Fifteen-year-old RD is repeating the eighth grade, planning to have an easy year, but after his grandmother walks out her boyfriend is no longer able to care for him, which leaves RD to fend for himself while avoiding being caught.
Messed Up
Realistic Fiction
Realistic Fiction genre
My Little Car
Teresa loves to show off her shiny, new, pedal-powered lowrider car from Grandpa, but the toy soon looks old when she neglects it. When it helps her escape from a neighborhood dog, she is reminded of how much she loves it. And her grandpa is just the person to help her fix it up. After all, he’s old, too, but he’s still fun to play with. This shows kids that it’s important to take care of the things (and people) you love.
The Skirt
When Miata leaves on the school bus the skirt that she is to wear in a dance performance, she needs all her wits to get it back without her parents’ finding out that she has lost something yet again.
Truth And Salsa
A spirited young girl must travel far from home to finally find herself. MEXICO IS A LONG WAY from Kalamazoo–and not just in terms of miles. Almost-thirteen-year-old Hayley Flynn is spending six months with her eccentric grandmother in the rural mountain town of San Cristobal. Her father recently deserted the family and Hayley’s mom needs time to, as she puts it, “work things through.” Down in Mexico, everyone calls Hayley by her new, more glamorous chosen name, Margarita, and life is surprisingly exciting–exotic birds, beautiful butterflies, holidays, colorful fiestas, and new friends like Lili. Hayley and Lili even win parts as extras in a Hollywood movie being filmed in the town. But there are also difficult lessons to be learned. Poverty and unemployment send Lili’s father and other men from the village to Michigan to work as migrant workers so they can send money back home to their anxious families. Meanwhile Hayley is on the lookout for la fantasma (the ghost) that is said to haunt her grandma’s house. With Lili’s help she solves the mystery–and prepares for a new life with her mom back in the States.
Someone Like Summer
Annabel first sees him playing soccer near her house. His name is Esteban—she sees it on the back of his team shirt. He notices her, smiles, then looks back over his shoulder at her again.
It is the beginning of summer in the resort town of Seaview. It is also the start of a romance between a young Colombian who came to town to work and the daughter of a local contractor whose crews are entirely Latino—new immigrants who are changing the face of Seaview.
This is the summer of war in Iraq, and of Hurricane Katrina. But in Seaview there are other concerns. In Annabel’s house her new boyfriend is at the top of the list. And Esteban’s sister has harsh words for his choice of a girlfriend.
M. E. Kerr weaves a compelling story of star-crossed love and a small-town problem of nationwide significance.
Sweet Dreams/Dulces Suenos (My Family: Mi Familia)
Shh, shh, close your eyes.
Shh . . . shh . . . Cierra los ojitos.
Outside, the rabbits are sleeping,
Afuera, los conejitos están durmiendo
and the birds, and the squirrels.
junto con los pajaritos, y las ardillas.
Inside, Grandma tucks
us snugly into bed.
Adentro, Abuelita nos da
las buenas noches.
The stars and moon
are shining bright.
Las estrellas y la
luna brillan.
Sweet dreams!
¡Dulces sueños!
As warm and comforting as a grandmother’s voice, this endearing book in the My Family/Mi familia series makes bedtime a soothing family tradition.
Este encantador libro de la serie My Family/Mi familia, tan cálido y reconfortante como la voz de una abuela, ayuda a convertir la hora de dormir en una armoniosa tradición familiar.
Rene has two Last Names / Rene tiene dos apellidos
Young Rene is from El Salvador, and he doesn’t understand why his name has to be different in the United States. When he writes Colato, he sees his paternal grandparents, Rene and Amelia. When he writes Lainez, he sees his maternal grandparents, Angela and Julio. His new classmates giggle when Rene tells them his long name. So when the students are given a project to create a family tree, Rene is determined to explain the importance of using both of his last names. On the day of his presentation, Rene explains that he is as hard working as Abuelo Rene, who is a farmer, and as creative as his Abuela Amelia, who is a potter. He can tell stories like his Abuelo Julio and enjoys music like his Abuela Angela.
This book has been included in WOW’s Language and Learning: Children’s and Young Adult Fiction Booklist. For our current list, visit our Booklist page under Resources in the green navigation bar.
Bird Springs
Eleven-year-old Gregory and his family had to leave the Navajo reservation at Bird Springs—the only home they’ve ever known—and move to a motel in Tucson, Arizona. Gregory misses his absent father, but he likes school, particularly art class with the kind teacher. He also makes a new friend, Matt, who promptly informs him art class is really art therapy and that Gregory is staying in a shelter, not a motel. Even though Matt can be outspoken, he’s just what Gregory needs now. He’s honest and generous with his allowance so they can ride the Ferris wheel at the carnival. Award-winning author Carolyn Marsden paints a poignant story of a little boy who, as he confronts the more painful aspects of his past, is filled with a sense of hope.
El Dilema De Trino
To be thirteen is worthless, Trino Olivares thinks. Trino has three little brothers he’s supposed to look after, but no father he can look up to. He rules at video games, but in the classroom, and out in the real world, he’s barely getting by—just like his mom, who scarcely manages to pay the bills and feed her kids by working all the time.Trino gets angry when he looks around at his terrible life. But when Rosca, an older teen with a vicious streak, invites him to start hanging with his crowd—and maybe make some quick money, too—Trino doesn’t know what to think. What kind of choices does he have, anyway? To run or die?
My Mother and I Are Growing Strong
A five-year-old describes the way her mother is working and coping with problems while her father is in prison.