Realistic+Fiction

=This page is for reading recommendations. Please add a review when you find a great realistic fiction "read."=


 * RATFINK** by Marcia Thornton Jones - Logan has always gotten in lots of trouble at school and is known for stretching the truth. But this year, for fifth grade, he wants to make a fresh start. His parents have promised that if he does well, they will let him get a pet. That was before Grandpa came to live with the family. Now Logan not only has to watch his behavior, but Grandpa is very forgetful and prone to bizarre behaviors, too. How is Logan going to deal with everything? Read this book to find out. The last half of the book is very good.


 * MIRACLE'S BOYS** by Jacqueline Woodson -This story is told by Lafayette, the youngest of three boys. Ty'ree, the oldest has had to give up his dream of college to become the head of the house. Dad died of hypothermia after rescuing a woman and her dog from drowning, and mom died from complications of diabetes. Charlie, the middle boy has just come home from serving time in a juvenile home for wayward boys and seems filled with hate. Laf is just trying to get by in a neighborhood that is full of thugs. Will the boys make it toward a better life? They seem to have a lot going against them. But their mom's name was Milagros, which means miracle. And they did have some very good parents when their parents were alive. You'll root for these brothers, but it may take some time to warm up to all of them.


 * ALL OF THE ABOVE** by Shelley Pearsall - The plot of this book revolves around student in a failing urban middle school. They have a boring math teacher who is as unhappy as the students. They come up with an idea to break a world record by building the world's largest tetrahedron. The group whittles down to four main students, and we learn about their life difficulties and how they overcome hard times. You'll be thinking about these kids long after you finish the story.


 * THE LEMONADE WAR** by Jacqueline Davis - Evan is good with people, but his little sister is truly gifted. In fact, they just found out she is going to skip third grade and join Evan in 4th grade when school starts. Evan is mortified for two reasons. He doesn't want his sister to see how he struggles academically, and he knows his classmates will be comparing him to her. So Evan gets all "bent out of shape," refuses to have anything to do with his sister, and challenges her to a lemonade stand war. Whoever earns the most money selling lemonade has to give the other one all of their earnings. But neither sibling realizes how down and dirty things will get between them. Can their relationship ever recover? How would you feel if your younger sibling skipped a grade and was going to be in your class?


 * SATURDAY NIGHT DIRT** by Will Weaver - A great book for car-racing fans and those who like to know behind the scene details. It takes place at a small time race track in northern Minnesota that is struggling to stay in operation. Luck is in their favor one night as a string of thunderstorms closes all the tracks for miles around. They gamble and put out the word that the rain is not happening at Headwaters Track, so drivers come from all over to race. The skies are heavy, though. Will they get the races in before the storm is upon them or will this be the end for this track? Read about these memorable characters and learn of the world that is the roots of NASCAR.


 * EVERY SOUL A STAR** by Wendy Mass - We meet three teens who are very different from each other. Ally has been homeschooled growing up at a remote camp ground run by her parents; she loves her life. Bree is a city girl whose main interests are popular people and her looks; she want to become a model. Jack has flunked science, and he either has to go to summer school or go on a field trip as an assistant to his science teacher; he chooses the field trip.The three meet around an astronomical event - a total eclipse of the sun that can only be seen from the part of earth where Ally's family campground, the Moon Shadow, is located. Thousand of astronomy buffs converge there, and the three teens meet. Jack's crisis is his loser attitude, while Bree and Ally find out that their parents have decided to switch lifestyles. Bree's family will run the campground, and Ally's will return to "civilization." Both girls totally freak at this turn of events. See how the three kids deal with their situations in this story. The outcome will surprise you, and you might accidentally learn a few science facts. Do you know how vast space really is? And that Saturn is so buoyant it would float if you could find a big enough body of water to float it on?


 * THE LAST NEWSPAPER BOY IN AMERICA** by Sue Corbett - The David family has a tradition of being the newspaper carriers in their town of Steele. Wil, the youngest, is set to take over the route from his older brother on his twelfth birthday, but is told the newspaper will no longer have home delivery of the paper. It seems Steele is too small to be valuable to the paper's advertisers. Will Wil and the townspeople consider this an insult? Does the newspaper have an obligation to the people in this town who are down on their luck economically?


 * THE DAY OF THE PELICAN** by Katherine Paterson - (This review is also on the Adventure page.) 13-year-old Meli and her family, ethnic Albanians, have to flee from the Serbs during the Kosovo War in 1998-1999. Will they lose her brother Mehmet to the fighting? They leave their middle-class life behind and hide out camping in mountains, eventually ending up in a Refugee Camp. Nothing is more important to them than keeping their extended family together and safe, bu the war changes everything. Eventually, Meli and her family immigrate to America and face trials there as well. This book gives you a very good idea of what refugees of war face.


