Logan, Shay, and Autumn are struggling. Each struck by the loss of someone they love, they’re unsure how to move forward. Music, the passion that once linked them, now brings back memories they’d rather forget. And they’ve turned to unhealthy coping mechanisms that leave them more and more alone. But while these characters seem buried by grief, they aren’t lost forever. As the story progresses, each comes to terms with the tragedy they’ve faced, building the courage to ask for help and slowly returning to music as an outlet for the hurt they feel.
Iris is a twelve-year-old girl who was born deaf. She loves fixing radios and she loves her Grandma and Grandpa. Iris learned about a whale in school. Its name is Blue 55, and it sings songs but not one replies. Iris feels how hard it would be for no one to reply to what they say, because that is what happens to her, because she is deaf. Iris talks to a scientist who is studying about Blue 55 and trying to tag Blue 55. Iris talks with her and asks if Blue 55 is deaf. The scientist said that they already tested that and Blue 55 is not deaf.
Red, White and Royal Blue is a sweet, funny, and lighthearted romance between Alex, the First Son, and Henry, the Prince of Wales. As a result of their rivalry being photographed, a staged friendship follows which then leads to a secret between the two. When their secret relationship gets exposed, the Heads of Family and other handlers must find a way to fix the campaign. Will the damage be fixed? Will Alex and Henry’s love fix it?
The Henna Wars has amazing characters, POC, and LGBTQ+ representation. This is about how Nishat doesn’t want to hide who she is, but she doesn’t want to lose her family. It only gets harder when a childhood friend, Flavia, comes back into her life and Nishat falls for her. When a competition invites students to create businesses, both Nishat and Flavia choose to do Henna.
This book is realistic fiction. The main characters of this book are Maxine, London, Alice, and Rose (Maxine’s sister). The main characters want to get out of the place they are trapped in (The Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded) because they are diagnosed as morons, imbeciles, and idiots because of something “bad” they did. Their parents dropped them off there because they didn’t want them, and the main characters know that they won’t come back. That is why they don’t see a reason to leave. London tries to get out but she gets caught on a farm she ran to for food and water.
Esperanza is a young girl who moves into a house on Mango Street with her family. This house is not what Esperanza dreams of though since it is in terrible condition and it is very small. The house is in a Latino neighborhood in Chicago. Esperanza matures during the year. Esperanza makes friends, develops a crush, and is assaulted. The novel also talks about some of the tragedies going on in some other people’s lives who live on Mango Street. Esperanza learns a lot from her experiences and from her neighborhood.
The book How to Make Friends with the Dark, by Kathleen Glasgow, is a realistic fiction novel. The main character, Tiger, has an unbreakable bond with her mother. Their mother-daughter relationship is deep and understanding, with a few quirks. Everything changes for Tiger when her mom unexpectedly dies. After Tiger loses the person she loves the most, her life goes into shambles. As the book narrates on, changing from first person point of view to second, we see how Tiger’s emotions play out.
Eliza Mirk is an unsociable and shy high school student who much prefers to spend her time in the online world, where she can have complete control over her identity and be as anonymous as she likes. When she is online, she is simply known as LadyConstellation, the author of the insanely popular webcomic Monstrous Sea. However, when Eliza meets a boy named Wallace Warland, who also happens to be a popular fanfiction writer for Monstrous Sea, she finds herself opening up for the very first time.
15-year-old Liliana Cruz has a lot to deal with. From taking care of two chaotic younger brothers to dealing with an increasingly absent best friend to providing emotional support for her mother who, incidentally, won’t tell her where her missing father is, it seems like she’s just barely holding her life together. But one thing is for sure — Liliana is at home in her diverse inner-city high school, even if it’s underfunded and disorganized.
The Teen YA book Our Chemical Hearts is a romance and coming-of-age novel that follows a high schooler named Henry. When a girl, who wears baggy clothing and walks with a cane transfers to his school, he doesn’t know how much of a mark she’ll leave. Due to circumstances, Henry and the new girl, Grace Town, become the co-editors of the school newspaper, their relationship blossoms. As days, weeks and months pass on, Henry goes through drastic changes. He realizes how complicated human emotions really are.
