Tenth-graders Ethan and Ti-Anna go to Hong Kong seeking her father, an exiled Chinese democracy activist who has disappeared, and follow his trail to Vietnam and back, also uncovering illegal activity along the way. Includes author’s note and the history behind the novel written by the girl who inspired it.
Friendship
The Milk Of Birds
When a nonprofit organization called Save the Girls pairs a fourteen-year-old Sudanese refugee with an American teenager from Richmond, Virginia, the pen pals teach each other compassion and share a bond that bridges two continents.
Featured in Volume VI, Issue 1 of WOW Review.
Exile
Exiled angel Mercy “wakes” as unhappy teen Lela, who cares for her dying mother but never herself, and as Mercy begins to remember Ryan, the boy she fell in love with in another life, and Luc, the angel haunting her dreams, she must decide whether to risk Lela’s life to gain her heart’s desire.
Love And Other Perishable Items
A fifteen-year-old Australian girl gets her first job and first crush on her unattainable university-aged co-worker, as both search for meaning in their lives.
Violet Mackerel’s Brilliant Plot
When a creative seven-year-old girl spots a blue china bird that she desperately wants, she forms an imaginative plan for getting it.
Below
On the day Cassie was born, they drowned her town. The mayor flipped a lever and everyone cheered as Old Lower Grange was submerged beneath five thousand swimming pools’ worth of water. Now, twelve years later, Cassie feels drawn to the manmade lake and the mysteries it hides — and she’s not the only one. Her classmate Liam, who wears oversized swim trunks to cover the scars on his legs, joins Cassie in her daily swims across the off-limits side of the lake. As the summer heats up, the water drops lower and lower, offering them glimpses of the ghostly town and uncovering secrets one prominent town figure seems anxious to keep submerged. But like a swimmer who ventures too far from shore, Cassie realizes she can’t turn back. Can she bring their suspicions to light before it’s too late — and does she dare?
Out of This Place
Luke spends his days hanging out at the beach, working shifts at the local supermarket, and trying to stay out of trouble at school. His mate Bongo gets wasted, blocking out memories of the little brother that social services took away from his addict mom and avoiding the stepdad who hits him. And Casey, the girl they both love, longs to get away from her strict, controlling father and start anew in a place where she can be free. Set in Australia and narrated in alternating points of view, here is an affecting look at the evolving lives of three friends.
The Lives We Lost
“In the second installment in this dystopian trilogy, the virus has spread beyond Kaelyn’s island, and she and her friends must head to the mainland, carrying with them hopes for a cure”–
Hedgehog’s Magic Tricks
Like many amateur magicians, Hedgehog finds that his tricks don’t always proceed as planned. Mouse doesn’t quite disappear, Rabbit (being larger than Hedgehog) is difficult to pull from the hat, and Duckling is not quite brave enough to endure a turn as magician’s helper. But when Hedgehog’s friends see how sad he is, they provide a surprise that results in everyone agreeing that Hedgehog is very good at magic after all. Preschoolers will delight in the sweet illustrations and in seeing what Hedgehog doesn’t — his friends helping to make his day magical.
Nana’s Summer Surprise
A young boy is disappointed when the girl he used to play with is no longer interested in their old pursuits, until they bond while planning a birthday party.