November15
Abdel-Fattah, Randa. Does My Head Look Big In This?
Determined to prove she’s strong enough to ‘wear a badge of my faith,’ Amal faces ostracism and ridicule as she dons her hijab with both good humor and trepidation……
Canales, Viola. The Tequila Worm.
When Sofia is singled out to receive a scholarship to an elite boarding school, she longs to explore life beyond the barrio, even though it means leaving her family to navigate a strange world of rich, privileged kids. It’s a different mundo, but one where Sofia’s traditions take on new meaning and illuminate her path. Age 12 & up
Draper, Sharon M. Copper Sun.
Two fifteen-year-old girls–one a slave and the other an indentured servant–escape their Carolina plantation and try to make their way to Fort Moses, Florida, a Spanish colony that gives sanctuary to slaves. Age 14&up
Draper, Sharon M. Out Of My Mind.
“Eleven-year-old Melody has a photographic memory. Her head is like a video camera that is always recording. Always. And there’s no delete button. She’s the smartest kid in her whole school–but no one knows it. Most people–her teachers and doctors included–don’t think she’s capable of learning, and up until recently her school days consisted of listening to the same preschool-level alphabet lessons again and again and again. If only she could speak up, if only she could tell people what she thinks and knows … but she can’t, because Melody can’t talk. She can’t walk. She can’t write.” “Being stuck inside her head is making Melody go out of her mind–that is, until she discovers something that will allow her to speak for the first time ever. At last Melody has a voice … but not everyone is ready to hear it.” Age 10&up
Fletcher, Susan. Shadow Spinner.
When Marjan, a thirteen-year-old crippled girl, joins the Sultan’s harem in ancient Persia, she gathers for Shahrazad the stories which will save the queen’s life.
Pullman, Philip. The Tiger In The Well.
In London in 1881, twenty-four-year-old Sally finds her young daughter and her possessions assailed by an unknown enemy, while a shadowy figure known as the Tzaddik involves her in his plot to defraud and exploit hordes of Jewish immigrants pouring into the country.
Watson, Renee. This side of home.
Twins Nikki and Maya Younger always agreed on most things, but as they head into their senior year they react differently to the gentrification of their Portland, Oregon, neighborhood and the new–white–family that moves in after their best friend and her mother are evicted.