Kids Book Index
Becky Albertalli
Simon Spier is a closeted gay high school student who has been exchanging emails with another closeted classmate he has fallen in love with. After a classmate sees Simon’s online flirtation, that student uses the discovery to blackmail him. The threat puts Simon’s private life and chance at love at risk, raising the possibility that he will be forced to come out before he is ready.
This book appears on 1 reading list across 1 edition.
Out of DarknessAshley Hope PérezSet around the 1937 explosion of a white school in New London, Texas, this fictional story examines an actual disaster that killed nearly 300 students and teachers. Mexican American Naomi and African American Wash fall in love as Naomi tries to protect her younger half-siblings, Cari and Beto, from their abusive white stepfather, Henry. After the family moves to town, Wash befriends Naomi and the twins and hopes they can leave together, despite plans for him to attend college. The novel addresses racism, sexual abuse, religion, family ties, and the devastating explosion.Fourteen and OlderWord Count 4735On the same reading list for the same age or grade groupView book details
Half a Creature from the Sea: A Life in StoriesDavid AlmondDavid Almond pairs short fiction with memories of his childhood in Felling-on-Tyne, an English working-class town, during the 1950s and 1960s. Many of the stories draw from autobiographical material and return to subjects found in his novels, including religion, art, friendship, and working-class life. Their world is rooted in familiar streets, fields, beaches, and community, while also allowing imagined figures and ghosts to enter. The collection moves between lived experience and invention, treating both as part of storytelling.Fourteen and OlderOn the same reading list for the same age or grade groupView book details
SuperMutant Magic AcademyJillian Tamaki, illustrated by Jillian TamakiMarsha and her diverse friends attend high school in a world where paranormal abilities are possible. Their powers do not remove the familiar uncertainty, boredom, and social complications of teenage life. Black-and-white illustrations accompany a story that approaches school, friendship, and adolescence with humor and irreverence. They navigate the same ordinary pressures faced by their classmates despite their unusual gifts, trying to find their way through everyday high-school experience.Fourteen and OlderOn the same reading list for the same age or grade groupView book details