Alex and the Ironic Gentlemen By Adrienne Kress

This is a personal favortie of mine. I would love to say that this is a book for everybody and all age groups are included. However, this is one book dedicated to our younger readers out there. It is witty, quirky, comical and random. Yet it all somehow makes complete sense. So here's the deal: There is this girl. A ten-and-a-half-year-old girl who is constantly being mistaken for the opposite gender because of her somewhat manly/boyish haircut and name. Her name is Alex Morningside and she attends the Wigpowder-Steele Academy for the boring, rich, and snobby. Luckily she get an awesome and very relatable new sixth grade teacher who goes by the name of Mr. Underwood. He has a family secret, which is of pirate and buried treasured based. Because of that, he gets kidnapped by the notorious pirates of the Ironic Gentlemen. During his capture in the Morningside residence, Alex's one and only guardian is crushed to death by doorknobs. She, having no time to mourn her loss, sets out on a journey to rescue Mr. Underwood and find some buried treasure while she is at it. Along the way, she meets new friends and foes. Both organic and inorganic. From an unappreciated Extremely Ginormous Octopus to wicked old ladies to talking refrigeradors. All the juicy extras and in-betweens I'll leave for you to anticipate and wonder at. At least until you grab this book, flip it open, pop a squat, and devour it with your eyes. F.Y.I: This is only the first book in a new and delightful new children's series. Well, new as of 2009. So look out there for the second book.

Leviathan - Scott Westerfeld

This is from the guy who brought The Uglies Series. Interesting story. Its got a girl dressing like a guy, a illegitimate prince on the run for his life with his fencing instructor and a mechanic, and you've also got yourself some mutated animals. And incase you are having trouble picturing the whole thing, there are illustrations scattered here and there throughout the book. And there not too bad, if I say so myself. Hardy har.
It is a relatively new book. Released sometime in 2009. So most of you may not have heard of it, but if you're reading this, it means that you must have came across the name sometime, somehow. Walk past it at a bookstore, see someone read it, or having it recommended by a friend or by somebody you know. Either way, you know it now, and so I put the task upon your sholders to read it.
Here's a little spoiler: it doesn't end with that one book.
Haha, not much of a spoiler, but there is going to be another book, there has to be. People just don't leave you on a cliffhanger like that.
The book rotates between the two points of view for every few chapters. It doesn't make a lot of sense at first, but when they meet each other, it starts to piece itself together.

Gathering Blue - Lois Lowry

Gathering Blue was written by the same author as The Giver (as you can see up above). However, though it wasn't as fantastic as The Giver, its still a good book to read. Just plop yourself down next to a fireplace and get hacking away at that book. Hint: Lois Lowry is a great writer! You hear that Lois? I'm your fangirl.
Gathering Blue is about a crippled girl named Kira. She was born that way, but the lack of leg and athleticism is made up for with her wondrous skills as a weaver. Like the boy in The Giver, she is shrouded in secrets. Everything around her is not what it seems. She comes to a realization that the all-powerful Council of Guardians who saved her life, aren't as nice as she thought. Trapping little girls and boys in their room with a padlock and stern, heartless, cold voices forcing them to brutal, unending practices. The Council of Guardians are trying to control their talents and gifts for themselves.
The girl, Kira, also befriends a little boy who goes on a journey to bring back the color blue as a gift for Kira. In the end, she discovers that she might not be so alone in the world after all.

The Giver - Lois Lowry

The Giver is told by the main prodigy, Jonas's, point of view. Jonas can't seem to relate to his world. His world is called The Community. Everything is Perfect, and everything is the same. There is no pain, there are no problems. Nothing is wrong, but everything is wrong. There isn't any anger, or frustration, or any of the bad stuff, but there is also no happiness, no smiles and no love. Your parents most likely married for love, right? It doesn't work that way in The Community. When you turn twelve, you go to a ceremony where you are told what you will be doing for the rest of your life. Once you get to a certain age, they pair you up with a compatable partner to raise two kids. No more, no less. But they aren't even yours. And the cycle repeats. The children never even get to see their biological parents, because they are given birth to by birth mothers. They spend their life just reproducing.
Not so perfect now, is it?
The Community is perfect, in a sense, and everything there is gray. The clothes are gray, the grass is gray, the food is gray, and the people are gray. Imagine eating a gray apple?
Well, that's where it all starts. Jonas starts learning all about the truth of his so called perfect world. He rushes to save the life of another from a horrible fate and whether or not he succeeds depends on whether or not you end up reading this book.
Have you ever read a book where you have felt so empathetic that you had a gut-wretching, on the verge of tears, heart-aching feeling? Have you every felt so intune with the book that it felt like you were the book, whatever was happening in it was really happening to you in your room, or whatever strange place you find yourself reading in?
This book is a must read. An extreme must read. I'm encouraging you to read this book as much as I would encourage you to eat eel shushi. Why? Because you won't regret it. This is one of the books that I encourage everyone to read. So go out and try to find it.