Anne W

My Jasper June

by Laurel Snyder

jFICTION Snyder Laurel
Fiction, Kids

The school year is over, and it is summer in Atlanta. The sky is blue, the sun is blazing, and the days brim with possibility. But Leah feels lost. She has been this way since one terrible afternoon a year ago when everything changed. Since that day, her parents have become distant, her friends have fallen away, and Leah's been adrift and alone. Then she meets Jasper, a girl unlike anyone she has ever known. There's something mysterious about Jasper, almost magical. And Jasper, Leah discovers, is also lost. Together, the two girls carve out a place for themselves, a hideaway in the overgrown spaces of Atlanta, away from their parents and their hardships, somewhere only they can find. But as the days of this magical June start to draw to a close, and the darker realities of their lives intrude once more, Leah and Jasper have to decide how real their friendship is, and whether it can be enough to save them both.--

A touching story of friendship and loss -Anne W

A place to belong

by Cynthia Kadohata

jFICTION Kadohata Cynthia
Fiction, Kids, Historical Fiction

Twelve-year-old Hanako and her family, reeling from their confinement in an internment camp, renounce their American citizenship to move to Hiroshima, a city devastated by the atomic bomb dropped by Americans.

One Japanese-American family dealing with the aftermath of WWII and their time in an internment camp -Anne W

Genesis begins again

by Alicia Williams

jFICTION Williams Alicia
Fiction, Kids

Thirteen-year-old Genesis tries again and again to lighten her black skin, thinking it is the root of her family's troubles, before discovering reasons to love herself as is.

Heartbreaking, gritty story of a girl who struggles to feel at home in skin society and her own family tells her is too black (in ways both subtle and not) and find a place to belong when her family is frequently forced to move. -Anne W

New kid

by Jerry Craft

jGRAPHIC NOVEL Craft
Fiction, Kids, Graphic Novels

Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds--and not really fitting into either one. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself?

Funny graphic novel with something important to say about systemic racism, microaggressions, and school segregation. -Anne W

Other words for home

by Jasmine Warga

jFICTION Warga Jasmine
Fiction, Kids

Sent with her mother to the safety of a relative's home in Cincinnati when her Syrian hometown is overshadowed by violence, Jude worries for the family members who were left behind as she adjusts to a new life with unexpected surprises.

A beautiful, timely book in verse that will help you understand the Syrian refugee crisis. -Anne W

Janesville : an American story

by Amy Goldstein

977.5 /Goldstein
Nonfiction

Learn what happens to the residents of a small Midwestern town when the GM plant closes at the height of the 2008 financial crisis, forcing thousands out of long-term, secure jobs and creating ripple effects throughout the region. Goldstein embeds herself with the residents for years, and Paul Ryan and Barack Obama make appearances. Extremely intimate and compelling portrait of a town in crisis! -Anne W

Easy to love, difficult to discipline : the seven basic skills for turning conflict into cooperation

by Rebecca Anne Bailey

649.64 /Bailey
Nonfiction, Self Help

My parenting Bible! This book will give you the tools manage your young child's behavior, striking the perfect balance between letting them walk all over you and being a hard-driving taskmaster. -Anne W

The unsettlers : in search of the good life in today's America

by Mark Sundeen

640 /Sundeen
Nonfiction, Nature

A work of immersive journalism steeped in a distinctively American social history and sparked by a personal quest, The Unsettlers traces the search for the simple life through the stories of three families of new pioneers and what inspired each of them to look for--or create--a better existence. Captivating and clear-eyed, it dares us to imagine what a sustainable, ethical, authentic future might actually look like.--

Are you FASCINATED by people who manage to live off the grid for long periods of time? Me, too! -Anne W

Behold the dreamers : a novel

by Imbolo Mbue

FICTION Mbue Imbolo
Fiction

This book is about the immigrant experience, the parenting experience, the newlywed experience, and the modern American experience. This book will make you angry and sad, but read it anyway because it's REALLY GOOD. -Anne W

Chains

by Laurie Halse Anderson

YOUNG ADULT FICTION Anderson, Laurie Halse
Historical Fiction, Kids

After being sold to a cruel couple in New York City, a slave named Isabel spies for the rebels during the Revolutionary War.

Middle-grade historical fiction about the life of a young slave in New York City during the Revolutionary War. Isabel struggles to control her own destiny, protect her younger sister, and ultimately fight for her own freedom while the country fights for its freedom as well. -Anne W