady.

That changes, however, when Miss Mallory meets Toby, the driver of a truck that veers off the road on a foggy day and lands on the orphanage’s front lawn. Toby doesn’t seem to have a Talent, but he does have a mysterious past.

Told from multiple points of view, Graff’s magical tale has so many interesting characters whose lives weave in and out and around each other that we wonder whether she will ever get them to come out right in the end. To make a long story short: She does. A former children’s book editor and author of five previous middle grade novels, including Double Dog Dare and Sophie Simon Solves Them All, Graff infuses the story with humor and rich detail.

Part mystery, part magic, part cookbook (with recipes included), A Tangle of Knots has a great deal of fun in store for young readers as they turn each page and wonder what in the world could happen next. Will the owner of the Lost Luggage Emporium ever find the suitcase he has been searching for? And what is in it? Who is the mysterious lady with no name? What happens when Marigold accidentally mails off her little brother in a package? Will Cady find a home with Toby? And what’s going to happen to Miss Mallory if she does?

Graff’s entertaining story pulls all the threads together—detangling knots, yes, but also making a tapestry as she goes.

Good news for fans of Hattie Inez Brooks, the likeable, intrepid heroine of the Newbery Honor book Hattie Big Sky: Thanks to many requests from readers, award-winning author Kirby Larson has penned a sequel to Hattie’s story, which takes her from Montana into an unexpected—and newsworthy—direction.

As the story opens, Hattie is working as a chambermaid in Great Falls, Montana, and has just finished paying off her Uncle Chester’s IOU. Her ties to homesteading are over. It’s 1919, and Hattie is free to follow her heart’s desire. The most sensible move would take her to Seattle, where her friends Karl and Perilee now live and where her true love, Charlie, has just landed a job with the Boeing Airplane Company. But before she settles down Hattie has a dream she must pursue: She wants to be a big-city newspaper reporter—in San Francisco. And while there, she hopes to solve the mystery of her Uncle Chester’s past and discover the truth about a woman named Ruby Danvers.

Hattie is bold enough to apply for a job at the San Francisco Chronicle, even if it’s just on the night cleaning staff. And as she seeks to work her way up to a real writing job, she also shares with Charlie and her Seattle friends postcards that capture the wonders of her new home.

With its engaging heroine, a text graced by reproductions of actual historical San Francisco postcards and an insightful look at women in early 20th century journalism, Hattie Ever After is sure to please Hattie’s fans—and to make her many new ones. Larson has combined impeccable research, lyrical writing and a fascinating time period to give her young heroine a most satisfying “ever after” indeed.

We all know that there is magic in the world—and it is not the spells-and-wands kind of magic you find in most fantasy books. Real magic is created by love and conjured up by need. In Kimberly Newton Fusco’s enthralling Beholding Bee, there is an abundance of real magic. And it’s a good thing, because Bee needs all the help the world can give her.

Orphaned at the age of 4 by carnival folk parents, Bee is raised by a teenager, Pauline, who helps her run the hot dog stand. The carnival’s owner decided to keep Bee because he hopes to use her as a “freak show” attraction when she gets older.

In the 1940s when this story takes place, being born with a large diamond-shaped birthmark on your face can make you an object of fear, ridicule and fascination. Bee spends most of the early parts of this story trying to keep her hair pulled down over one side of her face. Only Pauline and a strange old lady in a floppy hat—a lady only Bee can see—give her comfort. When Pauline leaves to work at another carnival, Bee is on her own and more scared than ever. With a stray dog and a piglet as her companions, Bee finds the strength to run away to the nearest town, and, miraculously, finds the house where the old lady lives.

Here the magic truly begins as Bee makes a home for herself. She follows the guidance of the ghostly lady and another “aunt” as she learns to cook and shop and go to school. As all the pieces come apart and then come together again, Bee finds her voice and the strength of self to show the world who she really is. Fusco’s lyrical prose enhances the magic of the story as we are drawn into Bee’s unconventional world and her touching transformation.

Georgie Burkhardt knows that the unidentifiable body buried in the family plot is not that of her older sister, Agatha, who recently ran away. In the adventurous historical novel One Came Home, based on two actual events in Wisconsin in 1871, the spunky 13-year-old heroine and best shot in Placid, Wisconsin, sets out to find her sister. She prepares for the trip with advice from Randolph B. Marcy’s The Prairie Traveler (a real book from which the author quotes), a few gold dollars and a Springfield single-shot rifle, and is surprised when Billy McCabe, Agatha’s unrequited love interest, shows up to accompany her.

The pair follow the path Agatha took with pigeoners, who crossed the Midwest trailing the country’s largest recorded migration of the now-extinct passenger pigeon. On the long ride atop a stubborn mule, the outspoken, headstrong girl has plenty of time to reflect on the events that led to Agatha’s departure (including Georgie’s own guilty actions), the handsomeness and unexpected kindness of Billy, and the meager clues that may lead to Agatha’s return. She tells it all in folksy narration, topped with self-deprecating humor.

Georgie’s not just a thinker, though. She roars into action when faced with cougars, ruthless counterfeiters, a mistaken woman who resembles Agatha and even death. As she makes some hard decisions, she learns to see the world beyond appearances and her own wishes. The author seamlessly introduces food, clothing, transportation and societal manners from the time period, allowing readers to learn about the era without even realizing it. Through Georgie’s unrelenting journey, Amy Timberlake has crafted a True Grit for the middle school set.

