The Rock In My Throat

In this moving true story, Kao Kalia Yang shares her experiences as a Hmong refugee child navigating life at home and school in America while carrying the weight of her selective mutism.

The Rock In My Throat is the WOW Recommends Book of the Month for December 2024.
The Rock In My Throat is featured in WOW Review Volume XVII, Issue 3.

Sumo Libre

Friends Max and Kenji love wrestling, but Max loves lucha libre and Kenji loves sumo, so they come together to create something spectacular.

The Kasa Jizo

An old man and an old woman live together deep in the mountains. To welcome the New Year, the old man went to town sell the straw umbrellas he had made, but he could not sell any of them and could not buy any food for the New Year.

Caged

A young Hmong girl has never been outside the camp she lives in with her parents and thousands of other families. Most days, she spends her time playing with her cousins and pretending they can fly above the clouds and far away from here. When her family’s papers are finally approved, she’s uncertain if she’s ready to leave everything and everyone she’s ever known behind. But on the day she leaves, her favorite aunt, Golden Flower, sees her off with the words, Your wings have arrived.

Serpent Sea (Spice Road)

Imani and Taha must save their home from an invasion after the magical enchantment that hid them from the world is defeated. Imani is a magic wielding warrior sworn to protect her land from the monsters that roam the desert. But an even worse enemy now threatens the Sahir. As the powerful Harrowlanders march south with their greatest weapon, spice magic, Imani knows it’s only a matter of time before their invasion of her land begins and it will be a losing battle for her people. But Imani also knows that one way to fight magic is with monsters. If she can restore Qayn’s stolen powers, together they can summon a supernatural army to defend the Sahir from the Harrowlanders. Forming an alliance with a djinni king is risky, but Imani will do anything to save her people, even embarking on a dangerous quest beyond the sands to find the magical jewels of Qayn’s lost crown. As Imani journeys far from home, she will discover monsters that warriors have only heard about in myths monsters that can strike at any moment. Meanwhile, her rival, Taha, has been captured and is on a dangerous mission of his own. One wrong move could cost them their lives and everyone they love. But they may find that there is more than meets the eye crossing the Serpent Sea and betrayal cuts deeper than any dagger.

Call Me Roberto!: Roberto Clemente Goes To Bat For Latinos

Roberto Clemente always loved baseball. Growing up in Carolina, Puerto Rico, he swung tree branches (since he didn’t have a bat) and hit tin cans. He was always batting, pitching, running, sliding. His dedication paid off when, at the age of 19, he was tapped for a major league team. First stop: chilly Montreal where he warmed the bench and himself, longing to play baseball. Months later, he finally got his chance with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Clemente had an instant impact on the field hitting the ball and making it to first base and finally home.

Rani Choudhury Must Die

In this sapphic dual POV romance by Adiba Jaigirdar, Meghna and Rani realize they’re dating the same guy, so they team up to beat and expose him at a big science competition! Meghna Rahman is tired of constantly being compared to her infuriatingly perfect ex best friend now rival. Everyone, except, at least, her boyfriend Zak, seems to think that Rani Choudhury can do no wrong even her own parents! It doesn’t help that Rani is always accepted into the Young Scientist Exhibition, while Meghna’s projects never make it. But this year, she finally has a chance at defeating Rani in something. Rani Choudhury is tired of feeling like she doesn’t have much say in her life not when it comes to how her mom wants her to look and act or how her parents encourage her to date incredibly charming close family friend Zak. She would much rather focus on her coding, especially once she places high enough at the Young Scientist Exhibition to go on to the European Young Scientist Exhibition. When Meghna and Rani figure out that Zak has been playing them both, they decide to do something no one would see coming: they team up. They’ll compete in the EYSE as partners, creating an app that exposes cheaters and a project that exposes Zak. But with years of silence and pressure between them, working together will prove difficult. Especially once each girl starts to realize that the feelings they had for the other may have been more than platonic.

A Map For Falasteen: A Palestinian Child’s Search For Home

A young Palestinian girl living in diaspora struggles to find her homeland on a map in this gentle and heartfelt picture book. At school, Falasteen and her classmates are tasked with finding their families’ home countries on a map, but no matter how hard she looks, Falasteen can’t find Palestine. Can a place exist if it’s not on a map? Confused, Falasteen turns to her family for answers. Her grandfather, grandmother, and Mama encourage her to see their homeland from a different perspective, and each of their stories helps her understand her people’s history and her own place in the world.