Novel Ideas: October 2017

When Rufus Henry gets out of work camp for Grand Theft Auto, he has only one place to go? back to Durango Street. Almost right away, he gets on the wrong side of the Gassers, has to join the rival Moors? and starts running for his life. Years ahead of its time, Durango Street, like The Outsiders, shows that gang violence is, sadly, nothing new? and nothing glamorous."A starkly realistic, convincing, well-written teen novel." ? School Library Journal

A Choctaw boy tells the story of his tribe's removal from its Mississippi homeland, and how its exodus to the American West led him to become a ghost -- one able to help those left behind.

The only thing you'll find on the summit of Mount Everest is a divine view. The things that really matter lie far below. - Peak Marcello After fourteen-year-old Peak Marcello is arrested for scaling a New York City skyscraper, he's left with two choices: wither away in Juvenile Detention or go live with his long-lost father, who runs a climbing company in Thailand. But Peak quickly learns that his father's renewed interest in him has strings attached. Big strings. As owner of Peak Expeditions, he wants his son to be the youngest person to reach the Everest summit--and his motives are selfish at best. Even so, for a climbing addict like Peak, tackling Everest is the challenge of a lifetime. But it's also one that could cost him his life. Roland Smith has created an action-packed adventure about friendship, sacrifice, family, and the drive to take on Everest, despite the incredible risk. The story of Peak's dangerous ascent--told in his own words--is suspenseful, immediate, and impossible to put down.

The Red Umbrella is a moving tale of a 14-year-old girl's journey from Cuba to America as part of Operation Pedro Pan--an organized exodus of more than 14,000 unaccompanied children, whose parents sent them away to escape Fidel Castro's revolution. In 1961, two years after the Communist revolution, Luc#65533;a #65533;lvarez still leads a carefree life, dreaming of parties and her first crush. But when the soldiers come to her sleepy Cuban town, everything begins to change. Freedoms are stripped away. Neighbors disappear. And soon, Luc#65533;a's parents make the heart-wrenching decision to send her and her little brother to the United States--on their own. Suddenly plunked down in Nebraska with well-meaning strangers, Luc#65533;a struggles to adapt to a new country, a new language, a new way of life. But what of her old life? Will she ever see her home or her parents again? And if she does, will she still be the same girl? The Red Umbrella is a touching story of country, culture, family, and the true meaning of home. "Captures the fervor, uncertainty and fear of the times. . . . Compelling." -The Washington Post   "Gonzalez deals effectively with separation, culture shock, homesickness, uncertainty and identity as she captures what is also a grand adventure." -San Francisco Chronicle From the Hardcover edition.