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| The Line Tender by Kate AllenStarring: Twelve-year-old Lucy, who inherited a fascination with sharks from her late mother, a marine biologist.
What happens: After a second tragic loss leaves Lucy devastated, her summer project -- an illustrated field guide to her coastal hometown -- becomes her lifeline.
Who it’s for: anyone looking for sensitive, honest stories about finding hope during tough times. |
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| Orange for the Sunsets by Tina AthaideWhat it’s about: It’s 1972 in Entebbe, Uganda, and the friendship between Yesofu, an African boy, and Asha, an Indian girl, is pushed to the breaking point after the president’s announcement that Indians will be forced to leave the country.
Why you might like it: Told in the voices of both Asha and Yesofu, this stirring tale offers a kid's-eye view of a turbulent moment in history.
Try this next: Veera Hiranandani’s The Night Diary. |
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| The Next Great Paulie Fink by Ali BenjaminWelcome to: the tiny, tumbledown Mitchell School, where goats trim the soccer field and newcomer Caitlyn’s arrival is overshadowed by the unexplained absence of Paulie Fink, a legendary seventh-grade prankster.
What happens: Caitlyn becomes the judge in a contest to decide who will replace Paulie as the person who makes school memorable.
Why you might like it: This 2nd book from the author of The Thing About Jellyfish is deep, offbeat, and as funny as Paulie himself. |
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| Apocalypse Taco by Nathan HaleWhat it’s about: While on a late-night fast food run for the school theater crew, Ivan, Axl, and Sid suddenly find themselves battling tentacled taco monsters in a gross, goopy, alternate reality.
Art alert: Bright pops of nacho cheese orange highlight the detailed illustrations in this graphic novel.
Who it’s for: readers who like freaky, fast-paced science fiction served with a side of horror. |
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| Our Castle by the Sea by Lucy StrangeWhat it’s about: World War II turns life upside down for Pet, a British lighthouse keeper’s daughter.
What happens: After her German-born mother is unfairly imprisoned, Pet is filled with fear -- and questions. Why are her Pa and her sister acting so secretive? What are those strange lights in the fields? And how does it all relate to an age-old local legend?
Read it for: haunting, multi-layered mysteries and an unforgettable heroine. |
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| Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World by Ashley Herring BlakeWhat it's about: Twelve-year-old Ivy is reeling after her family's home is destroyed by a tornado, her treasured private sketchbook goes missing, and she starts crushing on a girl in her class. Then someone begins anonymously returning her drawings -- along with notes encouraging her to come out.
You might also like: Lisa Jenn Bigelow's Drum Roll, Please, another authentic, relatable story about a girl finding the courage to be herself. |
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Gracefully Grayson
by Ami Polonsky
Fiction. Despite having a boy's body, quiet 6th-grader Grayson Sender knows she's really a girl. Lonely and increasingly uncomfortable with hiding her true self, Grayson boldly auditions for the lead female role in the school play...and gets the part! Facing disapproval at home and bullying at school, Grayson finds friendship with her cast-mates, who offer encouragement both on-stage and off. This thought-provoking book about a transgender girl finding her place will appeal to fans of realistic stories with brave, likable characters, as well as to anyone who's ever felt like they didn't fit in.
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| Hurricane Child by Kheryn CallenderStarring: Caroline, an unlucky 12-year-old who's abandoned by her mother, bullied at school, and stalked by the spirit of a woman in black.
What happens: Caroline finds her first friend (and first crush) in new classmate Kalinda, who joins Caroline's search for answers about her mother, as well as the truth about the spirit who stalks her.
Read it for: well-drawn characters and a vivid, magic-tinged setting in the U.S. Virgin Islands. |
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| The Pants Project by Cat ClarkeWhat it's about: Liv knows he's transgender, but he hasn't told anyone yet -- a situation that's more difficult at his new middle school, where they see him as a girl and require him to wear a uniform with a skirt.
Why you might like it: You'll be rooting for the likable, determined Liv as he and his moms challenge the school dress code.
Try this next: Lisa Moore Ramée's A Good Kind of Trouble, another story about a brave kid shaking things up at school. |
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One True Way
by Shannon Hitchcock
From the moment she met Samantha, star of the school basketball team, on her first day at Daniel Boone Middle School, Allison Drake felt she had found a friend, something she needs badly since her brother died and her father left--but as their friendshipgrows it begins to evolve into a deeper emotion, and in North Carolina in 1977, it is not easy to discover that you might be gay
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Contact your librarian for more great books for ages 10-13!
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Forsyth County Public Library 585 Dahlonega Street Cumming, Georgia 30040 770-781-9840www.forsythpl.org/ |
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