Mrs. Malecha Reads!

 by Chitra Soundar Genre:  Realistic Fiction Sona has recently learned that she is about to become a big sister and she isn't sure how she feels about that.  Life as the only sister has been pretty good so far and with a sibling she realizes that she will have to learn to share all of the special people in her life.  Her dad has asked her to help come up with some ideas for potential `names for the new baby so now that's an added pressure too.  The closer and closer if gets to the baby's arrival, the more Sona wishes that things didn't have to change.

 written by Claribel A. Ortega art by Rose Bousamra Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Graphic Novel Marlene has three favorite things:  art, her cool aunt Ruby, and her best friend, Camilla.  Marlene has one thing that she absolutely hates:  her hair.  Her mother insists that she go to the salon every Sunday and spend hours getting it straightened.  Marlene would rather just let her curls run wild, even though they are kind of embarrassing. Can Marlene learn to take control of her hair and make her mom understand that she just wants to be herself?

 by Michele Assarasakorn Genre:  Animal Story, Realistic Fiction, Graphic Novel Gabby, Priya and Mindy are best friends who have lots of differences, but one thing they all have in common is their love for animals.  Unfortunately, none of them have their own pets, so they decide to start a dog walking business.  They get a lot of clients right away, but their busy schedules and interests don't always mean they have time to do their job together.  Are the girls and their dogs in over their heads?

 by Kathryn Ormsbee Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Graphic Novel Katie isn't happy with the way things seem to be changing.  She and her best friend Kacey have always had a good time together, but lately Kacey seems to only want to do things with Katie while Katie is open to meeting new friends too.  6th grade will be starting soon and Katie is worried about that and then she learns that she has to have surgery on her tongue. All the worries feel like they are building up and the buzz in her head tells her the only way to control things is to tap 3 times or close a drawer 10 times.  She knows it doesn't really fix things, and she certainly doesn't want anyone to know that she is having the buzzing voice, but should she tell someone just how bad things are getting for her?  Or does growing up mean that you have to figure life out on your own?

 by Karina Yan Glaser Genre:  Realistic Fiction June and her sister Maybelle have been through a lot of changes ever since their father died.  Their mom had kind of been holding the family together, but when she lost her job, she also lost her ability to pay rent on their apartment.  Now the family is living in a homeless shelter and June can't imagine anything worse.  But Huey House is not a usual homeless shelter and as June makes some new friends and learns to trust them, she learns an important lesson:  a home can be anywhere when you are with people you love.  When the future of Huey House is threatened do to new government policies, June decides she has only one option and that is to speak up and try to save the new home she has found.

 by Nic Stone Genre:  Realistic Fiction Shenice "Lightning" Lockwood is captain of her 12U fast pitch softball team and they are having an awesome season.  Shenice is focused and determined to help her team win their games and get to the state tournament.  But just as things are heating up on the field, Shenice meets her great-uncle Jack who tells her part of the story about her great-grandpa JonJon who could have been a major league baseball player.  He reveals parts of a story about how JonJon gets kicked out of baseball and tells Shenice that it is up to her to clear his name.  Shenice is up for the challenge, but will the distraction of JonJon's story prevent her from being the leader her team needs?

 by David Levithan Genre:  Realistic Fiction Donovan is excited to read the new book his teacher has assigned to the class.  He starts it and leaves it lying on the table and his mother picks it up and reads the ending.  The portion that she reads makes her think that the content in the book is inappropriate which leads to the book being challenged.  Donovan is forced to think about what is "right" for kids his age to be reading.  He secretly reads the book and thinks that the overall message is inline with his beliefs about people.  The controversy is tearing the town apart and Donovan and his mother are on opposing sides.  Can Donovan stand up to his mother and get her to understand why he thinks 5th graders should be allowed to read the book?