Author: Jason Reynolds
Published: 2016 Ghost loves running. He believes that he learned to run fast on the night that his father took a gun out and tried to shoot Ghost and his mom. One day, Ghost is out by the track and he decides to challenge one of the fastest track team members to a race. The coach is super impressed with how fast Ghost can run, and he gets him to join the track team. Ghost lives with just his mom since his dad is in jail. They never have enough money. Ghost has been running in his regular shoes and pants because he doesn't want to bother his mom to ask for new running shoes. In order to be on the track team, Ghost has to behave. He can't get suspended or get in trouble around town otherwise he won't be able to run. Ghost faces some difficult choices in this book and has to figure out what it means to do the right thing. Ghost is a great book about what it means to be on a team.
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Author: Sandra Uwiringiyimana with Abigail Pesta
Published: 2017 Sandra writes about the time when her family lived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Life in this area was filled with war. It was not unusual for young boys to be kidnapped by soldiers and brainwashed and trained to become soldiers themselves to terrible things. This happened to Sandra's oldest brother, who was kidnapped along with 200 other kids. Sandra and her family belonged to the Banyamulenge tribe in Congo, a tribe that has been the target of discrimination because they look and sound different from other people. Often, Sandra and her family would be forced to leave their homes due to conflicts. One night, they were chased from their home and were forced to take shelter in a refugee camp, living in tents along with hundreds of other people. They stayed there for weeks until one devastating night when they were attacked by rebels killing people with guns and setting fire to the tents. Sandra and her family tried to escape, but her youngest sister Deborah was shot and killed. A man held a gun up to Sandra's head but for some reason he didn't kill her. Deborah's death was especially hard on Sandra because she was so close to her. Through a refugee program, Sandra and her family are able to move to the United States. In this memoir, Sandra writes about her grief and trying to adjust to life in the United States, along with the other struggles her family faces as immigrants. Author: Victoria Laurie
Published: 2015 Ever since Maddie can remember, she has been able to see numbers written on people's foreheads of the dates they will die. Not only does it work when she sees the person, but it also works in photographs. Because of her unique talent, her mom has people come into their home and charges them money to have Maddie tell them the date they will die. This has always worked out okay, until Maddie warns a mother that her son is going to die the following week. The mother calls Maddie a fraud and leaves angry, refusing to believe her. When her son disappears a week later, the mother tells the police that Maddie must have had something to do with it. Then the boy's body turns up, and the police think that Maddie's talent is bogus and believe that she did something to this child. When another girl who is connected to Maddie is murdered, everyone in town believes that Maddie is a murderer. She can't get through the school day without being stared at in disgust and bullied. But Maddie knows that the real killer is still out there, and she may be in more danger than she thinks. When is such an interesting book. It combines the paranormal genre with mystery and thriller. I did not want to put this book down! Author: Ruth Behar
Published: 2017 Lucky Broken Girl starts out with this quote: "When we lived in Cuba, I was smart. But when we got to Queens, in New York City, in the United States of America, I became dumb, just because I couldn't speak English." (p. 1) Ruthie and her family have recently moved to the United States from Cuba. There are a lot of struggles her family faces. One of the main problems is that Ruthie's father spends money on things he shouldn't, like a new car for their family when they can hardly afford to feed themselves. The rest of the family is excited about the new car and they take it for a spin. Unfortunately, they get into a bad car accident. No one is hurt, except for Ruthie. Ruthie breaks her leg and must stay in a body cast for months. The cast covers her legs and reaches all the way up to her chest. She has to stay in her bed and can't even leave to go to the bathroom. Staying in the same place for months at a time is torture to Ruthie. She can't go anywhere. When she finally goes back to the doctor hoping to get her cast off, she gets more bad news: the break is not healing so she is facing months more in the cast. She is sad and jealous of everyone who can move, and she feels bad for her mom who has to stay home and take care of her all the time. Lucky Broken Girl is a great realistic novel about a young girl who is having a hard time healing. |
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