Replay by Sharon Creech

Leo, age 12, is the next to the youngest in a large Italian family. The household tends to be loud with everyone talking over the others. Leo feels invisible some of the time. While looking in the attic, Leo finds his father's journal from when he was Leo's age. Leo knows he shouldn't read it but he can't help it. He learns many things about his father that he never knew. All the while, Leo is rehearsing for the school play. The rehearsals are not going well and Leo has a fantasy that he will be asked to step into the lead at the last moment. As a matter of fact, Leo has a lot of fantasies. There is so much to this story. You are sure to become involved in Leo's unpredictable life.

Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs

With his nose always in a book, Eben is always dreaming of faraway places and the wonders of the world. But here his is. Stuck in Sassafras Springs, Missourri in 1923. There is surely not anything wonderful here. Tired of hearing Eben complaining, his father challenges him to really look around him. If he can find seven wonders in Sassafras Springs in one week, his father will buy him a train ticket to visit relatives in Colorado. But this is Sassafras Springs! There is no way Eben will find anything unusual here. Or is he just not looking hard enough?