Great Books for Urban Youth
Discover the best books for urban youth, from Sharon Flake’s powerful stories to classics like Holes and The Coldest Winter Ever. Explore transformative fiction, memoirs, and juvenile reads that inspire resilience and identity in city teens.
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The Coldest Winter Ever
by Sister Souljah
Winter Santiaga, the daughter of one of Brooklyn's most powerful drug czars, uses her own weapons--including sex and an aggressive attitude--to stay on top, after her father's empire is threatened by a drug war. Reader's Guide included. Reprint.
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Bang!
by Sharon Flake
Mann is only thirteen, yet he has already had to deal with more than most go through in a lifetime. His family is still reeling from the tragic shooting death of his little brother, Jason, each person coping with grief in his or her own way. Mann's mother has stopped eating and is obsessed with preserving Jason's memory, while his father is certain that presenting a hard edge is the only way to keep his remaining son from becoming a statistic. Mann used to paint and ride horseback, but now he's doing everything he can to escape his emotions: getting involved in fights at school, joyriding at midnight, and much worse. His father, at his wit's end, does the only thing he thinks will teach his son how to be a man he abandons him and his friend Kee Lee in the woods, leaving them to navigate their way home, alone.
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Who Am I Without Him?
by Sharon Flake
In the game of love, young men and women weigh what they need from the opposite sex against what they need to find in themselves. This popular short story collection, including two never-before published entries, gives teens a chance to witness the outcomes of 12 unique trysts. As relationships go either right or wrong, with surprising, often funny, always on-point results, mindful readers will appreciate the warning signs and perhaps save themselves from the same fate as these fictional protagonists.
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Ultimate CSI: crime scene investigation / written by Corinne Marrinan and Steve Parker.
No summary available.
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The Color Purple
by Alice Walker
Set in the period between the world wars, this novel tells of two sisters, their trials, and their survival.
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The Princess Bride
by William Goldman
"A Del Rey book." The most beautiful girl in the world marries the handsomest prince in the world.
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Holes
by Louis Sachar
A New York Times BestsellerAdapted into the movie HolesInterest Level: Middle/High School Reading Grade Level: 3rd & 4th Lexile Level: 660L Theme: Belonging/Sense of SelfAn Accelerated Reader(r) title