Theme: Coming of age

Pieces of Me

A coming-of-age tale follows 14-year-old Mirabelle, a talented artist from a broken home, who befriends the free-spirited and confident Catherine whose friendship brings Mira out of her shell and teaches her about boys. Mira soon learns that her newly found confidence can be shattered in an instant.
Descriptors: Fiction, France, Young Adult (Gr. 9-12) » Other Themes: » 1 Comment

The Year of the Dog

It’s the Chinese Year of the Dog, and as Pacy celebrates with her family, she finds out that this is the year she is supposed to “find herself.” Universal themes of friendship, family, and finding one’s passion in life make this novel appealing to readers of all backgrounds. Read more about The Year of the [...]
Descriptors: Fiction, Intermediate (Gr. 4-8), United States of America » Other Themes: , , , , » Leave a comment

American Born Chinese

A tour-de-force by rising indy comics star Gene Yang, American Born Chinese tells the story of three apparently unrelated characters: Jin Wang, who moves to a new neighborhood with his family only to discover that he’s the only Chinese-American student at his new school; the powerful Monkey King, subject of one of the oldest and [...]
Descriptors: China, Graphic Novel, Taiwan, United States of America, Young Adult (Gr. 9-12) » Other Themes: , » Leave a comment

From Somalia with Love

Safia Dirie is a teenage girl living in East London with her mother, Hoyo, and two older brothers, Ahmed and Abdullahi. Though she was born in Somalia, she doesn’t remember much of  it — Safia’s a London girl, through and through. But now, after 12 long years, her father, Abo, has returned to the family [...]
Descriptors: England (UK), Intermediate (Gr. 4-8), Realistic Fiction, Somalia » Other Themes: , , , » Leave a comment

Escaping into the Night

Thirteen-year-old Halina Rudowski narrowly escapes the Polish ghetto and flees to the forest, where she is taken in by an encampment of Jews trying to survive World War II.Based on historical events, this gripping tale sheds light on a little-known aspect of the Holocaust: the underground forest encampments that saved several thousand Jews from the [...]
Descriptors: Historical Fiction, Intermediate (Gr. 4-8), Poland » Other Themes: , , , , , , , , » Leave a comment

Beneath My Mother’s Feet

“Our lives will always be in the hands of our mothers, whether we like it or not.” Nazia doesn’t mind when her friends tease and call her a good beti, a dutiful daughter. Growing up in a working-class family in Karachi, Pakistan, Nazia knows that obedience is the least she can give to her mother, [...]
Descriptors: Database, Fiction, Pakistan, Young Adult (Gr. 9-12) » Other Themes: , , , , , » Leave a comment

Snow Falling in Spring: Coming of Age in China During the Cultural Revolution

Moying Li is twelve-years-old when Cultural Revolution sweeps China. In 1966 Moying, a student at a prestigious language school in Beijing, seems destined for a promising future. Everything changes when student Red Guards begin to orchestrate brutal assaults, violent public humiliations, and forced confessions. After watching her teachers and headmasters beaten in public, Moying flees school [...]
Descriptors: China, Historical Fiction, Young Adult (Gr. 9-12) » Other Themes: , , , , , » Leave a comment

Nilda

A young girl growing up in Spanish Harlem in the 1940′s watches the secure world of her childhood years slowly erode away.
Descriptors: Historical Fiction, Intermediate (Gr. 4-8), Puerto Rico, United States of America » Other Themes: , , , » 1 Comment

Bringing the Boy Home

As two Takunami youths approach their thirteenth birthdays, Luka reaches the culmination of his mother’s training for the tribe’s manhood test while Tirio, raised in Miami, Florida, by his adoptive mother, feels called to begin preparations to prove himself during his upcoming visit to the Amazon rain forest where he was born.
Descriptors: Fantasy, Intermediate (Gr. 4-8), Latin America, United States of America » Other Themes: , , , , , , » Leave a comment

Maphead

MapHead, a twelve year old from a parallel world, who can flash any map across his head but cannot quite grasp human language, comes to meet his human mother, and by searching for her, he discovers himself.
Descriptors: England (UK), Intermediate (Gr. 4-8), Science Fiction » Other Themes: , , , , » Leave a comment
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