Debating Darcy
by
In this "Pride and Prejudice" reimagining, high school speech and debate competitor Leela Bose meets Firoze Darcy, a debater from an elitist neighboring high school and immediately dislikes his pompous attitude. She instead gives her attention to Jishnu Waddedar, who attends a military academy and shares her ethnic Bengali background. However, Leela soon learns there's more to both men than meets the eye, and just like in the original novel, Leela will have to parse out the truth, deal with betrayal, and decide where her heart truly lies.
Sweet and Sour
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Eleven-year-old Mai has been contemplating revenge on her former best friend Zach ever since he humiliated her two years ago, but while spending time together for the summer, Mai has noticed a change in Zach, forcing her to decide if she can forgive him, even if she can never forget.
Pippa Park Raises Her Game
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After Korean-American teenager Pippa Park wins a basketball scholarship to a local private school, she hopes to reinvent herself with her wealthy new friends. But brushing off her old friends and telling a string of lies about her family catches up with her, as Pippa discovers the real reason she was recruited.
After the Shot Drops
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When Bunny takes a scholarship to a prestigious prep school with a championship basketball team, his relationship with his best friend Nasir is ruined. When Nasir learns that his cousin, Wallace, and his grandmother are being evicted, he tries to get over Bunny's betrayal. But as Wallace's situation becomes desperate, both Bunny and Nasir will have to face bigger and bigger consequences and decide just how much they're willing to risk.
Amina's Voice
by
Amina, a Pakistani American Muslim, has entered middle school. She is happy hanging with her friend, Soojin, a Korean American, but things have started changing, especially when Soojin starts hanging out with popular Emily. When Soojin says she might change her name to something more American, Amina starts to wonder if she will have to change to fit in, too. However, when her local mosque is vandalized, Amina realizes that it is better to be herself.
The Best at It
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Twelve-year-old Rahul Kapoor heads into seventh grade armed with advice his grandfather gave him--to find a thing he's good at and become the best at it. But Rahul struggles with his identity, including his confusing attraction to classmate Justin Emery. Rahul joins the Mathletes but it doesn't go as planned, and when Jenny asks him to a dance, Rahul spirals into depression and anxiety. With the help of his best friend Chelsea, Rahul confronts who he actually is.
The Bridge Home
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"Readers will be captivated by this beautifully written novel about young people who must use their instincts and grit to survive. Padma shares with us an unflinching peek into the reality millions of homeless children live every day but also infuses her story with hope and bravery that will inspire readers and stay with them long after turning the final page."--Aisha Saeed, author of the New York Times Bestselling Amal UnboundFour determined homeless children make a life for themselves in Padma Venkatraman's stirring middle-grade debut.Life is harsh in Chennai's teeming streets, so when runaway sisters Viji and Rukku arrive, their prospects look grim. Very quickly, eleven-year-old Viji discovers how vulnerable they are in this uncaring, dangerous world. Fortunately, the girls find shelter--and friendship--on an abandoned bridge. With two homeless boys, Muthi and Arul, the group forms a family of sorts. And while making a living scavenging the city's trash heaps is the pits, the kids find plenty to laugh about and take pride in too. After all, they are now the bosses of themselves and no longer dependent on untrustworthy adults. But when illness strikes, Viji must decide whether to risk seeking help from strangers or to keep holding on to their fragile, hard-fought freedom. Nancy Paulsen Books.
Crossing the Farak River
by
Hasina and her family are Rohingyas, which means they live in constant fear of the Sit Tat--the Myanmar army persecuting their people. When Hasina, her cousin, and her brother Araf flee to the forest during a nighttime raid, they return to a destroyed village and no clues as to what may have happened to their family. Hasina clings to the words of her father, exhorting her to keep the family together, and must figure out how to survive amid the constant threat of violence.
