Author: Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Published: 2023 Jarrett is lucky enough to be chosen as one of the few people from his high school to get to go be a camp counselor at Camp Sunshine, a camp for kids who are very sick. His grandparents are worried it will be too depressing being around kids who are sick and even dying, but Jarrett is looking forward to this opportunity. When he gets there, he makes fast friends with the kids and the families attending the camp. Even though the kids all come there under different circumstances, they all are given a wonderful camp experience. During this first summer, Jarrett makes such great connections that he stays in touch with the families even after the camp. The experience was simply lifechanging. Sunshine is a bittersweet graphic memoir that will have you in tears. This was a wonderful follow-up to Krosoczka's Hey Kiddo.
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Author: Mariatu Kamara
Published: 2008 When Mariatu was a child, she lived in a village in Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. One day when she was twelve years old, a group of rebels brutally attacked her village. These people were committing horrific acts, killing and torturing her neighbors. Many of the these rebels were child soldiers, around the same age as Mariatu. Mariatu was sure she was going to die, but instead the rebels cut off both of her hands, and she miraculously survived. While she's in the hospital recovering she gets some very distressing news. This book is the story of how she survived and what came next. Author: Ariel Henley
Published: 2021 Ariel and her twin sister Zan were diagnosed with Crouzon Syndrome when they were infants. When a baby has Crouzon Syndrome, the bones in their head fuse together prematurely, which means as they grow their skull cannot expand like it needs to. In order to stay alive, Ariel and Zan needed a lot of surgery involving doctors breaking bones in their faces. These recovery to these surgeries were painful, but what made it worse is that their faces never looked "normal." Throughout their childhood, Ariel and Zan were stared at, ridiculed, and bullied for the way their faces looked. All they wanted was to look "normal," but each surgery brought risk and pain. Is it all worth it? A Face for Picasso is a heartbreaking real-life Wonder story. I absolutely loved Ariel's voice and her truth. Author: Rex Ogle
Published: 2022 Rex Ogle does it again with another memoir, this one focusing on his relationship with his abuela. Told in verse, Rex writes about how his abuela's house was like a safe haven from his abusive home. His abuela believed in him and was always there for him. Rex Ogle was inspired to write this book about his abuela because currently she has dementia and sometimes she forgets who he is. This is their story. Abuela, Don't Forget Me was just as good as Free Lunch and Punching Bag. Such a powerful story of the relationship between grandmother and grandson. Author: Rex Ogle
Published: 2021 Rex Ogle continues his story from Free Lunch in his newest memoir Punching Bag. Ogle writes about his abusive childhood and some of the horrible things he had to go through. He writes about how his baby sister was never even able to be born and how his mom blamed him for her death. He writes about how his mom and his stepfather, Sam, would physically fight each other so hard and how Rex himself was hit too. This story is absolutely heartbreaking. It is a tough read at some times due to the subject matter but I think middle schoolers would be able to handle it. I predict this will be a very popular read at our library. Author: Rex Ogle
Published: 2019 There are a lot of hard things going on in Rex's life. He lives his mom, his younger brother, and his mom's boyfriend Sam. His mom and her boyfriend get into fights all the time, physical fights that leave his mom injured. They also take their anger out on Rex, and he gets hurt too. While Rex has always had friends, this year his friends aren't really acting like his friends so he sometimes finds himself sitting alone at lunch. Lunch is awful anyways because this year is that his mom has put him in the free lunch program. This means that everyone else gets to walk through the line and pay for their meals, but he has to stop by the lunch lady and has to tell her his name and she has to get out this big red binder and put a checkmark down. It is definitely very noticeable, and people look at him differently when they see him do this. Free Lunch is the true story of Ogle's childhood in an abusive home and all the things he had to worry about that many other people wouldn't even think of. I was heartbroken for this child and what he had to go through. Authors: Victoria Jamieson & Omar Mohamed
Published: 2020 Omar and his brother Hassan were born in Somalia. Due to the fighting and the war in Somalia, they had to flee after their father was killed and they were separated from their mother. They currently live in a refugee camp in Kenya in Africa. Some in the refugee want to go to America or Canada to live. Omar just wants the war to end so he can go home and his mom will be able to find them. Refugee camps are supposed to just be temporary until it's safe to go home again, but Omar and Hassan have been there for seven years. Hassan is only a little bit younger than Omar, but he only says one word, "Hooyo" and has suffered from seizures in the past. Omar takes care of his brother and has never left Hassan's side because the last time he was separated from family, they couldn't find each other again. But Omar gets a chance to go to school for the first time and he must decide if he is going to go or not. Maybe it's the only way to make something of his life, but isn't his goal to just go back to Somalia and be with his mom? When the Stars are Scattered is based on Omar Mohamed's childhood in a refugee camp and his dream for the future. It is absolutely fantastic and beautifully written. Author: Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Published: 2018 Jarrett grew up being raised by his grandparents. His mom tried to take care of him when he was little but she was a drug addict and kept making decisions that put Jarrett in danger. Eventually she ends up in jail, and Jarrett goes to live with his grandparents. Jarrett writes about his life growing up with a mom who had a lot of different struggles and was not around very much. When Jarrett gets a chance to meet his father for the first time, he needs to decide if he is going to take his chance to get to know him. Included in the memoir are letters written to Jarrett from his mom while she was away, drawings Jarrett did as a child, along with other artifacts from his early life. I loved putting together all these artifacts to really understand his childhood. Hey, Kiddo is a fantastically written graphic memoir about a boy who had to deal with a lot growing up. Author: Juan Pablo Villalobos
Published: 2019 Juan Pablo Villalobos writes the true stories of eleven different teenagers who are refugees from Central America. These stories are about their experiences leaving their country and making their way to the United States. Many leave their countries due to gang violence and drugs. Many talk about the freezer they are put in, which is the room Immigration puts you in after they are caught. In one girl's story, she talks about how there is not enough room for everyone to sit down in the freezer and they are there for days at a time without enough food. Some dealt with very dangerous situations trying to cross borders, including crossing a rough river with an infant. One writes about how he had to ride in the luggage compartment on a bus with other people, feeling like he was suffocating in the small space. The Other Side is split up into eleven different stories about kids and their different journeys to the United States. This is a great nonfiction book. I loved how it was split up into the different stories. Author: Diane Guerrero with Erica Moroz
Published: 2018 Diane was fourteen-years-old when she came home to find that her undocumented parents had been detained and were deported soon after. Because Diane was born in the United States, she is a citizen, but her brother and parents were not, and they lived in fear of being deported every single day. With her family gone, Diane relied on the kindness of her friends' families to take her in and let her live with them. No government agency ever even checked in with her to find her a place to live. If not for her friends, she would have been homeless or put into foster care. Diane, who is best known for her roles in Orange is the New Black and Jane the Virgin, writes about how her family decided they needed to leave Columbia for a better life. When they got to the United States, they tried to become citizens but were taken advantage of and lost thousands of dollars and made no progress. A Family Divided is a much-needed account of what it is like to live undocumented in the United States and how a young girl can rise above all the challenges in her life to achieve her dream. |
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