Book picks similar to
Heron Cove by Ruth Wallace-Brodeur


realistic-fiction
discard
family
friendship

Striking Out


Will Weaver - 1900
    Never been to a movie. Never played baseball with a real team. Never got over feeling guilty for the loss of his brother. But change is in the air. Billy discovers he has a natural talent for baseball, especially as a pitcher. Maybe, just maybe, there's more in store for him than life on the farm. But can Billy convince his father of that? Or is he destined to spend the rest of his life pitching nothing but hay?Teenager Billy Baggs is desperately needed on his family's struggling dairy farm, but he's also an extraordinarily gifted natural baseball player. How he struggles to reconcile his father's desire to keep him on the farm with his coach's interest in getting him on the field is at the heart of this ‘meaty story.… The complex characters grow and change in profoundly real ways.''K. ‘[With] flashes of humor, a wealth of lovingly recounted details evokes the difficult daily life on a small dairy farm.''Publishers Weekly. 1994 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA)1994 Books for the Teen Age (NY Public Library)1993 "Pick of the Lists" (ABA)

Fortune Cookie


Jean Ure - 2009
    A fun and feisty new comedy drama from master storyteller Jean Ure – with a gorgeous new cover look to appeal to all girls who love real-life stories.When Daniella Cassidy and her best friend Lisa fall in love with the gorgeous puppy in the next door garden, they never imagine they’ll end up getting to keep him – that they’ll have to save his life – or that he’ll lead them into such big trouble…A crazy real-life adventure about friendship, family, pets – and a plan that spirals out of control.

All started with a dare


infinetely finite
    "I dare you, Jade Elsie Brooke, to break into Trystan Woods's house and steal a pair of his boxers without him finding out." Jade Brooke was the daredevil who had never turned down a dare, no matter how bad it was. So when a simple game of truth or dare ends up flipping her life upside down in the form of a dare, she has no one to blame but herself. Trystan Woods was the boy out of reach for most, who stood at the top of the high school food chain. Everyone loves him, and he was the football team captain. Jade had never interacted with him, until the day she was dared to break into his house and steal his underwear. The only flaw in the plan? When he catches her in his room holding his boxers.

How I Survived Middle School: Books #1-6


Nancy E. Krulik - 2008
    I Really Like You.

Racing the Past


Sis Deans - 2001
    The kids at school won't let him forget, either, and he's gotten into so many fights, he's on the edge of serious trouble. Ricky can walk away from taunts on the playground, but not when the kids corner him on the bus. So he comes up with a new way to get to school. Not only will he run every morning and afternoon-he'll race the bus. And one day he will leave the past behind-and win.

Middle School Millionaires


Roderick J. Robison - 2013
    But when the other schools and town facil-ities ask for recycling barrels too, their businesstakes off. They earn much more than pocket change.And the funny thing is, nobody but the janitors knowthe recycling barrels are owned by the two young en-trepreneurs. The money rolls in…but trouble follows.The principal suspects they’re up to something. Theeighth grade bully tries to capitalize on their new-found wealth. And the competition, the town’s largestrecycling contractor—tries to put them out of business.Their real trouble begins though, when the principal,superintendent of schools, and mayor learn the recyclingbarrels are owned by two middle school students. Theythink they’ve been misled; a suspension hearing ensues.Everything Kirk and Tommy have worked so hard for isin jeopardy. They’re on the brink of loosing it all—but ifthey can survive the ordeal, they just might become…Middle School Millionaires.

First Confession


Frank O'Connor - 1990
    Each book in the series has been designed with today's young reader in mind. As the words come to life, students will develop a lasting appreciation for great literature.The humor of Mark Twain...the suspense of Edgar Allan Poe...the danger of Jack London...the sensitivity of Katherine Mansfield. Creative Short Stories has it all and will prove to be a welcome addition to any library.

Conspiracy 365 October


Gabriell Lord
    The hostile desert seems determined to become Cal's final resting place. Had Kelvin spared his life for nothing? Back in the city, an impossible job looms. To break into Oriana's safe at Z rich Bank, Cal needs Boges to make a perfect copy of her fingerprint...and they need her PIN.

