Lekha is an Indian American who loves her culture, but only in the comfort of her home. When she is at school, she covers her culture in fear of the kids at her school bullying her. But then another Indian student moves to town that starts challenging the bullies, unlike Lekha. Is this going to be good or bad for Lekha? Lekha will have to figure out how to balance her love of her culture and her need to fit in.
Counting By 7’s is the story of 12 year old genius, Willow Chance. Willow has just joined a new school and is struggling to make friends and fit in. She’s accused of cheating on a test because she got a perfect score on it, so she is sent to the counselor, Dell Duke. Dell Duke is fascinated by Willow and her intelligence and asks her many questions relating to the stock market and other smart topics.
In Donte’s school, he is the only person of color. Which makes him less able to fit in. He is disliked by students and his teachers don’t trust him because of his skin color. But, one day it gets really bad. Donte becomes framed for something he didn’t do and ends up being suspended and arrested. Will Donte fight this injustice?
14-year-old Ponyboy Curtis, and his brothers Sodapop and Darry, struggle to make ends meet after the death of their parents. Ponyboy and his friends are part of a lower-class gang called the Greasers. The Greasers are opposed to a wealthier gang called the Socs. Ponyboy and one of his friends, Johnny, are jumped by the Socs late at night with no one around. In an act of self-defense, Johnny ends up killing one of the Socs. As a result, Ponyboy and Johnny are forced to go into hiding.
The Outsiders is about 14-year-old Ponyboy Curtis and his two older brothers, Soda and Darry. The boys are orphans and struggle to stick together in their lower-class neighborhood, known as the East Side. They and their friends are part of a gang of working class boys called the Greasers. The book follows Ponyboy as his life gets thrown off course after a rival gang, the Socs, beat him and one of his friends up, causing a chain of events that changes Ponyboy’s life.
In this volume, Nick and Charlie wonder if they should take their relationship a step forward and strengthen their physical relationship. This topic is widely talked about in their school, friend groups and even their families. Another major plot point is that Nick is going to be going to college and they try to get over this challenge.
Carley Connors has just had her entire life upturned after a traumatic accident left her and her mother in the hospital. Since her mother was in an extremely bad state, Carley had to stay with a foster family. Her “new” family was not what she was expecting at all. Carley discovers what it really means to be a family in this stunning YA debut novel by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. This book is really good, and is one of my favorites. The characters are all very well written, and it makes you feel as if they are all real. This book was really sad, but it is a very good read.
The Running Dream is a beautifully written book about resilience and courage. This book follows the journey of a girl named Jessica who is a high school student. Jessica loves track and running but when she gets into a terrible bus accident and loses her leg she must learn how to cope with this loss. I enjoyed this story because it is a very heart-warming story. I also enjoyed how the story played out. The part of the book that I liked the most was the angle of friendship it had.
What About Will is a heart-touching that revolves around family bonds. This novel is about the life of a boy named Trace who was once a happy guy with a perfect family but one accident turned his whole life upside down. When Trace’s older brother Will gets a brain injury everything changes and Trace is stuck trying to cope with everything that is happening in his life now. I loved this book a lot because it was very realistic and the author's writing style and plot were very interesting.
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga follows the character, Balram Halwai, as he discusses his rise to wealth. Over a seven day period, he writes to a famous Chinese Premier about his success as an entrepreneur, as well as his struggle of fighting the remains of the caste system and the social ladder. He writes about how he started as a driver from a little town in Laxmanghar, and he worked to own a company in Bangalore.
