No Passengers Beyond This Point / Gennifer Choldenko / 240 pages

"You have to wait for good things to happen - wait and wait and work so hard - but bad things occur out of the blue, like fire alarms triggered in the dead of night, blaring randomly, a shock of sound, a chatter of current from which there is not turning back."  The announcement made at the Tompkins Family Meeting was one of those bad things.  India, Finn, and Mouse were to leave the next day for Colorado.  The family had lost their house and their Mom would stay behind to complete her teaching contract. Unfortunately, the flight does not go as planned and the kids are plunged into an alternate reality where decisions are crucial.  Each chooses family over perfection.  With a unique, creative approach, Ms. Choldenko has crafted a heart-warming, adrenaline pumping story of the importance of family and the foibles of growing up.  This would make an excellent read aloud (not to mention movie) and would be a great spark for creative writing or illustrative artwork.