JFIC Stand Alone Books

2.7 stars

When Grace takes boxes of old buttons from a building her grandfather bought, she starts a fad at school that draws her closer to one friend, but further from another.

3.5 stars

"Josh Willet is a techie, a serious gamer. Which is why Josh and his friends can't stand Mr. N's ELA class: it's a strict no-tech zone. Mr. N makes them write everything out by hand, he won't use a SMART board, and he's obsessed with some hundred-year-old grammar book. Then Josh discovers a secret: turns out Mr. N's been keeping a lot more than technology from his students. Together with his best friend Vanessa, and using all the computer skills they've...

4.3 stars

Ten-year-old Beans Curry, a member of the Keepsies, the best marble playing gang in Depression-era Key West, Florida, engages in various schemes to earn money while "New Dealers" from Washington, D.C., arrive to turn run down Key West into a tourist resort.

"Ethan Koslov wants to be an ordinary kid, but his future adult self has shown up, demanding that he save the world by preventing his fourth-grade class from making their substitute teacher so miserable that her future self becomes an evil dictator and starts a war"--

Eleven-year-old Fern grapples with her father's death, a distant best friend, and a failing family business, but discovers an unexpected connection with neighbor Jasper as they collaborate on a photography contest and attempt to photograph an endangered pod of killer whales.

4.6 stars

Even though he is only twelve, Rogan Weber is an obsessed gamer, whose motto, ego sum maximus, declares his confidence in his own abilities, and whose parents are also deeply involved in ultra high tech (a little too deeply sometimes); naturally he is thrilled to receive an invitation to join a tech giant's virtual reality TV gaming contest--but as the games become more and more intense and dangerous, he and his fellow gamers realize that something...

5 stars

Genuine Sweet, twelve, of tiny, impoverished Sass, Georgia, inherited the ability to grant any wish except her own but with help from new friends, her life and town are improving until unexpected trouble arrives and Genuine learns the difference between wishing for a better life and building one.

"Determined to save her home, thirteen-year-old financially savvy Geo sells fake fortunes for money, but her success has unforeseen consequences when her predictions start coming true"--

3 stars

At the end of a winter-long journey into manhood, Little Hawk returns to find his village decimated by a white man's plague and soon, despite a fresh start, Little Hawk dies violently but his spirit remains trapped, seeing how his world changes.

A thrilling, ghostly adventure and a testament to the power that kids have to change the world. Defiance holds power. The Ghost Scouts were created to keep the ghosts of Savannah in line. It's an honor to serve. Evey's never wanted anything to do with ghosts, but after best friend, Laura, dumps her for no reason, Evey wants revenge. To take the student of the year award from her ex-bestie, she'll have to join the Ghost Scouts. She'll be the best Ghost...