Theme: Family problem

Dead Time/Shelter

By Book Importer | Published: January 18, 2012

Two vulnerable girls go to extremes for love.In Dead Time, Isabella is in jail and waiting to be tried for a horrifically violent crime. Her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend, Lulu, is dead. Even her name makes Isabella want to poke somebody in the eye with a stick. True, Isabella was jealous and asked her boyfriend, Sergei, to [...]

Descriptors: Americas, Canada, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , , , » Leave a comment

Fix Me

By Book Importer | Published: December 12, 2011

Orphaned as a child, terrorized by her abusive brother, and haunted by memories, Leia feels exposed, powerless, and vulnerable. When her tormented mind can stand it no longer, she escapes to the zoo, where she finds shelter and seeks refuge. The zoo is a sanctuary: a protective space for families, and a safe place for [...]

Descriptors: Iceland, Realistic Fiction, Scandinavia, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , , , , , , » Leave a comment

Wishes and Worries

By Book Importer | Published: September 26, 2011

Children of parents who drink too much alcohol are affected in many ways. They may experience anger, fear, confusion, and guilt. This reassuring book, written by professionals, offers information in the form of a story about one family’s struggle. When Dad’s drinking ruins a birthday party, everyone wishes that he would just stop. If only [...]

Descriptors: Americas, Canada, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Picture Book, Realistic Fiction » Other Themes: , , , , » Leave a comment

Long Story Short

By Book Importer | Published: September 7, 2011

From Ireland’s first laureate for children’s literature comes a story of abuse and neglect told with sincerity, heart, and a healthy dose of humor.  Jono has always been able to cope with his mother’s drinking, but when she hits his little sister Julie, he decides it’s time for them to run away. Told in Jono’s [...]

Descriptors: Europe, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Ireland, Realistic Fiction » Other Themes: , , , , » Leave a comment

How To Make a Bird

By Book Importer | Published: January 20, 2011

It’s dawn, on an empty road in the countryside. Empty, except for the girl in the long, red evening gown, standing next to a bicycle, and looking back at the home she’s about to leave. Mannie’s ready to start a new life and forget the terrible things that have happened here, but there are questions [...]

Descriptors: Australia, Awards, Fiction, Oceania, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , , , , , , » Leave a comment

The Year the Gypsies Came

By Yoo Kyung Sung | Published: December 1, 2008

Set in apartheid 1960s South Africa, twelve-year-old Emily Iris explains that her mother and father have always been eager to take in travelers and vagabonds, relying on the presence of outsiders to ease the tension between them. Emily has her gentle older sister, Sarah, and Buza, the old Zulu nightwatchman, for company and comfort. But her [...]

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

Asphalt Angels

By Yoo Kyung Sung | Published: December 1, 2008

A raw, poignant story of a band of Brazilian street kids who survive — if they can — by their wits alone. Asphalt Angels centers around a boy named Alex, a street child of 13 in Brazil who has been kicked onto the city streets by his stepfather after his mother dies. He is alone [...]

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

Brave Story

By Yoo Kyung Sung | Published: December 1, 2008

Young Wataru Mitani’s life is a mess. His father has abandoned him and his mother has been hospitalized after a suicide attempt. Desperately he searches for some way to change his life—a way to alter his fate.   To achieve his goal, he must navigate the magical world of Vision, a land filled with creatures [...]

Descriptors: Fantasy, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Japan » Other Themes: , , , , , » Leave a comment

A Thief in the House of Memory

By Mi-Kyoung | Published: December 1, 2008

Six years ago, when Declan Steeple was 10 and his sister was just a baby, his mother, Lindy, disappeared, searching for something better than the dusty family estate with its generations of clutter and memory. Now the Steeples live in a modern split-level down the hill from the Big House, but the mansion is still [...]

Descriptors: Canada, Mystery, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , , , » Leave a comment

Rits

By Yoo Kyung Sung | Published: December 1, 2008

When his father runs off with his girlfriend and his distraught mother is admitted to an institution, thirteen-year-old Rits goes to live with his uncle and tries to make the best of his unusual circumstances.

Descriptors: Netherlands, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , , , » Leave a comment