​(This is a book for mature readers as it addresses issues of homophobia, child abuse, hate crimes, Islamophobia and sexual abuse).
Rukhsana loves the laws of physics and plans to become an engineer.  In a few months she will be attending Caltech on a scholarship. With her girlfriend Ariana. Only her parents who are conservative Muslims living in the Bengali community of Seattle would probably disown her if they found out about her relationship.  When she and Ariana are caught kissing by her mother, events spiral into a terrifying path.
Falsely told that her grandmother in Bangladesh is gravely ill, Rukhsana and parents catch the next plane.  The truth is soon apparent that they are there to force her into an arranged marriage. Her parents are convinced that their lives would be over if the truth about her sexuality came out. 
Rukhsana learns some secrets of her own mother’s past when her grandmother gifts her the diary of her early life, marriage and motherhood. Gathering strength from her grandmother who encourages her to fight for her freedom of choice, she also gains sympathy for her mother's dark childhood. Cousins and other family members are allies and memorable characters adding to the cultural experience of a large Bengali family
One of the proposed marriage partners turns out to be gay and the two form a friendship and eventually a plan to help them both escape back to the states. Rukhsana must find the courage to fight for her love and her freedom and hopefully keep the culture and family she loves.

Tessa's picks, 8th summer 2019, Character driven, Contemporary fiction, Family life, Global perspectives, Issues fiction, People of color.

​This is a sweet summer story with depth and heart. Cat who is about to enter 6th grade, has always felt a strong sense of responsibility and love for her younger brother, Chicken, who is on the autism spectrum. Her mom illustrates children’s books and they are all grieving for the loss of her father.  Mom needs to work without distractions so the children are going to meet their grandparents for the first time and stay with them on their island home off the coast of North Carolina.  Over the summer Cat learns to love her grandparents and comes to understand the reason why her mom has kept them apart.  Her faith in her grandparents allows her to loosen up and let them help with her brother so that she can have time to be a kid herself.
There are a few moments where Cat and Chicken being bi-racial come up and are important in establishing their identity.  I found myself putting in markers to save the words of wisdom that I would come upon; “Being a parent is a kind of promise. A promise to stand by someone even if you think they’re making a mistake. To love who you get, not who you think you’re going to get.”
Along with all this growing, Cat makes some great friends, enters a fishing contest and learns that even someone you thought was an enemy has a mix of good with his bad.
A beautiful story about family and forgiveness with a wonderful cast of characters.

​Tessa's Picks, 5th summer 2019, Character driven, Friendship, Family, People of color

Hallelujah,Miss Eula is back! One of my favorite characters in Polacco's many wonderful books, this African-American grandmother takes the young Patricia under her wing when the author moves to California as a young girl. Before Trisha's own grandmother passes away through the "holes in the sky," she tells her granddaughter that she will send a sign that she is watching from the other side. 
The family moves to a diverse neighborhood in Oakland  where Trisha is befriended by Miss Eula's grandson Stewart. They join forces with the entire neighborhood to save a hurting neighbor and her dying garden. And Trisha finds her sign.
A heartwarming celebration of community, diversity and family.



​Tessa's Picks, K-3rd Grade, Family life, People of color, Picture books

Featuring a diverse cast of characters, this book sends the message that life is not color coded.  Just as boys and girls can enjoy race cars, unicorns, dress-up and baseball, they can like all colors as well. Every color is for every one! So express yourself in a rainbow of colors!

Felix loves to wear skirts; they feel fun and airy. He and his mom go to the store and buy him a new red one for the first day of school. Dad is a little worried about this decision and indeed Felix is teased when he arrives in a skirt.  After  discussing how unfair it is that girls can wear both pants and skirts but boys can only wear pants, he and his dad make a trip to the store. Both dad and son go to school dressed in twirly skirts and respond to the other boys' questions with "Today anybody can wear a skirt. Did nobody tell you?"
From then on no one asked Felix if he was a boy or a girl; they simply called him Felix.
The mom and dad in this empathetic book are so sweet and supportive. And the dad really rocks that green skirt.


​Tessa's Picks, K-2nd grade, Family life, Issues Fiction Picture books..

