The facts of life/Request for help

Patricia Kenet has an excellent review column up at Bookslut about those "facts of life" books for the youngsters. Don't miss it--the column is an excellent resource.
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Now I have a quick question for you all. Besides Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (have you all read the chat?), which books would you recommend to an 11-year-old girl who can--but doesn't want to--read anything. She's a hardheaded kid and doesn't like books with heavy romantic content. She loves fantasy, but mostly parallel world fantasy, like Harry Potter or His Dark Materials. She also likes humorous realistic fiction like Lisa Yee's work.

What have you read this summer that has really impressed you?