Zeke Meeks wants to sell the most cake mixes for his school fund-raiser and win the contest.

Zeke must win the science fair prize money to keep Grace from ripping his face off.

Zeke Meeks is annoyed that his friends just want to sit around with their boring Puppet Pals.

Alicia organizes a volleyball tournament to raise money for her pen pal's cheerleading squad.

When Zeke's birthday party falls near Grace Chang's and Owen Leech's big bashes, he decides to cancel his party. After all, even he would rather go to their over-the-top parties than his simple celebration. But Zeke and his classmates are in for a surprise. Bigger doesn't always mean better.

Zeke's teacher is at it again. This time, Mr. McNutty is making the whole class be in a talent show. Normally, Zeke wouldn't worry about having a great act, but something amazing is at stake: the winner of the talent show will get advice from reality TV star, Brassy Glass. Zeke can't sing, he can't dance, and he really can't juggle. So what can he possibly do to win a moment with his hero?

Zeke wants to bring home the class guinea pig, Poopster, but his mom insists he's not responsible enough. To prove he can handle it, he promises to take care of the family dog, Waggles, for a whole week. His week is filled with one disaster after another. Will taking care of Poopster be worth it?

Zeke Meeks's little sister has been annoying him with Princess Sing-Along forever, but it's gotten even worse in this laugh-out-loud e-book. After he's guilted into going to a Princess Sing-Along concert for Mia's birthday, Zeke isn't sure he can handle the screaming kids and ridiculous songs. Could things get any worse? Only if his friends at school find out!

Reaching Reluctant Young Readers features 150 middle-grade books. Each profiled title has the potential to hook the reluctant reader and lure them to read the entire book. To specifically encourage elementary and middle-school-age reluctant children to read, there is first a pitch to get the reader’s attention. That is followed by a short reading passage to “set the hook” and encourage the young person to read the rest of the book on their own. Further, the book contains several hundred additional recommended titles. The books selected for this collection were chosen following the criteria of reluctant reader books created by the Quick Picks committee sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association. While these guidelines were designed for young adult books, they also work well for middle-grade books. The criteria include: clear writing (no convoluted long sentences with sophisticated vocabulary), high interest “hook” in the first few pages, well-defined characters, interesting plot, and familiar themes.