Recommendations based on Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactusby Dusti Bowling

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise

    by Dan Gemeinhart
    A girl and her father travel across the country in a converted school bus, seeking to heal from a tragic past.

    "Sometimes a story comes along that just plain makes you want to hug the world., The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise, is Dan Gemeinhart’s finest book yet — and that’s saying something. Your ... (Barnes & Noble)

  2. Refugee

    by Alan Gratz
    Three children, three different times, all with a common goal of finding refuge.

    A tour de force from acclaimed author Alan Gratz (,Prisoner B-3087,), this timely — and timeless — novel tells the powerful story of three different children seeking refuge. A, New York Times, ... (Barnes & Noble)

  3. Restart

    by Gordon Korman
    A middle schooler learns to overcome his fears and learns to start anew.

    The amazing, New York Times, bestseller about what you can do when life gives you a second chance. Chase's memory just went out the window. Chase doesn't remember falling off the roof. He doesn't ... (Barnes & Noble)

  4. The Wild Robot Escapes

    by Peter Brown
    Robot Roz is back, fighting for survival on a remote island. She must find her way back to civilization and her adopted family.

    The sequel to the,bestselling, The Wild Robot, by award-winning author Peter Brown Shipwrecked on a remote, wild island, Robot Roz learned from the unwelcoming animal inhabitants and adapted to her ... (Barnes & Noble)

  5. New Kid

    by Jerry Craft
    Seventh-grader Jordan Banks navigates a new school, where he's one of the few kids of color.

    12-year-old Jordan Banks is a black boy who lives in Washington Heights . Jordan loves art and wishes to go to art school. Instead, his mother makes him go to Riverdale Academy Day (RAD) School, ... (Wikipedia)

  6. Okay for Now

    by Gary D. Schmidt
    A young boy struggles to find his place in a new town, but with the help of a kind librarian and John James Audubon's illustrations, he discovers his own talents and strengths.

    Douglas "Doug" Swieteck is a fourteen-year-old boy living somewhere on Long Island in 1968 during the Vietnam War . After Doug's dad is fired for mouthing off to his boss, the Swietecks move to the ... (Wikipedia)

  7. Booked

    by Kwame Alexander
    A young boy navigates life, love, and soccer while dealing with his parents' separation. Written in verse.

    New York Times, Bestseller ∙ National Book Award Longlist ∙ ILA-CBC Children's Choice List ∙ ALA Notable Children’s Book ∙ Book Links’ Lasting Connections ∙ Kirkus Best Book ∙ San Francisco Chronicle ... (Barnes & Noble)

  8. An Author's Odyssey

    by Chris Colfer
    The final book in the Land of Stories series, where the characters must face their greatest challenge yet to save the fairy tale world and the real world.

    The fifth book in Chris Colfer's #1 New York Times bestselling series The Land of Stories! In the highly anticipated continuation of the Land of Stories series, Conner learns that the only place to ... (Goodreads)

  9. Murder Most Unladylike

    by Robin Stevens
    Two schoolgirl detectives investigate a murder at their boarding school, uncovering secrets and lies along the way.

    Hazel Wong and Daisy Wells are students in Deepdean School for Girls. They are the founding members of their school's Detective Society, although the only ones in it. One day, Hazel stumbles upon the ... (Wikipedia)

  10. Save Me a Seat

    by Sarah Weeks
    Two boys from different backgrounds navigate the first week of fifth grade, dealing with bullies and finding friendship.

    Joe and Ravi might be from very different places, but they're both stuck in the same place: SCHOOL.,Joe's lived in the same town all his life, and was doing just fine until his best friends moved ... (Barnes & Noble)

  11. House Arrest

    by K.A. Holt
    Timothy is on house arrest and must navigate his way through a difficult family situation while trying to clear his name.

    Stealing is bad. Yeah. I know. But my brother Levi is always so sick, and his medicine is always so expensive. I didn’t think anyone would notice, if I took that credit card, if, in one stolen ... (Goodreads)

  12. The Search for WondLa

    by Tony DiTerlizzi
    Eva Nine, a 12-year-old girl, searches for other humans on a post-apocalyptic Earth with her robot friend.

    Eva Nine has reached the age of 12 living her whole life in an underground Sanctuary. She has been raised by a robot named "Muthr" (Multi-Utility Task Help Robot zero-six), and knows only of the ... (Wikipedia)

  13. For Every One

    by Jason Reynolds
    A motivational letter in verse, inspiring readers to pursue their dreams and overcome obstacles.

    “A lyrical masterpiece.” —,School Library Journal ,(starred review) Originally performed at the Kennedy Center for the unveiling of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and later as a tribute to ... (Barnes & Noble)

  14. The Thing About Jellyfish

    by Ali Benjamin
    A young girl's quest to reconcile the death of her best friend, and the power of human connection.

    The book follows Suzy Swanson, the protagonist and narrator, who theorizes the death of her friend, Franny Jackson, was caused by a jellyfish sting. Suzy has started the seventh grade, which is the ... (Wikipedia)

  15. Fortunately, the Milk

    by Neil Gaiman
    A wild and wacky journey through time and space, involving pirates and dinosaurs.

