The Line Tender by Kate Allen is proof positive that it doesn't matter whether a book is written for children or adults--a great book is a great book. This is one of my favorite books I've read this year.

The Line Tender takes place over the course of one summer in Rockport, Massachusetts in the early 1990s. Five years after the loss of her mother--a marine biologist who studied great white sharks--twelve-year-old Lucy Everhart lives with her father and spends most of her days putting together a field guide to native species with her best friend Fred. 

Wintercake by Lynne Rae Perkins is a fine choice for the entire family this time of year.  Written for 4-8-year-old children this cozy picturebook has everything a good book needs. It is fun, has an exciting story in which something actually happens, and the writing is terrific. A missing basket of dried fruits returned by a stranger leads two friends to make a  Wintercake and embark on a journey to find the stranger and give him the cake.  The vocabulary is sophisticated, always a good sign.