Lunch with Lenin

Title: Lunch with Lenin and Other Stories

Author: Deborah Ellis
Publication Date: October 2008
ISBN 13: 978-1554551057

From the beauty pageant queen who finally feels some compassion for her drug addicted sister, to the Pakistani farmers growing opium in order to buy food to eat, the tweens in this book have all been affected by drugs in one form or another.  Imagine surviving an orphanage only to lose your only friend to heroin, or having to buy marijuana because it's the only thing that can alleviate your elderly grandmother's pain.  In this collection of short stories, we see the full extent of the influences of drugs.  Without casting blame or exaggerating the picture, Ellis' work is bittersweet: morose in tone, and hopeful in lesson.

Funny (very funny) Business

Title: Funny Business
Edited with a very funny forward by: Jon Scieszka
ISBN 13: 978-0061963735

This collection of short stories is hilarious.  With contributions from such greats as Christopher Paul Curtis, Eoin Colfer, Jeff Kinney and David Lubar (plus more!), I literally laughed out loud on several occassions.  My favorite stories included a kid being pushed down the stairs, another being peeled, some hot dog nipples and a joke in the cafeteria. 

Troll's Eye View--A Book of Villainous Tales

Title: Troll's Eye View: A Book of Villainous Tales
Edited by: Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
Publication Date: April 2009
ISBN 13: 978-0142416730

This collection of stories is sure to make you laugh (can you picture Jack buzzing around like a fly until the giant falls down his own beanstalk?), and really creep you out (who ever thought eating a flower could turn a normal boy into a blood-thirsty werewolf?)!  With 15 stories from notable authors like Jane Yolen, Neil Gaiman, Garth Nix, and Nancy Farmer, it's no wonder this book is sure to please!  An ALA Notable selection.