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The Best at It by Maulik Pancholy
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.
Front Desk by Kelly Yang
Mia Tang and her immigrant parents are not exactly living the American dream since moving here from China--they live in the Calivista Motel, and Mia must tend to its guests. Her parents, meanwhile, have been hiding illegal immigrants in the motel's empty rooms, risking the wrath of the owner, Mr. Yao. On the personal life front, Mia wants to become a writer, but her mother is being very discouraging because she is better at math and English is not her first language. No matter what, however, Mia vows to follow her dreams.
The Land of Forgotten Girls by Erin Entrada Kelly
Abandoned by their father and living in poverty with their heartless stepmother in Louisiana, two sisters from the Philippines, twelve-year-old Sol and six-year-old Ming, learn the true meaning of family.
Turtle Boy by M. Evan Wolkenstein
Seventh-grader Will Levine isn't having a stellar year: his biology teacher is forcing him to return all of the turtles he's collected from the marsh behind the school, he's being bullied for his small chin, and his rabbi has assigned him to visit a terminally ill boy, RJ, as part of his bar mitzvah community service project.