Marcolino hates practicing his scales on the piano, but feels he must because he is the reason his mother never became a grand pianist–until his grandfather lets them both in on a little secret.
Piano Piano
Realistic Fiction
Realistic Fiction genre
Mixing It
Steve, a British high school student, and Fatimah, a devout Muslim and daughter of immigrants, must learn to overcome their community’s prejudices after a picture of Fatimah nursing Steven after a terrorist attack is featured in a national newspaper.
One Whole and Perfect Day
As her irritating family prepares to celebrate her grandfather’s eightieth birthday, sixteen-year-old Lily yearns for just one whole perfect day together.
The Wolf
Sixteen-year-old Lucy, living in the shadow of her violent father, experiences a night of tenderness, danger, and revelation as she and Jake, her fifteen-year-old neighbor, search for a legendary wolf in the Australian outback.
Benjamin Dove
As an adult, Benjamin Dove looks back on a childhood summer that changed his life forever. A summer when his new friend Roland, seemingly descended from the knights of the past, encouraged him to stand up for himself and for those he loves. It was a summer when he and his friends formed the Order of the Red Dragon that gave them a sense of identity and purpose in their turbulent world; a summer when innocent childhood games were torn apart by an almost inevitable tragedy. Benjamin Dove is a brilliantly conceived work of fiction, tinged with both light and dark humor. Disturbing themes are explored, from bullying to child abuse to rivalry, yet there is always a sense of a child’s unbreakable spirit. Published to acclaim in 1992, Benjamin Dove has won several book awards, including the International Board on Books for Young People Award (the IBBY), The Icelandic Children’s Book Award, and the Reykjavik City Children’s Book Award. It has also been made into a feature length film of the same name, that went on to win awards at eight international film festivals. Benjamin Dove is a timeless story that explores such perennial and poignant themes that it is sure to become a modern-day classic. The New York Times calls it a “best-selling, distinguished children’s book.”
Mommy, Tell Me About Haiti
Jeanine Agnant shares her memories about Haiti, the land, and the culture with her granddaughter, Josephine, to connect the generations.
Mommy, Tell Me About Haiti is endorsed by the Haitian American Historical Society.
Seventeen
While Jonatan lies comatose in the emergency room, his father tells him stories of his meeting with Jonatan’s mother, their life as a family, and the events that caused them to be separated for more than a decade.
That Night’s Train
A young motherless girl becomes friends with a teacher/writer who weaves the story of their friendship into her novel. A moving book about promises and the nature of stories.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume VI, Issue 3
Dear Vincent
17 year old, Tara McClusky’s life is hard. She shares the care of her paralysed father with her domineering, difficult mother, forced to cut down on her hours at school to help support the family with a part-time rest home job. She’s very much alone, still grieving the loss of her older sister Van, who died five years before. Her only source of consolation is her obsession with art and painting in particular. Most especially she is enamoured with Vincent Van Gogh: she has read all his letters and finds many parallels between the tragic story of his life and her own. Luckily she meets the intelligent, kindly Professor Max Stockhamer (a Jewish refugee and philosopher) and his grandson Johannes, and their support is crucial to her ability to survive this turbulent time. The book tackles the difficult topic of suicide fearlessly, with a novel that’s not afraid to go to the dark places but which resolves its story beautifully.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume VI, Issue 3
Maude: The Not-So-Noticeable Shrimpton
Being noticed is what all the members of the Shrimpton family lived for – all except, that is, for Maude. She prefers to blend into the background rather than stand out in a crowd.