The Boys in the Back Row
by
Best friends Matt Park and Eric Costas are band geeks and comic nerds, which makes life at Hilltop Summit K-8 School tolerable. That is all coming to an end when this year is over--when Eric and his family are set to move away. As one last hurrah, the best friends decide to sneak out of the regional marching band competition at World of Amazement and decide to sneak into DefenderCon next door, with no cell phones, transportation, and especially with no permission, to meet their favorite comic creator. However, they have an enemy, one that wants to ruin their plans
The Forest of Stolen Girls
by
In 1457 on the Korean island of Jeju, two sisters, Hwani and Maewol Jewoo, go missing in a forest and are later found unconscious next to a murdered girl. The event tears their family apart in the coming years, with Maewol apprenticing to a local island Shaman and Hwani and her father Min moving to the mainland. Five years later, Min, a well-respected detective, learns that thirteen more girls have disappeared in the forests on the island and leaves to investigate
Darius the Great Is Not Okay
by
Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He’s a Fractional Persian—half, his mom’s side—and his first-ever trip to Iran is about to change his life. Darius has never really fit in at home, and he’s sure things are going to be the same in Iran. His clinical depression doesn’t exactly help matters, and trying to explain his medication to his grandparents only makes things harder. Then Darius meets Sohrab, the boy next door, and everything changes. Soon, they’re spending their days together, playing soccer, eating faludeh, and talking for hours on a secret rooftop overlooking the city’s skyline. Sohrab calls him Darioush—the original Persian version of his name—and Darius has never felt more like himself than he does now that he’s Darioush to Sohrab. Adib Khorram’s brilliant debut is for anyone who’s ever felt not good enough—then met a friend who makes them feel so much better than okay.
The Lines We Cross
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Michael usually concerns himself with basketball and hanging out with his friends, but every once in a while, his parents drag him to meetings and rallies with their anti-immigrant group. And it all makes sense to Michael.Until Mina, a beautiful girl from the other side of the protest lines, shows up at his school, and turns out to be funny, smart -- and a Muslim refugee from Afghanistan. Suddenly, his parents' politics seem much more complicated.Mina has already had a long and arduous journey leaving behind her besieged home in Afghanistan, and the frigid welcome at her new school is daunting. She just wants to settle in and help her parents get their restaurant up and running. But nothing about her new community will be that easy. As tensions increase, lines are drawn. Michael has to decide where he stands. Mina has to protect herself and her family. Both have to choose what they want their world to look like.
Barakah Beats
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After years of attending Islamic school, twelve-year-old Nimra Sharif begins classes at a public middle school. She quickly discovers that it's not what she thought it would be, and worse yet, her best friend Jenna has distanced herself from Nimra. Nimra decides that to fit in and draw Jenna back, she will join the school's boy band, Barakah Beats, even though Nimra was taught that music isn't allowed in Islam. She decides to participate as long as it takes to win Jenna back, then she will quit before her parents find out. However, as time goes on, Nimra enjoys being in the band. When the band enters a talent show to benefit refugees, Nimra's plan goes awry. Now Nimra will have to decide whether to disappoint the band or herself.
Ahmed Aziz's Epic Year
by
Ahmed Aziz's epically bad year started when he turned twelve and his family moved from Hawaii to Minnesota so that his father could receive treatment for an illness. As one of the only kids of color in his new school, Ahmed becomes the target of a bully. However, as much as he hates to admit it, he does actually like his English teacher and he's enjoying learning about his deceased uncle and his family's Indian Muslim heritage. Now, if he only knew how to make Minnesota less frigid, he may warm up to the place.
Counting down with You
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Sixteen-year-old Bangladeshi American high school student Karina Ahmed follows her parents strict rules to the letter, planning to accept their directive to attend medical school and succumb to an arranged marriage. When her Muslim parents leave for a month-long trip to visit family, Karina looks forward to a break from the pressure they put on her, however, she doesn't intend to inherit another set of problems when she begins tutoring school rebel Ace Clyde. Shortly after their tutoring sessions begin, Ace announces to his parents that they're dating and begs Karina to keep up the ruse. Their rocky start quickly turns to a friendship, then develops into a romance, leading Karina to question her carefully planned future and explore how to gain the courage to stand up for what she wants after her parents return.
KINO and the King
by
Follow Kino Kahele on her visit when Hawai'i was a young nation, and the Kamehameha Dynasty ruled the land. After Kino receives a pohaku (stone), from her grandmother, that is supposed to help Kino find her destiny, she is chased by bullies into the Hawaiian Hall at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu. She ducks into the ancient grass hut display and hides her rock in a conch shell. With a flash of bright light, she is transported to 1825 where she meets 11-year-old Kauikeaouli, just weeks before he becomes Kamehameha III, Hawaiʻiʻs longest reigning monarch.
Escape from Aleppo
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After Nadia is separated from her family while fleeing the civil war, she spends the next four days with a mysterious old man who helps her navigate the checkpoints and snipers of the rebel, ISIS, and Syrian armies that are littering Aleppo on her way to meeting her father at the Turkish border.
Samira Surfs
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After her family flees violence in Burma, eleven-year-old Samira and her family have tried to make a new life for themselves in Bangladesh, working as unregistered refugees and enduring hostility from locals. While selling hard boiled eggs to beach tourists, Samira is introduced to a female surfing club in Cox's Bazar and discovers an outlet that offers her the freedom to believe in herself and hope for a better future..
