Books For Girls

Johnson here explores the themes of what makes a place home and which people family. Fourteen-year-old Marley's tranquil life in Heaven, Ohio, turns hellish the day her family receives a letter from Alabama. The note (from the pastor of a church that was destroyed by arson) requests a replacement for Marley's baptismal record, and reveals that "Momma" and "Pops" are really Marley's aunt and uncle, and mysterious Jack (an alleged "uncle" with whom Marley has corresponded but doesn't remember) is her true father. In this montage of Marley's changing perceptions, Johnson presents fragments of the whole picture a little at a time: images of people, places (the Western Union building "1637" steps away from Marley's house) and artifacts (a box filled with love letters between her birth parents) gain significance as Marley begins to make sense of the past and integrate her perceptions into her new identity. The author's poetic metaphors describe a child grasping desperately for a hold on her reality ("It was one of those nights that started to go down before the sun did," she says of the evening the fateful letter arrives).

Maleeka suffers every day from the taunts of the other kids in her class. If they're not getting at her about her homemade clothes or her good grades, it's about her dark, black skin. When a new teacher, whose face is blotched with a startling white patch, starts at their school, Maleeka can see there is bound to be trouble for her too. But the new teacher's attitude surprises Maleeka. Miss Saunders loves the skin she's in. Can Maleeka learn to do the same?

After Toswiah Green’s father testifies against a fellow police officer in a murder case, the Greens are forced to enter the Witness Protection Program and give up all traces of their past. For Toswiah—now Evie Thomas—her new life is completely different. Her defeated father spends his days sitting by the window, all her mother’s energy goes to their new church, and her only sister is making secret plans to leave. Evie is left wondering who she is and how she can make her future as bright as her past once was.

As adolescents, women, and minorities, these young authors represent a demographic that has had no voice of its own, a group often spoken for but rarely given the opportunity to be heard. Now these young women have a chance to stand up and be counted, to present their own unique perspectives in fresh and astonishing ways. Here you'll find a Native American girl writing about the bumps in her relationship with her best friend, who's white; a Korean American girl who wishes she could help her mother understand that it's okay to socialize with boys as well as girls; and a biracial girl who feels she must be the designated spokesperson for blacks when she's around whites, for whites when she's around blacks, and for biracial people around everyone. These personal and inspiring stories about family, friendship, sex, love, poverty, loss, and oppression make My Sisters' Voices essential reading for young women of all backgrounds.

Sonia Rodriguez was born in the United States, but her parents are Mexican immigrants who came to California before she was born. Her father has three Social Security numbers, her mother is pregnant (again), and neither of them speaks English. Sonia’s mother spends most of her time in bed, watching soap operas, and letting Sonia clean up after her brothers. Sonia’s father works dutifully to support his family, but he knows that his daughter’s dreams are bigger than making tamales for family get-togethers. When Sonia attempts to put school work before her familia, her mother decides that it’s time for Sonia to visit her grandmother in Mexico to learn “the ways of the old world.” While in Mexico, Sonia gets to know her wise grandmother and her cousin Maria, who teach her that while familia is important, the most important thing is to follow your heart. Sonia returns to the States determined to succeed in school, but the birth of her new twin siblings, inappropriate advances from her drunk uncle (Drunkle), and a forbidden relationship with an El Salvadorian boy push school to the back burner. If only Sonia can find the time to cook dinner, secretly meet with her boyfriend, avoid her Drunkle, AND finish her homework, she just might be able to graduate from high school. . . .

After years of being home schooled, Amy Hodges is excited to start fourth grade at a real school. On Amy's first day, she gets teased not only because she is new, but also because she looks different. Amy is part Asian, Caucasian, and African American. Eventually, Amy meets a group of nice kids and one of them even affectionately gives her the nickname Amy Hodgepodge since she's a mix of so many races. But when their teacher announces that the annual talent show is coming up, Amy wonders if her new friends will want to include her, too.