Realistic Fiction genre
In Khayelitsha, South Africa, Neo’s passion for music leads her to her first love–Tale, the female lead singer of a local band–and an internship at the local radio station, and both experiences teach Neo about the risks and rewards of using her own voice to empower others.
When his family’s restaurant and Cuban American neighborhood in Miami are threatened by a greedy land developer, thirteen-year-old Arturo, joined by Carmen, a cute poetry enthusiast, fight back, discovering the power of poetry and protest through untold family stories and the work of José Martí.
Sumac Lottery is nine years old and the self-proclaimed “good girl” of her (VERY) large, (EXTREMELY) unruly family. And what a family the Lotterys are: four parents, children both adopted and biological, and a menagerie of pets, all living and learning together in a sprawling house called Camelottery. Then one day, the news breaks that one of their grandfathers is suffering from dementia and will be coming to live with them. And not just any grandfather; the long dormant “Grumps,” who fell out with his son so long ago that he hasn’t been part of any of their lives. Suddenly, everything changes. Sumac has to give up her room to make the newcomer feel at home. She tries to be nice, but prickly Grumps’s clearly disapproves of how the Lotterys live: whole grains, strange vegetables, rescue pets, a multicultural household… He’s worse than just tough to get along with — Grumps has got to go! But can Sumac help him find a home where he belongs?
In England, newly pregnant seventeen-year-old Hattie and her gin-drinking great-aunt Gloria, who is in the early stages of dementia, set out togethere on a road trip of self-discovery–Gloria to finally confront the secrets of her past before they are wiped from her memory forever and Hattie to face the hard choices that will determine her future.
From the backyards of suburban Florida to the parched desert of New Mexico, Because of the Sun explores the complexity of family, the saving grace of friendship, and the healing that can begin when the truth is brought to light.
In one greedy moment, Binny Cornwallis snatches some bills left behind at an ATM. After all it’s her mother’s birthday, and just think of what she could do with some cash in her never-quite-enough-money household. But of course she has to hide the money she can’t explain it. And in her tiny house, every hiding place is in danger of discovery. After a few tries, Binny does hide it. And she hides it so well she can’t find it again, even after she decides she wants to give it back.Now, Binny must team up with her best enemy Gareth, a ruthlessly honest boy who sets out to play detective and figure out who might have taken the money. Meanwhile the next-door neighbor is doing odd things like presenting Binny with a little doll that looks just like herwith her hand in her pocket, just as Binny’s was when she pocketed the cash. There’s plenty more going on in the Cornwallis house, as Binny’s older sister Clem has a secret of her own, and little brother James is having a kung fu clash with his best friend. Mayhem, love, and laughter run riot in this new hilarious Binny adventure.
From the masterful David Almond comes a joyful, wistful story of boyhood, running, and tales of days gone by, in a beautiful gift edition illustrated in full color.
Two children captured by a band of rebel soldiers in the Congo vow to protect an orphaned gorilla baby in this powerful, thought-provoking, and vividly compelling novel from award-winning storyteller Gill Lewis. Deep in the heart of the Congo, a baby gorilla is captured by a group of rebel soldiers. Imara and Bobo are also prisoners in the rebels’ camp. When they learn that the gorilla will be sold into captivity, they swear to return it to the wild before it’s too late. But the consequences of getting caught are too terrible to think about.
Siblings Ira and Zac know the foster system inside and out, but it’s only when they are sent to Skilly House, a children’s care home in London, that their lives truly start to change.
Eleven-year-old Mor was used to hearing his father’s voice, even if no one else could since his father’s death. It was comforting. It was also a reminder that Mor had made a promise to his father before he passed: keep your sisters safe. Keep the family together. But almost as soon as they are orphaned, that promise seems impossible to keep. With an aunt from the big city ready to separate him and his sisters as soon as she arrives, and a gang of boys from a nearby village wanting everything he has—including his spirit—Mor is tested in ways he never imagined. With only the hot summer months to prove himself, Mor must face a choice. Does he listen to his father and keep his heart true, but risk breaking his promise through failure? Or is it easier to just join the Danka Boys, whom in all their maliciousness are at least loyal to their own?