Author: Eileen Cook
Published: 2019 Kim is going on a week-long group trip that her ex, Connor, also happens to be going on. When they were together, she begged and begged her parents to let her go, and now that they are broken up, her parents stayed firm in making her go. And to make it even worse, Connor has started seeing someone else who is also going on the trip. On the plane, Kim meets a girl named Nicki and they start talking. Kim talks about how much she doesn't like Connor and eventually says that she wishes he was dead. Nicki then brings up her mom, who she really doesn't like and jokes that they should make a deal--Nicki will kill Connor and Kim will kill Nicki's mom. This makes Kim kind of uncomfortable but ends up believing that it's a joke. But then Connor turns up dead on their trip, and Kim finds out that now it's her turn and Nicki isn't taking no for an answer. You Owe Me a Murder is everything you want in a young adult mystery/thriller. I read this entire book in 24 hours because I didn't want to stop reading! I had to know how it was going to end, and I definitely wasn't disappointed.
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Author: Elizabeth Acevedo
Published: 2019 Emoni is not like other normal high schoolers. First, she is an absolutely excellent cook, combining flavors to make the most delicious foods. And second, she is a mom. When she was a freshman, she got pregnant and now she has Baby Girl. Every other weekend, Baby Girl goes to stay with her dad, which is always hard on Emoni. Emoni lives with her abuela and they both have to work in order to make ends meet. This year, her school is offering a special class that will be taught by a real-life chef where they will learn everything Emoni wants to learn; it is like a dream come true. But Emoni gets scolded for making changes to the chef's recipes and there's a week long trip to Spain that Emoni almost certainly can't afford. Maybe this isn't the right class for her. With the Fire on High is a great story about the importance of following your dreams! Author: Namina Forna
Published: 2020 Every year, sixteen-year-old girls have to go through the Ritual of Purity. At this ritual, all girls are cut. If they bleed red, then they are considered pure and are then accepted into society. If their blood is not red, then then they are demons and are banished and never heard from again. Deka is already an outsider in her northern city because of her dark skin, taking after her mother who passed away. She just needs to get the Ritual of Purity over with so that she will finally be accepted as a member of her village and will no longer be an outsider. But when the ritual takes place and her blood is golden, she is killed. When Deka comes back to life, she is killed again. And again. And again. She is destined to a lifetime of torture and death until she finally won't come back to life. One night she is finally rescued by a mysterious stranger who explains that the emperor is building an army of demons like her, called alaki, who can hopefully defeat evil creatures called deathshrieks that are destroying villages and murdering hundreds of people. Deka joins this army but soon finds out that not everything is at it seems. The Gilded Ones is a wonderful fantasy novel with a lot of gore and girl power. Would recommend to 8th grade and up. Author: Angela Cervantes
Published: 2013 Ever since Gaby's mom was deported, she has been living with her dad during the week and her best friend's family during the weekend. She feels kind of abandoned by her dad because he is hardly ever home and she feels like he doesn't really take care of her. When her class is assigned to volunteer at an animal shelter, a lot of her classmates are grossed out because they have to do things like pick up dog poop. Gaby, however, is very excited. She starts writing biographies of the animals in the shelter to share out in the community so people will see the kinds of animals they have there and more will get adopted. Gaby also forms a connection with a cat named Feather, who is still recovering after something bad happened to her. When Gaby gets bad news about her mom and bad news about Feather, she has some tough decisions to make. Gaby, Lost and Found is a really great story about a girl who just feels left behind. Author: Sarah Kapit
Published: 2020 Vivy is excellent at throwing the knuckleball, a really tough pitch to figure out. When the coach of a local baseball team sees her pitching, he invites her to be on his team. But her mom is worried. One, she's a girl, and she'd be the only girl on the team. And two, she has autism and her mom worries that she may not be able to handle the stress. Vivy has to go to a social skills class, which she really doesn't enjoy, and in the class her teacher has them write a letter to someone. Vivy chooses her favorite baseball pitcher, VJ Capello. She writes about what is going on in her life and she asks him for advice. To her surprise, he writes her back. Soon Vivy and VJ become pen pals. She tells him about how her mom finally agrees to let her join the baseball team but that the coach's son bullies her so much. She writes about how she's really nervous to pitch but also very excited. When Vivy gets hurt one day during a game, her future as a baseball pitcher is in danger. Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen! is a fantastic book about a girl who loves baseball but faces some challenges along the way. I loved getting to know Vivy. This book is told entirely in letters between Vivy and VJ, and it was a fantastic way to tell this story! Author: Alex Gino
Published: 2018 Jilly doesn't really think much about what it's like to be Deaf until her baby sister Emma is born Deaf. Jilly parents have been having a hard time adjusting to Emma being Deaf. They keep hearing different things from different people on how to best support Emma. Jilly decides to talk about it with the one Deaf person she knows--a boy on an online chatroom but it turns out Jilly keeps saying the wrong thing to Derek and she leaves a lot of their conversations feeling like she upset him and she doesn't always know why. Meanwhile, there have been multiple reports in the news of Black people being killed by police officers. Jilly's Aunt Alicia is Black and so are Jilly's two cousins. She can't help but think about their futures, and she is terrified. She really doesn't understand why people aren't really talking about the news--not at school and not her parents. If we don't talk about things, how will things ever change? You Don't Know Everything, Jilly P is an amazing upper elementary, middle grade novel. It talked a lot about microaggressions and how we can harm other people without meaning to but that we always need to be able to talk about these things and be better. |
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