 * THE SHEPHERD'S GRANDDAUGHTER** by Anne Laurel Carter - This is the story of a Palestinian family told through the eyes of Amani, a girl who wants to break out of a typical girl's role and become a shepherd like her grandfather. Sanctions against the Palestinians restricting their movements make it hard for the families to make a living. Things get miuch worse when Israelis decide to build a Jewish settlement where Amani always pastured her sheep. Will the sheep and the family be able to survive?


 * GHOST OF SPIRIT BEAR** by Ben Mikaelsen - (This review is also on the Adventure page.) This book continues the story of Cole after he finishes his year of banishment on the island and returns to Minneapolis. He faces many trials in the form of bullies, a bad school, and adults who just don't care. Will he be able to hold it together? Will his friendship with Peter, his victim, continue? What can a student do to change a hopeless situation? You'll find out when you read this book!


 * TOUCHING SPIRIT BEAR** by Ben Mikaelsen - (This review is also on the Adventure page.) Cole is a teenager with anger problems. He loses control and almost beats a boy to death. Rather than go to prison, they gave him the opportunity to do an American Indian circle justice experience. He is taken to a remote island, given basic provisions and survival training, and must live on his own by himself for several months. He immediately gets into trouble with a huge bear, but he finds courage and strength to tough it out. It is amazing what he learns over the course of this story. I liked this book very much and found it inspirational, but it has come under criticism from some native Americans as being an inaccurate depiction of their traditions. See Debbie Reese's blog for more criticism information at [|http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/.]


 * REMEMBERING MRS. ROSSI** by Amy Hest - This is the story of Annie, the daughter of Mrs. Rossi, a beloved teacher. We learn at the beginning that she dies unexpectedly, and Annie is left alone with her father. We then get to spend time with her to see how her grief colors her life and experiences. The author has given us a lovable heroine who does a great job showing us how she copes and heals from an overwhelming loss.


 * ALL THE BROKEN PIECES** by Ann Burg **-** This novel in verse tells the story of an adopted boy who came out of the American War in Vietnam. He's 1/2 American and 1/2 Vietnamese. We learn he has nightmares of the traumas he and his family suffered during the war. He doesn't talk to anyone about it, so his parents bring him to join a group of Vietnam veterans who are also dealing with stress from that war. Can Matt find healing?


 * HURT GO HAPPY** by Ginny Rorby - Wow! A lot of stuff happens to the main character, Joey, a girl who is deaf. The reader finds out that Joey's mother does not want her to learn or use sign language because that will call attention to her deafness. Joey struggles to get by just by reading lips, but it's too hard. One day she meets a neighbor who has a baby chimpanzee who uses sign language to communicate. Joey bonds with the chimp and through her friendship with her neighbor, a scientist who happened to have had a deaf mother, her life opens up to include knowledge of resources for the deaf that she knows nothing about. But this causes lots of fights with her mother. Read this book to find out what is behind all the struggles. It's very good.


 * DARK SONS** by Nikki Grimes - Is this realistic fiction or historical fiction? The author tells the stories of two boys who end up "fatherless" during different times in history. Ishmael, the father of Muslims, and his mother are abandoned by his father Abraham in the desert of what is now Saudi Arabia. Sam, a modern day African American boy, feels abandoned when his father leaves his mother to marry another woman and begin a new family. Grimes does a wonderful job of showing how the circumstances were similar and what each boy had to do to survive and thrive under these conditions.


 * HOW TO STEAL A DOG** by Barbara O'Connor - Things are not good for Georgina, her brother or her mom since her dad walked out. They've even been kicked out of their apartment and are living in their car and washing themselves and their clothes in public restrooms. She hates it! Mom is working two jobs to try to get enough money together for a new home, but it's taking forever. Georgina sees a reward poster for a lost dog and gets the idea that if she can steal a dog and return it to the owner for a reward, their problems will be over. Read this book to see how things turn out.


 * WAYS TO LIVE FOREVER** by Sally Nichols - Sam is 11-years-old and has cancer. It is incurable, so he knows he is going to die soon. He decides to write a book about the end of life that will deal with all the questions grown-ups won't talk about, such as //How do you know that you've died?// and //Where do you go after you die?// I think older elementary students who liked **DRUMS, GIRLS AND DANGEROUS PIE** by Jordan Sonnenblick would like this book, also.


 * CAMEL RIDER** by Prue Mason - This is a survival adventure story about an American boy living in Saudi Arabia with his family due to his father's work, and a boy from Bangladesh who is working in the camel racing industry as basically a slave. Their lives could not be more different, especially in terms of material goods. But circumstances cause both of them to be lost in the desert. Though they cannot understand each other since they speak different languages, they do manage to help each other survive and make their way back home. I liked the way the story showed what each boy was thinking about the other when they couldn't communicate.


 * HOME OF THE BRAVE** by K. A. Applegate - This is the story of Kek, a refugee from Sudan who must adjust not only to the loss of his family to war, but to a strange new home, the Twin Cities in Minnesota. It's poetic form makes this a short read, but you will remember Kek long after you put this book down.