    An absolute delight of a madcap story for the young (and young-at-heart) by New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman, with equal parts pirates and piranhas, adventure and aliens, oddity and ... (Barnes & Noble)

  16. Winter

    by Marissa Meyer
    A young girl's battle to save her kingdom from the icy grip of a powerful queen.

    Due to Princess Winter's refusal to use the Lunar gift, the ability to manipulate what others see and do, she has Lunar sickness, a state of mental illness that causes occasional hallucinations. ... (Wikipedia)

  17. The Night Gardener

    by Jonathan Auxier
    Two children investigate the mysterious happenings in a cursed Irish manor.

    A New York Times bestseller, The Night Gardener is a Victorian ghost story with shades of Washington Irving and Henry James. More than just a spooky tale, it’s also a moral fable about human greed ... (Barnes & Noble)

  18. Small Spaces

    by Katherine Arden
    After reading a mysterious book, Ollie's class trip turns into a nightmare as she and her friends are transported to a haunted farm with a dark past.

    New York Times, bestselling adult author of, The Bear and the Nightingale, makes her middle grade debut with a creepy, spellbinding ghost story destined to become a classic,After suffering a tragic ... (Goodreads)

  19. Wolf Hollow

    by Lauren Wolk
    A young girl's struggle to stand up for what she believes in amidst social injustice and bullying.

    The novel is narrated by twelve-year-old Annabelle McBride, who lives on a farm with her family and walks with her two younger brothers (James and Henry) to school in the town of Wolf Hollow. A new ... (Wikipedia)

  20. Louisiana's Way Home

    by Kate DiCamillo
    Abandoned by her grandmother in a small Georgia town, Louisiana struggles to find a way back home to Louisiana.

    From two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo comes a story of discovering who you are — and deciding who you want to be.,When Louisiana Elefante’s granny wakes her up in the middle of the night to ... (Barnes & Noble)

  21. The Wild Robot

    by Peter Brown
    A robot's journey of self-discovery and its transformation from a machine to a living creature.

    Wall-E, meets, Hatchet, in this, New York Times, bestselling illustrated middle grade novel from Caldecott Honor winner Peter Brown Can a robot survive in the wilderness? When robot Roz opens her ... (Barnes & Noble)

  22. The Breadwinner

    by Deborah Ellis
    A young girl in Afghanistan must take on the mantle of breadwinner to protect her family.

    Parvana is an 11-year-old girl who lives in Kabul , Afghanistan with her mother Fatima, her father, her older sister Nooria, and two younger siblings, Maryam and Ali. Taliban soldiers enter her house ... (Wikipedia)

  23. Counting by 7s

    by Holly Goldberg Sloan
    A story of resilience and hope, as an outsider learns to find her place in the world.

    Willow Chance is a twelve-year-old genius, obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions, who finds it comforting to count by 7s. It has never been easy for her to connect with anyone other ... (Goodreads)

  24. These Happy Golden Years

    by Laura Ingalls Wilder
    A young girl's journey of self-discovery as she moves through adulthood.

    As the novel begins, Pa is taking Laura 12 miles from home in the dead of winter to her first teaching assignment at Brewster settlement. Laura being only 15 and a schoolgirl herself, is apprehensive ... (Wikipedia)

  25. The Crossover

    by Kwame Alexander
    Two brothers explore the joys and struggles of adolescence through the power of basketball.

    New York Times, bestseller ∙ Newbery Medal Winner ∙, Coretta Scott King Honor Award ∙,2015 YALSA 2015 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults,∙, 2015 YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers ... (Barnes & Noble)

  26. Blue Lily, Lily Blue

    by Maggie Stiefvater
    A magical journey to save a lost kingdom and find one's true identity.

    The third installment in the all-new series from the #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater! Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can ... (Goodreads)

  27. The Dream Thieves

    by Maggie Stiefvater
    A thrilling supernatural adventure where a group of teenagers must protect the magical power of dreams.

    Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams ... (Goodreads)

  28. The Wishing Spell

    by Chris Colfer
    Twin siblings embark on a magical adventure to locate a missing magical artifact.

    Alex and Conner Bailey's world is about to change, in this fast-paced adventure that uniquely combines our modern day world with the enchanting realm of classic fairy tales. The Land of Stories tells ... (Goodreads)

  29. A Swiftly Tilting Planet

    by Madeleine L'Engle
    A young girl must use the power of her imagination to save the world.

    The book opens on Thanksgiving evening, 10 years after the events of, A Wind in the Door, . Meg is now married to Calvin and is expecting their first child . Calvin has become a scientist and is in ... (Wikipedia)

  30. Legend

    by Marie Lu
    A young hero must save her nation from the brink of destruction, using her wits and courage.

    Legend is set in a future flooded, fortified Los Angeles, ruled by the totalitarian Republic. The novel centers around Day and June, two 15-year-olds on opposite sides of the economic spectrum. June ... (Wikipedia)