Whisper to Me by Nick Lake

Whisper to Me
Fiction L148w
Nick Lake

A remarkable story of strange beauty and self-discovery from Printz Award winner Nick Lake

Cassie is writing a letter to the boy whose heart she broke. She’s trying to explain why. Why she pushed him away. Why her father got so angry when he saw them together. Why she disappears some nights. Why she won’t let herself remember what happened that long-ago night on the boardwalk. Why she fell apart so completely.

Desperate for his forgiveness, she’s telling the whole story of the summer she nearly lost herself. She’s hoping he’ll understand as well as she now does how love—love for your family, love for that person who makes your heart beat faster, and love for yourself—can save you after all.

(from publisher)

Reaching Out

Reaching Out
Francisco  Jiménez
Fiction J5647r

From the perspective of the young adult he was then, Francisco Jiménez describes the challenges he faced in his efforts to continue his education.

During his college years, the very family solidarity that allowed Francisco to survive as a child is tested. Not only must he leave his family behind when he goes to Santa Clara University, but while Francisco is there, his father abandons the family and returns to Mexico. This is the story of how Francisco coped with poverty, with his guilt over leaving his family financially strapped, with his self-doubt about succeeding academically, and with separation. Once again his telling is honest, true, and inspiring.

(from publisher)

Say What You Will

Say What You Will
Cammie McGovern
Fiction M17s
  
I want someone who will talk to me honestly about things. You're the only person who ever has. Maybe you don't know this, but when you're disabled almost no one tells you the truth. They feel too awkward because the truth seems too sad, I guess. You were very brave to walk up to the crippled girl and say, essentially, wipe that sunny expression off your face and look at reality. That's what I want you to do next year. Tell me the truth. That's all. 

 Amy and Matthew didn't know each other, really. They weren't friends. Matthew remembered her, sure, but he remembered a lot of people from elementary school that he wasn't friends with now.

Matthew never planned to tell Amy what he thought of her cheerful facade, but after he does, Amy realizes she needs someone like him in her life.

As they begin to spend more time with each other, Amy learns that Matthew has his own secrets and she decides to try to help him in the same way he's helped her. And when what started out as a friendship turns into something neither of them expected, they realize that they tell each other everything—except the one thing that matters most

(From publisher.)

A Beautiful Lie

A Beautiful Lie
Irfan Master
Fiction M39b

India 1947: The country is coming apart--and so is Bilal's life.

At home, Bilal's father is on his deathbed. In town, there are angry mobs mounting tension as the days count down to a divided nation.

All Bilal wants is for his father to die in peace. So with the help of his friends, he begins to build a lie that takes on a life of his own.