In Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, a ten-year-old girl named Annemarie Johansen lives in Denmark during World War II. As Germans take over Denmark, they begin to “relocate” all Jews. Annemarie’s friend Ellen is Jewish, so the Johannsen’s take in Ellen and pretend she is their daughter. As the German soldiers become suspicious, they move to Annemarie’s uncle’s home in the countryside. Annemarie must be brave and help keep her friend out of danger.
Peak by Roland Smith is a story about a fourteen-year-old boy named Peak Marcello. After Peak is arrested for scaling a New York City skyscraper, he is left with two choices. He can either go into Juvenile Detention or he can go live with his long-lost father, Josh Wood, who runs a climbing company in Thailand. Peak decides to take his father's offer, but he quickly learns that the request came with a few strings attached. Josh Woods wants Peak to be the youngest person to climb to the top of Mount Everest.
The Tailor’s Daughter by Janice Graham is a historical fiction book, set in Victorian England, featuring the main character — Veda Grenfell, a master tailor’s daughter. She is a very passionate young woman who loves and excels at her father’s work. At the age of sixteen, a fever leaves her deaf, disconnecting her from her life as a young woman emerging into society. With no hopes left of marriage, she turns to what she loves most — tailoring.
The Silence of Bones was published 3 years ago in April of 2020, and was written by June Hur. The book is set in the old Korean kingdom of Joseon, the protagonist being a teenage girl named Seol. As a child, her older brother had left home to pursue a life in the capital of the Kingdom. Years later, Seol is sent to the capital as an indentured servant to its police bureau. At the age of 16, she is caught in a web of conflict when a noblewoman is murdered.
Summary: Prodigy is the second book in Marie Lu's young adult dystopian trilogy, following the story of June and Day, two gifted teenagers in a futuristic society. After escaping from the Republic in Legend, they find themselves entangled in the rebel group known as the Patriots.
I took a deep breath after I finished the last sentence of this novel… because I was on the edge of my seat! A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is packed with many turns, twists, and traps that I, as a reader, was drawn and manipulated into. I’ll be honest, when I read the first 20 pages of this book, I felt as though I would be underwhelmed by this murder mystery. However, I was hooked when I got to the halfway point.
In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, a young girl named Liesel gets adopted and lives in Nazi Germany during World War II. Her life changes one day when she finds a book covered in snow, and she decides to steal it. Liesel knows that this is dangerous as all books were supposed to be turned in for book burnings, but she takes it anyway. She continues stealing books, thrilled by the new knowledge she gains access to. Soon after, her family hides a Jewish man in their home which elevates the risk for her entire family.
Summary: Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool is a historical fiction novel set in the Great Depression era. The story revolves around twelve-year-old Abilene Tucker, who is sent by her father to spend the summer in Manifest, Kansas, a town he once lived in. Abilene discovers a hidden cigar box filled with mementos and letters that belonged to a mysterious bootlegger named Jinx, from World War I.
Shirin is a teenage Muslim girl who wants to live a normal high school life. But ever since 9/11, things have been different for her, especially at school. She’s tired of the stereotypes, the rude questions and having to shut herself off from everyone. Then she meets Ocean, a guy that wants to get to know her despite her social exclusion.
After the Flood is the third and final book of a 3-book graphic novel miniseries called Skyclan and the Stranger by Erin Hunter, overall part of the Warriors books. At the end of the second book, a devastating flood washed over the gorge, destroying everything Skyclan had built, and killing one of their elders, Lichenfur. In this book, they are focused on rebuilding. However, some cats express feelings about leaving Skyclan, and Billystorm wants to bring the kits to his human home.
