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Multi-Cultural Fiction

Middle School

Abelove, Joan. Go and Come Back. J Abelove, J.
Alicia and her fellow villagers know it is their job to teach two visiting anthropologists not to be so dirty, stingy, and prudish.
Brooks, Bruce. The Moves Make the Man. J Brooks, B., JPB Brooks, B.
African-American Jerome has the moves it takes to succeed, in class and on the basketball court, but all of them might not be enough to help his friend Bix Rivers, grieving for his mentally ill mother.
Crew, Linda. Children of the River. YA PBK Crew, L.
It's hard for seventeen-year-old refugee Sundara to be a good Cambodian daughter and also get along at her American high school, especially when a boy becomes interested in her.
Curtis, Christopher Paul. Bucking the Sarge. J Curtis, C., CASS (BK.) JFIC Curtis, C., CD (BK.) JFIC Curtis, C.
There are several very good reasons that Luther calls his mother "The Sarge", but he finally decides he's not taking any more orders from her.
Curtis, Christopher Paul. Bud, Not Buddy. J Curtis, C., JPB Curtis, C., CASS (BK.) JFIC Curtis, C.
During the Depression, Bud flees an abusive foster home in Flint and sets out for Grand Rapids, where he plans to confront the famous band leader he believes is his father, Herbert Calloway.
Curtis, Christopher Paul. The Watsons Go to Birmingham---1963. J Curtis, C., JPB Curtis, C., CASS (BK.) JFIC Curtis, C.
The Watsons are taking Kenny's older brother south to be straightened out by a summer with Grandma Stone, but they find Birmingham a dangerous place in the summer of 1963.
Davis, Ossie. Just Like Martin. JPB Davis, O.
Isaac Jr. wants to be just like Martin Luther King, Jr., but Isaac's father agrees to let Isaac march only if he, Isaac Sr., is along with a gun.
Dorris, Michael. The Window. J Dorris, M.
While Rayona's native American mother is in rehab, her African-American father finally allows his white mother and her relatives, family he has never mentioned, to take Rayona in.
Fleischman, Paul. Seedfolks. J Fleischman, P., JPB Fleischman, J.
A little Vietnamese girl begins it by planting beans in a vacant lot, and others join to help until a diverse community forms around the garden.
George, Jean Craighead. Julie of the Wolves. J George, J., JPB George, J., CASS (BK.) JFIC George, J. , CD (BK.) JFIC George, J.
Running from an arranged marriage, thirteen-year-old Julie survives on the North Slope of Alaska by joining a wolf pack.
George, Jean Craighead. The Talking Earth. J George, J., JPB George, J., CASS (BK.) JFIC George, J.
Native American Billie Wind, always skeptical, comes to understand her grandfather's beliefs when she must make it alone during and after a wildfire in the Everglades.
Hotze, Sollace. A Circle Unbroken. J Hotze, S., JPB Hotze, S.
Recaptured from the Indians, white Kata Wi cannot believe the stern, harsh white man who is now her father will help her return to her Sioux family, but it is her only hope.
Isaacs, Anne. Torn Thread. J Isaacs. A.
Knowing that Jews are being gassed at death camps, Eva's father uses his remaining influence to get her sent to the labor camp where her sickly sister already slaves.
Levine, Gail. Dave at Night. J Levine, G., JPB Levine, G., CASS (BK.) JFIC Levine, G., CD (BK.) JFIC Levine, G.
At the Hebrew Home for Boys, orphaned Dave's nights out in Depression-era Harlem are one of the few bright spots.
Levy, Marilyn. Run for Your Life. J Levy, M.
Thirteen-year-old Kisha learns her life is worth running for, despite her circumstances in the projects.
Meyer, Carolyn. White Lilacs. J Meyer, C., JPB Meyer, C.
The people of the black section of Dillon, Freedomtown, get along tolerably until 1921, when the whites decide they must be moved to a treeless area by a cesspool far from their jobs.
Myers, Walter Dean. Monster. J Myers, W., CASS (BK.) JFIC Myers, W., YA PBK Myers, W.
Steve Harmon, who has made films in high school, imagines his trial for felony murder as a screenplay.
Naidoo, Beverley. The Other Side of Truth. J Naidoo, B., JPB Naidoo, B.
Sade's mother is murdered by the Nigerian military because Sade's father wrote the truth about the government. Sade and her brother must lie to escape to England, but when no one meets them there, can they tell the English police the truth, or will that put their father's life at further risk?
Namioka, Lensey. April and the Dragon Lady. YA PBK Namioka, L.
As a Chinese-American girl, April must care for her grandmother, who dotes on April's brother and tries to keep April out of school activities and even college.
Namioka, Lensey. Ties That Bind, Ties That Break. J Namioka, L. , JPB Namioka, L.
Ailin's father and her own spirit allow her to escape foot-binding, changing the entire course of her life.
Nye, Naomi Shihab. Habibi. J Nye, N.
At fourteen, American Liyana Abboud isn't excited to move back to her father's Palestinian homeland, a new language, an extended family, and stricter rules, but she hopes to write a new story between Jews and Arabs, starting with the cute boy Omer.
Osa, Nancy. Cuba 15. J Osa, N.
Violet can't speak Spanish and never wears dresses, so her grandmother's determination that she have a traditional quenceanero just adds to the material her family provides for her comedy sketches for her school's forensics team.
Rinaldi, Ann. Wolf by the Ears. YA PBK Rinaldi, A.
Mostly white Harriet Hemings must choose between living at her beloved Monticello as a slave in a golden cage and having freedom in a strange and hostile world.
Ryan, Pamela Munoz. Esperanza Rising. J Ryan, P., JPB Ryan, P., CASS (BK.) JFIC Ryan, P.
After her father's murder, Esperanza loses her privileged life of wealth in Mexico and becomes a poor farm laborer of the Depression in the United States.
Salisbury, Graham. Under the Blood-Red Sun. J Salisbury, G., JPB Salisbury, G., CASS (BK.) JFIC Salisbury, G., CD (BK.) JFIC Salisbury, G.
Japanese-American Tomi Nakagi's happy if imperfect life changes drastically the day the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor.
Taylor, Mildred. The Land. J Taylor, M.
Despite the racism after the Civil War, mixed-race Paul-Edward is determined to own land in this prequel to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
Taylor, Theodore. The Bomb. JPB Taylor, R., CASS (BK.) JFIC Taylor, R.
Sorry, his teacher, and his grandfather pay the ultimate price for their opposition to an American bomb test in their lagoon, but they are better off than the other inhabitants of the Bikini Atoll.
Whelan, Gloria. Homeless Bird. J Whelan, G., JPBWhelan, G., CASS (BK.) JFIC Whelan, G.
After thirteen-year-old Koly's husband and then his father die, her cruel mother-in-law abandons her to her fate, which turns out to be better than any poor Indian girl could expect.
Wolff, Virginia Euwer. Make Lemonade. J Wolff, V., JPB Wolff, V.
Fourteen-year-old LaVaughn is sure that college is her ticket out of her inner city neighborhood, and that her babysitting job earns college money, but the seventeen-year-old mother of the two children LaVaughn watches needs help finding her own ticket out.
Wolff, Virginia Euwer. True Believer. J Wolff, V., JPB Wolff, V.
LaVaughn encounters many obstacles between her and college, but as her Grammar Build-Up teacher exhorts, she "rise[s] to the occasion that is life."
Yolen, Jane. The Devil's Arithmetic. J Yolen, J., JPB Yolen, J., CASS (BK.) JFIC Yolen, J.
Bored and confused by stories of the Holocaust, Hannah is shocked when she's transported back to 1940s Poland and relives this dreadful time.

