High School Reads!

by Sarah Miller Lexile:  1110 Genre:  Biography On May 28, 1934, 5 identical girls were born and their combined birth weight was 13 pounds, 6 ounces.  They were born in a farm house in Ontario, Canada where only primitive medical care was available.  Yet somehow, against all odds, the 5 girls survived and became known all around the world as The Quints.  Unfortunately, the worldwide attention wasn't always positive and forced their parents to make difficult decisions regarding their upbringing.  The Dionnes had limited money and resources and were convinced to surrender their parental rights to the government so that they could get the care they needed.  That was a decision that would ultimately tear their family apart.

by Nikki Grimes Lexile:  840 Genre:  Memoir Nikki Grimes knew from a young age that she wanted to be a writer and her writing soon became a way for her to survive the struggles of living with a mother who wasn't always present.  Nikki watched her mother struggle with addiction and schizophrenia which caused Nikki to drift away from her father and at times live with a foster family.  But through all of the ups and downs, Nikki kept writing...determined to survive and thrive despite the the obstacles in front of her.  This is Nikki's story.

by Kimberly Jones Genre:  Realistic Fiction Lena and Campbell have never spoken.  Lena has big dreams for herself and fashion sense and her boyfriend.  Campbell is just trying to stay in the background during her year at a new school.  Campbell agrees to help out in the concession stand at a Friday night football game when a brawl begins and a chaotic scene follows.  Lena and Campbell find themselves huddled together in the concession stand and realize that they are going to have to work together if they are going to survive the night.  They aren't friends and they look at the world in drastically different ways, but for tonight, neither of those things is going to matter.

by Tami Charles Genre:  Realistic Fiction Life hasn't been the same for Beatriz Mendez since the day her brother, Junito, was killed by a rival gang.  Beatriz has all kinds of new responsibilities now...taking care of Mami and figuring out where her place is in the Diablos, the gang her brother ran.  What Beatriz really wants to do is dance.  That has been her passion for a long time, but it keeps getting put to the side by the things she feels she needs to do to keep her family afloat.  Beatriz is going to have to make some tough choices and she wishes more than anything that her brother was still alive to help guide her.  Ultimately, Beatriz must decide who she is and what she wants to become.