Sold by Patricia McCormack

This book was beautifully written, but tells such an ugly story. Lakshmi is a 13-year-old girl from Nepal. She is poor, but loves her life in the mountains. Unfortunately, she is sold (unbeknownst to her) to a brothel in India, and must endure this life, or die. Patricia McCormick writes in an almost free-verse style, simply giving Lakshmi a voice which breaks the readers’ heart. I believe this would be a great book for middle school students, because it is not too graphic, but tells this very realistic story in a compelling way

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

I must be starved for more Harry Potter, because I really enjoyed these tales, and especially enjoyed the commentary by Albus Dumbledore. Once again I marveled at how J.K. Rowling was able to intertwine these tales with HP.
I have a great idea for JKR. Why doesn't she write about the early years of Dumbledore and his brother? She really just touched on them in the books, but I know she could turn it into at least 3 volumes. I really miss Hogwarts and Harry and Hermione.