Nate Foster will never fit in with the kids in his hometown of Jankburg, Pennsylvania. In a place that worships sports stars, 12-year-old Nate prefers to belt out Broadway tunes loud enough for the neighbors to hear. So when Nate learns about an open casting call for E.T.: The Musical, he knows that this could be his only chance to escape.

In Better Nate Than Ever, by Broadway veteran Tim Federle, Nate travels to New York armed only with his cell phone, a box of Entenmann’s donuts and his mom’s ATM card.

Once Nate arrives in the city, things don’t go exactly according to plan. From getting caught in a downpour (in his audition clothes), to underestimating the number of kids interested in playing Elliot in E.T.: The Musical, Nate’s big plan for escape crumbles all around him. However, just like on stage, all you need is one twist of fate and everything can turn around.

A confession: Your reviewer is a huge fan of Broadway musicals. And on its surface, this book is written for fans like me. However, there is so much more to this story. Nate is rash and immature, yes, but he is also determined and courageous, and desperate to figure out where in the world he fits. Filled with adventure, suspense, humor and unique characters, Better Nate Than Ever will be enjoyed by anyone who has ever decided to stop waiting and make their own dreams come true.

Acclaimed author Gary Paulsen has often written about dogs, and is known as an enthusiastic fan of canines. He clearly passed this love on to his son, Jim, co-author of Road Trip, the quirky, fast-paced story of a father and son on a quest to rescue a young border collie.

As Gary Paulsen explains in his author’s note, he and Jim hadn’t actually set out purposefully to write a book together. Instead the project grew naturally and organically, with each sharing chapters over email. Notes the Newbery award-winning author: “Maybe it’s because we both love dogs that we could work together like this. . . . Jim and I lost track when we tried to count how many dogs we’ve owned over the years. But we’ve never lost sight of how much they added to our lives.”

Road Trip begins, appropriately, at the beginning of summer vacation. Fourteen-year-old Ben isn’t surprised at the sudden summons to hop in the truck and travel light. He’s used to tagging along with his dad’s spur-of-the moment adventures. And so is Atticus, the current (and sole) family Border collie. Atticus, who sometimes seems to know more than his humans, provides some of the book’s funniest passages. Atticus is not entirely keen on the quest to get another dog. “Getting a dog is a terrible idea,” he states. “Dogs are not my favorite thing. Dogs are messy and needy.”

Like all good road trips, this story contains adventure, danger, surprises, unexpected twists and turns, and a bevy of eccentric characters. And why not? From On the Road to Little Miss Sunshine, road trips are in our collective blood. Young readers could not begin with better guides than Gary and Jim Paulsen.

Thirteen-year-old Jalen doesn’t believe in horoscopes, especially since her sign, Sagittarius, never seems to fit her. She goes to see an astrologer, Madame Beausoleil, on her birthday anyway since the annual visit is a tradition she has always kept with her grandmother. This year, Jalen goes with her friend Ellie since her grandmother is in the hospital dying of cancer. It’s not the same with Ellie, and Jalen is just as disappointed in her horoscope reading as ever, but she finds a dusty old book in the crowded gift shop that she feels compelled to have. It’s called Keypers of the Zodiack and it’s locked with a chain. Jalen can’t help wondering if unlocking the book might help her to unlock the mystery of who she is as well.

Author Kristin O’Donnell Tubb’s exciting new middle grade fantasy, The 13th Sign, is a departure from her two earlier books, both works of historical fiction (Selling Hope, Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different). Here, she starts with an intriguing premise: What if there were a 13th sign in the zodiac that has been hidden from humans? When another sign is squeezed in, almost everyone’s astrological sign changes to make room for it. Tubb is adept at creating the main characters’ distinct personalities and then altering them when the 13th sign is unlocked. But these changes create all kinds of problems, and Jalen and her friends set out to put the 13th sign back under lock and key.

The story moves along at nice pace: fast enough to keep readers turning the pages but contemplative enough to keep them thinking. While we realize that Jalen must seal away the 13th sign in the end, there are still many surprises as the adventure unfolds, with a chance at a sequel to come. This inventive fantasy, set in the real world of New Orleans, will appeal to a wide audience.

Hokey Pokey is the perfect kids’ world. There are many places to play, continuous cartoons on a big screen, wild herds of bicycles, even places for tantrums and snuggling. Only kids live here, from the time they first shed their diapers until they become Big Kids. But what happens then?

Newbery Award-winning author Jerry Spinelli explores this question with his usual grace and creativity in Hokey Pokey. His main character Jack wakes up one morning to find that his great stallion bike Scramjet has been stolen and nothing is as he expects. When he discovers that his tattoo, the one every newbie gets upon entering Hokey Pokey, is starting to fade, he knows for sure that his life is about to change forever.

It’s hard to talk about how wonderful this book is without giving away its secrets. Adults will know early on what Jack is experiencing, and tweens might guess but not fully understand. Pre-teens will identify with Jack—and his friends the Amigos and his nemesis Jubilee—in a way that will startle them. The ending is a satisfying “click” of the last puzzle piece. If readers are put off by the childish-seeming premise at the beginning, encourage them to keep going. Hokey Pokey is not just a place, but also a journey they will recognize.

This is the kind of remarkable, unique and perfect coming-of-age story that makes the reader think, “Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?” And all of a sudden, there is no better way to describe childhood—or its end.