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Jim Yardley,, a former New York Times Beijing bureau chief, wrote this book that tells about life in China, particularly basketball centered in the industrial town of Tianjin.  It provides a flavor of life in China through Western eyes.  Because the Shanxi Brave Dragons basketball team travels around China, a variety of places are described.  In addition, the book explains how Chinese attitudes vary from those of the American coach, Bob Weiss, and the American basketball players who joined the Chinese teams. The book is enjoyable, sometimes funny, and would help a traveler to China know what to expect upon arrival. 

Tesla's Attic is Book One of the young adult Accelerati Trilogy.  The action takes place in Colorado Springs where Nick Slate moves with his father and brother after a fire in Florida killed his mother and destroyed their home. 
The first thing that happens in the book is that a toaster falls form the attic and hit Nick in the forehead.  This is only the beginning of a series of events involving devices and their ability to do supernatural acts.  It turns out that the machines were invented by Nicola Tesla.  Nick makes friends along the way, including Catlin Westfield who works with him to understand the meaning of the inventions. Of course, there are bad guys who must be outwitted as they try to steal the inventions.  This was a very original book that made me want to find out the true facts about Tesla. It has humorous and somber sections that middle school students would understand.  The ending of the book was satisfying on its own and also set the stage for Book 2 in the series.