Saturday, April 30, 2011
Coming soon to a bookshelf near you ~ Part 2
More newbies =)
Jamal ran around the hurdles. Daniel wanted to jump them. Hurdles are smaller than trash cans. He cleared one. Then another. Then another. Line up. Jump. Clear. Just like basketball. But easier. Jamal won, but it was ok.
Anita de la Torre never questioned her freedom living in the Dominican Republic. But by her 12th birthday in 1960, most of her relatives have emigrated to the United States, her Tío Toni has disappeared without a trace, and the government's secret police terrorize her remaining family because of their suspected opposition of el Trujillo's dictatorship. Using the strength and courage of her family, Anita must overcome her fears and fly to freedom, leaving all that she once knew behind.
In alternating free verse, two Mohawk sisters tell of their lives at the Carlisle Indian School near the turn of the 20th century. Carvell uses the experiences of her husband's family, and research from the Cumberland County Historical Society, to relate the stories of Mattie and Sarah. After their mother's death, their father sadly dispatches them to the boarding school, where the siblings cling to their language and a few precious items as the rest of their culture is stripped away from them. They long for family, for friendship, and for home, but their attempts to obtain any of these things result in a tragic and true-to-life ending.
David, a high-school senior who watches over his younger sisters, feels responsible for his mother’s murder by domestic violence. He’s put aside his love of basketball to maintain a job, tries to keep a low profile at his new school, and is desperate to keep his 14-year-old sister from falling prey to the exploitative prom king. David is also besotted with the prom king’s luscious girlfriend and notices the signs of physical abuse she seems to be suffering at her boyfriend’s hands.
Andy Crenshaw, 15, is about to have a summer he didn't expect. He lives in the shadow of his good-looking, athletic older brother, Brad, and they don't get along. Lately they only agree on their excitement over their upcoming trip to Hawaii. But the family's plans change at the last minute, packing the boys off to rural Wisconsin. They'll be stuck with their wacky, free-spirited aunt and uncle--on a farm with no cable TV and Internet. Things start looking up when Andy scores a date with Laura, a cute teenage local celebrity pianist, and even Brad's impressed. Laura's amazing: besides her late night jam sessions at a local jazz club, she's the funniest, little-bit-crazy girl Andy's ever met. He's shocked at first to see her in a wheelchair, but nothing stops Laura--her killer bowling skills leave Andy in the dust.
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