Messenger

Written by: Lois Lowry

First line: Matty was impatient to have the supper preparations over and done with.

Why you should read this book: Matty, the incorrigible scamp from Gathering Blue, is a little bit older and perhaps a very little bit wiser, living with Seer, his friend Kira's blind old father, in Village, a special town in their angry, violent world, where everyone helps everyone else and everyone is accepted. Except things are changing in Village, and now the kindest of people have become greedy and selfish, and Forest is getting more and more dangerous, and everything is about to change for the worse. Matty, one of the few people who can pass through Forest without fear, is the messenger who must tell the world about the impending changes, but Matty has a secret in a place where secrets aren't supposed to be kept, and he's not sure how it will affect his work or anything that comes after.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You believe in closed borders, every man for himself, and games of chance.