In "William S. and the Great Escape" by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, seventh grader William S. Baggett
has had enough of his bullying father, tormenting twin brothers and their life of living on the wrong side of the law. He's been saving his chore money and is ready to leave when the twins decide to flush his little sister Jancy's hamster down the toilet. William and Jancy both know that for their safety it's time for them to go and, with their two youngest sibs Trixie and Buddy in tow, pack up and begin their journey to Aunt Fiona's. By now, the police have been notified and it's up to William to find a way to outsmart his father and the police to get to Aunt Fiona. But will Aunt Fiona want them all? This deserving book won the Parent Choice Silver Award. The call number for this book is JH SNY.
"Yes, I Know the Monkey Man" by Dori Hillestad Butler is the sequel to "Do You Know the Monkey Man?" This story of thirteen-year-old T.J. Three weeks ago , T.J. found out she has a twin sister and a mother, facts her mentally ill father has kept from her. Now her sister Sam and her mother want her to come be a part of her mother's wedding. Since Gram and her father are both hospitalized, T.J. and her dog take the bus to her mother's house. Feelings of fear, grief, and envy wash over her as she learns to deal with her new family. Why did her father not tell her her mother and sister were alive? How she copes with this emotional tidal wave makes an engaging read. Call number J BUT
Peg Kehret's "Runaway
Twin" is an awesome story. According to School Library Journal, "Sunny Skyland has missed her twin sister ever since they were separated at age three after their mother and grandmother were killed in an automobile accident. Sunny has kept her memories of Starr alive over the past decade and in seven foster homes. Then, the discovery of a canvas bag containing $800, with no claimant, spurs Sunny to travel from Nebraska to her old neighborhood in Enumclaw, WA. Sunny is an experienced runaway who plans carefully and tells no one. She boards a bus for the first leg of her journey but then complicates her life by adopting a stray dog. Her trip is thwarted by a group of teenage boys, and she survives a tornado. She does reach her destination, but not with the expected ending." Call number JH KEH