“You’re so exotic!”
“You look so unusual.”
“But what are you really?”
These are comments Isabella is used to hearing. Her father is back and her mother is white and now that they divorced, it seems like she is split in two. Not only does she have to switch houses, nicknames, and backpacks; it seems like she has to switch identities too.  Both parents have moved on to wonderful new partners in their lives but even a supportive “new” older brother can’t make her feel whole.
Racism is a very real part of Izzy’s life and how people are treated differently based on their ethnicity and appearance plays out in her life. After a disturbing incident involving a noose placed in her best friend’s locker after a history class on lynching, Izzy questions her identity:
 “‘I’ve got friends who are white. And friends who are Black. We’ve got kids at our school from all races--and most of the time we kinda blend without thinking about it, like cookie dough. But this noose thing with Imani has really changed the recipe, at least for me.’ 
Mom waits for a tick, then asks, ‘How do you mean?’
‘Because I am that dough, Mom! Am I the chocolate chip or the vanilla bean? I’m really not sure.’”
Changing houses each week brings her parents together in an awkward and sometimes unpleasant meeting.  But both are supportive of Isabella’s musical talent as a gifted pianist. The high point of her career is the upcoming recital. The shocking climax of the book comes on the way to the recital when an ugly and dangerous racially based incident occurs.  The whole extended family comes together in solidarity and love to support her.
This is a window and mirrors book that will evoke empathy in many a young person.

​Tessa's Picks, 4-6th grade, Character driven, Family life, Issues fiction, People of Color.

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The Cake family:
Benjamin Lord Baltimore Cake, 12
Emma Alabama Lane Cake, 11
Jody Traditional Angel Food Cake, 10
Van Chocolate Lover Cake, 8
Roger Black Forest Cake, 7
Gordon Ridiculously Easy No-Knead Sticky Buns Cake, 4
Their Parents:
Leo Meyer Lemon Cake
Arlouin Humming-bird Spice Cake
And four dogs
 
Yes, those are their names and of you have not lost your appetite yet you may find this a sweet treat.
The Cakes are itinerant bakers…which means they move from town to town setting up bakeries for communities that “need them.”  Emma has said goodbye too many times and has a friendship map to track the ones left behind.  Her heart can’t take the ache again so she is determined to remain solitary in their new home in Aurora County, Mississippi.
Then she meets Ruby Lavender who is “not sweet” but becomes her new BFF (well maybe not forever). Delightful characters abound in this small town and all the children and dogs make them selves right at home.
The father Leo, whose memory is a little sketchy, has a funny feeling about the town and it only a matter of time before he will want to wander on. Can Emma and Ruby find a way to make this place Emma’s forever home.
Silly and sweet, these folks will capture your heart.
“Each day we begin again our quest to be safe, to be loved, to belong, and to find home.
And if we are lucky, there is cake.”

​Tessa's Picks, 3-4th grade, Family Life, Friendship, Humor

Darius Kellner, a half-Persian and half-American teenager tries to find his place in the world or at least school where he is bullied and has one sort of good friend.  He doesn’t connect to his Persian side; he has only met his grandparents via computer. His little sister Laleh speaks Farsi but Darius never learned as his mother wanted her first born to be all American.  When the whole family travels to Iran to visit the grandparents, he bonds with his Persian family and makes an extraordinary friend. Sohrab.  The friendship between these two is tender and deep.
 The thing is, I never had a friend like Sohrab before. One who understood me without even trying. Who knew what it was like to be stuck on the outside because of one little thing that set you apart.”
Darius and his father take medication for depression but this is not a bond between them. Dad is ever critical of Darius and keeps his emotions under strict control. The warmth and acceptance Darius feels in Iran is a revelation. I love what a reviewer on Goodreads said:
“This is where I fell in love with Yazd, with Persepolis, with Persian food and culture. We need diverse books because they help us discover a world that is more than just our own four walls. We need diverse books because they teach us tolerance, acceptance and love. I needed this book, because I had never before read a story set in Iran. I never knew that I wanted to taste Quottab, a deep-fried, almond-filled pastry, or Faludeh, a sorbet-like dessert served with rose water syrup. I want to go visit Yazd, I want to see Persepolis and learn about the historic Darius the Great. I loved how elegantly the author teaches the reader about Persian culture and life in Iran.” This from a review by  Kai on Goodreads.
Read this heartfelt and tender book about friendship and belonging.
“Everyone wants you here. We have a saying in Farsi. It translates ‘your place was empty.’ We say it when we miss somebody."

