5, 6, 7, 8 - YA Lit Rocks!

The Lightning Theif, Rick Riordan
In this fantasy, a teenager named Percy is surprised to learn that all the weird stuff that has been happening his whole life, from faces in the waves at the beach to his smelly stepfather, is all due to the fact that his is a Hero - the son of a mortal woman and a Greek god. His quest: find something that was stolen from Zeus and stop World War III. It's an interestingly modern take on Greek mythology. I am looking forward to the next two books in the series.

Al Capone Does My Shirts, Gennifer Choldenko
This sweet story chronicles a boy's year at Alcatraz, where his dad is part electrician, part guard. It deals touchingly with his relationship with his sister, who has autism before autism is a real diagnosis. It's a really poignant story and I loved it.

Esperanza Rising, Pam Muñoz Ryan
I picked this up in the library the other day and fell in love! It is a heart-wrenching story of a young Mexican girl from a wealthy family whose world falls apart. She is forced to flee Mexico and immigrate to the United States, where she works in the fields, picking crops for a pittance. It is set in the 1920's or 1930's, when times were very hard, especially for immigrants. Esperanze is very brave and works hard to hold what is left of her family together, even though she is only 13.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Jeff Kinney
In Diary of a Wimpy Kid, a seventh grade boy tells his story of the tortures of middle school through humorous reflection and stick-figure comics. I flew through this book in about an hour and the boys in my class are fighting over it (cue music: "Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles...").