Reading Recommendations

Acevedo, Elizabeth. With the Fire on High. HarperTeen, 2019.

For the past three years, Emoni's chief responsibility has been her baby daughter, Emma, who she lovingly refers to as Baby Girl. With Emma enrolled in a nice preschool, Emoni needs to focus on her next steps so that she can continue to provide the life she wants for Emma and to take some of the pressure off her Abuela, the grandmother who has raised her since birth. A force in the kitchen, Emoni's food has a powerful effect on her friends and family, but will her natural talent allow her to succeed in her culinary arts elective under the instruction of a professional chef? Is it possible for Emoni to have a culinary career or is she doomed to work in fast food in order to support her family? With a class trip to Spain on the horizon, Emoni is about to learn that sometimes to succeed in life she has to let others see her true loves, hopes, and dreams so that they can help her to reach them.

Sometimes silver linings come from hard work and a strong family.

Benway, Robin. Far From the Tree. HarperTeen, 2017.

Grace hopes she has selected the ideal family for Peach, her newborn daughter, but the adoption prompts Grace to think about the mother who gave her up sixteen years ago. Her search leads her to her older brother, Joachim, and her younger sister, Maya. Told in alternating chapters from the perspective of each sibling, this National Book Award Winning novel considers what it means to be a family and the importance of siblings to our understanding of the world.

The journey may be an unexpected silver lining.

Burcaw, Shane. Laughing at my Nightmare. Roaring Brook Press, 2014.

Shane Burcaw challenges readers not to laugh out loud from page one of his humorous memoir on life with spinal muscular atrophy. Shane shows his readers that while everyone faces challenges, one can use humor to make an important contribution to the world. An honest look at Burcaw’s life from birth to age twenty-one, the memoir recounts his successes and challenges with an irreverent enthusiasm. Based on his blog of the same title, readers will understand how Burcaw has succeeded in creating a life and a non-profit foundation designed to help others. As Shane concludes, “I will throw everything I have into this life for as long as I can physically manage. Maybe it’ll be a huge failure. If, at the end of it all, I can look back and know that I made some people laugh, it will have all been worth it.” (p. 247) A strong and original memoir.

Silver linings look a bit different for each of us.

Curato, Mike. Flamer. Henry Holt and Company, 2020.

The quote on the front cover from National Book Award Finalist, Jarrett Krosoczka says it all! "This book will save lives." Aiden Navarro, who will be entering the 9th grade at a new public high school in the fall, looks forward to Boy Scout camp each summer, but this summer the dread he feels about his new school and his anxiety over how different he feels from the boys around him is complicating his time there. When Aiden can't take the teasing, will he make a choice that he cannot step back from? This is a powerful graphic novel that every educator, parents, and student should read.

Darkness can lead to a silver lining.

Connelly, Jennifer. Stepsister. Scholastic, 2019.

A fairy tale of the finest order! Isabelle has cut off her toes to please her mother and fit into the Prince's glass slipper, only to be rejected for the shoe's true owner, her beautiful stepsister, Ella. Rejected by her mother, the townspeople, and all that she meets, Isabelle believes if only she were beautiful she would be accepted. When a fairy queen agrees to grant her request, she finds that her heart desires something much deeper than to be pretty.

I loved this book so much that I didn't want it to end!

Unlikely heroes are a wonderful silver lining.

Hunter, Georgia. We Were the Lucky Ones. Penguin, 2017.

In 1939, three generations of the Kurc family gather for Passover in Radom, Poland. The five adult children of Sol and Nechuma are united with the exception of their brother Addy, an engineer who is working in France. Told in alternating chapters, primarily by the five siblings, the book begins with Addy’s attempt to reach his family in Poland at the start of World War II. Over the next seven years, the family will be divided. Some will go to a Siberian gulag, others into hiding, some will adopt new identities to avoid persecution, and some will look to the shores of Brazil to begin a new life. Despite distance and loss, the Kurc family will preserve and hope for peace when they might be reunited.

Powerful silver linings follow the darkness of the Holocaust.