From Twinkle, with Love
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Aspiring teen filmmaker Twinkle Mehra is asked by fellow film geek Sahil Roy to direct a movie for a summer arts festival. Twinkle is thrilled to show off her talent and get close to Sahil's twin brother, Neil. Then a mystery man begins emailing her, causing Twinkle to rethink who and want she wants. And before she knows it, she finds herself falling for Sahil instead. Told through text messages, emails, blog posts, and letters, Twinkle writes to her favorite female filmmakers, trying to express herself while deciphering what her heart is telling her.
Generation Misfits
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As five new preteen friends bond over their love for the Japanese pop group Generation Love in the after-school J-Club, each of the friends learn to support each other as they individually struggle with their home lives, their relationships, and bullying from other students.
I'm Ok
by
Ok Lee, a twelve-year-old Korean American boy, tries a get rich quick scheme of starting a hair-braiding business and winning the school talent competition to hide the fact that he is struggling with the loss of his father and the financial hardships he and his mother must now bear.
A Land of Permanent Goodbyes
by
In a country ripped apart by war, Tareq lives with his big and loving family . . . until the bombs strike. His city is in ruins. His life is destroyed. And those who have survived are left to figure out their uncertain future. Tareq's family knows that to continue to stay alive, they must leave. As they travel as refugees from Syria to Turkey to Greece, facing danger at every turn, Tareq must find the resilience and courage to complete his harrowing journey.
Lupe Wong No Baila
by
Baseball is everything to seventh-grader Lupe Wong. So is championing causes, like expanding the options for race on school tests. Lupe has an agreement with her uncle that if she gets straight As in all her classes, she can meet pitcher Fu Li Hernandez, who is half-Mexican, half-Chinese like Lupe. But when the dreaded square dancing unit begins in gym class, Lupe's afraid that she'll never meet Fu Li. As Lupe starts a campaign to get rid of square dancing, her changing friendships force her to reexamine her priorities and relationships.
Finding Junie Kim
by
Middle school student Junie Kim turns inward and becomes depressed after enduring the taunts of a school bus bully and a racist incident happens at school. While working on a school assignment to interview a family elder, Junie learns of her Korean grandparents' sufferings and courage during the Korean War and learns to unpack her own courage to face the racism surrounding her.
Everlasting Nora
by
Twelve-year-old Nora lives with her mother in Manila’s North Cemetery--a real-life shantytown in the Philippines. One day, her mother goes missing, leaving Nora to fend for herself, so along with her best friend Jojo and his grandmother, Nora decides to go on a dangerous adventure to find her mother.
Everything Sad Is Untrue
by
As Khosrou (whom everyone calls Daniel) stands in front of his Oklahoma middle school classmates, he tries to tell them his story from the jasmine-scented city of Isfahan to the terrifying journey out of Iran steps ahead of the secret police to the refugee camps of Italy.
Other Words for Home
by
A gorgeously written, hopeful middle grade novel in verse about a young girl who must leave Syria to move to the United States, perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds and Aisha Saeed.Jude never thought she'd be leaving her beloved older brother and father behind, all the way across the ocean in Syria. But when things in her hometown start becoming volatile, Jude and her mother are sent to live in Cincinnati with relatives.At first, everything in America seems too fast and too loud. The American movies that Jude has always loved haven't quite prepared her for starting school in the US--and her new label of "Middle Eastern," an identity she's never known before.But this life also brings unexpected surprises--there are new friends, a whole new family, and a school musical that Jude might just try out for. Maybe America, too, is a place where Jude can be seen as she really is.This lyrical, life-affirming story is about losing and finding home and, most importantly, finding yourself. Balzer + Bray.
A Very Large Expanse of Sea
by
In 2002, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl named Shirin starts over at yet another high school, having dealt with the prejudice and abuse that followed 9/11. She copes with the anti-Islamic animosity by turning to music and break-dancing. She meets Ocean James, who comes from a very different background, but really seems to want to get to know her. But she's had the walls up for so long, she doesn't know if she can really let him in.
Summer Bird Blue
by
The only thing Rumi Seto knows for certain that she absolutely wants is to go on writing music with her younger sister, Lea, for the rest of her life. Then, Lea dies in a car accident, and Rumi finds herself sent away to live with her aunt in Hawaii while her mother deals with her grief. Rumi feels the loss, abandonment, and absence of her sister, mother, and of the music, but she also meets the "boys next door," one the smiling Kai, a teenage surfer, and the other the elderly George Watanabe, a man who is dealing with his own grief. With their help, Rumi may be able to find her way back to life, and finish the song she and Lea had been working on.
