Al Capone does my shirts by Gennifer Choldenko(2004)A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards' families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister.
Belle Prater's boy by Ruth White(1996)When Woodrow's mother suddenly disappears, he moves to his grandparents' home in a small Virginia town where he befriends his cousin and together they find the strength to face the terrible losses and fears in their lives.
Blizzard's wake by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor(2002)In March of 1941, when a severe blizzard suddenly hits Bismarck, North Dakota, a girl trying to save her stranded father and brother inadvertently helps the man who killed her mother four years before.
Cecilia's year by Susan Gonzales Abraham(2004)Nearly fourteen and poor, Ceclia Gonzales wants desperately to go to high school and become a teacher until her mother's old-fashioned ideas about a woman's place threaten her dreams.
Choosing up sides by John H. Ritter(1998, 2000)In 1921 thirteen-year-old Luke finds himself torn between accepting his left-handedness or conforming to the belief of his preacher-father that such a condition is evil and must be overcome.
A day no pigs would die by Robert Newton Peck(1972, 1994)To a thirteen-year-old Vermont farm boy whose father slaughters pigs for a living, maturity comes early as he learns "doing what's got to be done," especially regarding his pet pig who cannot produce a litter.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald(1995)The authorized text which restores all the language of Fitzgerald's 1920's classic story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan.sydetic
How far would you have gotten if I hadn't called you back? : a novel by Valerie Hobbs(1995)After moving with her family from New Jersey to California in the late 1950s, sixteen-year-old Bron discovers the world of drag racing.
The jungle by Upton Sinclair(1985)Describes the conditions of the Chicago stockyards through the eyes of a young immigrant struggling in America.
Justice Lion by Robert Newton Peck(1981)Fifteen-year-old Muncie Bolt thinks he's lost Hem Lion's friendship forever when his father prosecutes Hem's father for operating a still in Liberty, Vermont during the days of prohibition.
Land of hope by Joan Lowery Nixon(1992)Rebekah, a fifteen-year-old Jewish immigrant arriving in New York City in 1902, almost abandons her dream of getting an education when she is forced to work in a sweatshop.
My Louisiana sky by Kimberly Willis Holt(2000)Growing up in Saitter, Louisiana, in the 1950s, twelve-year-old Tiger Ann struggles with her feelings about her stern, but loving grandmother, her mentally slow parents, and her good friend and neighbor, Jesse.
A northern light by Jennifer Donnelly(2003)In 1906, sixteen-year-old Mattie, determined to attend college and be a writer against the wishes of her father and fiance, takes a job at a summer inn where she discovers the truth about the death of a guest. Based on a true story.
Speed of light by Sybil Rosen(1999)An eleven-year-old Jewish girl living in the South during the 1950s struggles with the antisemitism and racism which pervade her small community.
Surprising Cecilia by Susan Gonzales Abraham(2006)In the 1930s as she ventures from her small and poor New Mexican farming community to go to high school in the city, teenaged Cecilia finds herself challenged in uxexpected ways.
Titanic : the long night by Diane Hoh(1998)This action-packed big summer read focuses on the lives of several teenage passengers aboard the ill-fated "Titanic."
syndetic
To race a dream by Deborah Savage(1994)In 1906, fifteen-year-old Theodora disguises herself as a boy to pursue her dream of becoming a race horse driver.
What I know now by Rodger Larson(1997)In 1957 in California, having fallen in love with a young man who has come to his house to build a garden, a fourteen-year-old gay boy finds his life and his world view changing.
Witness by Karen Hesse(2001)A series of poems express the views of various people in a small Vermont town, including a young black girl and a young Jewish girl, during the early 1920s when the Ku Klux Klan is trying to infiltrate the town.
