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Recommendations based on Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cryby Mildred D. Taylor
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Out of the Dust
by Karen Hesse
A poetic story of a young girl's endurance through a time of great hardship.
When Billie Jo is just fourteen she must endure heart-wrenching ordeals that no child should have to face. The quiet strength she displays while dealing with unspeakable loss is as surprising as it ... (Goodreads)
Make Lemonade
by Virginia Euwer Wolff
A teenage mother takes a job cleaning for a writer and learns to make the best of her situation.
An award-winning novel about growing up and making choices, Virginia Euwer Wolff's groundbreaking novel, written in free verse, tells the story of fourteen-year-old LaVaughn, who is determined to go ... (Goodreads)
Bridge to Terabithia
by Katherine Paterson
A young girl and boy's adventures in a secret kingdom, overcoming the harsh realities of life.
Artistic young Jess Aarons deals with the hardships of his home life, such as his duties on his family's farm and the annoyances of his four sisters. Leslie Burke is an intelligent, wealthy girl who ... (Wikipedia)
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham
A young man's struggle to gain knowledge and self-confidence, inspiring a revolution in navigation.
In Revolutionary War–era Salem, Massachusetts, a young Nat Bowditch, the smallest member of a sea-faring family, astounds his schoolteacher with his talent for mathematics. He dreams of someday ... (Wikipedia)
Where the Red Fern Grows
by Wilson Rawls
A young boy embarks on an adventure with his beloved hunting dogs, learning valuable life lessons.
An old man named Billy Colman rescues a redbone hound under attack by neighborhood dogs. He takes it home with him so that its wounds can heal. In light of this event, he has a flashback to when he ... (Wikipedia)
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
by Elizabeth George Speare
A young girl's struggles to find her place in a Puritan Connecticut town.
In April 1687, 16-year-old Katherine Tyler (known throughout the story as Kit Tyler) leaves her home in Barbados after her grandfather dies and a 50-year-old man tries to marry her. She relocates to ... (Wikipedia)
Hatchet
by Gary Paulsen
A boy must learn to survive in the wilderness after a plane crash leaves him stranded.
Brian Robeson is a thirteen-year-old son of divorced parents. As he travels from Hampton, New York on a single engine Cessna bush plane to visit his father in the oil fields in Northern Canada for ... (Wikipedia)
The House on Mango Street
by Sandra Cisneros
A young girl navigates life in a poor Latino neighborhood, dreaming of a better future and finding her voice through writing.
The bestselling coming-of-age classic, acclaimed by critics, beloved by readers of all ages, taught in schools and universities alike, and translated around the world from the winner of the 2018 ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963
by Christopher Paul Curtis
The Watson family travels from Michigan to Alabama during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, experiencing racism and tragedy.
The Newbery Honor-winning American classic, The Watsons Go to Birmingham–1963 , celebrates 20 years with this anniversary edition featuring a special letter from Christopher Paul Curtis and an ... (Goodreads)
Unwind
by Neal Shusterman
A dystopian future world where teenagers are subjected to a “harvesting” process that splits them apart.
Connor, Risa, and Lev are running for their lives. The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age ... (Goodreads)
The Phantom Tollbooth
by Norton Juster
A whimsical adventure through a magical land, searching for a way out of the boredom of everyday life.
Milo is a boy bored by the world around him; every activity seems a waste of time. He arrives home from another boring day at school to find a mysterious package. Among its contents are a small ... (Wikipedia)
The View from Saturday
by E.L. Konigsburg
Four sixth graders and their teacher compete in a trivia contest, revealing their unique stories and bond.
How has Mrs. Olinski chosen her sixth-grade Academic Bowl team? She had a number of answers. But were any of them true? How had she really chosen Noah and Nadia and Ethan and Julian? And why did they ... (Goodreads)
Chains
by Laurie Halse Anderson
A young girl's mission to secure her and her sister's freedom from enslavement.
As the Revolutionary War begins, thirteen-year-old Isabel wages her own fight...for freedom. Promised freedom upon the death of their owner, she and her sister, Ruth, in a cruel twist of fate become ... (Goodreads)
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
A young boy searches for his father during the Great Depression, encountering adventure and unexpected kindness along the way.
The story opens with Bud being placed with a new foster family, the Amoses'. Bud soon meets Todd Amos, their 12-year-old son, who teases him mercilessly and calls him Buddy. After a fight with Todd, ... (Wikipedia)
The Westing Game
by Ellen Raskin
A mysterious game of wit and skill, with a fortune as the prize.
BE CLASSIC with, The Westing Game, introduced by, New York Times, bestselling author Mac Barnett. A highly inventive mystery begins when sixteen unlikely people gather for the reading of the very ... (Barnes & Noble)
American Born Chinese
by Gene Luen Yang
Three seemingly unrelated stories converge to explore themes of identity, assimilation, and acceptance in the American-born Chinese experience.
