Author: Valynne E. Maetani
Published: 2015 Claire Takata's dad died when she was younger. She doesn't remember much about him, especially because her mom refuses to talk about him because it is too painful. Her stepdad has always said that he never met her dad, but one day Claire discovers a letter written by her dad to her stepdad. Then she discovers pictures of them standing next to each other. Why is this something they would keep quiet? Claire is very determined and starts secretly digging into her family's past and learns that her dad may not have died the way she always heard. Shortly after she starts digging into this, she notices a car following her different places. Then she starts receiving threats. What are her parents involved in that would cause someone to threaten her for looking into it? With the help of a group of boys, Claire decides to get to the bottom of this, but suddenly she finds herself in more danger than she ever thought possible. Ink and Ashes is a good mystery with great twists and turns. The one thing that I didn't like in the story was how overprotective and controlling the boys in her life were. It seemed like it was supposed to be endearing and to show how much these boys cared for her, but it came off as controlling and icky. If you read this book, remember that that is not how you treat someone you care about.
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Author: Natasha Diaz
Published: 2019 Nevaeh spends her time between her two homes ever since her parents separated. She is biracial; her dad is Jewish and her mom is Black. She has light skin, and so she often passes as white in public. She has memories of people seeing her with her mom and assuming that her mom is her nanny, not her mother just because of how different they look. Nevaeh's mom has been having a very hard time ever since the separation. They have been staying with family, and often Nevaeh doesn't even recognize the mother she sees in front of her. She is now living part-time with her cousins, twin girls Jordan and Janae. Janae is accepting of Nevaeh but Jordan has a really hard time letting Nevaeh in because Nevaeh has such light skin and doesn't understand the privilege she has because of it. When her dad, who has never been a religious man, states that Nevaeh is now going to get a belated bat mitzvah, meaning she is going to officially be a member of the Jewish community, she is furious. She doesn't know anything about being Jewish. And why does her father suddenly care now? Nevaeh feels like she just doesn't quite fit. She is Black but not Black enough, Jewish but not Jewish, white but not actually white. In Color Me In Nevaeh is trying to figure out who she is. This is a beautiful story that looks at a lot of really important issues in our society like privilege and racism. Color Me In reminds me of a young adult version of Blended by Sharon Draper. Fantastic story. Author: Tim Tingle
Published: 2013 Isaac is a Choctaw boy living in the year 1830. He and his family live a good life on the land they have lived on forever, but one day they get bad news. They are being forced to leave their homes by the United States government to move west. This journey is called the Trail of Tears, a deadly march where thousands of Native Americans were forced to walk thousands of miles to relocate. Many froze, starved, or were killed by U.S. soldiers. On the very first page of the book, Isaac warns us that he is now a ghost but that he wasn't when the book starts, meaning that he dies on the Trail of Tears at some point. Isaac, his brother, his parents, and his dog set out on the dangerous journey with their neighbors who survived the fire that the U.S. soldiers set in their village. Along the way, Isaac talks about the horrifying way that Native Americans were treated by soldiers and the horrible way thousands died. How I Became a Ghost is a heartbreaking book about a terrible time in this country's history. Author: Akwaeke Emezi
Published: 2019 Pet takes place in the future. There used to be monsters in the world but there aren't any anymore. Jam has been taught this her entire life. One night Jam accidentally releases a strange creature from her mom's painting. The creature, who tells Jam to call it Pet, tells Jam that there is a monster hiding in the town where they live and that it is up to Pet and Jam to find it and destroy it. When Jam tells her parents about Pet and the mission, her parents tell her that this has happened before, way back when there were monsters everywhere, but that Pet has made a mistake because there are no more monsters. They tell Jam to send Pet back to the painting and move on with life. Jam, however, cannot risk the chance that there is a monster hiding in town. When she hears that her friend could be at risk, she has no choice but to work with Pet to chase down a monster, but she has doubts. "How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist?" Pet is a very unique story that looks at what it means to be a monster and how they can be hiding in plain sight. This is a good book for readers who like fantasy and social justice books. Author: Kekla Magoon
Published: 2014 Tariq is a sixteen-year-old black kid, and he has just been killed by a white man with a gun. There were many people around who saw what happened, but all of their stories are different. Some say they saw a gun, others say it was a Snickers candy bar. Some say he just got done robbing a convenient store; others say he purchased the stuff he was carrying in his arms. Some say he was a member of a gang called the Kings. Others say there was no way he would ever get himself involved in something like that. How It Went down is told from the point-of-view of eighteen different characters including Tariq's best friend, members of the gang the Kings, Tariq's family, the store owner who was with Tariq minutes before he was shot, a girl who tried to do CPR on Tari, and many more. As the characters tell the stories as they know it, readers start to piece together what really happened that day. How It Went Down is a great book for readers who like All American Boys and The Hate U Give. Author: Pat Cummings
Published: 2019 Trace was in a horrific car accident that killed both his parents. He miraculously survived, but he suffers from anxiety ever since the incident. Trace moved in with his aunt and tries to live a normal life but he can't stop the haunting flashbacks and nightmares that occur all the time. When Trace's group is assigned to research the 1860s for a school project, he has to go visit the New York City Public Library to do research. While there, he takes some wrong turns and ends up in a place he's not supposed to be. Before he can leave, he sees a little boy in ragged closthing who is crying for his sister. As he leaves to find help, he notices that he can see through the little boy. The boy is a ghost, but why can only Trace see him? Trace sets out to solve the mystery of the little boy and learns a lot about his own history in the process. Trace is a great mystery mixed with history. Great for readers who like both mystery and historical genres. Author: Mark Oshiro
Published: 2018 Moss has suffered from panic attacks and anxiety ever since he witnessed his father being killed by a police officer who mistakenly thought he was a criminal. Turns out, the police were at the wrong market and killed a completely innocent man. Years later, the high school Moss and his friends go to is falling apart. They have no money to spend on new textbooks; they don't have enough and the ones they do have are falling apart. At the beginning of the year, there is an announcement. First, students are going to be subject to random locker searches by the principal and the school police officer. Then another one follows shortly after, metal detectors will be installed and students will have to go through them every day before coming into school. The kids are furious and don't understand why these things are being enforced. They don't have drug problems or gun issues at the school, so why are the police getting involved? When two terrible incidents occur involving students and police officers at the school, Moss and his friends need to decide if they are going to stand up and fight the injustices that just keep occurring over and over in their school and their community. But the consequences may be deadly. Anger is a Gift is an absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking book that deals with extremely important and relevant issues in our world. Fans of All American Boys and The Hate U Give will love this book. |
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