Every Reason We Shouldn't
by
Sixteen-year-old figure skater Olivia Kennedy's competitive skating career ends in disaster and she's trying to be a normal teen who just happens to have Olympians Midori Nakashima and Michael Kennedy as parents. Then Jonah Choi starts training at her family's struggling ice rink. The talented handsome teen is trying for the Olympics in speed skating. Olivia finds her competitive spirit returning, but she wonders if her rivalry with Jonah will help their relationship or hurt it.
You Are Here: Connecting Flights
by
Contains an anthology from twelve Southeast and East Asian American authors whose stories intertwine in an airport where an incident at a TSA checkpoint involving Thai American Paul and his family reverberates throughout each story. The protagonists each have their own reasons for traveling and destinations to get to, while they confront the biases, stereotypes, and racism around them.
The Comeback
by
Competitive figure skater Maxine Chen already is feeling the pressures of preparing for a regional competition. Adding to her stress, her best friend pulls away, that same friend's boyfriend starts making comments about her Chinese-American race, and a new brilliant skater joins her rink. Maxine works her way through her insecurities and loneliness, to find the competitive spirit to fight for herself.
Listen, Slowly
by
After a back-breaking straight-A school year filled with too many extracurricular activities to count, twelve-year-old Mai's parents "reward" her by sending her to Vietnam, so she can get in touch with her roots. At first miserable, not knowing the language or customs, Mai spends time with her grandmother and learns to love her heritage, and even discovers secrets about her family's past, such as what happened to her grandfather during the war.
Lovely, Dark, and Deep
by
While chatting with Josh, a cute boy at her bake sale, Viola gets dizzy and faints-and wakes up in the hospital. Diagnosed with a rare and severe form of photosensitivity, her skin can no longer tolerate light, even from her phone. Her whole life changes, and she is afraid she will have to give up her dream of becoming a journalist. When a romance blooms with Josh, she rebels, and when she lands in the hospital again, Josh leaves. Viola has two options: withdraw from the world or come to terms with her new reality.
Omar Rising
by
Seventh-grader Omar is initially thrilled when he receives a scholarship to an elite boarding school in Pakistan, knowing its his family's ticket out of poverty. When he arrives, however, he gets a rude awakening, learning that scholarship students are treated differently.
Perfectly Parvin
by
After being dumped by her only days-old boyfriend, Iranian American Parvin Mohammadi decides to forgo her least likeable qualities--Cheetos eating and bassoon playing, among other things--in favor of adopting the personalities of popular Rom-Com leading ladies to attract the guy she wants.
Something in Between
by
After learning of her family's illegal immigrant status, Jasmine realizes that college may be impossible and that deportation is a real threat, uncertainties she endures as she falls for the son of a congressman who opposes an immigration reform bill.
Make a Move, Sunny Park!
by
Seventh grader Sunny Park has been best friends with Bailey Stern since the third grade. She takes pride in being a good friend to Bailey, especially since Bailey's parents' divorce. When Bailey suggests that they both try out for the Ranchito Mesa Middle School dance team, Sunny agrees, even though she's terrified to perform in public.
The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams
by
Saved from a stoning by the monks he lives with, twelve-year-old Sogdian orphan Omar is sold to traveling tradesman Samir and becomes a part of his caravan along the Silk Road. Moving from place to place, Omar, who is now called Monkey, learns that Samir is a dishonest salesman who cons his customers. Though Monk doesn't approve of Samir's dealings, he participates out of a sense of duty. Soon though, he learns that Samir has angered one too many people and that assassins are after him. Monk hopes to secure his freedom from Samir's service by saving his life six times and hoping they both make it through the ordeal alive.
Those Kids from Fawn Creek
by
Every day passes by just like every other day in Fawn Creek, Louisiana--at least, that's how best friends-since-forever Dorothy Doucet and Greyson Broussard feel. The two girls consider themselves outside the typical seventh-grade groups--especially the self-proclaimed God Squad, and the Fawn Creek Royalty, and the Jocks--and that suits them just fine, since they have each other.
Finally Seen
by
When ten-year-old Lina Gao leaves China to live with her parents and sister, after five years apart, she must reckon with her hurt, anger, and curiosity and find a way to get her bearings in this new country--and the almost-new family that comes along with it.
Room to Dream (Front Desk #3)
by
Mia Tang and her family are taking the trip of a lifetime to visit family in Bejing, but as happy as Mia is to be back with family, she notices that something is different, namely, that her years in America have changed her, and her Chinese relatives see it too.
Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet
by
A young imaginative boy name Omar relates his nerve-wracking experience starting at a new school and having to face a bully who is outright hateful towards Muslims, giving Omar his first experiences with prejudice. Through all this, he describes his daily life with his quirky, close-knit family and how he met his new best friend.
