Book picks similar to
Shahana by Rosanne Hawke
new-books-september
young-adult
ya
readers-3-older
Living on Hope Street
Demet Divaroren - 2017
We all fear something. Sometimes they live right next door - or even closer.Kane will do everything he can to save his mother and his little brother Sam from the violence of his father, even if it means becoming a monster himself.Mrs Aslan will protect the boys no matter what - even though her own family is in pieces.Ada wants a family she can count on, while she faces new questions about herself.Mr Bailey is afraid of the refugees next door, but his worst fear will take another form.And Gugulethu is just trying to make a life away from terror.On this street, everyone comes from different places, but to find peace they will have to discover what unites them.
A Brief History of Montmaray
Michelle Cooper - 2008
When she receives a journal for her sixteenth birthday, Sophie decides to chronicle day-to-day life on the island. But this is 1936, and the news that trickles in from the mainland reveals a world on the brink of war. The politics of Europe seem far away from their remote island—until two German officers land a boat on Montmaray. And then suddenly politics become very personal indeed.
Here We Are Now
Jasmine Warga - 2017
But one day, while her mother is out of the country, the famed rock star from Staring Into the Abyss shows up on her doorstep. This makes sense - kinda - because Julian Oliver is Taliah's father, even though her mother would never admit it to her.Julian asks if Taliah if she will drop everything and go with him to his hometown of Oak Falls, Indiana, to meet his father - her grandfather - who is nearing the end of his life. Taliah, torn between betraying her mother's trust and meeting the family she has never known, goes.With her best friend Harlow by her side, Taliah embarks on a three-day journey to find out everything about her 'father' and her family. But Julian isn't the father Taliah always hoped for, and revelations about her mother's past are seriously shaking her foundation. Through all these new experiences, Taliah will have to find new ways to be true to herself, honoring her past and her future.
The Girl from Everywhere
Heidi Heilig - 2016
Along the way they have found crewmates and friends, and even a disarming thief who could come to mean much more to Nix.But the end to it all looms closer every day.Her father is obsessed with obtaining the one map, 1868 Honolulu, that could take him back to his lost love, Nix’s mother. Even though getting it—and going there—could erase Nix’s very existence.For the first time, Nix is entering unknown waters.She could find herself, find her family, find her own fantastical ability, her own epic love.Or she could disappear.
A Company of Swans
Eva Ibbotson - 1985
Her stuffy father and her opressive aunt Louisa allow her only one outlet: ballet. When a Russian ballet master comes to class searching for dancers to fill the corps of his ballet company before their South American tour, Harriet's world changes. Defying her father's wishes and narrowly escaping the clutches of the man who wishes to marry her, Harriet sneaks off to join the ballet on their journey to the Amazon. There, in the wild, lush jungle, they perform Swan Lake in grand opera houses for the wealthy and culture-deprived rubber barons, and Harriet meets Rom Verney, the handsome and mysterious British exile who owns the most ornate opera house. Utterly enchanted by both the exotic surroundings and by Rom's affections, Harriet is swept away by her new life, completely unaware that her father and would-be fiancé have begun to track her down...
Mapping the Bones
Jane Yolen - 2018
Their family's cramped quarters are awful, but when even those dire circumstances become too dangerous, their parents decide to make for the nearby Lagiewniki Forest, where partisan fighters are trying to shepherd Jews to freedom in Russia. The partisans take Chaim and Gittel, with promises that their parents will catch up -- but soon, everything goes wrong. Their small band of fighters is caught and killed. Chaim, Gittel, and their two friends are left alive, only to be sent off to Sobanek concentration camp.Chaim is quiet, a poet, and the twins often communicate through wordless exchanges of shared looks and their own invented sign language. But when they reach Sobanek, with its squalid conditions, rampant disease, and a building with a belching chimney that everyone is scared to so much as look at, the bond between Chaim and Gittel, once a source of strength, becomes a burden. For there is a doctor there looking to experiment on twins, and what he has in store for them is a horror they dare not imagine.
Over the Moon
Jean Ure - 2006
One minute she's over the moon and the next she's down in the dumps.She's bright, attractive and twelve years old, but she has to rely on more than just her looks to get her the grades she needs to qualify for the Founder's Day dinner and dance.And what’s she going to do when her eyes mysteriously puff up? Who's going to want to take her to the dance in that state, least of all a dish like golden-haired Sun God Matt?
