Realistic Fiction

Realistic Fiction genre

Alfredito Flies Home

Alfredito and his family are getting ready to return to El Salvador for Christmas. It will be their first visit back since they left as refugees and made their way to California on foot. But this time they’re flying! Excitement mounts as Alfredito and his family soar over the Earth and finally arrive at their beloved home to reunite with family and friends. This extraordinary book celebrates an experience familiar to the many who have left their original country to find a new life. Jorge Argueta’s tender, clever prose is perfectly complemented by Luis Garay’s rich, authentic illustrations.

Wilderness

A novel of mothers lost and found. Grainne’s Mom disappeared years ago when her parents were divorced, and Mom moved to the U.S. Now, bafflingly, she’s reappeared and wants to meet. To get out of the way of this mysterious reunion, Grainne’s half-brothers, Johnny and Tom, go with their mother, Sandra, on an “adventure holiday” in Finland. But before they’re more than a few days into the snowy north, the boys are separated from Sandra, taking impossible risks to save her life.

Before We Were Free

Anita de la Torre never questioned her freedom living in the Dominican Republic. But by her 12th birthday in 1960, most of her relatives have emigrated to the United States, her Tío Toni has disappeared without a trace, and the government’s secret police terrorize her remaining family because of their suspected opposition of el Trujillo’s dictatorship. Using the strength and courage of her family, Anita must overcome her fears and fly to freedom, leaving all that she once knew behind.

Useful Fools

Alonso, a dirt-poor teenager living in Peru, helps out at the public health clinic his mother, Magdalena, opened, so that he can see Rosa, the beautiful and wealthy daughter of the clinic’s doctor. Alonso and Rosa are both shattered when Magdalena is assassinated by a revolutionary terrorist organization. Left with no hope, Alonso might be seduced into becoming a guerrilla in the same organization that killed his mother. Rosa becomes disgusted with her father’s complacency and leaves wealth and safety behind to somehow help what is left of Alonso’s family. The story of how love can find its way through poverty and war.

The Whole Sky Full of Stars

Barry can punch anyone hard enough to make them see a whole sky full of stars, though that’s not really his style. Barry and Alby have been friends since the first grade. They’ve always protected one another. When Barry’s pop dies, times are tough and the only thing Barry has of value is his dad’s 1964 Ford Galaxie. Meanwhile Alby’s got himself into big trouble with a cardshark. So he hatches a plan to make money. To help out Barry, but also to help himself. The problem is, Barry could get hurt, and it just might cost Alby their friendship. How much can you ask of a friend?

Roots and Wings

Grace’s grandmother has died, and she and her mother must travel back to the Cambodian community to give her a proper Cambodian funeral. Grace wants to use the trip to solve a few mysteries, like who her father was, why her mother and grandmother moved from St. Petersburg to Pennsylvania, where they’re the only Cambodians Grace has ever seen, and what Cambodian culture is really about. Embraced by her mother’s old friends, Grace feels both at home and lost, fascinated by the traditions she’s never known, but strangely judged by some members of the community.

My Cousin Tamar Lives in Israel

A boy living in the United States describes differences in the way he and his family observe Jewish traditions, and the way his cousin and her family observe the same traditions in the Jewish homeland.