Mrs. Malecha Reads!

 by Ritu Hemnani Genre:  Historical Fiction, Novel in Verse Raj and Iqbal love to fly kites together and are hoping to be able to fly them in honor of India's independence from Britain celebration.  But what they don't realize is that this celebration is going to divide their country into 2 parts and that their families are going to be impacted.  Raj's family is forced to flee the only home they have ever known and start their lives over in a brand new country.  Will Raj ever find a friend like Iqbal again?

 by Reem Faruqi Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Novel in Verse Aafiyah Qamar has a bad habit.  Her fingers get itchy and before she can stop them, they take things that don't belong to her.  Her parents would be so angry if they knew, but they are so busy with their own troubles that it is easy for her to hide what is happening.  Her father has been detained in Pakistan and the family is having to spend a lot of money on lawyer bills.  Her grandfather is being treated for cancer and doesn't have insurance so the bills are adding up.  Her mother is just trying to keep everyone afloat.  Will Aafiyah be able to hide her secret?

 by Shifa Saltagi Safadi Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Novel in Verse 7th grade is tough when your best friend moves away and you are trying your best to fit in.  Kareem wants to tryout as a quarterback for the football team, but the coach's son also wants that spot and he is a bully.  He convinces Kareem to do his homework for him in exchange for talking his dad into letting him join the team.  As if that wasn't enough stress, Kareem's mom learns that she has to return to Syria to help her parents get to the United States.  Life without his mom at home makes things even more challenging for Kareem.  Maybe life could get easier if he could figure out who his real friends really are.

 by Lisa Fipps Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Novel in Verse Joe and his Grandmum have been getting along just fine.  Joe's mom is in and out of his life, but Grandmum has been the person he has learned to rely on.  But when they lose their home and don't have enough money to find a place to live, or have enough food to eat, Joe realizes that life can be really tough.  When his Grandmum gets sick and his mom leaves, Joe finds out what it really means to be alone.  Joe is going to try to hold it all together, but life alone is hard.  Can he open up to his friends and let them know that he is hurting and needs some help?

 by Alison McGhee Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Novel in Verse When Ayla and Kiri grew up, they planned to be trees.  They each had their own tree and loved to spend time in them.  Ayla and Kiri were together all of the time until an accident happened on their street and now Ayla is alone, waiting for Kiri to return.  One day, a telephone appears in Ayla's tree and people start coming to use the phone to talk to their loved ones who have passed on.  People keep encouraging Ayla to try the phone, but she is determined to wait.  Kiri is coming home...soon...Ayla is sure of it.

 by John Schu Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Novel in Verse Jake was happy until he started middle school.  Everyone seems to have found their own group of people and he feels left out, alone and worthless.  He is constantly teased so Jake feels the only way he can survive is to try and take up less space.  So he stops eating and exercises constantly to try to make himself as small as possible.  The voice in his head becomes his only friend. His parents know there is something wrong, but they have their own worries.  He used to enjoy spending time with his Grandma, but she seems to be changing too.  Is there anything that Jake can do to drown out the loud voice in his head that tells him not to trust                                                      anyone else?

 by Andrea Beatriz Arango Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Novel in Verse Iveliz is struggling with seventh grade.  She only has one friend and would like to make more, but isn't sure how.  Her grandmother is moving in with them and her memory seems to be getting worse every day.  Iveliz has been working with a therapist to help her through some dark times and her grandmother doesn't think it's necessary.  And that makes her mad. Iveliz and her mother also have issues communicating and now she feels like life is getting worse and some days feels unbearable.  She knows that she should speak up and ask for help, but if she admits she needs help, will any help that someone gives her be enough?

 by Rajani LaRocca Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Novel in Verse Maya and Chaya are identical twins and they have basically shared everything their whole life, until this year.  For the first time ever, Maya is keeping secrets from Chaya and Chaya is really concerned about her.  She wants to tell her parents that Maya's worry and anxiety is getting out of control, but Maya doesn't want her to.  Their mom expects the girls to be perfect and that is putting a lot of pressure on them to do well in school and with their piano lessons.  When summer comes and they have the chance to go to music camp, they decide to switch places and see if they can help each other out by becoming the other twin.  Will this help bring them closer together or push them farther apart?

 by Rebecca Caprara Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Novel in Verse Collin is always ready for the next disaster, especially since a fluke accident took the life of his mother.  Collin worries about lots of things, but mostly now he is worried about his dad and their house.  Without his mom around to help keep things organized, his dad's hoarding behaviors are getting out of control.  Collin doesn't want his friends to know just how bad things are at home, but it is getting to the point where things are so bad, he is going to have to tell someone.  Can he trust his friends enough to share with them all that is going on at home?

