2 more Caudills for your consideration!

What if Ignatius is your name, you have 4 much bigger brothers and your nickname is Brother? What if you are left with your grandparents on your family's ranch while your dad goes to Iraq to lead soldiers in battle? You are in charge and you are 12! Beautifully written you will feel like you are in Oregon on this vast cattle ranch seeing the stars, feeling the weather and smelling the fresh open air. Brother is determined to show everyone he can do this even though ranching has never been his calling. This is a story of outdoor action, family faith and the realism of the impact of war on a community. Heart of a Shepherd is Roxanne Parry's first novel.

In 1977, Matt Pin has been living with his adoptive family in the US after being airlifted out of Vietnam at the end of the war. Matt loves his family, is a great pitcher and now is playing the piano but all is not well. Matt cannot forget his past. He remembers his mom and his little brother back in Vietnam. He is haunted by sounds, smells and guilt. He is struggling to make sense of his life, old and new. His piano teacher with his parents approval decide to have him visit Vietnam vets at a local community center who meet to support one another.
Told in free verse you will hear all the voices of Matt's life including his own a he tries to cope during this unique time in our history. You will be amazed at the richness of the images and depth of emotion told with few words. A beautifully threaded story about healing any reader will long remember. All the Broken Pieces is by Ann Burg.

Caudill 2012 - Powerless by Matthew Cody

I am going to kick-off this year's Caudill nominees with a modern fantasy! Powerless is a story about being the "new kid" in junior high but just not any junior high! Meet Daniel Corrigan who had to move from Philadelphia to small town Noble's Green because his grandmother is very ill. It doesn't take long for Daniel to decide that something is up in this town with the kids under the age of 13! A big Sherlock Holmes fan, Daniel puts his detecting abilities to work. Why is Noble's Green called The Safest Town on Earth? What happened years ago when a meteor struck the orphanage in town? Did it have some lasting effect on the children who survived? How do you explain the near tragic accidents that don't quite happen somehow? Daniel soon learns about the secret but that's just the beginning of what is really going on. A deft combination of fantasy, realism, action and mystery, this thought provoking story of friendship, bravery and fitting in will keep you involved right to the end of the story!

If you liked Hunger Games try Divergent!

Set in post apocalyptic Chicago, society in and around the city has been segregated into 5 factions. Each faction delivers important structure and resources to the city inhabitants. Beatrice Prior, like all 16 year olds, will need to choose the faction she plans on staying with her entire life based on the results of a grueling virtual test. Usually the test results are clear and make the choice relatively easy, unless you are "divergent"! This revelation, a dark secret that Beatrice is told to never mention to anyone for fear for her and her family's lives, drives her decision to leave her family's faction and join a seemingly opposite one. You will experience heart stopping, risk taking action set in Chicago full of intrigue, romance, betrayal, battles virtual and real - your typical teenage day, right? What faction would you choose?
And, of course it's a trilogy. "Insurgent" is slated for Spring 2012. Veronica Roth, the 22 year old author, wrote this book while a senior at Northwestern! She majored in English. A great choice for northshore readers.
And, the movie rights have been signed, too!

The 39 Clues series continues!

Just when you thought Dan and Amy were done running for those clues and their lives, here they are again! This time around four of your favorite authors team up to write this 11th entry (you can consider this the introduction to Series 2). You will travel back in time to three separate key moments in the history of the Cahill family. How the family split into its various factions will fascinate you. The last fourth of the book will bring you back to Dan and Amy with all the high speed, page turning adventure you have come to expect. Of course now that the Vespers are clearly the new nemesis, you know there are more installments coming! August 30th Book 1 of Cahills vs Vespers: The Medusa Plot