1. The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley by Shaun Hutchinson: The only survivor of a family tragedy, Andrew Brawley lives in the hospital, where he doesn’t care about much but eventually grows close to new patient Rusty. Jan. 20, 2015
2. The Last Leaves Falling by Sarah Benwell: Sora, a Japanese teenager is diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). he finds himself lonely and isolated and turns to the ancient teachings of the samurai for comfort. He also finds hope in the present through interent friends who see him for himself and not just his illness. January 29, 2015
3. When Reason Breaks by Cindy L. Rodriguez: Elizabeth Davis is struggling with anger and Emily Delgado is battling with depression. They re both in Ms. Diaz’ English class where they connect to the words of Emily Dickenson. February 10, 2015
4. This Side of Home by Renee Watson: Identical twins Nikki and Maya have always agreed on everything from friends, boys, and which historically African-American college to attends. When their neighborhood changes from a tough area to up and coming, they find themselves on opposite sides in their views about their neighborhood and find themselves learing to separate their identities. February 3, 2015
5. My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga: Sixteen-year-old Aysel wants to end it all, so when she finds a site called Suicide Partners, she enters a suicide pact with Roman. Feb. 10, 2015
7. Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed: Naila’s Pakistani parents have always allowed her to choose whatever she wanted, except who to marry. When Naila falls in love with Saif, her parents take her to Pakistan to grow in her culture, except that Naila finds out that they’ve actually arranged a marriage for her. March 24, 2015
8. Black Dove, White Raven by Elizabeth Wein: Two teens: one a white girl and the other a black boy are adoptive brother and sister in 1930s Ethiopia, where they end up entangled in the country’s impending war with Italy. March 31, 2015
9. None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio: Kristin seems to have it all: she’s a champion hurdler, the homecoming queen, and has an amazing boyfriend — and then she finds out she’s intersex. April 7, 2015
10. Hello, I Love You by Katie M. Stout: The daughter of a record producer flees her troubled family for a Korean boarding school — where she falls in love with a KPop star. June 9, 2015
Great list, Sandie and Diana! I love that we have about 5 books in common. I can’t wait to read Black Dove White Raven and My Heart and Other Black Holes with our book club. This Side of Home and Andrew Brawley are also high on my wish list. And I’m very intrigued by When Reason Breaks and Hello, I Love You.
Looks to be a good year (so far) for diverse books!
I’m really excited about Black Dove White Raven, Ember in the Ashes, and Written in the Stars! I may have to check out more of these titles though–this seems like a really fantastic list! 🙂
Yaaaay, we have so much overlap!