*Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. A classic novel set in Nigeria in which an African warrior witnesses the disintegration of his tribal life under the influence of white missionaries.

*Almond, Steve. Candyfreak: A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America. NON-FICTION. The delicious and hilarious story of one man’s lifelong obsession with candy and his quest to discover its origins in America.
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*Allende, Isabel. City of the Beasts. Fifteen-year-old Alexander Cold is taking the trip of a lifetime. Parting from his family, Alexander joins his fearless grandmother, a magazine reporter for International Geographic, on an expedition to the dangerous, remote world of the Amazon to document the legendary Yeti of the Amazon known as the Beast.

*Alvarez, Julia. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents. Four girls from the Dominican Republic plunge from a pampered life of privilege on an island into the big city chaos of New York and rebel against their parents’ old-world discipline.

*Anderson, M. T. Feed. SCIENCE FICTION. Everyone in the population has a chip implanted in their brain so that they are constantly bombarded with advertisements, music, news or whatever—but when your “feed” gets hacked everything changes. In this environment, a boy meets an unusual girl who is in serious trouble.
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*Alegria, Malin. Estrella’s Quinceanera. Estrella’s mother and aunt are planning a gaudy, traditional quinceanera for her, even though it is the last thing she wants. Her childhood friends accuse Estrella of abandoning them since she won a scholarship to a private school in the ritziest neighborhood in San Jose. Then Estrella falls for Speedy, a former grade-school classmate who is also Mexican American, and she feels increasingly conflicted as she moves between her wealthy school friends and her big crazy family.

*Allison, Peter. Whatever You Do, Don’t Run: Confessions of a Botswana Safari Guide. NON-FICTION. While presenting tales from a safari guide about his encounters with big cats, elephants, hippos, and other unpredictable animals, the author’s infectious enthusiasm for both the African bush and his job showing its wonders to tourists is really apparent.

*Angelou, Maya. All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes. NON-FICTION. Recounts Angelou’s stay in Ghana, together with other African Americans, and her discoveries and reflections concerning her ancestors, Africa, American society, and herself.
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*Arrington, Frances. Prairie Whispers. HISTORICAL FICTION. Only twelve-year-old Colleen knows that her baby sister died just after she was born and that Colleen put another baby in her place, until the baby’s father shows up and makes trouble for her and her family on the South Dakota prairie in the 1860s.

*Barker, Clive. Abarat. FANTASY. Candy Quackenbush of Chickentown, Minnesota, one day finds herself on the edge of a foreign world that is populated by strange creatures, and her life is forever changed. 1st of a quartet, followed by Days of Magic, Nights of War.

*Berg, Elizabeth. Durable Goods or Joy School. Continue »

*Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. A classic novel set in Nigeria in which an African warrior witnesses the disintegration of his tribal life under the influence of white missionaries.

*Allende, Isabel. Daughter of Fortune. HISTORICAL FICTION. Set in the 1800s, this novel follows the fortunes of Eliza Sommers, Chilean by birth but adopted by a British spinster, Rose Sommers, and her bachelor brother, Jeremy, after Eliza is abandoned on their doorstep. Followed by Portrait in Sepia.

*Almond, Steve. Candyfreak: A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America. NON-FICTION. The delicious and hilarious story of one man’s lifelong obsession with candy and his quest to discover its origins in America.
Continue »

*Allende, Isabel. City of the Beasts. Fifteen-year-old Alexander Cold is taking the trip of a lifetime. Parting from his family, Alexander joins his fearless grandmother, a magazine reporter for International Geographic, on an expedition to the dangerous, remote world of the Amazon to document the legendary Yeti of the Amazon known as the Beast.

*Alvarez, Julia. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents. Four girls from the Dominican Republic plunge from a pampered life of privilege on an island into the big city chaos of New York and rebel against their parents’ old-world discipline.

*Anderson, M. T. Feed. SCIENCE FICTION. Everyone in the population has a chip implanted in their brain so that they are constantly bombarded with advertisements, music, news or whatever—but when your “feed” gets hacked everything changes. In this environment, a boy meets an unusual girl who is in serious trouble.

*Ansay, A. Manette. Vinegar Hill. Set in the 1970s, this is a novel about a woman’s search for self and her need to change her life which can only be done by breaking many of society’s rules.
Continue »

*Alegria, Malin. Estrella’s Quinceanera. Estrella’s mother and aunt are planning a gaudy, traditional quinceanera for her, even though it is the last thing she wants. Her childhood friends accuse Estrella of abandoning them since she won a scholarship to a private school in the ritziest neighborhood in San Jose. Then Estrella falls for Speedy, a former grade-school classmate who is also Mexican American, and she feels increasingly conflicted as she moves between her wealthy school friends and her big crazy family.

*Allison, Peter. Whatever You Do, Don’t Run: Confessions of a Botswana Safari Guide. NON-FICTION. While presenting tales from a safari guide about his encounters with big cats, elephants, hippos, and other unpredictable animals, the author’s infectious enthusiasm for both the African bush and his job showing its wonders to tourists is really apparent.

*Angelou, Maya. All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes. NON-FICTION. Recounts Angelou’s stay in Ghana, together with other African Americans, and her discoveries and reflections concerning her ancestors, Africa, American society, and herself.
Continue »