My Fate According to the Butterfly
by
Ten-year-old Filipina Sabrina “Sab” Dulce is a highly superstitious girl because of the stories her artist father used to tell. One day, a black butterfly lands on her and according to legend, that means she only has a week to live. She is then determined to put together her broken family before she dies. She follows her journalist sister, Ate Nadine, who has an especially tumultuous relationship with their father, and Sab learns family secrets that will change her forever. To encourage their reconciliation, Sab must journey far outside her comfort zone. After all, she only has a week to live.
This Time Will Be Different
by
Seventeen-year-old CJ Katsuyama's family sold their flower shop to a white man for next to nothing while they were interned during World War II. Thirty years later, the family bought the store back from that family, the McAllisters, who had prospered in the interim. Now the shop is in financial trouble and CJ's mother works for McAllister Venture Capital. CJ's mother pushes CJ to make something of her life, but CJ only seems to excel at arranging flowers, and she feels aimless. When secrets about the McAllister patriarch come to light, CJ and a group of student activists find something to rally behind, though it causes friction in the community and between CJ and her mother.
To All the Boys I've Loved Before
by
What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them…all at once? Sixteen-year-old Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control.
The Way to Bea
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Recently estranged from her best friend and weeks away from shifting from only child to big sister, seventh grader Beatrix Lee consoles herself by writing haiku in invisible ink and hiding the poems, but one day she finds a reply--is it the librarian with all the answers, the editor of the school paper who admits to admiring her poetry, an old friend feeling remorse, or the boy obsessed with visiting the local labyrinth?
Zara Hossain Is Here
by
For seventeen years, Pakistani Muslim girl Zora Hossain has only known Corpus Christi, Texas, as home, but it hasn't felt like home being the only Muslim girl at her Catholic school, daily facing bullying from Tyler Bensen. One day, Tyler goes too far, leaving a racist note in her locker and getting suspended. Tyler and his friends then get revenge by leaving Islamophobic slurs painted on the Hossains' house, and a following violent crime puts Zara's family's entire future at risk.
Count Me In
by
Karina once did not like Chris, the boy next door, very much, until her Indian American grandfather began tutoring Chris and the three begin spending time together. Then a stranger assaults and injures her grandfather, motivated by racism. Karina took pictures the whole time and her social media posts go viral, giving her and Chris internet fame. Now they both have to decide how to use that fame to speak out and make a difference.
New from Here
by
Eleven-year-old Knox Wei-Evans lives in Hong Kong with his parents, two siblings, and the family dog. When a strange virus shuts down the city of Wuhan, China, the family decides that Knox, his siblings, and his mother should move to California to escape the coming onslaught of restrictions while his father stays behind.
Written in the Stars
by
Growing up in Florida, Naila has always known her Pakistani parents would arrange her marriage, but then she falls in love with Saif. Her angry parents take her back to Pakistan to visit relatives and explore her roots. While there, Naila's parents find her a husband and make arrangements for her to marry him. Everything Naila has is taken away from her and she finds herself trapped in a foreign country against her will. Naila can only hope Saif will find her before it's too late.
Team Chu and the Battle of Blackwood Arena
by
Popular, athletic Clip and his brainy sister Sadie are complete opposites, but they have one thing in common: they both love laser tag. When the Blackwood Gaming Arena opens in their town with state-of-the-art courses and virtual-reality headsets, the siblings are ready to jump in, and they can't wait to defeat one another in the arena.
The Science of Breakable Things
by
Middle schooler Natalie is given a school assignment to answer a question using the scientific process. Her teachers suggests that Natalie enter an egg drop competition. Natalie hopes to use the prize money to fly her mother to see the Cobalt Blue Orchids, flowers that survive against impossible odds, to help her mother love life again. Her efforts lead to truths about her botanist mother's depression and her own cultural identity.
Girl of the Southern Sea
by
Nia lives in a slum in Jakarta with her little brother and alcoholic father. She wants to continue her education, but she has to watch her brother, clean their house, and earn money. There is no extra money for school fees and supplies. When Nia survives a minibus crash, her community thinks it was a miracle. She tries to use this to her advantage, though she knows that is not what the heroine from her favorite folktale would have done.
Where the Streets Had a Name
by
When her grandmother becomes gravely ill, 13-year-old Hayaat, who lives in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, decides to bravely face check points, curfews and a travel permit system to cross to the other side of the Separation Wall to get a jar of soil from her grandmother's ancestral home in Jerusalem. Hayaat believes the soil will help her grandmother.
