A The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, his first novel for
young adults, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one
unlucky boy trying to rise above the life everyone expects him
to live.
Ask Me No Questions Budhos, Marina Tamar Summary: Fourteen-year-old Nadira, her sister, and their parents leave Bangladesh for New York City, but the expiration of their visas and the events of September 11, 2001, bring frustration, sorrow, and terror for the whole family.
Bone by Bone by Bone Johnston, Tony Summary: In 1950s Tennessee, ten-year-old David's racist father refuses to let him associate with his best friend Malcolm, an African American boy.
Bronx Masquerade Grimes, Nikki Summary: While studying the Harlem Renaissance, students at a Bronx high school read aloud poems they've written, revealing their innermost thoughts and fears to their formerly clueless classmates.
Buddha Boy Koja, Kathe Summary: Justin spends time with Jinsen, the unusual and artistic new student whom the school bullies torment and call Buddha Boy, and ends up making choices that impact Jinsen, himself, and the entire school.
Crossing the Wire Hobbs, Will Summary: Fifteen-year-old Victor Flores journeys north in a desperate attempt to cross the Arizona border and find work in the United States to support his family in central Mexico.
. Dark Sons Grimes, Nikki Summary: Alternating poems compare and contrast the conflicted feelings of Ishmael, son of the Biblical patriarch Abraham, and Sam, a teenager in New York City, as they try to come to terms with being abandoned by their fathers and with the love they feel for their younger stepbrothers.
Does My Head Look Big in This Abdel-Fattah, Randa Summary: Year Eleven at an exclusive prep school in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, would be tough enough, but it is further complicated for Amal when she decides to wear the hijab, the Muslim head scarf, full-time as a badge of her faith--without losing her identity or sense of style.
Esperanza Rising Ryan, Pam Munoz Summary: Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh circumstances facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the Great Depression. First Daughter:
Extreme American Makeover Perkins, Mitali Summary: During her father's presidential campaign, sixteen-year-old Sameera Righton, who was adopted from Pakistan at the age of three, struggles with campaign staffers who want to give her a more "all-American" image and create a fake weblog in her name. First book in a two part series.
Iqbal : a Novel D'Adamo, Francesco Summary: A fictionalized account of the Pakistani child who escaped from bondage in a carpet factory and went on to help liberate other children like him before being gunned down at the age of thirteen.
New Boy Houston, Julian Summary: As a new sophomore at an exclusive boarding school in the 1950s, Rob Garrett, a young black man, is witness to the persecution of other students and wonders about the growing civil rights movement back home in Virginia.
Parade of Shadows Whelan, Gloria Summary: In 1907, sixteen-year-old Julia Hamilton, happy to accompany her diplomat father on a tour of the Ottoman-controlled cities of Istanbul, Damascus, Palmyra, and Aleppo, soon finds the journey increasingly hazardous as she begins to uncover her father's true mission and the secret motivations of the other travelers in their group.
Revolution is not a Dinner Party Compestine, Ying Chang Summary: Starting in 1972 when she is nine years old, Ling, the daughter of two doctors, struggles to make sense of the communists' Cultural Revolution, which empties stores of food, homes of appliances deemed "bourgeois," and people of laughter.
Sahara Special Codell, Esmé Raji Summary: Struggling with school and her feelings since her father left, Sahara gets a fresh start with a new and unique teacher who supports her writing talents and the individuality of each of her classmates.
Sledding Hill (M) Crutcher, Chris Summary: Billy, recently deceased, keeps an eye on his best friend, fourteen-year-old Eddie, and helps him stand up to a conservative minister and English teacher who is orchestrating a censorship challenge.
Sold (M) McCormick, Patricia Summary: Thirteen-year-old Lakshmi leaves her poor mountain home in Nepal thinking that she is to work in the city as a maid only to find that she has been sold into the sex slave trade in India and that there is no hope of escape.
Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time Yee, Lisa Summary: After flunking sixth-grade English, basketball prodigy Stanford Wong must struggle to pass his summer-school class, keep his failure a secret from his friends, and satisfy his academically demanding father.
Tasting the Sky Barakat, Ibtisam Summary: A memoir in which the author describes her childhood as a Palestinian refugee, discussing her family's experiences during and after the Six-Day War, and the freedom she felt at learning to read and write.
The Breadwinner Ellis, Deborah Summary: Because the Taliban rulers of Kabul, Afghanistan, impose strict limitations on women's freedom and behavior, eleven-year-old Parvana must disguise herself as a boy so that her family can survive after her father's arrest.
The Fold An, Na Summary: Joyce Park, a high school junior who is always compared to her beautiful and talented older sister, Helen, wants to attract the attention of John Ford Kang, and wrestles with whether to get plastic surgery as a gift from her aunt.
The Other side of Truth Naidoo, Beverley Summary: After their mother's murder, Sade and her brother are smuggled out of Nigeria and sent to London foster homes. Their father escapes to join them, but will be sent back to Nigeria unless Sade can tell the world what happened to her family.
Tree Girl Mikaelsen, Ben Summary: When, protected by the branches of one of the trees she loves to climb, Gabriela witnesses the destruction of her Mayan village and the murder of nearly all its inhabitants, she vows never to climb again until, after she and her traumatized sister find safety in a Mexican refugee camp, she realizes that only by climbing and facing their fears can she and her sister hope to have a future.
Wanting Mor Khan, Rukhsana Summary: Jameela, a young girl living in war-torn Afghanistan, struggles to find her place in the world after her mother dies and she moves to Kabul with her drunken father where she clashes with her stepmother and ends up in an orphanage.
When the Black Girl Sings Wright, Bil Summary: Adopted by white parents and sent to an exclusive Connecticut girls' school where she is the only black student, fourteen-year-old Lahni Schuler feels like an outcast, particularly when her parents separate, but after attending a local church where she hears gospel music for the first time, she finds her voice.
Ask Me No Questions Budhos, Marina Tamar Summary: Fourteen-year-old Nadira, her sister, and their parents leave Bangladesh for New York City, but the expiration of their visas and the events of September 11, 2001, bring frustration, sorrow, and terror for the whole family.
Bone by Bone by Bone Johnston, Tony Summary: In 1950s Tennessee, ten-year-old David's racist father refuses to let him associate with his best friend Malcolm, an African American boy.
Bronx Masquerade Grimes, Nikki Summary: While studying the Harlem Renaissance, students at a Bronx high school read aloud poems they've written, revealing their innermost thoughts and fears to their formerly clueless classmates.
Buddha Boy Koja, Kathe Summary: Justin spends time with Jinsen, the unusual and artistic new student whom the school bullies torment and call Buddha Boy, and ends up making choices that impact Jinsen, himself, and the entire school.
Crossing the Wire Hobbs, Will Summary: Fifteen-year-old Victor Flores journeys north in a desperate attempt to cross the Arizona border and find work in the United States to support his family in central Mexico.
. Dark Sons Grimes, Nikki Summary: Alternating poems compare and contrast the conflicted feelings of Ishmael, son of the Biblical patriarch Abraham, and Sam, a teenager in New York City, as they try to come to terms with being abandoned by their fathers and with the love they feel for their younger stepbrothers.
Does My Head Look Big in This Abdel-Fattah, Randa Summary: Year Eleven at an exclusive prep school in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, would be tough enough, but it is further complicated for Amal when she decides to wear the hijab, the Muslim head scarf, full-time as a badge of her faith--without losing her identity or sense of style.
Esperanza Rising Ryan, Pam Munoz Summary: Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh circumstances facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the Great Depression. First Daughter:
Extreme American Makeover Perkins, Mitali Summary: During her father's presidential campaign, sixteen-year-old Sameera Righton, who was adopted from Pakistan at the age of three, struggles with campaign staffers who want to give her a more "all-American" image and create a fake weblog in her name. First book in a two part series.