High School

Bell, William. Forbidden City. YA PBK Bell, W.
Alex goes along when his dad, a newspaper photographer, is sent to Beijing, but neither expects a student uprising nor dreams Alex will cover it close up.
Desai Hidier, Tanuja. Born Confused. YA PBK Desai Hidier, T.
Dimple Lala cannot believe her parents react to the first sign of boy trouble by arranging a meeting with a "suitable Indian boy", but she has second thoughts when she meets Karsh later at a hot Indian nightspot.
Gibbons, Kaye. Ellen Foster. FIC Gibbons, K., CASS (BK.) FIC Gibbons, K.
The heart-wrenching story of Ellen's life as a poor white southerner from a highly dysfunctional family is interspersed with scenes from her present happy life with her foster family.
Kidd, Sue Monk. The Secret Life of Bees. YA PBK Kidd, S., FIC Kidd, S., CD (BK.) FIC Kidd, S.
A girl who accidentally shot and killed her mother at the age of four, and who now lives with her bitter, abusive father, hardly seems lucky, but when Lily runs away with only a picture of the black Madonna and the words "Tiberone, S.C." as a guide, she is lucky enough to find the perfect home.
Myers, Walter Dean. Fallen Angels. YA PBK Myers, W., FIC Myers, W.
Too poor for college, Richie enlists with a vague idea of doing his part against Communism in Vietnam. He is soon fighting simply for his life and the lives of his fellow soldiers.
Potok, Chaim. The Chosen. YA PBK Potok, C., FIC Potok, C.
Orthodox Jew Reuven meets Hasidic Daniel as an opponent on the ball field, but he has sympathy for Daniel when he sees Daniel with his demanding father.
Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. YA PBK Tan, A., FIC Tan, A. , FIC Tan, A. LARGE PRINT
Four daughters begin to understand the suffering their mothers endured in China and glimpse their mothers' well-disguised hopes for better for their daughters.
Vijayaraghavan, Vineeta. Motherland. YA PBK Vijayaraghavan, V..
Maya's parents respons to a relatively minor incident with a boy by sending her to family in India for the summer, where she learns why she spent her first four years there without her parents and comes to understand her family better.
Williams-Garcia, Rita. Fast Talk on a Slow Track. YA PBK Williams-Garcia, R.
Fast talk won't cut it at his Princeton orientation, in the real world, or with his dad, so Denzel heads to Princeton determined to at least fail trying on what he's sure is a slow track.

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