Sixteen-year-old Carlos Duarte is on the verge of realizing his dream of becoming a famous make-up artist, but first he must face his jealous boss at a Macy’s cosmetics counter, his sister’s abusive boyfriend and his crush on a punk-rocker classmate.
Realistic Fiction
Realistic Fiction genre
The Price Of Loyalty
When Manny moves on to Raleigh Middle School, he’s relieved that he’ll be with his other Latino friends from elementary school. Hanging out with his vatos is great; but before Manny knows it, kids are calling the clique the Emperors and saying that they are a gang. Gradually Alex, whose older brother is in prison, starts calling the shots; and the pressure is on Manny ”first to shave his head and eventually to get drugs for the vatos. Close calls with the authorities become more and more frequent, and Manny can see where it’s all headed. Does he have the guts to turn his back on his oldest friends so he can keep clean? This riveting novel about peer pressure and core values highlights a hot-button topic.
The Family Hitchcock
Finances are tight for the Hitchcock family this year, which means no summer vacation! But siblings Maddy and Benji are secretly delighted to escape the annual torturous ritual of family bonding. Then Dad announces big news: a cost-effective weeklong house swap in Paris, trading places with a French family named the Vadims.
But instead of a relaxing European vacation, it quickly becomes clear that something is very off about this house swap. The facts about the Vadims don’t quite add up. Then threatening characters start showing up, demanding a mysterious object. Soon the Hitchcocks are caught in a whirl of intrigue and running for their lives through the streets and over the rooftops of Paris, without even knowing why.
The Unforgotten Coat
When two Mongolian brothers inexplicably appear one morning in Julie’s Year Six class, no one, least of all Julie, knows what to make of them. But then Chingis, the older of the two, proclaims that Julie is to be their “Good Guide” a nomadic tradition that makes her responsible for welcoming the brothers to their new home. Now Julie must somehow navigate them through soccer, school uniforms, and British slang, all while trying to win Shocky’ s attention and an invitation to her friend Mimi’s house.
Right Behind You
When he was nine, Kip set another child on fire. Now, after years in a juvenile ward, he is ready for a fresh start. But the ghosts of his past soon demand justice, and he must reveal his painful secret. How can Kip tell anyone that he really is–or was–a murderer?
Call Me Maria
Fifteen-year-old Mara leaves her mother and their Puerto Rican home to live in the barrio of New York with her father, feeling torn between the two cultures in which she has been raised.
Nips Xi
If white boys can’t jump, can Asian boys play cricket? And if they can why aren’t there any in the district cricket team? Vietnamese born Tran is fed up with being called a nip, sick of being on the sidelines so he and Izram decide to establish their own cricket team, and after a series of elimination trials, Nips XI is born!
Rangoli
Every morning Ajji’s village is decorated with rangolis – special patterns made usually from rice flour and sugar or materials such as cereals, pulses, grains, sand or beads. Dots, lines, flower designs, on the ground on the wall, everywhere. Food for ants, beautiful to look at and fun for birds, dogs and children. This delightful book makes a wonderful introduction to the art of rangoli and the illustrations carry the exuberance of these earthy patterns.The book includes a spread at the back on how to make your own rangolis. Rangoli is one of the most popular art forms in India. It is also known in different parts of the country as muggu, kolam and alpona. The motifs used are usually taken from nature or geometric patterns. Rangolis are particular popular around festivals such as diwali – the Hindu festival of light.
Sisters . . . No Way!
Cindy, a savvy yet cynical teenager, still traumatized by her mother’s recent death, is appalled when her father falls in love with one of her teachers, a woman with two teenage daughters of her own. She cannot imagine a worse fate than having her teacher as her stepmother, and as for the two prissy girls, she is never going to call them sisters . . . no way! But if Cindy dislikes her prospective sisters, Ashling and Orla think she is an absolute horror — spoiled, arrogant, and atrociously rude to them and their mother when they visit her house. Will the girls ever get along and learn to be a family? Featuring the girls’ stories in two unique, back-to-back diaries, one for Cindy and the other for Ashling and Orla, readers can choose which story to begin with and will enjoy the varying viewpoints recording the same events.
Hostages to Fortune
When the death of Kevin’s employer confronts him and his wife Sadie with the sudden loss of both job and home, an uncertain future looms up before them. Sequel to “A Proper Place.”