“WHERE THE STREETS HAD A NAME,” by Randa Abdel-Fattah, Scholastic Press, $17.99 (ages 9-12)
Thirteen-year-old Hayaat is on a mission — getting a handful of soil from her grandmother’s ancestral home in Jerusalem. Hayaat thinks that will save her beloved Sitti Zeynab’s life. But Hayaat and her family live behind the wall that divides the West Bank. Hayaat’s best friend, Samy, always manages to attract trouble. But luck is on the pair’s side as they undertake the journey to Jerusalem from the Palestinian Territories when Hayaat and Samy have a curfew-free day to travel.
“THE DANGER BOX,” by Blue Balliett, Scholastic Press, $16.99 (ages 9-12)
Zoomy has never known his troubled, alcoholic father. But his father has made an appearance, and during that visit he leaves behind a mysterious box. The box contains only an old notebook wrapped in a blanket. From those contents come a friendship, a puzzle, a stranger and a death.
“VOYAGE ON THE GREAT TITANIC (Dear America),” by Ellen Emerson White, Scholastic, $12.99 (ages 9-12)
Five years ago, Margaret Ann Brady’s older brother left her in the care of an orphanage and immigrated to America. When the orphanage receives a request from an American woman looking for a traveling companion, Margaret is chosen. But tragedy is in Margret’s future when she steps aboard the Titanic. Margaret’s diary records the drama of hitting an iceberg and the sinking of an “unsinkable” ship.
“THE CANDYMAKERS,” by Wendy Mass, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $16.99 (ages 9-12)
Who can invent the next big candy? Four children from the town of Spring Haven are up to the challenge to find the tastiest confection in the country. There’s Logan, the Candymaker’s son, who can detect the color of chocolate by touch alone; Miles, the boy who is allergic to the color pink; Daisy, who can lift a 50-pound lump of taffy like it’s a feather; and Philip, the boy who’s always scribbling in a secret notebook. Some juicy revelations are going to come out before this competition is over.
