Book picks similar to
Trouble's Child by Mildred Pitts Walter
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Simply Divine
Jacquelin Thomas - 2006
. .
The daughter of two Hollywood superstars, Divine Matthews-Hardison lives the privileged life most fifteen-year-olds only dream of: she's all about designer clothes, awards ceremonies, parties, and having a name that opens doors. Divine could be a model, an actress, anything she wants. But when you live in the spotlight, there's nowhere to hide when your family falls apart. Her father is in trouble with the law, her mother has her own demons, and no one has room for Divine -- no one except her uncle, a Georgia pastor with a modest country home and a big heart.
. . . but can Divine ever forgive?
Divine can't believe she's been sent to live with her mom's family in the sticks. Doing chores, getting an allowance, and church-going are hardly what she's used to, and she lets everyone -- from her patient Uncle Reed and Aunt Phoebe to her cousins, Alyssa and Chance -- know she's not trading in her Gucci bags for a feedbag any time soon. But as the love and faith of a good family take hold in her heart, miraculous changes start to occur. And when the chance comes to return to her high-flying life, Divine is faced with her toughest decision: Now that she's found the one thing she's never had, could she ever leave it behind?
Flying Changes
Kate Lattey - 2014
Change doesn’t come easily at first, and Jay makes as many enemies as she does friends before she finds the perfect pony, who seems destined to make her dreams of show jumping success come true. But she soon discovers that training her own pony is not as easy as she thought it would be, and her dream pony is becoming increasingly unmanageable and difficult to ride. Can Jay pull it together, or has she made the biggest mistake of her life?
On The Line
Jackie Nastri Bardenwerper - 2012
But with her best friend Benny by her side, she’s never minded. And besides, her fishing skills have made her a celebrity in her hometown of Islamorada, an island paradise in the Florida Keys. So when a slump in tourism threatens to sink her family’s fishing charter business, Piper recruits Benny to help her win a major fishing tournament and the $25,000 grand prize.It seems like a perfect plan. Put her skills to use, win some money and help her parents weather the storm. Except that now Benny cares more about hanging out with his girlfriend Marina than helping Piper. And he keeps disappearing, usually after something suspicious happens on the island. Add in Logan, a Michigan transplant with a growing interest in something other than Piper’s fishing, and it looks like practicing for the tournament will be anything but easy. Leaving Piper to wonder how she'll win. And who will be there when it’s over.
The Year of the Sawdust Man
A. LaFaye - 1999
Living in the small town of Harper, Louisiana with a mama as free-spirited as hers has led to lots of gossipy small talk and mean rumors. But now Mama is gone, and all the townsfolk can talk about is who she might have run off with.Nissa's memories of the Sundays her mama would come home smelling of sawdust lead her to suspect some of the rumors could be true. Did her Mama go away with The Sawdust Man? And if so, does it mean she's never coming back?
Ruby Parker Hits the Small Time
Rowan Coleman - 2007
It seems like Ruby Parker has the perfect life.She:goes to an exclusive stage schoolstars in the hit soap operagets to kiss Justin de Souza, the hottest actor aroundMillions of fans are watching Ruby—and wishing they could be her.If only they knew that behind the scenes, Ruby's life is falling apart.
Johnny Voodoo
Dakota Lane - 1996
At Charmette High, Deirdre's a Yankee who'll never fit in. She's alone in a way she's never been before--until she meets Johnny. People say he's dangerous and that he has special powers. All Deirdre knows is that he makes her feel real and loved. An ALA Best Book for Young Adults.
Grey Walls
Shevon Leck (shevvie)
Over the course of his hospitalization, he contemplates life in quiet moments. Follow him and his thoughts, kept within the grey walls of the cruel hospital room. =Spin-off from The Royals Series.
She Said, She Said
Celeste O. Norfleet - 2008
She can barely handle one minute with her controlling, critical mom. But when they arrive, her life gets even worse! Her mother is suddenly acting like she's trying out for Moms Gone Wild, partying with her old high school crowd. Now Tamika's the responsible one: taking care of business and stuck on a nice guy instead of a player. She wouldn't mind a little bit of her old mom back. Wait a minute, did she really say that?
Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans
Kadir Nelson - 2011
This is the story of the men, women, and children who toiled in the hot sun picking cotton for their masters; it's about the America ripped in two by Jim Crow laws; it's about the brothers and sisters of all colors who rallied against those who would dare bar a child from an education. It's a story of discrimination and broken promises, determination, and triumphs.Told through the unique point of view and intimate voice of a one-hundred-year-old African-American female narrator, this inspiring book demonstrates that in gaining their freedom and equal rights, African Americans helped our country achieve its promise of liberty and justice—the true heart and soul of our nation.Supports the Common Core State Standards
Killer Pack (Dawn of Mammals Book 4)
Lou Cadle - 2016
A team of teen scientists... A desperate fight to survive.... A rock slide at a fossil site uncovers a portal through time. Park Ranger Hannah and a team of fossil hunters are caught in it and whisked back to an era when giant predator mammals roamed the earth. Before they can find their way home, they must survive the Dawn of Mammals. In book 4's adventure, The Miocene epoch places them nearer to home, but can they make it back without a lost team member's knowledge? After Hannah abdicates as leader, relationships shift. Ancient canids hunting in a pack bring down another human. Who will survive this epoch, and who will fall?
The Sin Eater
Gary D. Schmidt - 1996
While living on his grandparents' farm in New Hampshire, Cole hears stories about a mysterious sin-eater; these stories enable Cole to learn forgiveness and to connect with his ancestors.
A Necklace of Souls
R.L. Stedman - 2013
'A true dream is when the events I see in my sleep have, or will happen. It's a talent that runs in my family. I was thirteen when I had my first true dream.' Dana wishes she wasn't a princess. She's always being told how to behave, what to wear. The collier's cart seems the perfect escape. Only she didn't realize she'd become so dirty, or so lost. Fortunately this boy, Will, has a sense of direction. And next to the forbidding stranger, N'tombe, he seems reassuringly normal. Dana and Will will learn that, in the Kingdom of the Rose, bravery is not always measured by strength and magic is real, if only one has the courage to dream. Shortlisted for the Sir Julius Vogel Award, A Necklace of Souls was awarded the Tessa Duder Award for Young Adult Fiction, Best First Book at the New Zealand Post Children and Young Adult Book Awards and is a Storylines Notable Book.
The Uglies
Thomas Burchfield - 2012
The time: closer than we may realize.Unemployment is in high double-digits. The acrid stench of civil war smokes the air. The 1930s Great Depression all over . . . just a little more high-tech.Arch and Tess Uglias are blue-collar residents of the desolate Rust Belt city of Gary, Indiana. Arch, an unemployed auto-plant worker and ex-race car driver, and Tess, an unemployed nurse, are both staring homelessness and starvation in face.Meanwhile, Frank Regis, an aging disciple of the legendary bank robber Willie Sutton, is masterminding a string of bank robberies throughout Indiana. The Regis gang is a fractious collage of professional criminals, like Frank, and once law-abiding folks who have turned to crime out of desperation.After one of their drivers is killed during a getaway, the Regis gang goes in search of a replacement, a road that leads them to Arch Uglias. Though a law-abiding citizen and square guy his whole life, Arch, like some of the other gang members, feels compelled to take the wheel. And Tess becomes an outspoken, unwilling, uncooperative part of the package.From there, it’s a boisterous, bawdy and dangerous drive through a desperate world for the Regis gang, from the ruins of the Midwest to the ruins of the West Coast with ruthless law enforcement in pursuit and mistrust and murder blossoming among them. In the end, the war that has been raging at the edges suddenly draws them into its bloody vortex, leading to a fierce climax of double cross and desperate escape.“The Uglies,” an original screenplay by Thomas Burchfield (“Dragon’s Ark,” “Whackers”), drives the same perilous roads as such classics as “Bonnie and Clyde” and “The Getaway. It is a wild, bawdy, and action-packed saga about crime and pursuit, friendship and survival. It’s also the story of people who realize the need to stick together as the world around them falls to pieces.
Moth to a Flame (Narrowdale Mystery Book 2)
Michael Omer - 2015
Since then, the recurring nightmares, creepy hallucinations and overpowering fear are gone. That's good, right? I mean, no one in their right minds wants to feel like that. I am starting to wonder if I'm in my right mind anymore...When a lady in my neighborhood died, I couldn't help but stick my nose in, to see what happened. I should just get on with things–I've got some new friends, and a cool boy named Chris has taken an interest in me. Everyone is telling me to just leave this weird murder alone.But I can't stop myself. The more I find out about her death, the more twisted everything is.I think there’s a predator in Narrowdale. And now it’s hunting me…What have I gotten myself into?