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When Junior gets a chance to leave the reservation school and attend a far-away white high school, he must deal with prejudice not only from his new schoolmates, but from those he left behind.

Arguably Mark Twain’s most famous novel — indeed, one of the greatest works of American literature — The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn brings together two people from the lower rungs of society, an ill-educated boy escaping an abusive father and a kind, strong man escaping slavery, and puts them on a raft going down the Mississippi River. The raft gives us the quintessential image of Huck Finn, but in fact much of the novel takes place on land, where the protagonists repeatedly find themselves having to escape from one bind or another.

Our narrator Chuy is dead! He was stabbed in a nightclub bathroom by another teen who misunderstood something he said. As he floats around in the afterlife, he not only learns about being dead, but he also comes to understand his short life.

Alice was four when her mother died. Though her father and brother do what they can, it’s tough being the only girl in the family. But as Alice begins 6th grade, she learns that there’s more to a person than just good looks. Readers will appreciate Alice’s sturdy but unattractive teacher, Mrs. Plotkins, and grow to respect her as did Alice. Both poignant and funny, this first in the Alice series introduces a girl who grows up literally in each successive installment. As Alice grows, so does the sophistication of the issues with which she deals.

In an accessible format, this unique work provides a basic working knowledge of art and art history through short essays, sidebars, and photographs.

The history and more of a modern American classic by well-known historian of children’s literature publishing is just in time for its 50th anniversary (and the 50th Anniversary edition).

Kang recounts his life as a boy growing up in Pyongyang during the Sixties after his Korean family returns to North Korea from their affluent lives in Japan. After Kang’s grandfather is accused of high treason, Kang spends ten years of his life surviving in a remote labor camp or gulag. Kang was only nine years old when he was first imprisoned at the Yodok camp in 1977.

Leigh Chen Sanders is absolutely certain about one thing: When her mother died by suicide, she turned into a bird. When Leigh, who is half Asian and half white, travels to Taiwan to meet her maternal grandparents for the first time and find her mother, she winds up chasing after ghosts, uncovering family secrets, and forging a new relationship with her grandparents. A luminous debut novel about finding oneself through family history, art, bravery, and love. Winner of the 2019 Walter Award and the Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature Honor.

Set during the American Revolution, Octavian is raised as a pampered African prince by a society of Enlightenment philosophers who view him as an experiment. Realizing that his freedom is an illusion, Octavian sets off on a journey to find freedom and a place in the world. These books will challenge everything you have ever learned about the Revolutionary War.

See also The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. II: The Kingdom on the Waves.