Kids
Love, Penelope
Joanne Rocklin
jFICTION Rocklin Joanne
Fiction, LGBTQ+, Kids
Fifth-grader Penny writes a series of letters to her future sibling, including facts about their Oakland, California, home, questions about whether their moms will ever marry, and especially that he or she is loved.
Lily and Dunkin
Donna Gephart
"Lily Jo McGrother, born Timothy McGrother, is a girl. But being a girl is not so easy when you look like a boy. Especially when you're in the eighth-grade. Norbert Dorfman, nicknamed Dunkin Dorfman, is bipolar and has just moved from the New Jersey town he's called home for the past thirteen years. This would be hard enough, but the fact that he is also hiding from a painful secret makes it even worse. One summer morning, Lily Jo McGrother meets Dunkin Dorfman, and their lives forever change"--
Added by Anne W
To Night Owl from Dogfish
Holly Goldberg Sloan
Unhappy about being sent to the same summer camp after their fathers start dating, Bett and Avery, eleven, eventually begin scheming to get the couple back together after a break-up. Told entirely through emails.
Added by Anne W
Rick
Alex Gino
Eleven-year-old Rick Ramsey has generally gone along with everybody, just not making waves, even though he is increasingly uncomfortable with his father's jokes about girls, and his best friend's explicit talk about sex; but now in middle school he discovers the Rainbow Spectrum club, where kids of many genders and identities can express themselves--and maybe among them he can find new friends and discover his own identity, which may just be to opt out of sex altogether.
Added by Anne W
One true way
Shannon Hitchcock
jFICTION Hitchcoc Shannon
Historical Fiction, LGBTQ+, Kids
From the moment she met Samantha, star of the school basketball team, on her first day at Daniel Boone Middle School, Allison Drake felt she had found a friend, something she needs badly since her brother died and her father left--but as their friendship grows it begins to evolve into a deeper emotion, and in North Carolina in 1977, it is not easy to discover that you might be gay.
Added by Anne W
All rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook
Leslie Connor
eBOOK
Kids
"Eleven-year-old Perry was born and raised by his mom at the Blue River Co-ed Correctional Facility in tiny Surprise, Nebraska. His mom is a resident on Cell Block C, and so far Warden Daugherty has made it possible for them to be together. That is, until a new district attorney discovers the truth--and Perry is removed from the facility and forced into a foster home. When Perry moves to the "outside" world, he feels trapped. Desperate to be reunited with his mom, Perry goes on a quest for answers about her past crime. As he gets closer to the truth, he will discover that love makes people resilient no matter where they come from .. but can he find a way to tell everyone what home truly means?" --From Amazon.com.
This is a cute, heartwarming book, if a little implausible, about a boy named Perry, who grows up inside a minimum-security, coed prison with his mother Jessica, an inmate, in the tiny town of Surprise, Nebraska. This book, if somewhat predictable and far-fetched, nonetheless does a good job of humanizing incarcerated individuals and stressing how one mistake does not make someone a bad person. Perry collects stories from prison inmates and shares them as part of a school project, as well as sharing how the inmates have collectively raised him and how they maintain bonds with their own families and their own better natures. -Anne W
Nat enough : Nat Enough Series, Book 1
Maria Scrivan
eBOOK
Kids
Natalie has never felt that she's enough -- athletic enough, stylish enough, or talented enough. And on the first day of middle school, Natalie discovers that things are worse than she thought -- now she's not even cool enough for her best friend, Lily! As Natalie tries to get her best friend back, she learns more about her true self and natural talents. If Natalie can focus on who she is rather than who she isn't, then she might realize she's more than enough, just the way she is.
The story of Natalie, as told in pictures, and how she navigates entering middle school along with a bunch of kids from other grade schools, the loss of her best friend (who’s turned into a really “mean girl”), the making of new, truly good friends, and finding out what she’s good at doing. Of course there’s a lot of anxiety, self doubt, and missteps along the way but Nat survives, spectacularly, in this sweet and humorous tale. -Paul
Rump : the true story of Rumpelstiltskin
Liesl Shurtliff
eBOOK
Kids
Relates the tale of Rumpelstiltskin's childhood and youth, explaining why his name is so important, how he is able to spin straw into gold, and why a first-born child is his reward for helping the miller's daughter-turned-queen.
Liesl Shurtlif does a great job developing a backstory for Rumpelstiltskin. Typically the antihero in fairy tales, Rump is shown here as a misunderstood and thoughtful hero. His power develops during a time of hunger and loss, and we watch as he learns more about himself, his powers, and the consequences of magic. Plot driven, surprising, and a fun read! -Becky
Added by Anne W