If you like "Flipped" ...

Wendelin Van Draanen's book Flipped has been made into a movie that opened in theatres last month. If you liked the novel's humor, well-developed characters, and touch of romance and want to read more books like it, check out the ones listed below. Find a copy of these titles using the search boxes here on BookBag!

Peeled, by Joan Bauer (G.P. Putnam's Sons) Mystery. Apples and apple farming are the center of life and culture in the small town of Banesville, New York...but strange occurrences and wild rumors (which the local newspaper, The Bee, seems to be encouraging) threaten to rot the community to the core. While folks have always whispered about the old Ludlow place being haunted, the talk turns frenzied when a dead body is found on the property. High school junior and aspiring journalist Hildy Biddle is determined to root out the truth of what's going on--but she has some serious digging to do to get to the facts. Readers who enjoy a story with great characters, witty heroines, lots of humor, and a dash of romance should pick this juicy read.

Scrambled Eggs at Midnight, by Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler (Dutton Books) Fiction. Calliope was happy until her mom decided to "find herself" and they started moving from one Renaissance fair to the next, camping or living in shabby apartments. Eliot was content before his dad found religion and started a Christian fat camp in the North Carolina woods (the camp's motto is "What Would Jesus Eat?"). After Calliope and her mom arrive in Asheville, NC, she and Eliot meet and are immediately attracted to each other. Theirs is a quirky, funny, and sweet romance--but will it be doomed by Cal's mother's wanderlust and Eliot's dad's disapproval? Like Wendelin Van Draanen's Flipped, this love story is told from both of the main characters' points of view.

Don't Call Me Ishmael, by Michael Gerard Bauer (Greenwillow Books) Humorous Fiction. Ishmael LeSeur is starting Year Nine at St. Daniel's Boys School in Australia, and with a name like his (which is easy to twist into nicknames like "Fishtail LeSewer"), it's going to be a loooong year. The class bully, Barry Bagsley, finds lots of ways besides name-calling to make Ishmael's life miserable--that is, until super-smart, woefully geeky new student James Scobie joins their class. James, as everyone quickly learns, is fearless; he teaches Barry how to deal with bullies and even helps him find romance...by starting a debate team at St. Daniel's that competes with a rival girls' school. Hilarious, smart, and great fun to read, Don't Call Me Ishmael is heavy on comedy and lighter on romance, but has something for fans of both.

The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet, by Erin Dionne (Dial Books) Fiction. Perpetually embarrassed by her parents (they're both Shakespearean scholars who like to dress in 16th-century garb), eighth-grader Hamlet Kennedy is further mortified when her younger sister, a seven-year-old genius, is advanced into middle school and befriended by the very same mean-girl duo who have picked on Hamlet for years. Worse, Hamlet has a crush on the most popular boy in school--who's never noticed her--and her best friend (a guy) seems to have developed romantic feelings for her. Despite numerous "tragedies" along the way, this is a funny, feel-good read.

Spin the Bottle, by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel (Dial Books) Fiction. Phoebe is excited about starting middle school because she'll get to join the Drama Club, which means she can be a part of theatrical productions that don't involve food groups or dancing days of the week. Plus, Phoebe's friend Harper will be right by her side...or at least, that's what Phoebe expects. But after she wins a (very small) part in the club's production of Guys and Dolls, Phoebe has a falling out with Harper, learns about the Drama Club's disturbing tradition of an opening-night game of Spin the Bottle (!!!), and falls for a guy who should be "in the Museum of Boy-tropolitan Art." Phoebe's many missteps, her somewhat obsessive personality, and her very funny voice are sure to charm fans of lighthearted romantic comedies.

Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell in Love, by Lauren Tarshis (Dial Books) Fiction. In Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree, readers met extremely intelligent, literal-minded Emma-Jean, who is genuinely puzzled by the social climate of middle school. In this 2nd book to feature Emma-Jean, she is experiencing the first inklings of a foreign emotion: love (isn't that what makes her feel all fluttery when school basketball star Will Keeler is around?). Also, her friend Colleen has another problem to solve--an unidentified boy left a note in her locker--and Emma-Jean is on the case. Will our heroine be able to decode the mysteries of love using logic and rational analysis? Read this warm, funny book and find out.