Ten Mile River

Ten Mile River

Paul Griffin

Childrens / Middle Grade / Realistic Fiction

Ten Mile River is a stunning debut novel about survival and friendship on the streets of New York City. Best friends Ray and José are on their own and on the run. They hide out in Ten Mile River, a wildwood Harlem park. Street-smart José and bookish, introspective Ray are closer than brothers until they meet the beautiful Trini. She’s clever and confident, and they both fall for her. But somehow Ray has to find a different future for himself. Paul Griffin’s spare, moving prose and uncanny ear for dialogue is guaranteed to win many fans. ‘Tom and Huck for a new era, a new generation. This book’s got balls and beauty in equal measure.’ Phillip Gwynne
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Katani's Jamaican Holiday

Katani's Jamaican Holiday

Annie Bryant

Childrens / Realistic Fiction / Fiction

Jamaican breezes are calling, and one hardworking BSG definitely deserves a getaway! But Katani’s Caribbean dream trip may not be all soft sand and warm surf. When Grandma Ruby learns that the family’s famous banana bread bakery is in serious danger, Katani’s business savvy is put to the ultimate test. Spooky stories, dolphins, horseback rides on the beach, a mysterious old lady, and a lost heirloom add up to plenty of colorful island adventure for Katani and her family.
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Soldier Mom

Soldier Mom

Alice Mead

Childrens / Realistic Fiction / Fiction

A single parent is suddenly called to serve in the Persian Gulf War.In early August 1990, eleven-year-old Jasmyn Williams is shocked when her mother, a member of the Army Reserve, is called to active service. Within thirty-six hours, she is gone. Jas and Andrew, her baby half brother, are left in the care of her mother's boyfriend, Jake, who has never been responsible for Andrew, much less Jas. At first Jas is filled with anger. Then, despite the sacrifices she must make, including precious basketball practice, Jas comes to understand that her mother has to do her job. Still, she wonders, should a mother have a job that might require abandoning her children? Alice Mead, always an advocate for children, takes a firm stand on their behalf even as she creates a heroine who could probably adjust to anything.
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Heiress's Baby Scandal

Heiress's Baby Scandal

Janice Lynn

Young Adult / Contemporary / Realistic Fiction

The socialite and the Texan doc--is this for real?After gossip headlines announce that reluctant socialite Eleanor Aston is in a "relationship" with smooth-talking Texan Tyler Donaldson, for one glorious night this fake fling becomes fact, not fiction! Devoted nurse Eleanor knows she's in over her head with neonatal doc Ty--and that's before the paparazzi discover her baby bombshell!
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The Journal of Biddy Owens, the Negro Leagues, Birmingham, Alabama, 1948

The Journal of Biddy Owens, the Negro Leagues, Birmingham, Alabama, 1948

Walter Dean Myers

Young Adult / Fiction / Realistic Fiction

Newbery and Coretta Scott King award-winning author Walter Dean Myers's baseball story THE JOURNAL OF BIDDY OWENS is now available in paperback, with an exciting repackaging!Seventeen-year-old Biddy Owens is part of the Birmingham Black Barons baseball team and dreams of becoming a major league baseball player. However, in 1948 most black players can only play for the Negro Leagues. Jackie Robinson has just recently integrated and is playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers, but the white owners are reluctant to add too many blacks to their rosters. The Birmingham Black Barons are some of the best players in the league. But as they travel around playing ball, Biddy realizes that not everyone is ready for blacks and whites to play on the same team. Can Biddy prove he's good enough to be part of the game his loves, no matter what color his skin is?
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Aleca Zamm Travels Through Time

Aleca Zamm Travels Through Time

Ginger Rue

Young Adult / Realistic Fiction

Aleca Zamm, an ordinary ten-year-old with an extraordinary talent, spends a day in the 1950s with Aunt Zephyr and Ford in this hilarious fourth novel in the Aleca Zamm chapter book series.For Aleca Zamm, being friends with Ford, a fellow Wonder, means even more magical adventures! Ford can see things from the past and future, and when he sees a bridge that no longer exists in the present, Aleca can't wait to investigate. Hand in hand with Aunt Zephyr, the three of them manage to cross the bridge and climb through a portal into the past. Aleca, Ford, and Aunt Zephyr spend a day in the 1950s. At first, it's exciting to see how things have changed, but time travel doesn't come without snags! And when it's time to go back home, they return to the bridge and find that the portal is gone! Will they be able to find a way home? Or are they stuck in the past for good?
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The Harlem Hellfighters

