Mexican WhiteBoy
by Matt De La Pena
Danny searches for his Mexican roots in the hope that he will be able to bring his father back to the family.
June 12th, 2009
'Tough Issues'
Mudbound
by Hillary Jordan
Laura, a city woman whose life has always been free, and Ronsell, the son of a sharecropper who experienced freedom and respect in Europe during the second World War, find their lives completely changed when Laura’s husband buys a farm in backwoods Mississippi.
June 12th, 2009
The Art of Racing in the Rain
by Garth Stein
Meet Enzo, a dog with the senses of a canine and the sense of a human. Laugh, cheer, and cry with Enzo’s family as you ponder life’s ups and downs through the metaphor of auto racing.
June 8th, 2009
My Mother the Cheerleader
Every morning Louise’s mother stands with a group of neighborhood women known as the Cheerleaders, who taunt six-year old Ruby Bridges as she enters the elementary school. Louise never questions the situation until a likable New Yorker with radical views becomes a boarder in their house.
June 8th, 2009
Everything Beautiful in the World
by Lisa Levchuk
Edna can’t talk to her father, her mother is sick, she doesn’t trust her therapist, and she’s having an affair with her teacher. Love and hate, fear and passion, sadness and joy are all visible in this vulnerable yet endearing seventeen-year-old.
February 27th, 2009
Hurricane Song
by Paul Volponi
On the eve of Hurricane Katrina, football-obsessed Miles, his musician father, and his uncle are trapped in New Orleans. Stuck in the Superdome until the hurricane passes, they must survive the storm and imagine the New Orleans that awaits them outside.
February 27th, 2009
Little Brother
by Cory Doctorow
In the near future, the worst terrorist attack since 9/11 turns the United States into a technological police state in the name of security. Wrongfully suspected of helping the terrorists, hacker Marcus vows to bring down the entire system.
February 27th, 2009
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
by Junot Diaz
Share the angst and trauma of overweight, highly intelligent, kind-hearted Oscar as he struggles against his reputation as a geek and the limitations of his immigrant family’s lifestyle in northern New Jersey. Experience the impact of the Dominican Republic dictator, Trujillo, on the families who now call America home.
February 27th, 2009
Why Animals Matter: The Case for Animal Protection
by Erin E. Williams
This is an opinion piece on the horrors visited upon animals used for food, experimentation, and entertainment.
February 13th, 2009
Nineteen Minutes
by Jodi Picoult
What can happen in nineteen minutes? The lives of the citizens of a small New Hampshire town are changed forever when Peter Houghton opens fire in his high school.
February 10th, 2009
