Runaway Twin

by Peg Kehret, 197 pages

Runaway Twin is a 2011-2012 Mark Twain Award Nominee. Sunny has spent most of her life in foster care. Although she has finally been placed in a home she likes, she is still unhappy. Sunny was separated from her twin sister, Starr, when they were three years old. She has no idea where Starr is now, but the thought of a twin sister somewhere in the world, the only person who can really understand her, haunts her thought and keeps her from being satisfied. She's always felt that something is missing, and she won't be complete until she's reunited with Starr.

When Sunny finds a mysterious sack of cash while on a hike, she decides the time has come to find her twin. She runs away from her foster home with only a vague idea of where to begin her search.

Sunny is a quick-witted and engaging main character. Her intelligence and intuition keep what could be a pretty implausible plot from seeming unbelievable. While this wasn't my favorite Mark Twain Award Nominee, this book could have a lot of appeal for older kids/YA (Sunny is 13, and there are some scary parts), and boys, if they don't mind a female main character.

Heart of a Shepherd

By Rosanne Parry, 161 pages.

OK, so before I said I hoped The Secret of Zoom would win the 2011-2012 Mark Twain Award. Scratch that, I spoke too soon! Stop what you're doing, put down what you're reading, and go get a copy of Heart of a Shepherd. I have not been this moved by a children's book since Walk Two Moons. I cried and cried. Man. Oof. Wow.

Heart of a Shepherd is about a boy everyone calls Brother. He lives on a ranch in Oregon with his grandparents. His father is serving in Iraq, and his mother is out of the picture. He has some sheep he tends, some older brothers, and some friends at school. And that's basically the book right there. Although things happen in the book, the story is mainly about Brother's thoughts and feelings as he deals with life, death, growing up. I can't explain the alchemy that good writing brings to a simple story to make it moving and important. All I know is I was reading a story about a boy, and then the magic of literature happened and I was crying my eyes out.

Heart of a Shepherd is a simple and thoughtful portrait of a boy on the cusp of adulthood. Even though it's categorized as J Fiction, I think YA readers might get more out of it. But who knows. I remember reading Walk Two Moons in fifth grade and loving it, and when I read it again last year I loved it for different reasons. Heart of a Shepherd is probably the same-- people of all ages will find something of value.

The Secret of Zoom

by Lynn Jonell, 291 pages

The Secret of Zoom is a 2011-2012 Mark Twain Award Nominee, and of the nominated books I've read so far (um...I've read 2), I think this one should win! It reminded me of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unforunate Events or Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials. Children are called upon to perform heroic and dangerous feats while figuring out a sinister mystery concocted by evil grownups. Man, I hate evil grownups!

Christina comes from a very scientific family. But ever since her scientist mother died under mysterious circumstances (her lab exploded and she was never seen again), Christina has been a virtual prisoner in her family's amazing mansion, kept away from other children and the outside world by her overprotective but well-meaning father. When Christina accidentally comes in contact with an orphan from the outside world, she gets inspired to break free. She discovers a secret passageway that leads out of the mansion. She meets up with her orphan friend, Taft, but soon finds herself embroiled in mystery involving orphan abuse, mining violations, a mysterious substance called zoom, and a corrupt relative she had never met. There's also an airplane controlled by singing and the power of thought. Amazing!

For me, the coolest part of this book was that so much of the plot hinges on characters' abilities to sing on pitch (I don't want to spoil anything, but it has to do with how zoom works). I kept having to get up and try notes and chords on the piano to understand how things worked. Of course, the book makes sense and would be a great read even if you don't have a piano handy, but for me, it was fun to play and sing the notes along with Christina. It turns out the chord needed to start the airplane is very beautiful and kind of mournful sounding. Cool!

11 Birthdays

by Wendy Mass, 267 pages

11 Birthdays is a 2011-2012 Mark Twain Award Nominee. The plot is ripped off from Groundhog Day, the 1993 movie starring Bill Murray, but I'm not complaining. In fact, I'd like to see that plot ripped off as much as possible because that movie is awesome and I like thinking about Bill Murray.

Amanda and Leo are best friends born on the same day. They've celebrated all 10 of their birthdays together, but on their tenth birthday, they had a falling out. Now their eleventh birthday is approaching, and for the first time, they'll have separate parties. Amanda is upset about their fight, the fact that Leo will probably have a cooler party than her, and her fear that she isn't as popular as her friends. Her fears are confirmed on her birthday-- she and Leo don't talk, she messes up her audition for the gymnastics team, her party is sparsely attended, and to top it off, her mom gets fired.

The next morning, Amanda wakes up to find it's her birthday again. And again. And again. She discovers the same thing is happening to Leo-- they're living their birthday over and over. They realize they have to team up to find a way to get unstuck in time. They explore town legends, family history, and their friendship to find the anwer.

One interesting thing about this book is that although Wendy Mass doesn't mention Groundhog Day, it's clear the book was written in a post-Groundhog Day world. When Amanda and Leo realize they're stuck, their first instinct is to try to be better people, because come on, everyone knows if you get stuck in time you have to be nicer. They help strangers, they're extra pleasant to their parents, they turn their homework in on time, and in the morning, they're dismayed to discover that none of it worked. It took Bill Murray 3/4 of the movie to figure out he had to be nice, but Amanda and Leo think of it immediately. Actually, their solution is a lot more complicated than Bill Murray's. If Bill Murray had to go through everything Leo and Amanda did, he'd still be stuck in Punxatawney.