Category Archives: realistic fiction
Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock – Matthew Quick
Leonard Peacock is a kind, highly intelligent, high school junior. So why does he wake up on his birthday, intent on taking a gun to school to kill a former friend and then take his own life? Told in Leonard’s … Continue reading
Fallout – Todd Strasser
What if the Cuban Missile Crisis escalated to the point of nuclear war with both sides firing their missiles? That is the premise behind Fallout when Scott’s father has a bomb shelter built in 1962. We meet Scott’s friends and … Continue reading
A Really Awesome Mess – Trish Cook and Brendan Halpin
Emmy and Justin don’t really belong at this place. Heartland, a boarding-school/rehab/therapy establishment for troubled youth, is for people who are much worse off than them. Emmy is admitted for anorexia and anger issues, but really she was just trying … Continue reading
Far, Far Away – Tom McNeal
What an odd yet enchanting story! The author weaves a study of the Grimm Fairy Tales into a murder mystery. The ghost of Jacob Grimm wandered for years until he found a special boy, Jeremy Johnson Johnson, who could hear … Continue reading
Life After Theft – Aprilynne Pike
Jeff is new in town, so he assumes that practical jokes on the first day of school just come with the territory. When he runs into a cute girl in the hallway who claims to be dead, the only explanation … Continue reading
Kindness for Weakness – Shawn Goodman
When James’ older brother gives his mother an ultimatum, the boyfriend or him, he moves out leaving James alone to deal with the abusive boyfriend and a mother that has checked out long ago. James’s brother, whom he idolizes, has … Continue reading
Navigating Early – Clare Vanderpool
This story within a story is set in Maine at the close of World War II. Jack was raised in Kansas by a loving mother while his military father was away from home serving in the war. His mother dies … Continue reading
Boy 21 – Matthew Quick
Finley’s family has been beaten down by the Irish mob of Philadelphia. He sees basketball as his way to a better life. Basketball is his focus and his coach is respected. One day Finley’s coach comes to their home and … Continue reading
The Child’s Child – Barbara Vine
Andrew and Grace inherit their grandmother’s large London home, Dinmont House, and decide to share the rambling mansion, dividing up the bedrooms, sitting rooms and libraries. The arrangement works well, until Andrew brings home his new love, James. James is … Continue reading
Inside Out & Back Again – Thanhha Lai
This fictionalized account of the author’s childhood in Vietnam during the civil war, the fall of Saigon, and new life in Alabama is written in free verse. She never knew her father, who was highly educated but had been missing … Continue reading
Anything But Ordinary – Lara Avery
Bryce’s life was all planned out and just getting started at 17. Graduate high school, go to the Olympics in diving, teach at a university or coach, and be with the man of her dreams. But everything changed in an … Continue reading
The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel – Alexander McCall Smith
This is the 9th novel in the Isabel Dalhousie series. As with most series, it helps to read them in order, but can be read randomly. The books are classified as mysteries. They are really books of philosophy with a … Continue reading
The Edge of Nowhere – Elizabeth George
Getting used to her new name, Becca, is the least of her problems when she and her mother escape from her stepfather and seek new identities. Her mother sees that she boards the ferry to Whidbey Island where she has arranged … Continue reading
Colin Fischer – Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz
Colin Fischer has Asberger’s syndrome (high functioning) and begins high school without the adult specialist who has helped him strive to decode his classmates. On the first day of school, the school bully shoves his head in the toilet. Colin … Continue reading
Every Day – David Levithan
A wakes up each morning in a different body. It has been this way since A’s infancy. This is the only life A has known. A is a soul, an entity, a person without a body or a permanency in … Continue reading
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