Try one of these 2005-2006 Soaring Eagle Nominees:

• The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
  
  Plot Eddie is a wounded war veteran, an old man who has lived, in his mind, an uninspired life. His job is fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. On his 83rd birthday, a tragic accident kills him, as he tries to save a little girl from a falling cart. He awakes in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a destination. It's a place where your life is explained to you by five people, some of whom you knew, others who may have been strangers. One by one, from childhood to soldier to old age, Eddie's five people revisit their connections to him on earth, illuminating the mysteries of his "meaningless" life, and revealing the haunting secret behind the eternal question: "Why was I here?"
  
  
• Girls in Pants by Ann Brashares
  
  The Pants first came to us at the perfect moment. That is, when we were splitting up for the first time. It was two summers ago when they first worked their magic, and last summer when they shook up our lives once again. You see, we don’t wear the Pants year-round. We let them rest so they are extra powerful when summer comes. (There was the time this spring when Carmen wore them to her mom’s wedding, but that was a special case.)
  
  Now we’re facing our last summer together. In September we go to college. And it’s not like one of those TV shows where all of us magically turn up at the same college. We’re going to four different colleges in four different cities (but all within four hours of one another—that was our one rule). We’re headed off to start our real lives.
  
  Tomorrow night at Gilda’s we’ll launch the Pants on their third summer voyage. Tomorrow begins the time of our lives. It’s when we’ll need our Pants the most.
  
  
• Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn
  
  "I will be as wild as I wanna be."
  
  After getting tossed from her posh boarding school, wild, willful, and coffee addicted Cyd Charisse returns to San Francisco to live with her parents. But there's no way Cyd can survive in her parents' pristine house. Lucky for Cyd she's got Gingerbread, her childhood rag doll and confidante, and her new surfer boyfriend.
  
  When Cyd's rebelliousness gets out of hand, her parents ship her off to New York City to spend the summer with "Frank real-dad," her biological father. Trading in her parents for New York City grunge and getting to know her bio-dad and step-sibs is what Cyd has been waiting for her whole life. But summer in the city is not what Cyd expects -- and she's far from the daughter or sister that anyone could have imagined.
  
  
• The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer
  
  In the not-too-distant future, in a place called Satellite City, thirteen-year-old Cosmo Hill is unfortunate enough to come into the world unwanted by his parents. And so, as are all orphaned boys his age, Cosmo is dipped in a vaccine vat and sent to the Clarissa Frayne Institute for Parentally Challenged Boys-freight class. At Clarissa Frayne, the orphans, called "no-sponsors," are put to work by the state, testing dangerous products that never should be allowed near human beings. By the time the no-sponsors are sent to their cardboard utility pipes, given their nightly meal pack, and finally fall asleep, they are often covered in burns, bruises, or sores from the work of the day. Cosmo Hill knows that he must escape, even though he has no idea what might be waiting for him on the outside. He plans for the moment when he can make a break. When that moment finally comes, he nearly dies while escaping. But he is rescued by a gang of "Supernaturalists," a motley crew of kids who all have a special psychic ability-one that Cosmo is about to learn he has as well. They "see" supernatural Parasites-tiny, translucent creatures who feed on the life force of humans.
  
  
• Escape from Memory by Margaret Haddix
  
  "Well, I'm sure I don't have any secrets...," I said, trying to sound certain. "Can't we just tell them that?"
  
  Mom's steady gaze was driving me crazy.
  
  "Oh," she said slowly, "but that's where you're wrong. You see, you do have the secrets. You know them."
  
  When Kira agrees to let her friends hypnotize her at a slumber party, she has no idea that she will reveal secrets even she didn't know she had -- memories of fleeing a war-torn country with her mother, understanding a language she can't identify. Then her mother disappears, and a woman calling herself Aunt Memory takes Kira to Crythe, a place that doesn't officially exist, in order to rescue her mother -- or so Kira thinks. She soon learns that there are memories locked in her mind that place her and her mother in grave danger, but those memories are also the only thing that might save them.
  
  In Escape from Memory, award-winning author Margaret Peterson Haddix imagines a culture that values its memories above everything else -- and a teen who has to make the most important decision of her life.
  
  
• Olive’s Ocean by Kevin Henkes
  
  "Olive Barstow was dead. She'd been hit by a car on Monroe Street while riding her bicycle weeks ago. That was about all Martha knew."
  
  Martha Boyle and Olive Barstow could have been friends. But they weren't -- and now all that is left are eerie connections between two girls who were in the same grade at school and who both kept the same secret without knowing it.
  
  Now Martha can't stop thinking about Olive. A family summer on Cape Cod should help banish those thoughts; instead, they seep in everywhere.
  
  And this year Martha's routine at her beloved grandmother's beachside house is complicated by the Manning boys. Jimmy, Tate, Todd, Luke, and Leo. But especially Jimmy. What if, what if, what if, what if? The world can change in a minute.
  
  
• Skeleton Key by Anthony Horowitz
  
  Alex Rider has been through a lot for his fourteen years. He's been shot at by international terrorists, chased down a mountainside, and stood face-to-face with evil. Twice, young Alex has saved the world. And twice, he has almost been killed doing it. But now Alex faces something even more dangerous. The desperation of a man who has lost everything he cared for: his country and his only son. A man who just happens to have a nuclear weapon and a serious grudge against the free world. To see his beloved Russia once again be a dominant power, he will stop at nothing. Unless Alex can stop him first.
  
