JoCoLibrary - Teens - Young Adult Selections for "One World, Many Stories"

The Tequila Worm By Canales, Viola (Book - 2005)

Annotation:Sofia grows up in the close-knit community of the barrio in McAllen, Texas, then finds that her experiences as a scholarship student at an Episcopal boarding school in Austin only strengthen her ties to family and her "comadres."

Revolution By Donnelly, Jennifer (Book - 2010)

Annotation:An angry, grieving seventeen-year-old musician facing expulsion from her prestigious Brooklyn private school travels to Paris to complete a school assignment and uncovers a diary written during the French revolution by a young actress attempting to help a tortured, imprisoned little boy--Louis Charles, the lost king of France.

The Surrender Tree Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom By Engle, Margarita (Book - 2008)

Annotation:Cuba has fought three wars for independence, and still she is not free. This history in verse creates a lyrical portrait of Cuba.

Ashes By Lasky, Kathryn (Book - 2010)

Annotation:In 1932 Berlin, thirteen-year-old Gaby Schramm witnesses the beginning of Hitler's rise to power, as soldiers become ubiquitous, her beloved literature teacher starts wearing a jewelled swastika pin, and the family's dear friend, Albert Einstein, leaves the country while Gaby's parents secretly bury his books and papers in their small yard.

Ella Enchanted By Levine, Gail Carson (Book - 1997)

Annotation:In this novel based on the story of Cinderella, Ella struggles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her.

Purple Heart By McCormick, Patricia (Book - 2009)

Annotation:While recuperating in a Baghdad hospital from a traumatic brain injury sustained during the Iraq War, eighteen-year-old soldier Matt Duffy struggles to recall what happened to him and how it relates to his ten-year-old friend, Ali.

The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-time Indian By Alexie, Sherman (Book - 2007)

Annotation:Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

Marcelo in the Real World By Stork, Francisco X. (Book - 2009)

Annotation:Marcelo Sandoval, a seventeen-year-old boy on the high-functioning end of the autistic spectrum, faces new challenges, including romance and injustice, when he goes to work for his father in the mailroom of a corporate law firm.

The Chosen One By Williams, Carol Lynch (Book - 2009)

Annotation:In a polygamous cult in the desert, Kyra, not yet fourteen, sees being chosen to be the seventh wife of her uncle as just punishment for having read books and kissed a boy, in violation of Prophet Childs' teachings, and is torn between facing her fate and running away from all that she knows and loves.

After Tupac & D Foster By Woodson, Jacqueline (Book - 2008)

Annotation:In the New York City borough of Queens in 1996, three girls bond over their shared love of Tupac Shakur's music, as together they try to make sense of the unpredictable world in which they live.

American Born Chinese By Yang, Gene Luen (Book - 2006)

Annotation:Alternates three interrelated stories about the problems of young Chinese Americans trying to participate in the popular culture. Presented in comic book format.

When I Was A Soldier A Memoir By Zenatti, Valérie (Book - 2005)

Annotation:Offering a glimpse into the life of a typical Israeli teen; Valerie begins her story as she finishes her exams, breaks up with her boyfriend, and leaves for service with the Israeli army.