Suggested Reading
David Connis - 2019
The iconic books on the list have been pulled from the library and aren’t allowed anywhere on the school’s premises. Students caught with the contraband will be sternly punished.Many of these stories have changed Clara’s life, so she’s not going to sit back and watch while her draconian principal abuses his power. She’s going to strike back.So Clara starts an underground library in her locker, doing a shady trade in titles like Speak and The Chocolate War. But when one of the books she loves most is connected to a tragedy she never saw coming, Clara’s forced to face her role in it.Will she be able to make peace with her conflicting feelings, or is fighting for this noble cause too tough for her to bear?
Opposite of Always
Justin A. Reynolds - 2019
Reynolds delivers a hilarious and heartfelt novel about the choices we make, the people we choose, and the moments that make a life worth reliving.When Jack and Kate meet at a party, bonding until sunrise over their mutual love of Froot Loops and their favorite flicks, Jack knows he’s falling—hard. Soon she’s meeting his best friends, Jillian and Franny, and Kate wins them over as easily as she did Jack.But then Kate dies. And their story should end there.Yet Kate’s death sends Jack back to the beginning, the moment they first meet, and Kate’s there again. Healthy, happy, and charming as ever. Jack isn’t sure if he’s losing his mind.Still, if he has a chance to prevent Kate’s death, he’ll take it. Even if that means believing in time travel. However, Jack will learn that his actions are not without consequences. And when one choice turns deadly for someone else close to him, he has to figure out what he’s willing to do to save the people he loves.
The Deep End: Australia Reads Special Edition
Jenna Guillaume - 2021
It was a new level of loserdom, even for meWhen Rosie humiliates herself in front of the whole school at the swimming carnival, she vows she'll never step foot in the water again.Well, until Jake Tran, the best swimmer (and hottest boy) in her year says he will give her swimming lessons.Against all the voices in her head screaming that it's a bad idea, she takes him up on his offer.As the pair bond over failed freestyles and parental pressures, they learn more from each other than they ever could have anticipated.
The Bunker Diary
Kevin Brooks - 2013
It was still dark when I woke up this morning. As soon as my eyes opened I knew where I was. A low-ceilinged rectangular building made entirely of whitewashed concrete. There are six little rooms along the main corridor. There are no windows. No doors. The elevator is the only way in or out. What's he going to do to me? What am I going to do? People are really quite simple, and they have simple needs. Food, water, light, space, privacy. Maybe a small measure of dignity. A bit of freedom. What happens when someone simply takes all that away?
The Doomspell
Cliff McNish - 2000
Like thousands of other children before them, they have been snatched away by the Witch. But this time the Witch has met her match. Rachel discovers that she has extraordinary gifts: she can transform herself into a feather, or fly on an owl’s back, just as the Witch can. The Witch is excited she has found someone to use for her own evil purposes. But for the Witch’s victims, Rachel is their only hope.Reviews'High fantasy, richly imagined and refreshingly well-written — an excellent novel.' The Sunday Times 'Brilliant, breathless and filled with action from page one.' Kids Out'Gripping, racy, children have been fighting to borrow it.' The Guardian'An incredible world in which the reader will become totally absorbed.' The Bookseller'A vivid world of magical possibilities.' The Times 'A thrilling and magical read - there is a real build up of suspense with plenty of twists and turns. It is full of brilliant descriptions of events, characters and places.' Library and Information Service for Schools 'Places him firmly among much more well-known names such as Philip Pullman and C.S.Lewis - Ithrea is a truly complete world, and the characters are beautifully conceived to obtain an emotional response from the reader.' BookMonster
When We Wake
Karen Healey - 2013
Sixteen-year-old Tegan is just like every other girl living in 2027—she's happiest when playing the guitar, she's falling in love for the first time, and she's joining her friends to protest the wrongs of the world: environmental collapse, social discrimination, and political injustice.But on what should have been the best day of Tegan's life, she dies—and wakes up a hundred years later, locked in a government facility with no idea what happened.The future isn't all she had hoped it would be, and when appalling secrets come to light, Tegan must make a choice: Does she keep her head down and survive, or fight for a better world?
Pobby and Dingan
Ben Rice - 2000
Kellyanne’s brother, Ashmol, can’t see them and doesn’t believe they exist anywhere but in Kellyanne’s immature imagination. Only when Pobby and Dingan disappear and Kellyanne becomes heartsick over their loss does Ashmol realize that not only must he believe in Pobby and Dingan, he must convince others to believe in them, too.From the Trade Paperback edition.
The Garden of My Imaan
Farhana Zia - 2013
When Marwa, a Moroccan girl who shares her faith if not her culture, comes to Aliya's school, Aliya wonders even more about who she is, what she believes, and where she fits in. Should she fast for Ramadan? Should she wear the hijab? Shes old enough for both, but does she really want to call attention to herself?