Lunch Money (by Andrew Clements)

At first he tries selling candy and toys, but the school soon puts a stop to that, and he can understand why. But when he starts writing, illustrating, and printing his own comic books and selling them, the principal puts a stop to that too, and that seems less fair. Equally unfair is that his lifelong enemy, Maura, has once again copied his idea. But perhaps it takes a pair of enemies to challenge the system.

Nobody else seems to be able to do what Andrew Clements does: He takes the environment that is most familiar and meaningful to children, school, and writes stories that take place there in language so clear and lively that even inexperienced and reluctant readers can blaze through it in a haze of pleasure. And his stories are so packed with intellectual depth, emotional power, and understanding of the human heart that each of his books rockets to the top of read-aloud and discussion group lists.

LUNCH MONEY is remarkable as much for what it doesn't have as for what it does: suspense without villains, humor without pandering, excitement without violence, independent children without killing off the adults or making them all morons. It has a rich and developing relationship between Greg and Maura and a complex view of money and school politics. And then it adds something that hardly anyone else seems to know how to do anymore -- pure, unadulterated delight.