Category Archives: Fiction
How I Live Now
I decided to read How I Live Now in my search for good, young-adult fiction because it won the Printz Award for excellence in YA literature. It’s the story of Daisy, an American teen with some serious problems. Her mother … Continue reading
A Thousand Splendid Suns
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (the author of The Kite Runner) is popular right now for good reasons. Again, Hosseini explores life in Afghanistan, but with this novel, there’s no escape to the United States. Three decades of … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction, Multicultural
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The Book of Dead Birds
We often think of authors as distant celebrities, but the truth is that more authors—even of very good books—are desperately working alone in the hope of sharing their vision with others. Here in the Inland Empire, we have many good … Continue reading
The Known World
The Known World by Edward P. Jones is a wonderful book for any reader; fortunately, it also works nicely into some of Colony High’s reading requirements. Taking place in Antebellum Virginia (about 20 years previous to the Civil War), the … Continue reading
The Crossing
Manny is a street orphan living in Juarez, Mexico, whose life is full of hunger and danger. He lives in a cardboard lean-to. He had been abandoned by his mother when he was a baby and raised for a time … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction, Hi-Low/Quick Read, Multicultural
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Cold Sassy Tree
Cold Sassy Tree opens with Grandpa Blakeslee telling his daughters that he plans to marry Love Simpson only three weeks after the death of his wife. The women are scandalized, as is the town. The new relationship is central to … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction, Junior Project
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The Boy Next Door
In The Boy Next Door by Sinclair Smith, Randy finds herself frightened when her father goes away on a business trip for three weeks, leaving her alone in the house. She also seems to be misplacing items that she never … Continue reading
Baby Help
Baby Help is a novel about teen partner abuse. Melissa is frequently beaten by her boyfriend, Rudy. Although the couple has a baby, Cheyenne, they live with Rudy’s mother, Irma, who uses Melissa’s welfare check to help pay the rent. … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction, Young Adult Literature
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School Library Lady 