Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi - Purple Hibiscus
By turns luminous and horrific story from the first page and lingers in the memory long after its tragic end. First-person narrator Kambili Achike is a 15-year-old Nigerian girl growing up in sheltered privilege in a country ravaged by political strife and personal struggle. In a soft, searing voice, Adichie examines the complexities of family, faith and country through the haunted but hopeful eyes of a young girl on the cusp of womanhood. Lush, cadenced and often disconcerting.
Frost, Helen - The Braid
When their family is evicted from the Western Isles of Scotland in 1850, teenage sisters are torn apart. Jeannie goes with her parents and younger siblings. Her older sister, Sarah, hides so she can stay behind with Grandma. The tale unfolds through the girls' alternating voices: Jeannie speaks of her brutal ocean crossing, and of her struggle as a stranger in the new country; Sarah talks about her loneliness, her love, and her illegitimate baby. The braid is both powerful fact and stirring metaphor in the girls' story of lasting connections, oceans apart, and it extends to encompass themes of home, shelter, and heritage, as well as the yearning for family wherever one lives.
Haddix, Margaret Peterson - Uprising
Bella, newly arrived in New York from Italy, gets a job at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. There along with hundreds of other immigrants, she works long hours at a grueling job under terrible conditions. Yetta, a coworker from Russia, has been crusading for a union, and when factory conditions worsen, she helps workers rise up in a strike. Then, one fateful March night, a spark ignites some cloth in the factory, resulting in a fire that will become one of the worst workplace disasters in history.
Ho, Minfong - The Stone Goddess
Set during the Khmer Rouge take over of Phnom Penh, the lives of the Sokah family are suddenly disrupted. Forced to evacuate the city, Nakri and her siblings are soon torn from their parents. Eventually reunited, the family leaves their beloved homeland for the sprawling refugee camps on the border of Thailand, where twelve-year-old Nakri and her older sister attempt to maintain their hope as well as their classical dancing skills in the midst of their struggle to survive.
Kadohata, Cynthia - Kira – Kira
Kira-kira or glittering. The sky is kira-kira because its color is deep but see-through at the same time. The sea is kira-kira for the same reason. And so are people's eyes. When Katie and her family move from a Japanese community in Iowa to the Deep South of Georgia, it's Lynn who explains to her why people stop them on the street to stare. And it's Lynn who, with her special way of viewing the world, teaches Katie to look beyond tomorrow.
Napoli, Donna Jo - Bound
Fourteen year old Xing-Xing endures a life of neglect and servitude, from her stepmother after her father dies. Dubbed “Lazy One” by her stepmother, Xing Xing spends her days taking care of her half sister who cannot walk because of her foot bindings, the painful but compulsory tradition ensuring she might marry well.
Rees, Celia - Sorceress
Eighteen-year-old Agnes, a Mohawk Indian who is descended from a line of shamanic healers, uses her own newly-discovered powers to uncover the story of her ancestor, a seventeenth-century New England English healer who fled charges of witchcraft to make her life with the local Indians.
Resau, Laura - What the Moon Saw
Fourteen-year-old Clara Luna spends the summer with her grandparents in the tiny, remote village of Yucuyoo, Mexico, learning about her grandmother's life as a healer, her father's decision to leave home for the United States, and her own place in the world.
Resau, Laura - Red Glass
One night Sophie and her parents are called to a hospital where Pedro, 6-year-old Mexican boy, is recovering from dehydration. Crossing the border into Arizona with a group of Mexicans and a coyote, or guide, Pedro and his parents faced such harsh conditions that the boy is the only survivor. Pedro comes to live with Sophie, her parents, and Sophie's Aunt Dika, a refugee of the war in Bosnia. Sophie loves Pedro - her Principito, or Little Prince. But after a year, Pedro's surviving family in Mexico makes contact, and Pedro must make a heartwrenching decision.
Salisbury, Graham - Island Boyz
Island Boyz feel the rush of leaping off a cliff into a ravine; see deep into the mystery of sharks and spirit guides; survive prep school, hurricanes and the night shift at Taco Bell. Told with by a native Hawaiian and award winning author, these amazing short stories shine with obvious love of Hawaiian life and culture.
Shea, Pegi Deitz - Tangled Threads
Mai, 13, is practicing her English in eager anticipation of leaving the crowded Thai refugee camp where she and her grandmother have lived for 10 years. Mai yearns for the life her cousins write about, free of brutality and with plenty of food, but her arrival in Rhode Island brings mixed reactions. Her cousins have become rebellious. Her aunt and uncle half-heartedly embrace Hmong tradition while feeling indebted to Christian charity. Grandma's confusion over the day-to-day events makes her increasingly reliant on Mai. Mai's efforts to respect her beloved grandmother and all she represents are at odds with the allure of new friends and an exciting lifestyle. This bittersweet story shows the emotions behind weighing cultural affiliations against the sway of progress and prosperity.
Sheth, Kasmira - Koyal Dark, mango sweet
Warmly descriptive of life in Mumbai, this love story has a rich sense of place. Sixteen-year-old Jeeta's mother is sure that Jeeta's dark skin and smart mouth will turn off prospective grooms. But the teen's new friend, Sarina, opens her eyes to other possibilities. Then, a handsome boy whom she meets turns out to be Sarina's cousin. Because her mother forbids her to socialize with boys, she uses visits to Sarina to provide cover for their developing relationship. The tensions of family life in a small apartment are evident and the conflict between old beliefs and customs and the modern world is clear. Like the matrimonial ad her friend quotes, Jeeta is a girl with strong east-west family values, with all the contradictions that that statement suggests.