There have always been secrets in Danny Cheng’s family.  When he finds a taped-up box in his father’s closet, it is more than old photos and letters; there is a file on a powerful Silicon Valley family.  A high school senior who has early acceptance to the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Danny becomes obsessed with figuring out the past.  His parents immigrated to the states from China to Texas and then moved in the middle of the night without warning to California. And changed their last name. He experiences a new emptiness for the sister he never knew about who died young.  How do all these clues connect?
Danny’s friends who attends a mostly Asian-America high school in Cupertino, are all very real and memorable. Harry Wong is the perfect combination of nice, handsome, and smart and the two have a deep and meaningful friendship. Harry’s girlfriend Regina Chan has known Danny forever.  The book made me long for a sequel just to find out what the future will be for these young people.
As the one-year anniversary of a tragedy that shook this friend group approaches, Regina publishes the school newspaper as a memorial and lands them all in trouble.  Danny’s family begins to unravel as an accident brings them into the public eye. 
This story grabs you and just won’t let go as the pieces fall into place yet the unexpected still happens.  The ending literally made me gasp out loud. Themes of love, loyalty, family, immigration and friendship are beautifully woven in this moving book.

“Because if you're tangled up in someone else, if your futures are tied that way, if that's real and if you know when it happens - then it means you know who you belong to, and you know whose fates are tied to yours, whether you like it or planned it or not, whether they still exist in the same world with you or they don't, and I think that's where everything begins and ends. I think that's everything.” 
 
Tessa's Picks, 8th grade, Character driven, Contemporary Fiction, Family life, Issues Fiction, Friendship, People of color, Romance, LGBTQ
 

 iNelle has lived in Monroeville, Alabama her whole life, so she knows how people there expect her to behave. But she's never felt comfortable in the frills and dresses other girls wear and would much rather climb trees or play with her slingshot than stay clean indoors. Tru is staying with relatives when he comes to town. With his fancy, big city fashions and high voice he is instantly marked as an outsider. The impeccably dressed boy and tom-boy find something in common in their love of Sherlock Holmes. Before long their pretend game of Sherlock and Watson turns into a real investigation when someone is falsely accused of a crime.


This book, based on the real-life friendship of Truman Capote and Harper Lee, contains so many gems that it's hard for a brief description to do it justice. Tru and Nelle (as they were called as children) instantly bond over their outsider status. They investigate cases while pretending to be Sherlock and Watson, hang out at the court house, write stories, and put on a memorable Halloween party. The book doesn't gloss over anything and racial prejudices, the Klan, depression, and abuse are all mentioned. These details help create an authentic sense of place. The book takes its structure from Capote and consists of a novel with a set of related short stories afterwards. Even those unfamiliar with Capote and Lee will be drawn into this story and find them easy to relate to as outsiders.

Tue & Nelle by G. Neri

Erica's Picks
4th & up
​Tags: biography, character driven, family life, friendship, historical fiction, issues fiction, LGBTQ, mystery, social justice, summer vacation

Elise's sophomore year of high school is not going as planned. Over the summer she dedicated herself to becoming popular. She studied popularity and all the latest trends like she would prepare for a final, but when school starts she fails so badly that her social standing drops even lower. She comforts herself by sneaking out of the house for late-night walks. When she stumbles on a secret, under-ground dance club she discovers a group of people who actually like her and a way to get out of her head and enjoy herself. Even more importantly, she discovers a passion for DJing. Soon she's leading a double life: social outcast high-school student by day, popular up-and-coming DJ by night. But she can't keep it up forever, and sparks will fly when the two halves of her life come crashing together.

The characters in this novel are so well drawn and I was completely sucked in by Elise's emotional journey. It captures adolescence and the messy path to self-acceptance perfectly.  I have never been one to frequent discotheques, but I enjoyed learning about this subculture and the world of DJs. Elise's narrative voice brings lightness and humor to a heavy subject.

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

Erica's Picks
8th & up
​Tags: character driven, contemporary fiction, family life, friendship, issues fiction, mental illness, romance

“This is my letter to the world, that never wrote to me…” Emily Dickinson
In many ways, Ivy is confused and questioning her place in the world.  Her family’s home where generations of Aberdeens have grown up, is destroyed in a tornado that rips through the town.  Thankfully all six Aberdeens are unhurt and find shelter in a tiny hotel room thanks to the kindness of others.  Ivy’s new twin brothers are a handful and as the middle child, she feels kind of invisible.  All of her hopes and dreams and doubts go into a journal/notebook brilliantly illustrated with her drawings.  A lot is changing and it is all chronicled there.  Including her questioning that she might have a crush on the new girl June. When her journal goes missing and messages start appearing in her locker that reveal that the sender knows her inner most thoughts and secrets, Ivy is in despair.
She is especially fearful about her feelings for June.  But how do you know if what you are feeling is real when you’ve never felt that way before?  She might trust her 16 year old sister Layla with her doubts but overhears what she thinks is disapproval when Layla’s best friend comes out to her.  Who can she trust?
Finding a gay mentor in the owner of the hotel, Robin, feels so right.  Robin is a great support and assures Ivy that it is okay to not be sure. The complex feelings between friends and siblings, misunderstandings and inner dilemmas , trust and family love make this a warm and  emotionally strong story that embraces all the very real characters.   I loved Ivy, her friends and family and you will too.
And you might understand why the Dickinson quote is on the first page.

