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Recommendations based on Island of the Blue Dolphinsby Scott O'Dell
* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans
Interpreter of Maladies
by Jhumpa Lahiri
Collection of stories exploring the struggles of Indian-American immigrants in the US.
A married couple, Shukumar and Shoba, live as strangers in their house until an electrical outage brings them together when all of sudden "they [are] able to talk to each other again" in the four ... (Wikipedia)
Where the Red Fern Grows
by Wilson Rawls
A young boy embarks on an adventure with his beloved hunting dogs, learning valuable life lessons.
An old man named Billy Colman rescues a redbone hound under attack by neighborhood dogs. He takes it home with him so that its wounds can heal. In light of this event, he has a flashback to when he ... (Wikipedia)
White Fang
by Jack London
A wolfdog's journey from wild to domestication, navigating the complexities of human civilization.
The story begins before the wolf-dog hybrid is born, with two men and their sled dog team on a journey to deliver the coffin of Lord Alfred to a remote town named Fort McGurry in the higher area of ... (Wikipedia)
The Hangman's Daughter
by Oliver Pötzsch
In 17th century Bavaria, a hangman and a physician's daughter team up to solve a series of murders.
Magdalena, the clever and headstrong daughter of Bavarian hangman Jakob Kuisl, lives with her father outside the village walls and is destined to be married off to another hangman’s son—except that ... (Goodreads)
The Christmas Box
by Richard Paul Evans
A story of family, faith, and the power of love to heal grief and loss.
"Whatever the reason, I find that with each passing Christmas the story of the Christmas Box is told less and needed more. So I record it now for all future generations to accept or dismiss as seems ... (Goodreads)
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham
A young man's struggle to gain knowledge and self-confidence, inspiring a revolution in navigation.
In Revolutionary War–era Salem, Massachusetts, a young Nat Bowditch, the smallest member of a sea-faring family, astounds his schoolteacher with his talent for mathematics. He dreams of someday ... (Wikipedia)
Old Yeller
by Fred Gipson
A boy and his dog's adventure of loyalty and courage during the Wild West.
In the late 1860s in the fictional town of Salt Licks, Texas, young Travis Coates has been working to take care of his family ranch with his mother and younger brother, Arliss, while his father goes ... (Wikipedia)
Hatchet
by Gary Paulsen
A boy must learn to survive in the wilderness after a plane crash leaves him stranded.
Brian Robeson is a thirteen-year-old son of divorced parents. As he travels from Hampton, New York on a single engine Cessna bush plane to visit his father in the oil fields in Northern Canada for ... (Wikipedia)
All-of-a-Kind Family
by Sydney Taylor
Five sisters navigate life in early 1900s New York, learning lessons in love and family.
Ella, Henny, Sarah, Charlotte, and Gertrude are five sisters growing up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 1912. The book follows them through a year of their childhood, as they deal with mundane ... (Wikipedia)
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
by C.S. Lewis
An epic fantasy adventure across the seas, encountering magical creatures and lands.
The two youngest Pevensie children, Lucy and Edmund , are staying with their odious cousin Eustace Scrubb while their older brother, Peter , is studying for an exam with Professor Kirke , and their ... (Wikipedia)
The Truth About Stacey
by Raina Telgemeier
Stacey's life changes when she is diagnosed with diabetes. She navigates friendship, health, and self-acceptance.
Poor Stacey. She just moved to a new town, is still coming to terms with her diabetes, and is facing baby-sitting problems left and right. Fortunately, Stacey has three new friends — Kristy, Claudia, ... (Barnes & Noble)
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson
A thrilling adventure of a young boy and a crew of rogues in search of buried treasure.
An old sailor named Billy Bones comes to lodge in the rural Admiral Benbow Inn on the Bristol Channel , in England. He tells the innkeeper's son, Jim Hawkins , to keep a lookout for "a one-legged ... (Wikipedia)
The Call of the Wild
by Jack London
A dog's adventure in the wilderness, confronting the primal struggle for survival.
The story opens in 1897 with Buck, a powerful 140-pound St. Bernard – Scotch Collie mix, , , happily living in California 's Santa Clara Valley as the pampered pet of Judge Miller and his family. One ... (Wikipedia)
The Lords of Discipline
by Pat Conroy
A young man's struggle to survive the brutal hazing rituals of a Southern military college.
Will McLean, returning to the Carolina Military Institute in Charleston, South Carolina an unknown number of years after his graduation, tells the story of his life at the Institute. In 1966, Will ... (Wikipedia)
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life
by James Patterson
Rafe Khatchadorian's hilarious journey through middle school, breaking every rule in the book to make it more bearable.
