High school senior, Emoni, is struggling to balance classes, raising her 2-year-old daughter, and working at Burger Joint. Emoni’s mother died during childbirth and her father returned to his native Puerto Rico, leaving Emoni and her daughter, Emma, in the care of his mother, ‘Buela, in Philadelphia. When a new elective for seniors is offered at school, Emoni signs on to take the Culinary Arts class taught by Chef Aydan. Cooking is Emoni’s passion. She takes recipes and adds spices and ingredients to make them her own, much to the displeasure of Chef Aydan, who insists his students first learn to follow recipes and take orders from a Chef without deviations. Despite a class trip to Spain over spring break and new class member Malachi, who has taken an interest in her, Emoni doesn’t think she can continue to work under Chef Aydan. Emoni has had to grow up fast. Will she make the right decisions for herself, as well as Emma’s future?
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Summer vacation, and twelve-year-old Leah is feeling lost. Ever since her life changed drastically the year before, her friends have abandoned her and her parents seem to no longer be able to parent. They are just as lost. At first, Leah spends her long, lonely days in bed, in front of the TV, in her pajamas. When Leah finally decides to get dressed and leave the house, she heads to a favorite quiet place, only to find it occupied by a new girl, Jasper. Despite appearing to be a confident fourteen-year-old, there is something mysterious about Jasper. Leah soon discovers Jasper is just as lost as her own family. As Leah learns part of Jasper’s secret, they form a deep friendship. But when Leah is forced to tell her parents Jasper’s story, it doesn’t look like the friendship can survive. Willow Chase is a 12-year-old genius with some strange interests. She is preoccupied with diseases, her garden and the number 7. When her parents are suddenly killed in an accident, it seems that Willow must go to a group home for children. But new friend Mai and her family save the day by taking her into their family. What could be a heartbreaking story is instead more hopeful. If you like stories like Out of My Mind and The War That Saved My Life, you might enjoy this story about Willow. Natasha, who came to the US as a child, is now an undocumented teen living in NYC. She and her family are set to be deported to Jamaica at midnight. She heads into Manhattan early in the morning to try and meet with a lawyer one last time, looking for any way to stay in the US. Daniel is Korean-American. His parents expect him to attend Yale and become a doctor, but Daniel would prefer to write poetry and choose his own profession. As the obedient son, he is headed into Manhattan at the same early hour to catch his ride to his Yale interview. Natasha’s and Daniel’s lives intersect, deep conversations ensue, Daniel scraps the interview in exchange for helping Natasha get a meeting with the lawyer and… Can one really fall in love in just one day? Read the book before the movie is released May 17. Kamran Smith has a hero – his older brother, Darius. In many ways, Kamran is following in his hero’s footsteps. He is a star football player, popular with his classmates, and is planning on attending West Point, just like Darius. Unfortunately, Kamran returns home from a school dance to discover Darius, who was serving in Afghanistan, has been identified in al qaeda videos as the spokesman for the group. Kamran can’t believe Darius has willingly joined the terrorist group and begins to see hidden messages in the videos. While Kamran and his parents are held in a government detention facility, Kamran tries to get the government agents investigating the family to believe the messages he claims Darius is sending. Kamran finally takes it upon himself to escape from the facility to go find and rescue Darius. Just like Alan Gratz’s other novels, this one will have you on the edge of your seat as you read to find out if Kamran is right about his brother. And great news just in - Alan Gratz will visit our middle school students in October 2019! Afterward – Jennifer Mathieu – Realistic, Family Caroline’s little autistic brother was kidnapped under her watch. Found in an apartment in another city after four days, Ethan is unable to tell anyone what happened to him in that apartment, but it is clear to Caroline that it was horrific due to his new, unusual behaviors. With her parents dealing with their own problems and ignoring Ethan, Caroline seeks out the one other person who could tell her what happened, Dylan Anderson who, four years earlier, was kidnapped from their same town and found with Ethan in the kidnapper’s apartment. But Dylan is dealing with his own problems and doesn’t remember much about the four days Ethan was with him. Being over protected by his parents and seeing a therapist to help him deal with the trauma he experienced, Caroline’s presence brings memories to mind that Dylan is trying to suppress. Eventually, an usual friendship forms and over the course of a year, Dylan begins to remember. Raymie Nightingale – Kate DiCamillo – Family, Friendship, Realistic Raymie Clarke’s father has left town with the dental hygienist. But Raymie has a plan to bring him back. All she needs to do is win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire title. When her dad sees her picture in the paper, he will come running back to her – maybe. Raymie needs a talent to enter the competition so she signs up for baton twirling lessons. Here she meets two competitors – Louisiana, an orphan with a show business background who needs the money to survive, and stubborn Beverly, a girl who plans to sabotage the competition. An unlikely friendship develops among the three girls as all have experienced loss. The lesson learned is that even when life seems out of control, persistence pays off. |
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