by Reem Faruqi Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Novel in Verse  Nurah's family is moving to Peachtree, Georgia from Karachi, Pakistan.  She has many worries about moving to a new country.  She is sad about losing her friends and having to move so far from her grandmothers.  When Nurah gets to Peachtree, she just wants to try and blend in, but that's hard to so when everyone makes her feel like she doesn't fit in.  Starh is the first person that makes Nurah feel seen and as their friendship grows, Nurah learns that Starh has secret worries too.  Nurah and Starh make the swim team and gain confidence as they learn to stand up for what they believe in.

 by Joanne Fritz Rossmassler Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Novel in Verse Everything changes for Maddie and her family when her older brother vanishes from college.  Maddie, her parents, and her sister are asked to tell the investigating detective anything they can remember about Strum that might be helpful in bringing him home.  Maddie tries hard to look for clues...what would cause Strum to leave without telling anyone?  Maddie is also struggling with her own issues, mainly that she has to count to even numbers to feel relaxed and in control.  As her family falls apart around her, Maddie feels herself falling apart too.  Will their family ever be the same again?

 by Meg Grehan Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Novel in Verse Stevie is an avid reader and curious about lots of things.  She also worries about things...some things that she can control and some things that she can't. She and her mom have a close relationship and Stevie knows that she can ask her mom anything.  But lately, Stevie is nervous about some new feelings she has.  Feelings about a girl at her school and she doesn't know who to ask about them.  Can Stevie trust her mom enough to help her navigate this new curiosity?

 by Claudia Mills Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Novel in Verse Betsy's mother works hard as a linguistics professor who is trying to save dying languages.  She is stressed a lot of the time and sometimes has a hard time coming out of her room to interact with her family.  She is always working and always trying to land the next big grant.  So Betsy and her best friend, Lizard, decide to try and help Betsy's mom buy choosing one language they think they can save.  They settle on the near-extinct language of Guernesiais that is only spoken by 200 people on the island of Guernsey.  But saving a language isn't as easy as they thought and in fact, maintaining there friendship while their parents both struggle with their issues, isn't going to be easy either. Betsy and Lizard will have to learn how to support each other if their friendship is going to survive.

 by Kathryn Apel Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Novel in Verse Leroy loves school, but hates riding on the bus and he doesn't want to tell his parents why.  His older sister Ruby knows, and she tries to help, but she isn't always there to protect Leroy.  The problem is the bully.  DJ calls Leroy names and takes his things and makes his bus ride miserable.  Ruby thinks that Leroy should tell their parents what is going on, but Leroy is afraid that will make things worse.  When the truth comes out, Leroy's family and teacher rally around him to support him as he decides to stand up to the bully and get the awful behavior to stop.

 By Aida Salazar Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Novel in Verse Betita's papa started telling her the story of the cranes when she was a little girl when they had to escape to the United States from Mexico to stay alive.  Betita and her parents have made a new life for themselves, but one day her Papa is arrested by Immigration and is deported to Mexico.  Betita and her mother have to work hard to try to save Papa and when they get detained as well, others will step up and work to save their family.  Betita just wants to live safely again with her parents and her new baby sister.  She will need to be brave and use the power of her voice and artwork to make people aware of the dangerous situation she and her family face.

 by Katherine Applegate Genre:  Animal Story, Novel in Verse Odder loves to dive and swim and hunt for food in the ocean off the coast of central California.  She is fearless and carefree and loves to swim with her friends.  But one day, she and her friend go a little too far and they cross paths with a shark who injures Odder.  She must then rely on humans to save her and help her relearn what it means to be a friend and an otter.

 by Joseph Bruchac Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Novel in Verse Malian loves to visit her grandparents who live on the Wabanaki reservation, but this time her visit is extended when her parents tell her she has to stay as there is a new virus that is rapidly spreading through the city and they think she will be safer on the reservation.  Everyone is worried about the pandemic and trying to keep safe.  Malian knows her job is to protect her grandparents so she is grateful when Malsum, one of the dogs from the reservation shows up to help her out.  Malian and Malsum become best pals as they navigate through the strange new world where people are alone and isolated.

 by K.A. Holt Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Novel in Verse Ben Bellows and 4 others have failed the Florida State Language Arts assessment so they get to spend the summer at school in a tiny room under the stairs practicing for the retake.  None of them want to be there, but none of them are expecting their new teacher, Ms. Jackson to be as awesome as she is.  Everyone in the class has 2 things in common - they love to play the video game Sandbox and they hate reading.  From day one they challenge Ms. J to get them to read...who will win this battle?

 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?

 by Rukhsanna Guidroz Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Novel in Verse Samira has divided her life into 2 parts - before her family had to flee their home in Burma and after when they escaped to Bangladesh with barely anything.  Samira and her family are struggling to create a new life for themselves.  Work is scarce and everyone has to do their part.  Samira sells eggs to tourists who line the beaches, but what she really wants to do is surf.  Her parents have told her no, but she convinces her brother to secretly teach her.  When a surfing contest is announced and girls are allowed to participate, Samira looks at it as a way to finally help her family get back on their feet, if she could win the large prize.  Does Samira have what it takes to be a surfer?