Tessa's Picks, 6th-8th grade, Character driven, Contemporary fiction, Family life, Issues fictin, Global perspectives, Mental illness.


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 Seventh grader Jilly is an avid fantasy reader and belongs to a chat group about her favorite book series. Here she meets a diverse group of fellow fans including a boy from Oakland who is Deaf and Black.  When Jilly’s sister Emma is born Deaf, Jilly can’t wait to share solidarity with Derek.  She goes about it in a way that inadvertently offends him. Jilly persists in asking questions and learning to be open and their bond deepens.
Determined to help with Emma, Jilly begins to teach herself sign language and is dismayed that her family is not on board.  In fact the doctor they choose seems cold and inflexible in her approach to Emma’s treatment. A turning point is when Jilly and her family attend a workshop for families who are members of the Deaf community and meet Derek and his family. All share their stories and come away comforted and informed.
Jilly comes from a mixed race family. She is White and her beloved aunts are lesbians, one Black and one White.  Jilly looks to her aunt to help her confront two family members who make racist comments during a holiday dinner.  She learns a lot about both subtle and blatant forms of bigotry and when she stands up to her uncle and grandmother you want to cheer.
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While learning how to support her family and friends, Deaf culture and the reality of Black families’ fear for their children’s safety become an important part of her heart. 

​Tessa's Picks, 5th-6th grade, Character driven, Contemporary fiction, Family life, LGBTQ+, Issues fiction, People of color.

'Quinn McAvoy is a freshman in a new school and loves sports and skateboarding.  And she is completely bald, having lost her hair due to alopecia, an autoimmune disorder.  Bullied and shunned by her friends, she is hoping to start over when her parents move to Massachusetts so that her younger brother can attend a special school for his autism.  She decides to keep her baldness a secret, struggles with wig issues and finds herself popular!
When Quinn first encounters Nick Strout in his wheelchair, his bitterness and bad temper are off putting. Eventually they become friends and Quinn learns that he is a double amputee due to a snow-boarding accident caused by his big brother who was drunk at the time.  Tommy is a star football player as was Nick before the accident.  Tommy is doing his best to support his brother but winning forgiveness is a long way away. 
Quinn and Nick become close and their honest support of each other is heartwarming. Quinn is not afraid of being real and Nick responds with humor.
“I know this is weird, but I don’t feel like explaining it right now. Can you just roll with it?”
“Oh, I can roll with it. You’ve seen me roll.”
“Are you making a wheelchair joke?”
“Maybe.”
The author handles issues of disability in a very real and empathetic way.  I have a relative with alopecia who has recently decided to stop wearing wigs and I applaud how Quinn works through her own way of dealing with this issue.  Nick’s acceptance of Quinn’s encouragement helps him move on in his journey to walk and to finding forgiveness.
This story about courage, connection and love will not disappoint.

​Tessa's Picks, 6-8th grade, Character driven, Contemporary fiction, Family life, Friendship, Issues fiction, romance.

Do not be put off by the gross stuff in the beginning. This book is hilarious and an amazing exploration of what it is like to grow up between cultures. 
Taiwanese-American Mei is at MIT pursuing her parents’ dream for her to become a doctor, marry an ivy-league Taiwanese boy and have lots of babies.  But she is germophobic times 100, falls for a Japanese boy and forget babies. There are so many ways her traditional parents think differently from her. She has to deal with the internalized obedience and guilt she feels for not doing what they want.  And the lies she has to tell! 
I listened to this audiobook and was laughing out loud.  This was a window book for me and I delighted in learning so many details about the culture and traditions of Mei’s family.  It is touching how much they love her and maddening how much control they use.
Mei’s growth as she struggles to be her own person will have you cheering.  She even persuades her mother to stand up to the father when it comes to seeing Mei’s brother who had been disowned for marrying a woman they disapproved of.
So laugh and become a little wiser at the same time!

Tessa's Picks

7th-8th grade, Contemporary fiction, Character driven, Family life, Humor, Issues fiction, Global perspectives, People of color.

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