Tessa's Picks, 5th-6th grade, 5th Summer 2018, Contemporary Fiction, Family life, Friendship, LGBTQ, People of color

Like Nessy, I too grew up watching the Miss America pageant with my family.  It was not until I was in my twenties that I realized how white and how “lookist” it was. So I almost dismissed this book.  What a mistake that would have been.

It is 1983 and Vanessa (Nessy) Martin settles into the ritual of watching the pageant with her loving grandfather Pop Pop and TJ, her gay cousin.  The announcer shouts, “And your new Miss America is…Vanessa Williams!”  And Nessy  just about loses her mind. Though Williams is lighter-skinned than she, the 13-year-old reasons that the pageant winner's victory "means that one day girls like me—the blackest of black—could be seen as pretty too."
Despite thinking of herself as “too black” and “too fat” to win a contest, Nessy dreams of following in the footsteps of her own beauty contestant mother who left when she was a baby. “That was when everything changed…Pop Pop turned to booze, Daddy’s spirit up and died, and we moved to the projects.”  It looks like her dream might have a chance though when her school  announces a first ever pageant!
Encouraged by a wise teacher and her fashion forward cousin, Vanessa agrees to enter bolstered by her confidence in her status as an honor student and her magnificent voice.  The preparation for the pageant is not easy and includes a journey to find her mother with surprising results.  Finding out who are her true friends and staying true to who she is, pave Nessy’s progress to maturity.  Funny, honest and strong, Nessy’s voice will resonate with those who  realize the true meaning of beauty.


​Tessa's Picks, 6th-8th grade, 6th Summer reading,Contemporary fiction, Character driven, Family life, People of color,

Set in modern day Afganistan, Obayda’s story is a window into the culture of a rural village.  Forced to leave Kabul after her father is injured, Obayda’s family is supported by their relatives while their father struggles with depression.  Gender roles are more clearly divided and she has much less freedom in the village so when her aunt suggests that Obayda become Obayd, a bacha posh, she is shocked.  A bacha posh is a preteen girl who takes on the role of a boy in order to bring luck and happiness to her family.
Initially Obayd is uncomfortable with the change that allows her to explore, climb trees, play sports, avoid chores and act with bravado.  She is not accepted by the boys until she meets Rahim, another bacha posh, and learns some tips on “how to be a boy.”  The two become fast friends and even make a crutch so that Odayd’s father can re-enter his life. 
This transformation cannot last forever and eventually they must take up their lives as female. The experience of male freedom and privilege will shape who they become.  
According to her aunt, Obayda will “…be able to do what no other girl can do.  You’re lucky to have this chance. Girls would kill to take your place.”
“It won’t be forever.”
 
Tessa's picks, 5th-7th grade, Global Perspectives, 5th Summer 2018, Contemporary fiction.

​Malu's parents are divorced, and she wonders how they were ever together. Her dad owns a record store that hosts punk rock concerts while her mother is always telling her to act like a proper 'senorita.' When Malu's mother drags her away from her home and her father to move halfway across the country to Chicago, it's Malu's worst nightmare. She hates her new school and the popular girls who make fun of her punk style. But when she sees a flyer for the school's talent show she knows one sure-fire way to make it all better: form her own band!

Malu's love of punk is infectious and her zines interspersed throughout the book made my fingers twitch for scissors and and glue sticks. 

The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Perez

Erica's Picks
3rd - 6th
Tags: ​character driven, contemporary fiction, family life, humor, people of color, school stories

Crow washed up on the shore of a tiny island twelve years ago. Osh took her in and raised her and Miss Maggie nursed her when she was ill and taught her how to read and write. No one else on the island will come near her. They're afraid she was born on the nearby leper colony and might carry the dreaded disease. So Crow has lived her life full of love and sea salt and beautiful views that Osh paints, isolated on her tiny island. Until the day she decides to look into the mystery of her past, and she discovers pirate treasure, danger, and sorrow. Will finding the truth be worth it, or will it destroy the happy life she already has?

This setting of this book is practically the main character of this story and I could almost taste the salt air as I read it. The adventure is slow to start, but picks up. Crow, Osh, and Miss Maggie are all characters that will stay with me.

Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk

Erica's Pick
4th - 6th Grade
​Tags: Adventure, character driven, family life, historical fiction, mystery, people of color

Before. Before what he did to Kacey.  She was his best friend.  They were always together having adventures, laughing, daring each other. It was all about that last dare. Now she was gone and Ethan and his family have moved from Boston to Georgia to give Ethan a new start.  The seaside town of Pam Knot where their new home with grandpa Ike is offers a big dose of culture shock. The last thing Ethan expects to find is a new friend.  Coralee is a feisty girl with a big personality who is up for any adventure. They find a box of jewels in a haunted house and flee from an unexpected “ghost.”  Both of them are keeping secrets that could lead them into danger.  A daring rescue during a hurricane brings all the secrets tumbling out. 
I dare you to read this book.


Tessa's Picks, 4th-7th grade, Friendship, Character driven, Family life, People of Color, Contemporary fiction