The Harlem Hellfighters

Walter Dean Myers

Young Adult / Fiction / Realistic Fiction

New York Times bestselling author Walter Dean Myers and renowned filmmaker Bill Miles deftly tell the true story of the unsung American heroes of the 369th Infantry Regiment of World War I in The Harlem Hellfighters: When Pride Met Courage.At a time of widespread bigotry and racism, the African American soldiers of the 369th Infantry Regiment put their lives on the line in the name of democracy.The Harlem Hellfighters: When Pride Met Courage is a portrait of bravery and honor.Supports the Common Core State Standards
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You Don't Know Me

You Don't Know Me

David Klass

Young Adult / Fiction / Realistic Fiction

Dark and funny. John ("My father named me after a toilet!") wrestles with the certainty that no one really knows him -- not in his miserable home, and certainly not at school. It's true that no one can guess his hidden thoughts, which are hilarious, razor-sharp observations about lust, love, tubas, algebra, everything. And then there's his home: his father ran off years ago, so he's being raised by his mother, who works long hours, and by her boyfriend, whom John calls "the man who is not and never will be my father." This man is his enemy, an abusive disciplinarian who seems to want to kill John and, in a horrible final confrontation, nearly succeeds. Moving, wholly involving, original, and emotionally true, You Don't Know Me is a multilayered novel that presents a winning portrait of an understandably angst-ridden adolescent.
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Island War

Island War

Patricia Reilly Giff

Young Adult / Realistic Fiction / Fiction

A boy and girl must survive on their own on a remote Japanese-occupied island during World War II. Fans of Hatchet and Julie of the Wolves will be riveted by the story of 11-year-old Izzy and 14-year-old Matt who are left alone on an Alaskan island when the Japanese army takes the rest of the Americans prisoner. Now that Izzy's ornithologist mother, Matt's father, and the other villages have been evacuated to camps in Japan, Izzy and Matt become the only Americans left on the island. They must rely on themselves to hide from the Japanese soldiers, keep their dog for giving them away, survive the harsh winter and Allied bombing raids. A thrilling novel of kids with grit and ingenuity.
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Canned and Crushed

Canned and Crushed

Bibi Belford

Childrens / Middle Grade / Realistic Fiction

When Sandro Zapote finds out his little sister needs heart surgery, he is determined to help his parents raise the money they'll need to help her get better. Sandro's dad is in the states illegally and must work two jobs to support the family. For one, he picks up roadkill for the department of streets and sanitation and gets paid by the carcass. For the other, he collects scrap metal to recycle for cash. Sandro helps his dad with some of the scrap metal heavy lifting, and one headboard, a weight bench, some gutters, and a few car parts later, Sandro has a brilliant idea: can collecting. Save the environment. Save his family. Maybe even save some spending money for the fabulous, fast new bike he's been coveting.Well-meaning and with funny inner monologue, Sandro is the kind of person you can't help but cheer for. He's a boy who loves drawing, soccer, and his little sister. And whether he's fishing a fuzzy, dust-coated turtle out from under his sister's bed or organizing a...
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The Outside Shot

The Outside Shot

Walter Dean Myers

Young Adult / Fiction / Realistic Fiction

New Ebook Bonus Content:-Book Group Discussion Questions-Q&A with screenwriter John Ballard-Excerpt from Hoops-Excerpt from 145th Street-Excerpt from On a Clear DayWhen Lonnie Jackson leaves Harlem to take a basketball scholarship at a midwestern college, he knows he must keep his head straight and his record clean. That's the only way he'll have a chance of making it to the pros someday.But his street smarts haven't prepared him for the pressures of tough classes, high-stakes college ball, and the temptation to fix games for local gamblers. Everyone plays by a whole new set of rules -- including Sherry, who's determined to be a track star. Her independence attracts Lonnie, but their on-again, off-again relationship is driving him crazy.Lonnie has one year to learn how to make it as a "college man." It's his outside shot at a bright future. Does he have what it takes?
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