Potter, Ellen. (2012). The humming room.  New York: Feiwel and Friends.

(Grades 4-6)  Roo has had a traumatic childhood and her parents have just been murdered.  She is sent to live with an uncle that she has never met.  Her uncle lives on an island in the St. Lawrence river in upstate New York.  Soon after moving in, she begins to hear humming and crying.  She is determined to find the source and soon discovers a closed-off, dead garden, a reclusive cousin, and an unusual boy.

Potter has written a book that pays homage to The Secret Garden with a modern twist.  Roo is a likable character and teaches us that we can all start over.

Okay for Now

Schmidt, Gary D. (2011). Okay for now.  New York: Clarion Books.

(Grades 5-9) Every once in a while a book comes along where you just can't wait to share it with people.  This is that book. This book will break you heart and also bring you renewed hope. 

Okay for Now is the sequal to the Newbery Honor  Book, The Wednesday Wars, but you do NOT have to read The Wednesday Wars to enjoy this book.  Set in the 1960s Doug Swieteck has an abusive father, a brother in Vietnam, and a bully for another brother.  His father loses his job and moves the family to a small town.  Things don't start off too well for Doug.  The police suspect his brother for a series of break-ins, Eighth grade hasn't started off particularly well, and his brother returns from Vietnam without his legs; however, the kindness of a librarian, a teacher, and a girl named Lil are just what Doug needs.
Okay for Now is  "darker" than The Wednesday Wars, but superb!!  Schmidt has done an outstanding job using voice and has created a novel that is simply beautiful.  A definite must read!!