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Showing posts from July, 2022

War Stories

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 by Gordon Korman Genre:  Realistic Fiction/Historical Fiction Trevor has 2 favorite things:  playing war-based video games and hearing the stories from his great-grandpa, Jacob,  about his WWII days.  Jacob was part of a group of soldiers who helped liberate a small French village at the end of the war, and they have asked him to return so that they can give me an award.  Trevor, his dad, and great-grandpa go on a trip to Europe to retrace Jacob's journey.  Trevor thinks this will be the experience of a lifetime, but for Jacob, it is going to open up painful memories of a past that he has never fully dealt with.  Trevor is about to learn that there is so much more to war than what is portrayed in the video games he loves to play.

Linked

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 by Gordon Korman Genre:  Realistic Fiction Chokecherry, CO is a quiet town and teenagers Link, Michael, and Dana are going through middle school without too many issues until one day when someone vandalizes the school by painting a large swastika on the wall.  The students and the community are outraged and the school implements a tolerance curriculum.  But the swastikas keep appearing and no one can figure out who the vandal is.  Link learns some new information about his family which causes him to want to get to the bottom of the mystery even more.  As the students and community fight back against hate, they come up with a project that brings them all together even as they struggle with crimes committed in their town in the past.  Will solving the mystery bring them closer together or farther apart?

Alone in the Woods

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 by Rebecca Behrens Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Adventure Joss and Alex have been best friends forever until Alex goes off to summer camp and comes home with a new best friend, Laura, who happens to be the most popular girl in school.  Joss isn't a fan of Laura and doesn't understand why Alex thinks she is so great.  As the summer progresses, Joss and Alex are hardly speaking, but their two families are still renting a cabin together for their annual summer vacation.  When the families start off on a rafting adventure, Joss and Alex get separated from the group and when their inner tube springs a leak, they suddenly find themselves alone in the wilderness. Will this experience bring them closer or farther apart?

Blue Skies

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 by Anne Bushard Genre:  Historical Fiction Glory Bea is holding on to the hope that her father will return from WWII.  He was one of the brave soldiers who stormed Normandy Beach on D-Day, but also one of the soldiers who has never returned.  His best friend, Randall Horton, shows up in town one day with stories of the times that he and her dad shared.  Glory Bea isn't ready to move on to a life without her father and she is convinced that he is going to come back during the town's Valentine Parade.  Her mom is showing signs that she is ready to start a new life with Randall.  How can Glory Bea prove to everyone that her dad is coming back?

Alone

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 by Megan Freeman Genre:  Dystopian, Science Fiction, Novel in Verse Maddie and her friends have planned the perfect secret sleepover at her grandparent's apartment, but when her friends cancel at the last minute she goes ahead by herself.  But overnight her town is mysterious evacuated and she is left completely alone.  Maddie has to forage for food and supplies and use her wits to keep herself alive. As months pass, and Maddie has no human contact, she begins to lose hope that her parents will ever return to find her.  Where did everyone go and will they ever come back?

Ahmed Aziz's Epic Year

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 by Nina Hamza Genre:  Realisitc Fiction Ahmed Aziz is not looking forward to his family's move from Hawaii to Minnesota.  They have to move because his dad is really sick so in Minnesota they will have access to a program that could help his dad and his dad has family there.  Ahmed is not happy being the new kid in a town where he is the only brown-skinned student.  On the first day of school, Ahmed is targeted by the neighborhood bully who also turns out to be in his advanced English class.  Ahmed didn't complete the summer reading project so is already behind when his group selects him as their leader.  Ahmed wishes he were anywhere but Minnesota!

American as Paneer Pie

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 by Supriya Kelkar Genre:  Realistic Fiction Lekha feels like she has to have 2 separate versions of herself - school Lekha and home Lekha. At school, she tries to blend is an a regular American kid.  At home she loves celebrating her Indian culture.  When a new girl moves in across the street, Lekha is excited to see someone who looks just like her.  But Avantika is different.  She chooses to showcase her Indian culture at home and school.  Lekha admires her bravery and wishes that she could be as secure in her identity as Avanitika is.  When a racist incident rocks their community, Lekha realizes that she is going to need to use her voice to make a difference.