Kate DiCamillo’s characters have a warmth and richness of language that I associate with the South. You will fall in love with Louisiana Eleffante, child of the tragically dead Flying Eleffantes circus performers. Her story begins:
”I am going to write it all down, so that what happened to me will be known, so that if someone were to stand at their window at night and look up at stars and think, My goodness, whatever happened to Louisiana Elefante? Where did she go? they will have an answer. They will know. 
“This is what happened.
“I will begin at the beginning.”
Granny, who is raising Louisiana, wakes her in the middle of the night raving about the curse which has hung over their heads for generations. They take off on a road trip leaving friends and home behind. Winding up in a small town in Georgia, Louisiana wakes to find Granny gone!   There she meets a Reverend, a grouchy motel-owner, and a boy with a pet crow.
I love Louisiana’s voice which manages to be funny and profound at the same time. She must find her own way and her path brings up big questions about her past and her identity.  Warm and generous hearts will help her along the way until she can find a place to call home. As the walrus-faced Reverend Obertask says,”‘I do think that, more often than not, love has a way of finding us,”
Indeed.

​Tessa's Picks, 3rd-5th grade, Character driven, Contemporary fiction, Friendship.

'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.

Applegate, (author of The One and Only Ivan) creates a world with humans and a few other creatures we know and goes on to populate it with beings like Byx who is doglike, walks on two legs, and can talk. Her kind, dairnes,  has been hunted to near extinction because of their unique ability to detect lies. This power in the hands of those who want ultimate control of the kingdoms would convey supremacy.
Believing that she may be an Endling, the last of her species, Byx sets off to find a sentient island that may be a haven for other dairnes.  Along the way, she is joined by Tobble, a small bunny-like wobbyk, Khara, a human of mysterious origins, Renzo, an honorable thief and Gambler, a fierce tiger-like felivet.
This is a fellowship-like adventure in a Tolkien-like world. Each of our heroes brings their own brand of courage, heart and wisdom.  Honor, friendship, power, evil and above all truth play into the story.
"Why don't they believe you?" "The same reason they don't want to believe you exist, dairne. There are many scholars, but few seekers after truth. Humans believe the things that make them feel safe. They care little for difficult facts."
A top tier fantasy!

Tessa's picks

4th-7th grade, Adventure, Fast paced. Friendship, Fantasy, 

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When Frederick Frederickson (really that’s his name) finds himself racing down the creek in a boat without a paddle, he never imagined that he would run ashore at a camp for troubled boys and get mistaken for a boy with a Big Bad reputation.
 Frederick has a food-chain theory of life. There are lions like the school bully and there are Gazelles, the target of the lions.Then there are meerkats and the fleas that live on the butts of meerkats. Frederick is a flea.  But maybe that can change.
 His fellow troop mates—Nosebleed, Specs, The Professor, and little-yet-lethal Ant Bite are as scary and definitely not fleas!  Activities and pranks lead to a tenuous friendship when Frederick's cover is blown.  Enter a hurricane! The camp is evacuated but Frederick and Ant-bite are trapped alone in its midst.

Courage and friendship shine through this hilarious adventure.

Tessa's Picks
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4th-5th grade, Character driven,Adventure, Friendship, Humor

This is a powerful , touching story about discovering who you are, finding your place in the world and learning to love who you turn out to be.  It deals with a lot of heavy issues: rape, sexual abuse, sexuality, gender identity and victim-blaming in such a sensitive and meaningful way.
 The main character Mara is trying to recover from a trauma she has never shared with anyone not even her twin brother Owen with whom she is so close.  When Owen is accused of raping his girlfriend, her best friend Hannah, what is she to believe? 
All the characters in this book are so deeply crafted you feel you know them.  Hannah is not a girl who would make this up so why is she being blamed by her classmates?  How could Mara’s beloved brother have done such a horrible thing?
But Mara knows the truth and her support of Hannah is strong and real. Hannah is not ruled by what has happened and she faces the world with strength and resilience.  These girls are powerful.
Mara’s ex-girlfriend Charlie is genderqueer and struggling to find the courage to express who she really is. They were also best friends and grieve over being apart. Together they struggle to evolve their relationship while dealing with their emerging identities.
I loved this book and the power that each character finds in themselves and in their friendships.  This is a beautiful and stunning book that will touch you and make you wiser.
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“Sweetie, this will blow over. It’s a misunderstanding. You know your brother”.
“You keep saying that”.
“Saying what?”.
“That it’s a misunderstanding. That I know Owen. But...Mom, I know Hannah, too”.

“What do we do?” What’s going to happen to Owen? And Hannah... we can’t just not listen to her. You’ve always said that we have to listen to girls no matter—“
“He’s ours, Mara, Mom says, a kind of quiet fury edging her words. He’s my son. And we love him. That’s what we do”. 

 Tessa's Picks
​8th grade, Contemporary fiction,Character driven, Issues fiction, Friendship, LGBTQ

Success to Jade means living her neighborhood, taking every opportunity.  Like accepting a scholarship to a mostly white private school.  Like joining “Women to Women” a mentorship program for “at-risk” girls. Meaning black girls like her from a bad neighborhood. It feels wrong, especially when her mentor Maxine does not understand her. Maxine is black and successful and she grew up wealthy. This class division seems to be a road block in their relationship.
Jade describes herself as a bigger girl and you cringe when she is harassed because she doesn’t fit someone’s standard of beauty.
“And this makes me wonder if a black girl’s life is only about being stitched together and coming undone, being stitched together and coming undone. I wonder if there’s ever a way for a girl like me to feel whole. Wonder” 
“I don’t know what’s worse. Being mistreated because of the color of your skin, your size, or having to prove that it really happened.
Jade's powerful voice explores identity, friendships and self-worth in this compelling coming of age book.  
 
Tessa's Picks
 
6th-8th grade, Character driven, Friendship, Issues fiction, People of color
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  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