bildungsromans

It is impossible not to root for Ceti, almost fifteen, who tells her story of growing up in shelters, learning soccer from her Gramps, and sleeping in her Mom's red truck where they listened over and over to Rolling Stones discs someone left behind. Following in the steps of her hero, Lionel Messi, Ceti is a shooting star on the field. A U.S. scout is coming to watch her play in the State Championship; she has Ruby, her best friend since kindergarten rooting for her, and a crush on a boy who lives in her building, Will. But at home, she'll find a spoon in the sink, a ball of tin foil and a needle in the trash. Her Mom, who used to be beautiful with her long honey hair and green eyes is now wasted and track-marked. And she is pregnant. Ceti's life goes up and down with a mother who wants only the next high. Her Mom's menacing and goofy boyfriend Foxface is always hounding Ceti; their junky friends start a fire in Ceti's apartment; and on the day of the semifinals, Ceti finds her Mom bleeding profusely. She steals a new iPhone for her Mom but is caught and disqualified from playing in the Championship game. Then Ruby decides on private school for next year, and Will stops hanging out with Ceti. When her Mom promises they can start over in New Hampshire, Ceti is hopeful. Instead, she finds her Mom has overdosed. Ceti, too, would be one more dream slipping away if she didn't have the courage to hold on to what she loves the most.

"After Kim inherits an old family house in rural Sweden, he finds strange notes and drawings posted everywhere, soon seeing monsters and ruminating on his family, himself, and the traumatic memories of his upbringing"--Publisher.

"Lily made her dad an important promise before he passed away; that she would . . . speak her mind at least five times. But speaking up one time, let alone five, is easier said than done. It'll be even harder now that Lily must attend public school for the first time. Fortunately, she meets curling-obsessed Hobart and quiet Dunya at the beginning of sixth grade--But when Lily and her friends are bullied by Ryan and his mean clique, she quickly discovers the true meaning of friendship and speaking out"--Provided by publisher.

When a young girl named Nell is sold to the ringmaster of Jasper Jupiter's Circus of Wonders as a "leopard girl" because of the birthmarks that cover her body, she feels embarrassed and betrayed. But she soon finds a family in the other performers, and her role as the Queen of the Moon and Stars brings fame to the circus. Jasper sees it as a chance to make a name for himself and hopes to attract the attention of the Queen herself. But Jasper soon becomes jealous of Nell's popularity, and one night threatens to end everything they've built.

A young American writer meets his neighbors, Jewish Nathan and Polish Sophie who reveals a very painful secret from her Holocaust past and an encounter with terrible evil.

The less he eats, the more Matt seems to have powers, the ability to see things others cannot and to tune into the thoughts in people's heads, maybe even the ability to bend time and space. He goes on a hunger strike in order to stalk Tariq and his band of bullies and find out what they did to make his sister, Maya, run away in the middle of the night.

A fourteen-year-old boy attempts to be the youngest person to reach the top of Mount Everest.

"[Presents] a story of young love, growing up, and the sadness experience by young Ngan, when his high-school love does not love him back..."--Book Depository.

A novel of female power and vulnerability, race, and class explores the unlikely friendship between a precocious black girl and a mysterious white woman in a small Mississippi town in the early 1980s.

"Ian Gray isn't supposed to have a dog, but a lot of things that shouldn't happen end up happening anyway. And Gather, Ian's adopted pup, is good company now that Ian has to quit the basketball team, find a job, and take care of his mom as she tries to overcome her opioid addiction. Despite the obstacles thrown their way, Ian is determined to keep his family afloat no matter what it takes. And for a little while, things are looking up: Ian makes friends, and his fondness for the outdoors and for fixing things lands him work helping neighbors. But an unforeseen tragedy results in Ian and his dog taking off on the run, trying to evade a future that would mean leaving their house and their land. Even if the community comes together to help him, would Ian and Gather have a home to return to?"--Publisher.