All Jin Wang wants is to fit in. When his family moves to a new neighborhood, he suddenly finds that he's the only Chinese American student at his school. Jocks and bullies pick on him constantly, ... (Goodreads)
Emily of New Moon
by L.M. Montgomery
A young girl's coming of age story, learning to embrace her unique imagination and identity.
Similar to her earlier and more famous, Anne of Green Gables, series, the Emily novels depicted life through the eyes of a young orphan girl, Emily Starr , who is raised by her relatives after her ... (Wikipedia)
Stargirl
by Jerry Spinelli
An uplifting story of a unique girl who challenges her classmates to be their true selves.
The book begins with a brief introduction to the main character, Leo, at an early age, which is followed by his move from his home state of Pennsylvania to Arizona when he is 12. Before the move, his ... (Wikipedia)
A Raisin in the Sun
by Lorraine Hansberry
A black family's struggle for a better life and the dreams that accompany their journey.
Walter and Ruth Younger, their son Travis, along with Walter's mother Lena (Mama) and Walter's sister Beneatha, live in poverty in a dilapidated two-bedroom apartment on Chicago's south side. Walter ... (Wikipedia)
Things Fall Apart
by Chinua Achebe
Exploration of African culture and traditions, grappling with the tension between modernity and tradition.
The novel's protagonist , Okonkwo, is famous in the villages of Umuofia for being a wrestling champion, defeating a wrestler nicknamed "Amalinze The Cat" (because he never lands on his back). Okonkwo ... (Wikipedia)
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
by Avi
A young girl's adventures on the high seas, fighting for justice and freedom.
The story starts in the early summer of 1832, as thirteen-year-old Charlotte Doyle prepares to take a voyage from Liverpool , England, to her family's home in Providence, Rhode Island . Her upper ... (Wikipedia)
Anne of Avonlea
by L.M. Montgomery
A young girl's coming-of-age in rural Prince Edward Island, full of adventures and misadventures.
Anne is about to start her first term teaching at the Avonlea school, although she will still continue her studies at home with Gilbert, who is teaching at the nearby White Sands School. The book ... (Wikipedia)
The Bronze Bow
by Elizabeth George Speare
A young man's journey of redemption, as he struggles with anger, violence and oppression.
This book is set in first-century Galilee . The main character, a young Jew named Daniel bar Jamin, who lives at the same time as Jesus of Nazareth . Daniel's father was killed in front of him, as an ... (Wikipedia)
The Magician's Nephew
by C.S. Lewis
An epic journey through time and space, exploring the origins of Narnia and discovering its wondrous inhabitants.
The story begins in London during the summer of 1900. Two children, Digory and Polly , meet while playing in the adjacent gardens of a row of terraced houses . They decide to explore the attic ... (Wikipedia)
The Last Battle
by C.S. Lewis
Epic conclusion to the Chronicles of Narnia, with a battle between good and evil.
In the north of Narnia, a clever and greedy ape named Shift persuades a well-meaning but simple-minded donkey called Puzzle to dress in a lion's skin (an echo from Aesop's story of The Ass in the ... (Wikipedia)
Ghost
by Jason Reynolds
A teenage boy must confront his past and overcome adversities to find his own path.
Running. That's all that Ghost (real name Castle Cranshaw) has ever known. But never for a track team. Nope, his game has always been ball. But when Ghost impulsively challenges an elite sprinter to ... (Goodreads)
The Awakening
by Kate Chopin
A woman's journey of self-discovery, challenging the norms of the Victorian era.
When first published in 1899, The Awakening shocked readers with its honest treatment of female marital infidelity. Audiences accustomed to the pieties of late Victorian romantic fiction were taken ... (Goodreads)
The Wednesday Wars
by Gary D. Schmidt
A coming-of-age story of a student facing the challenges of the Vietnam War era.
In this Newbery Honor-winning novel, Gary D. Schmidt offers an unforgettable antihero. The Wednesday Wars is a wonderfully witty and compelling story about a teenage boy’s mishaps and adventures over ... (Goodreads)
Mara, Daughter of the Nile
by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
An adventure story set in Ancient Egypt, featuring a brave and courageous girl who rises to a heroic challenge.
The story opens introducing the reader to Nekonkh, an Egyptian river boat captain on the Nile during the rule of Queen Hatshepsut . Nekonkh is on his way to Thebes, carrying his usual cargo and an ... (Wikipedia)
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf
by Ntozake Shange
A powerful collection of stories exploring the struggles and triumphs of African-American women.
In celebration of its highly anticipated Broadway revival, Ntozake Shange’s classic, award-winning play centering the wide-ranging experiences of Black women, now with introductions by two-time ... (Goodreads)
