Kids Book Index
Rex Ogle
Diego Benevides is focused on school, college, and leaving his crumbling neighborhood, goals his single mother encourages. He gives rides to Lawson, his best friend, who sells drugs. When Lawson begins carrying increasingly dangerous substances, Diego must reckon with how driving for him could threaten their friendship and jeopardize the future Diego has worked toward. The novel is told in verse.
This book appears on 1 reading list across 1 edition.
The Gone BookHelena CloseFifteen-year-old Matt has kept five years of unsent letters to his mother in a hidden diary he calls his Gone Book. His mother left when he was ten, and his father refuses to discuss her. Matt’s older brother is involved with drugs and dangerous people, while Matt’s friends Mikey and Anna are increasingly pushed away. He wants to skate, surf, and forget, but his mother’s return to town makes him seek her out. Matt must face abandonment and changing relationships with family and friends.Fourteen and OlderOn the same reading list for the same age or grade groupView book details
Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal StoriesCynthia Leitich SmithThis anthology gathers seventeen interconnected stories centered on Sandy June’s Legendary Frybread Drive-In. The lively gathering place exists beyond ordinary space and time, appearing when it is needed. Native teen protagonists from around the United States come there for food, advice, mentoring, comfort, or connection. Some know the drive-in well through work or regular visits, while others discover it amid immediate problems. Across varied styles and subjects, the stories follow young people dealing with identity, family relationships, crushes, and pressing deadlines within a welcoming setting shaped by the elders who run it.Fiction for Young AdultsOn the same reading list for the same age or grade groupView book details
Who Is Amy Schneider?: Questions on Growing Up, Being Curious, and Winning It Big on Jeopardy!Amy SchneiderIn this young readers edition of her memoir, Amy Schneider recounts childhood challenges, neurodivergence, depression, and her transition from male to female. Her classmates voted her most likely to appear on Jeopardy! in eighth grade. Decades later, she competed on the show, won forty games, and earned $1.3 million. The memoir connects her life story to asking questions about the world and oneself, while describing her experience as an openly queer and transgender contestant on national television.Fourteen and OlderOn the same reading list for the same age or grade groupView book details