The Existential Worries of Mags Munroe


Jean Grainger - 2022
    My twelve-year-old daughter frequently moans that Ballycarrick is the most boring town in Ireland.Nothing ever happens here.She’s right.And as the local police sergeant, this is something I’m delighted about.I’ve enough to worry about - the polar ice-caps, the evil monster that’s shrinking my trousers, not to mention the hot flushes - without having to be like one of those gritty Netflix cops, chasing criminals down alleyways and busting drug deals.So, life is calm and fairly predictable.Until something unthinkable happens in our sleepy backwater.A crime, but not like anything I've ever seen before.It's a complete mystery.And it's up to me to solve it.

Paper Things


Jennifer Richard Jacobson - 2015
    There’s just one problem—Gage doesn’t actually have a place to live.When Ari’s mother died four years ago, she had two final wishes: that Ari and her older brother, Gage, would stay together always, and that Ari would go to Carter, the middle school for gifted students. So when nineteen-year-old Gage decides he can no longer live with their bossy guardian, Janna, Ari knows she has to go with him. But it’s been two months, and Gage still hasn’t found them an apartment. He and Ari have been "couch surfing," staying with Gage’s friend in a tiny apartment, crashing with Gage’s girlfriend and two roommates, and if necessary, sneaking into a juvenile shelter to escape the cold Maine nights. But all of this jumping around makes it hard for Ari to keep up with her schoolwork, never mind her friendships, and getting into Carter starts to seem impossible. Will Ari be forced to break one of her promises to Mama? Told in an open, authentic voice, this nuanced story of hiding in plain sight may have readers thinking about homelessness in a whole new way.

The Hard Kind of Promise


Gina Willner-Pardo - 2010
    But that was before seventh grade, when everything changed—everything except Marjorie. While Sarah wants to meet new people and try new things, Marjorie still likes doing the same things they always did. It seems the more time the two girls spend together, the more time Sarah wants to spend apart. How did a promise that was so easy to make become so hard to keep?With beautifully drawn characters and vivid details, this incisive novel portrays middle school in all its complexity—both the promise of what is to come and the pain of what must be left behind.

Cascade


Claudia Hall Christian - 2010
    As peace settles on the Castle, darkness looms on the horizon and the pain of former lives threatens to destroy the here and now. Delphie, Jill, Jacob, Sandy, Aden and their loved ones come face to face with their worst demons. But this is Denver Cereal. It takes more than a school brawl, a shooting, prison, a vicious beating or even a death to destroy the love and loyalty that unites this extended family of choice. In Cascade, the beloved Denver Cereal characters return. Pooling their skills and abilities, they confront the past before it overwhelms their present. Cascade is the third installment of the Denver Cereal. An Internet sensation, Denver Cereal is a serial fiction grounded in Uptown Denver, Colorado. DenverCereal.com - Crunchy, sweet and always addicting, you deserve a little Denver Cereal in your life.

Another Chance


Candie Checketts - 2003
    A love story that's celebration of the gift of free agency

Come Find Me, Sage Parker


Aliza Latta - 2017
    “I’ll be back soon, my darling,” her mother, Sage, said the day she left. “Don't you worry. I just need to go find myself.”Do you have to run away in order to find yourself? Maeve wondered. When, exactly, do you know when that self you were so desperately looking for is found?Now Maeve is sixteen-years-old and Sage still hasn’t returned.Fiercely independent and disillusioned, Maeve has grown up with her mother’s ex-boyfriend as her only companion. Giving up all hope of Sage’s return, she convinces herself that mothers—and people—are unnecessary. When she meets Ky and Levi, she is adamant about keeping them at arms length. But Ky, the only true friend Maeve knows, and Levi, the boy with the startling blue eyes, crash through Maeve’s walls.Then one of them is wrenched away—permanently. And Maeve is left dangling with the final words they left behind: go find Sage Parker.

The River Road


Karen Osborn - 2002
    One spring night, while at home on a break from college, the threesome embarks on a night of adventure and experimentation, driving recklessly through the Connecticut Valley. Stopping at the French King Bridge, David -- full of hubris and hallucinogens -- dares to jump, mistakenly believing he'll be able to swim ashore. With this one act, he sets in motion an inexorable chain of events that indelibly alters the lives of everyone involved.Told through the alternating voices of Kay, Michael, and David's father, Kevin, The River Road is a closely observed and psychologically penetrating narrative of the accusations, murder investigation, and courtroom battle that follow.