Special Collections
United States of YA
Description: Go on a vacation this summer without ever leaving your couch. Whether you choose to visit the Alaskan wilderness, the beaches of Hawaii, or the cornfields in Kansas, adventure awaits in this collection of young adult novels. Ages 13 and up. #teens
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My Name Is Not Easy
by Debby Dahl EdwardsonLuke knows his Iñupiaq name is full of sounds white people can't say. He knows he'll have to leave it behind when he and his brothers are sent to boarding school hundreds of miles from their Arctic village.
At Sacred Heart School things are different. Instead of family, there are students -- Eskimo,Indian, White -- who line up on different sides of the cafeteria like there's some kind of war going on.
And instead of comforting words like tutu and maktak, there's English. Speaking Iñupiaq -- or any native language -- is forbidden.
And Father Mullen, whose fury is like a force of nature, is ready to slap down those who disobey. Luke struggles to survive at Sacred Heart.
But he's not the only one.
There's smart-aleck Amiq, a daring leader -- if he doesn't self destruct; Chickie, blond and freckled, a different kind of outsider; and small quiet Junior, noticing everything and writing it all down.
Each has their own story to tell. But once their separate stories come together, things at Sacred Heart School -- and in the wider world -- will never be the same.
Mainly based on true events, this story tells of Alaska of the mid-60's.
Bird
by Angela JohnsonBird, a thirteen-year-old girl with a mission, has run away in pursuit of her stepfather.
She's sure she'll be able to convince him to return home -- to fill the hole he left in their family.
And while she hides near his sister's farmhouse, she becomes entwined in the lives of three people who also have holes to fill: Ethan, whose heart troubles have kept him too sheltered from kids his own age; Jay, whose brother has died unexpectedly; and Mrs. Pritchard, whose house has been too empty since her husband was moved to a nursing home.
Through the unique voices of the three kids, an eloquent, affecting story unfolds -- the story of how one individual's warmth and kindness can heal so many hurts.
Bird will leave you thoroughly uplifted.