A SCAR LIKE A RIVER by Lisa Graff

 

Fallon Little has secrets - three to be exact. Her story dates back to when she was five years old. The first secret she has already told her two best friends. They know that the scar that runs down the length of her face was put there by her Uncle Geebie. The terrifying experience required many surgeries and is likely to require more. Her parents were by her side, but they don't really know the truth about what happened.

Fallon isn't ready to reveal her other secrets, but she knows she will at some point. The arrival of her mother's sister, Aunt Lune, opens up more about Fallon's secrets. As Fallon discovers more about her past and Aunt Lune's part in it, a huge anger grows in her. 

Counting on her best friends turns out to be something Fallon can't depend on. Instead, a girl named Stella, once an enemy, turns out to have more in common with Fallon than she imagined. With Stella's help, Fallon might be able to open up about what happened years ago. Could this help with the healing Fallon so wishes for?

Author Lisa Graff presents this dramatic and emotional book certain to touch hearts and open minds to a problem many quietly face. This needs to be available to all middle grade and teen readers and many adults will find it useful as well.

SUNSHINE by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

 

Author and artist Jarrett J. Krosoczka is known for HEY, KIDDO. Jarrett grew up living with his grandparents and trying to overcome childhood trauma. His latest book focuses on a time in high school when he volunteered at a summer camp for sick kids. He credits the experience with teaching him about life, death, and hope.

The day Jarrett arrived at the camp he was given a one-on-one assignment with a kid not much younger than he was. The kid was diagnosed with cancer and restricted to a wheelchair. Jarrett wasn't sure how he would relate to this kid. It didn't take long for the two to form a connection that made the week at camp an incredible one.

In SUNSHINE Jarrett uses his artistic talent and storytelling skills to take readers into his week at camp. This is an uplifting and important book that should be in all libraries and classrooms.

WHERE ONLY STORMS GROW by Alyssa Colman

 

It's 1935 in Oklahoma. Twins Howe and Joanna Stanton live on the family farm. Their lives are filled with chores, school, and surviving dust storms. When their uncle can't make his loan payments and loses his farm, he moves his family to California where jobs are supposedly available. Howe and Joanna's dad decides to head west as well in the hope of making money he can send back to the family. 

Left to manage the farm with their older brother and their mother, the twins find themselves working even harder. The dust storms increase in intensity causing destruction and illness throughout the region. When their older brother Lou falls from a ladder and breaks his leg, all the farm work falls to the twins and their mother.

Despite having scoliosis, Joanna impresses the Red Cross nurses at the local makeshift hospital. They offer her a job that provides extra money for the family, but they still hope their father returns soon.

Author Alyssa Colman deftly portrays the Dust Bowl time in the Midwest. Tales of the constant cleanup after the suffocating dust and dirt that coats the land informs readers of a time in our history that taught farmers how to better handle their crops and manage the land.