  The phenomenon that is the Alex Rider series returns with pulse-quickening action as, for the first time, Britain's MI6 and America's CIA unite forces. Be glad Alex is on our side.
  
  
• Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman
  
  When Vince heads out to sunny L.A. to go to college, he feels like he is finally going to be able to leave his shady family and their illegal antics behind. Once he arrives at school, he is paired up with the son of a prominent congressman as a roommate-finally some respectability! Not to mention that the girls in college are something else. With his girlfriend, Kendra, giving him such a hard time, Vince is beginning to wonder if single life is the way to go.
  
  
• Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen
  
  Within Cole Matthews lie anger, rage and hate. Cole has been stealing and fighting for years. This time he caught Alex Driscal in the, parking lot and smashed his head against the sidewalk. Now, Alex may have permanent brain damage'and Cole is in the Biggest trouble of his life.
  
  Cole is offered Circle Justice: a system based on Native American traditions that attempts to provide healing for the criminal offender, the victim and the, community. With prison as his only alternative, Cole plays along. He says he wants to repent, but in his heart Cole blames his alcoholic mom his, abusive dad, wimpy Alex -- everyone but himself -- for his situation.
  
  Cole receives a one-year banishment to a remote Alaskan island. There, he is mauled by Mysterious white bear of Native American legend. Hideously injured, Cole waits for his death His thoughts shift from from Anger to humility. To survive, he must stop blaming others and take responsibility for his life. Rescuers arrive to save Cole's but it is the attack of the Spirit Bear that may save his soul.
  
  Ben Mikaelsen paints a vivid picture of a juvenile offender, examining the roots without absolving solving him of responsibility for his actions, and questioning a society in which angry people make victims of their peers and communities. Touching Spirit Bear is a poignant testimonial to the power of a pain that can destroy, or lead to healing.
  
  
• Nightmare Academy by Frank Peretti
  
  The Veritas Project team has a new assignment: To find the truth behind the mysterious disappearance of two runaways. When one runaway turns up totally out of his mind and a government agent steps in to take over the case, the Springfield's continue their own investigation. The twins-Elijah and Elisha-go undercover, posing as runaways. What happens next will keep readers on the edge of their seats as the twins end up in a strange academy where Truth is continually challenged, a gang-like war develops, and Elijah is taken to an ominous mansion from which no one has ever returned. A great thriller with a realistic look at right and wrong.
  
  
• Away Laughing on a Fast Camel by Louise Rennison
  
  The Sex God has left the country, taking Georgia's heart with him. So she decides to display glaciosity to all boys -- a girl can only have her heart broken so many times.
  
  Until she meets Masimo, the new singer for the Stiff Dylans. The Sex God is gone, but here comes the Dreamboat, and Georgia's away laughing on a fast camel (whatever that means).
  
  
• Esperanza Rising by Pam Ryan
  
  Esperanza thought she'd always live with her family on their ranch in Mexico--she'd always have fancy dresses, a beautiful home, & servants. But a sudden tragedy forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California during the Great Depression, and to settle in a camp for Mexican farm workers. Esperanza isn't ready for the hard labor, financial struggles, or lack of acceptance she now faces. When their new life is threatened, Esperanza must find a way to rise above her difficult circumstances--Mama's life and her own depend on it.
  
  
• Cirque Du Freak: Tunnels of Blood by Darren Shan
  
  Darren Shan, the vampire's assistant, gets a taste of the city when he leaves the Cirque Du Freak with Evra the snake-boy and Mr. Crepsley. When corpses are discovered drained of blood, Darren and Evra are compelled to confront a foul creature of the night who may prove to be the end of them all.
  
  
• The Boy Who Couldn’t Die by William Sleator
  
  When his best friend is killed in a plane crash, Ken makes a decision: He will never die. As the only child of rich, indulgent parents, Ken is used to getting his way, and this time is no different. He finds a woman who claims she can make him invulnerable to pain and death for the unbelievably cheap price of fifty dollars. And her strange ritual works. Ken can't be burned, beaten up, or even bitten by the sharks he dives amongst on his spring break in the Caribbean.
  
  Ken can't die, but he can kill. As long as he's awake, he feels in complete control of his life. But at night the dreams take over-dreams of digging up graves, of knifing perfect strangers...then of trying to murder someone he loves. And no one can stop him, not even himself.
  
  
• The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket
  
  Dear Reader,
  Like handshakes, house pets, or raw carrots, many things are preferable when not slippery. Unfortunately, in this miserable volume, I am afraid that Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire run into more than their fair share of slipperiness during their harrowing journey up -- and down -- a range of strange and distressing mountains.
  
  In order to spare you any further repulsion, it would be best not to mention any of the unpleasant details of this story, particularly a secret message, a toboggan, a deceitful trap, a swarm of snow gnats, a scheming villain, a troupe of organized youngsters, a covered casserole dish, and a surprising survivor of a terrible fire.
  
  Unfortunately, I have dedicated my life to researching and recording the sad tale of the Baudelaire Orphans. There is no reason for you to dedicate yourself to such things, and you might instead dedicate yourself to letting this slippery book slip from your hands into a nearby trash receptacle, or deep pit.
  
  With all due respect,
  Lemony Snicket

Need more ideas for great books? Try these 2004-2005 Soaring Eagle Nominees.