Realistic Fiction genre
A Mexican boy who wants to be an artist goes to live with an uncle who makes him work in the fields all day and board in the barn at night. In spite of the severe treatment and with the encouragement of a village artist, the boy creates a place for himself as an artist and an individual.
In the two years since his mother left him with his grandparents in Des Moines, Washington, Sam has avoided making friends and perfected the art of being a slacker, but being paired with a frightening new student for a slam poetry unit transforms his life.
Lon Chaney Rodriguez is a typical thirteen-year-old until his mother, a security guard, is shot and killed and he becomes haunted by the feeling that he is letting her down by getting bad grades, skipping church, lying, and goofing off while worrying that he and his alcoholic, unemployed father will wind up homeless.
Celeste is heartbroken when her grandmother dies, but when letters and recipes begin to arrive with her grandmother’s advice and recipes, Celeste finds consolation in preparing the dishes for herself, her mother, and their friends. Includes six traditional Cuban recipes.
With every boy in a small Quebec town wearing the sweater of the Montreal Canadiens to play hockey, one child is horrified when, because of a mail order mix-up, he is forced to wear a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater.
Zenji Watanabe, seventeen, is sent from Hawaii to the Philippines to spy on the Japanese during World War II and, after he is captured and tortured, must find a way to survive months of being lost in the jungle behind enemy lines.
Sixteen-year-old Gabi Hernandez chronicles her senior year in high school as she copes with her friend Cindy’s pregnancy, friend Sebastian’s coming out, her father’s meth habit, her own cravings for food and cute boys, and especially, the poetry that helps forge her identity.
Seventeen-year-old Masi Burciaga’s barrio becomes more like a ghost town every day, but when she and other youths are recruited to erect a giant pyramid in hopes of attracting tourists, she wonders about the entrepreneur behind the scheme–and his attractive son.
Amy loves her blankie, her bear, her bunny, and her bird very much. “Mine!” she proudly crows. But what will happen when baby Joe and twins Zak and Jack want to join in and play too? Sue Heap’s joyful illustrations bring a classic story of learning to share to vibrant life.
Olive’s best friend, Joe, has bought her a special hat. The only problem is that it’s hideously, cringe-inducingly embarrassing! Their whole gang of friends is giggling about it. She tries all kinds of excuses to avoid wearing the hat, then all kinds of ways to get rid of it, until Joe catches her stuffing it into the trash. He’s totally heartbroken.