From Governor General’s Literary Award finalist Michelle Kadarusman comes a novel about a young violinist who discovers her mother’s family secretly harbor a sanctuary for extinct Tasmanian tigers in the remote Australian rainforest
Music For Tigers
Realistic Fiction
Realistic Fiction genre
Wonderful Feels Like This
Sara Lovestam’s Wonderful Feels Like This is “a coming-of-age tale of a young artist and is as soulful as it is triumphant” (School Library Journal) that celebrates being a little bit odd, finding your people, and the power of music to connect us.
We Are Not From Here
“Teens from Guatelama escape through Mexico and attempt to reach the U.S. border”–
We Are Not From Here has been discussed in My Take/Your Take for April 2021.
Under Water
After her beloved grandmother’s death, seventeen-year-old Khosi is left with an empty house, her younger sister, and her promise to finish school but violence in Imbali may take even that.
The 10pm Question
Tackling the difficult question of mental health this is a book to make you laugh and cry in equal measures. Twelve-year-old Frankie Parsons asks questions about everything but cannot bring himself to ask the one question that worries him more than all the others. This is a wonderfully written story by award-winning author Kate de Goldi
A Different Pond
A Different Pond is an unforgettable story about a simple event – a long-ago fishing trip. Graphic novelist Thi Bui and poet Bao Phi deliver a powerful, honest glimpse into a relationship between father and son – and between cultures, old and new. As a young boy, Bao and his father awoke early, hours before his father’s long workday began, to fish on the shores of a small pond in Minneapolis. Unlike many other anglers, Bao and his father fished for food, not recreation. A successful catch meant a fed family. Between hope-filled casts, Bao’s father told him about a different pond in their homeland of Vietnam.
Read two takes on A Different Pond in June 2019’s My Take/Your Take.
Jimena Perez Puede Volar
Ten-year-old Jimena loves El Salvador but when gangs threaten to force her to join, she and her mother immigrate to the United States, but are separated at the border.
Stella Diaz Never Gives Up
Stella gets a big surprise when her mom plans a trip to visit their family in Mexico! Stella loves marine animals, and she can’t wait to see the ocean for the first time . . . until she arrives and learns that the sea and its life forms are in danger due to pollution. Stella wants to save the ocean, but she knows she can’t do it alone. It’s going to take a lot of work and help from old and new friends to make a difference, but Stella Díaz never gives up! This is the second middle-grade novel from award-winning picture book author and illustrator Angela Dominguez. Based on the author’s experiences growing up Mexican-American, this infectiously charming character comes to life through relatable story-telling including simple Spanish vocabulary and adorable black-and-white art throughout.
This Train is Being Held
Told in two voices, ballet dancer and private school student Isabelle Warren and poet and baseball star Alex Rosario grow closer after meeting on a subway, bonding over their parents’ expectations and their own dreams.
Brown
With help from his recently-deceased grandfather, new friends and their superhero alter egos, and some paint, Rusty stops the bullies who have been terrorizing their small town.