Toby Fluek was a small Jewish girl growing up in Czernica, Poland, when World War II started. She and her family moved to a Jewish ghetto and went into hiding several times to save their lives. By the war’s end, only she and her mother had survived. Now an artist in New York City, the author presents her story through her paintings and their descriptions.
YA novels are a safe place for young adult readers to understand mental health issues from multiple perspectives and within a multitude of contexts. This collection of authors deftly delve into the many aspects of mental health and the sprawling impact on everyone and everything around it.
In Meg Medina’s follow-up to her Newbery Medal–winning novel, Merci takes on seventh grade, with all its travails of friendship, family, love — and finding your rhythm. Seventh grade is going to be a real trial for Merci Suárez. And she’s tangling again with classmate Edna Santos, who is bossier and more obnoxious than ever now that she is in charge of the annual Heart Ball.
One thing is for sure, though: Merci Suárez can’t dance — not at the Heart Ball or anywhere else. She used to talk about everything with her grandfather, Lolo, but with his Alzheimer’s getting worse each day, whom can she trust to help her make sense of all the new things happening in her life? The Suárez family is back in a touching, funny story about growing up and discovering love’s many forms, including how we learn to love and believe in ourselves.
Merci Suarez knew that sixth grade would be different, but she had no idea just how different. In a coming-of-age tale full of humor and wisdom, award-winning author Meg Medina gets to the heart of the confusion and constant change that defines middle school — and the steadfast connection that defines family. Winner 2019 Newbery Medal.
Washed ashore with no recollection of who he is, a young boy has lots of adventures and gradually comes to terms with his magical powers. Book one of The Lost Years of Merlin trilogy.