Rafe is bored at Hills Village Middle School with sixth grade at first, but he and his friend Leonardo the Silent invent "Operation R.A.F.E." (stands for "rules aren't for everyone"), a challenge to ... (Wikipedia)
My Side of the Mountain
by Jean Craighead George
A young boy runs away to the Catskill Mountains, where he learns to survive on his own and befriends a falcon.
Sam Gribley is a 12-year-old boy who intensely dislikes living in his parents' cramped New York City apartment with his eight brothers and sisters. He decides to run away to his great-grandfather's ... (Wikipedia)
The Sign of the Beaver
by Elizabeth George Speare
A young boy left alone in the wilderness befriends a Native American and learns survival skills.
The Sign of the Beaver tells the story of 13-year-old Matt James Hallowell, an 18th-century American settler. He and his father build a log cabin in the wilderness of Maine, then Matt is left alone ... (Wikipedia)
The Jungle Books
by Rudyard Kipling
Collection of stories about Mowgli, a boy raised by wolves, and his adventures in the jungle.
The Jungle Books can be regarded as classic stories told by an adult to children. But they also constitute a complex literary work of art in which the whole of Kipling's philosophy of life is ... (Goodreads)
Every Soul a Star
by Wendy Mass
Three kids from different backgrounds converge at a campground to witness a total solar eclipse, discovering themselves and each other in the process.
Almost 13-year-old Ally lives at a campsite called The Moon Shadow where she is homeschooled by her parents along with her 10-year-old brother Kenny. Although they don't have phone reception and have ... (Wikipedia)
Claudia and Mean Janine
by Raina Telgemeier
Claudia and her sister Janine have always been different, but when they have to spend a week together, they learn to appreciate each other's strengths.
Claudia and her sister, Janine, may as well be from two different planets. Claudia, who pays more attention to her art than her grades, feels she can't compete with her perfect sister. Janine studies ... (Goodreads)
The Horse and His Boy
by C.S. Lewis
An adventure of two runaway children through exotic lands, discovering courage and strength.
A boy named Shasta overhears Arsheesh the fisherman negotiating to sell him to a powerful Calormene feudal nobleman. He is relieved to discover that Arsheesh is not his real father, since there was ... (Wikipedia)
Half Magic
by Edward Eager
Four siblings discover a magic coin that grants wishes, but only halfway. They embark on adventures and learn valuable lessons along the way.
Four children wish on a Half Magic coin that gets their mother Alison half-way home, rescued by Mr Smith. Mark's wish zaps them to a desert without island, where half-talking cat Carrie gabbles to a ... (Goodreads)
The Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman
A young boy's journey through a graveyard, learning the secrets of the dead.
The story begins as the man Jack murders most of the members of a family (later revealed to be the Dorian family) except for the toddler upstairs. Unknown to him, the toddler has climbed out of his ... (Wikipedia)
Heaven and Earth
by Nora Roberts
A suspenseful romance between two people, each facing their own personal challenges.
Ripley Todd just wants to live a quiet, peaceful kind of life. Her job as a sheriff's deputy keeps her busy and happy, and she has no trouble finding men when she wants them - which, lately, isn't ... (Goodreads)
Anne of Windy Poplars
by L.M. Montgomery
A young woman's journey of self-determination, navigating society's expectations of her.
Anne Shirley has left Redmond College behind to begin a new job and a new chapter of her life away from Green Gables. Now she faces a new challenge: the Pringles. They're known as the royal family of ... (Goodreads)
The Namesake
by Jhumpa Lahiri
A young Indian-American's journey of reconciling two different cultures and his own identity.
The story begins as Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli, a young Bengali couple, leave Calcutta , India, and settle in Central Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts . Ashoke is an engineering student at the ... (Wikipedia)
The Beggar King
by Oliver Pötzsch
A historical fiction novel set in medieval Bavaria, following the journey of a beggar boy who becomes a king.
1662: Jakob Kuisl, the hangman of a village in the Alps, receives a letter from his sister calling him to the imperial city of Regensburg, where a gruesome sight awaits him: her throat has been slit. ... (Goodreads)
Anne's House of Dreams
by L.M. Montgomery
A young couple's journey to build a life together, overcoming obstacles and finding joy.
The book begins with Anne and Gilbert's wedding, which takes place in the Green Gables orchard. After the wedding, they move to their first home together, which Anne calls their "house of dreams". ... (Wikipedia)
The Alienist
by Caleb Carr
A gripping murder-mystery set in 19th century New York, exposing the dark underbelly of the city.
Narrated from the first-person perspective of John Moore, a crime reporter for, The New York Times, , the novel begins on January 8, 1919, the day that Theodore Roosevelt is buried. Moore has dinner ... (Wikipedia)
Little House on the Prairie
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
A family's journey of settling and persevering on the American Frontier.
Meet Laura Ingalls, the little girl who would grow up to write the Little House books. Pa Ingalls decides to sell the little log house, and the family sets out for Indian country! They travel from ... (Goodreads)
