Realistic Fiction

Realistic Fiction genre

The Last Leaves Falling

Abe Sora is going to die, and he’s only seventeen years old. Diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), he’s already lost the use of his legs, which means he can no longer attend school. Seeking a sense of normality, Sora visits teen chat rooms online and finally finds what he’s been longing for: friendship without pity. As much as he loves his new friends, he can’t ignore what’s ahead. He’s beginning to lose the function of his hands, and soon he’ll become even more of a burden to his mother. Inspired by the death poems of the legendary Japanese warriors known as samurai, Sora makes the decision to leave life on his own terms. And he needs his friends to help him.

Join the discussion of The Last Leaves Falling as well as other books centered around relocation on our My Take/Your Take page.

Xochitl And The Flowers/Xochitl, La Niña De Las Flores

Xochitl and her family, newly arrived in San Francisco from El Salvador, create a beautiful plant nursery in place of the garbage heap behind their apartment, and celebrate with their friends and neighbors.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 8, Issue 2

Powder Necklace: A Novel

Rendered a foreigner among her own people when her mother sends her to school in their native Ghana, a young woman learns about the painful economic circumstances affecting the region, which sharply contrasts with her divorced parents’ homes in England and America.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 8, Issue 2

Look Both Ways In The Barrio Blanco

When Jacinta Juarez is paired with a rich, famous mentor, she is swept away from the diapers and dishes of her own daily life into a world of new experiences. But crossing la linea into Miss’s world is scary. Half of Jacinta aches for the comfort of Mamá and the familiar safety of the barrio, while the other half longs to embrace a future that offers more than cleaning stuff for white people. When her family is torn apart, Jacinta needs to bring the two halves of herself together to win back everything she’s lost.

If You Could Be Mine

In Iran, where homosexuality is punishable by death, 17-year-olds Sahar and Nasrin love each other in secret until Nasrin’s parents announce their daughter’s arranged marriage and Sahar proposes a drastic solution.

Blu’s Hanging

On the Hawaiian island of Molokai, life goes on for the three young Ogata children after the death of their mother and subsequent emotional withdrawal of their grief and guilt-stricken “Poppy.” The eldest at 13, Ivah is now responsible for the safety and well-being of tiny Maisie, vulnerable and mute since their mother’s passing; and for Blu, her uncontainable brother whose desperate need for love has made him vulnerable to the most insidious of relationships.

Ola

When Olamaiileoti Monroe takes her seventy-five-year-old father, Finau, on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, both are caught up in a search for udnerstanding of each other and the ties that bind them. Their story unfolds on an international stage, in Samoa, New Zealand, New York, and Israel–and opposes the modern selfishness of Ola to the moral complexity of Finau.

Friends From The Other Side / Amigos Del Otro Lado

Having crossed the Rio Grande into Texas with his mother in search of a new life, Joaquín receives help and friendship from Prietita, a brave young Mexican American girl.

This book has been included in WOW’s Kids Taking Action Booklist. For our current list, visit our Boolist page under Resources in the green navigation bar.

Mama’s Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation

When Saya’s mother is sent to jail as an illegal immigrant, she sends her daughter a cassette tape with a song and a bedtime story, which inspires Saya to write a story of her own–one that just might bring her mother home.

This book has been included in WOW’s Kids Taking Action Booklist. For our current list, visit our Boolist page under Resources in the green navigation bar.

Rain Reign

Struggling with Asperger’s, Rose shares a bond with her beloved dog, but when the dog goes missing during a storm, Rose is forced to confront the limits of her comfort levels, even if it means leaving her routines in order to search for her pet.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume VIII, Issue 1.