Synopses & Reviews
Lionel and Anisa are the best of friends and have seen each other through some pretty tough times--Anisa's dad died and Lionel's dad left, which is like a death for Lionel. They stick together no matter what. So when Lionel suggests a detour through a local construction site on their way home, Anisa doesn't say no.
And that's where Lionel and Anisa make a startling discovery--a baby abandoned in a port-o-potty. Anisa and Lionel spring into action. And in saving Baby Doe, they end up saving so much more.
Danette Vigilante crafts an accessible, heartfelt and much needed story for the middle grade market featuring Latino characters.
Review
* "Radiant with hope."--Publisher's Weekly, starred review
"Powerfully moving."--Kirkus Reviews, pointer
Review
* “Radiant with hope.”Publishers Weekly, starred review “Powerfully moving.”Kirkus Reviews, pointer
Review
* "Radiant with hope."--Publisher's Weekly, starred review
"Powerfully moving."--Kirkus Reviews, pointer
Review
"Vigilante's finely tuned depiction of Lionel's neighborhood and of his jumbled feelings...is both believable and engaging...a great selection for middle school readers, who will empathize with Lionel throughout."--The Horn Book
Review
"Vigilante writes about tough subjects with an engaging clarity and a tender touch."--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (BCCB)
Review
"Touchy topics...are tackled frankly and with tremendous insight. Many aspects of this book are especially welcome for middle-grade fiction, including the authentic urban setting...and a cast of multidimensional Latino characters."--Booklist
Review
"Vibrant setting and three-dimensional cast...appealing tale of urban friendship."--
Kirkus Review
"This book excels in the portrayal of genuine, warm relationships between young people and important adults in their lives ... A complex realistic fiction novel featuring Latino characters for the middle grades; we could really do with more like it."--LMC
Synopsis
An award-winning novel about growing up and making choicesViginia Euwer Wolff's groundbreaking novel, written in free verse, tells the story of fourteen-year-old LaVaughn, who is determined to go to college--she just needs the money to get there. When she answers a babysitting ad, LaVaughn meets Jolly, a seventeen-year-old single mother with two kids by different fathers. As she helps Jolly make lemonade out of the lemons her life has given her, LaVaughn learns some lessons outside the classroom.
Synopsis
A Newbery Medal Winner
"Radiant with hope, this keenly observed and poignant novel is a stellar addition to Young Adult literature, said "Publishers Weekly" in a starred review, praising Wolff's use of "meltingly lyric blank verse to tell of two inner-city teenage girls struggling toward better lives.
Interest Level: Middle/High School
Reading Grade Level: 4th-6th
Lexile Level: Not Available
Theme: Family & Relationships/Growing Up
An Accelerated Reader(r) title
About the Author
Virginia Euwer Wolff is an accomplished violinist and former elementary school and high school English teacher. Her first book for young readers,
Probably Still Nick Swansen, was published in 1988 and won both the International Reading Association Award and the PEN-West Book Award. Since then she has written several more critically acclaimed young adult novels, earning more honors, including the National Book Award for
True Believer, as well as the Golden Kite Award for Fiction and the Jane Addams Book Award for Childrens Books that Build Peace. Her books include
The Mozart Season, This Full House and
Bat 6. She lives in Oregon.