Iqbal : a Novel D'Adamo, Francesco Summary: A fictionalized account of the Pakistani child who escaped from bondage in a carpet factory and went on to help liberate other children like him before being gunned down at the age of thirteen.
New Boy Houston, Julian Summary: As a new sophomore at an exclusive boarding school in the 1950s, Rob Garrett, a young black man, is witness to the persecution of other students and wonders about the growing civil rights movement back home in Virginia.
Parade of Shadows Whelan, Gloria Summary: In 1907, sixteen-year-old Julia Hamilton, happy to accompany her diplomat father on a tour of the Ottoman-controlled cities of Istanbul, Damascus, Palmyra, and Aleppo, soon finds the journey increasingly hazardous as she begins to uncover her father's true mission and the secret motivations of the other travelers in their group.
Revolution is not a Dinner Party Compestine, Ying Chang Summary: Starting in 1972 when she is nine years old, Ling, the daughter of two doctors, struggles to make sense of the communists' Cultural Revolution, which empties stores of food, homes of appliances deemed "bourgeois," and people of laughter.
Sahara Special Codell, Esmé Raji Summary: Struggling with school and her feelings since her father left, Sahara gets a fresh start with a new and unique teacher who supports her writing talents and the individuality of each of her classmates.
Sledding Hill (M) Crutcher, Chris Summary: Billy, recently deceased, keeps an eye on his best friend, fourteen-year-old Eddie, and helps him stand up to a conservative minister and English teacher who is orchestrating a censorship challenge.
Sold (M) McCormick, Patricia Summary: Thirteen-year-old Lakshmi leaves her poor mountain home in Nepal thinking that she is to work in the city as a maid only to find that she has been sold into the sex slave trade in India and that there is no hope of escape.
Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time Yee, Lisa Summary: After flunking sixth-grade English, basketball prodigy Stanford Wong must struggle to pass his summer-school class, keep his failure a secret from his friends, and satisfy his academically demanding father.
Tasting the Sky Barakat, Ibtisam Summary: A memoir in which the author describes her childhood as a Palestinian refugee, discussing her family's experiences during and after the Six-Day War, and the freedom she felt at learning to read and write.
The Breadwinner Ellis, Deborah Summary: Because the Taliban rulers of Kabul, Afghanistan, impose strict limitations on women's freedom and behavior, eleven-year-old Parvana must disguise herself as a boy so that her family can survive after her father's arrest.
The Fold An, Na Summary: Joyce Park, a high school junior who is always compared to her beautiful and talented older sister, Helen, wants to attract the attention of John Ford Kang, and wrestles with whether to get plastic surgery as a gift from her aunt.
The Other side of Truth Naidoo, Beverley Summary: After their mother's murder, Sade and her brother are smuggled out of Nigeria and sent to London foster homes. Their father escapes to join them, but will be sent back to Nigeria unless Sade can tell the world what happened to her family.
Tree Girl Mikaelsen, Ben Summary: When, protected by the branches of one of the trees she loves to climb, Gabriela witnesses the destruction of her Mayan village and the murder of nearly all its inhabitants, she vows never to climb again until, after she and her traumatized sister find safety in a Mexican refugee camp, she realizes that only by climbing and facing their fears can she and her sister hope to have a future.
Wanting Mor Khan, Rukhsana Summary: Jameela, a young girl living in war-torn Afghanistan, struggles to find her place in the world after her mother dies and she moves to Kabul with her drunken father where she clashes with her stepmother and ends up in an orphanage.
When the Black Girl Sings Wright, Bil Summary: Adopted by white parents and sent to an exclusive Connecticut girls' school where she is the only black student, fourteen-year-old Lahni Schuler feels like an outcast, particularly when her parents separate, but after attending a local church where she hears gospel music for the first time, she finds her voice.
