Theme: Coming of age

Life: An Exploded Diagram

By Book Importer | Published: October 26, 2011

In 1960s Norfolk, England, seventeen-year-old Clem Ackroyd lives with his mother and grandmother in a tiny cottage, but his life is transformed when he falls in love with the daughter of a wealthy farmer in this tale that flashes back through the stories of three generations.

Descriptors: England (UK), Historical Fiction, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , , , , » Leave a comment

Blood Red Road

By Book Importer | Published: August 15, 2011

Saba has spent her whole life in Silverlake, a dried-up wasteland ravaged by constant sandstorms. The Wrecker civilization has long been destroyed, leaving only landfills for Saba and her family to scavenge from. That’s fine by her, as long as her beloved twin brother Lugh is around. But when a monster sandstorm arrives, along with [...]

Descriptors: England (UK), Science Fiction, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , , , , , » Leave a comment

Butterflies

By Book Importer | Published: August 15, 2011

Katherine is almost eighteen. Severely burned when she was three, she dreams that one day she will look like everyone else. Be like everyone else. Achieve her dreams. But Katherine won’t be seen as a victim. Her life is filled with fun and humor and friendship, as she faces her first “real” date, arguments with [...]

Descriptors: Australia, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , , , , , , , , » 1 Comment

Nicholas Dane

By Book Importer | Published: February 15, 2011

When fourteen-year-old Nicholas Dane’s mother dies, social services sends him to a home for boys where intimidation and violence keep order. After a number of fights and brutal punishments, Nick thinks that life can’t possibly get any worse . . . until he realizes that the home’s respected deputy head, who has been grooming him [...]

Descriptors: England (UK), Rhymes/songs, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , , , , , , , , » Leave a comment

Pieces of Me

By Book Importer | Published: May 24, 2010

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 (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: » 2 Comments

The Year of the Dog

By Book Importer | Published: March 30, 2010

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 (ages 9-14), United States of America » Other Themes: , , , , » Leave a comment

American Born Chinese

By Richard Clift | Published: January 19, 2010

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 (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , » Leave a comment

From Somalia with Love

By Book Importer | Published: January 11, 2010

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 (ages 9-14), Realistic Fiction, Somalia » Other Themes: , , , » Leave a comment

Escaping into the Night

By Book Importer | Published: October 1, 2009

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 (ages 9-14), Poland » Other Themes: , , , , , , , , » Leave a comment

Sacred Shadows

By Book Importer | Published: October 1, 2009

When her German hometown becomes part of Poland after World War I, Lene, a young German Jew, struggles to come to terms with the anti-Semitism and anti-German hatred that seems to be growing around her.

Descriptors: Germany, Historical Fiction, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Poland » Other Themes: , , , , , , » Leave a comment