Kuhn, Sarah and Nicole Goux. Shadow of the Batgirl. DC Comics, 2020.

Cassandra Cain is a mystery. Raised by her father, a Gotham supervillian, as a trained assassin without her own feelings, thoughts, or words, her choice to walk away from the only life she’s ever known leaves her unsure of what is next. When she begins to connect with the world in the stacks of Gotham library she may have found a new and very different family of her own, but can she ever walk away from her past? A great start to a new graphic novel series. I can’t wait for the next chapter.

Silver linings can be finding your true family and purpose.

Little Badger, Darcie. Elatsoe. Levine Querido, 2020.

Seventeen-year-old Ellie lives in a version of America where magic and fantasy mixes with reality. As a member of the Lipan Apache Tribe whose family has the power to raise the dead, Ellie understands the power and the boundaries of the deceased more vividly than most. When her beloved cousin, Trevor, is killed in suspicious circumstances, Ellie may need to cross the boundary to the underworld to restore order and give peace to her cousin’s spirit. With the help of her family and friends, especially her best friend Jay, Ellie tries to solve the mystery of Trevor’s death before his murderer claims another victim. I loved this book, especially the way that Darcie Little Badger weaves Lipan Apache tradition into a work of fantasy. This is a must read!

Sci-fi mixed with Lipan Apache legend? A sure fire silver lining.

Obama, Michelle. Becoming. Crown, 2018.

Former first lady, Michelle Obama, shares her life story. Beginning with her middle class upbringing on Chicago’s South Side to her time in the White House, Mrs. Obama shows the many connections she shares with the American people and explains the challenges she faced during her husband’s run for the presidency, a move she supported, but had many reservations over. This is a fascinating and approachable account of an amazing woman that should not be missed. (The audiobook features Mrs. Obama reading her book, which amounts to a long, lovely conversation that makes the book even more enjoyable.)

Find a silver lining in an inspirational memoir.

Reynolds, Justin A. Opposite of Always. Katherine Tegen Books, 2019.

After meeting on the steps of a college party, Jack and Kate fall in love, but happiness seems just beyond their reach. When Kate dies, Jack mysteriously ends up back on the steps meeting a happy, healthy Kate again. To save Kate, Jack repeats the four months before he lost her on a loop. Like a choose your own adventure book, each time Jack gets some things right, but makes significant mistakes only to begin all over again. Can Jack find a way to save Kate without losing himself? Read Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds and Jack will soon become one of your favorite leading men. Smart, quirky, and in love, which path will lead Jack to Kate forever?

A difficult journey to reach a silver lining?

Stone, Nic. Jackpot. Crown, 2019.

Rico is a hardworking teen who struggles to support her family. As a cashier at the Gas ‘n’ Go that recently sold a hundred million dollar lottery ticket, Rico tries to track down the missing winner in the hope that this new multimillionaire might help Rico’s family. Enlisting the help of Zan, a wealthy classmate, for his computer hacking skills, the pair begin a quest to locate the winner. While for Rico this an arrangement of convenience, she finds her relationship with Zan to be more than she expected and possibly more that she is ready for. Can a girl who has always been guarded allow this new boy to see who she actually is? What is Zan hiding? Can he possibly be all that he seems? Nic Stone writes books that feature characters I want to know and be friends with and Jackpot continues this tradition.

Friendship can be a true silver lining, if you are able to accept it.

Venkatraman, Padma. Climbing the Stairs. Nancy Paulsen, 2008.

In British-occupied India during World War II, Vidya watches in horror as a non-violent protest escalates, gravely injuring her beloved father. Since her father is now dependent on others, Vidya’s family is forced to move to her grandfather’s home in Madras, a household that is much more traditional then Vidya is used to. In her new home, men and women are separated by a staircase, with men living on the upper floors, while women are restricted to the lower level. A good student, Vidya hopes to go to college, but in her new household, an arranged marriage might be her only option. Desperate for more, Vidya finds comfort in her Grandfather’s library. Access to books make her feel alive, but the library is also where Vidya meets Raman, a distant relative that might offer the only friendship possible in her new home.

Education helps one to reach their silver lining.