Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Abstract: In New Orleans’ Ninth Ward, twelve-year-old Lanesha, who can see spirits, and her adopted grandmother have no choice but to stay and weather the storm as Hurricane Katrina bears down upon them.







Publisher: Little, Brown and Co., 160 p.

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

Abstract: Considered by many to be mentally retarded, a brilliant, impatient fifth-grader with cerebral palsy discovers a technological device that will allow her to speak for the first time.








Publisher: Atheneum, 295 p.

A Place Where Hurricanes Happen by Renee Watson, illustrated by Shadra Strickland

Abstract: Told in alternating voices, four friends from the same New Orleans neighborhood describe what happens to them and their community when they are separated, then reunited, as a result of Hurricane Katrina.






Publisher: Random House, 1 v. (unpaged).

You Don't Even Know Me: Stories and Poems about Boys by Sharon G. Flake

Abstract: Tow-Kaye just learned that the love of his life is pregnant--and though he knows what the right thing to do is, he's scared to death to do it. Jeffrey hates having a mom who dresses like a teenager, but when another sexy mom moves in next door--well, that's a different kind of problem. In these and twenty-two other short stories and poems, readers plumb the inner lives of African American teenage boys.






Publisher: Jump at the Sun, 195 p.

Lucky Beans by Becky Birtha, illustrated by Nicole Tadgell

Abstract: During the Great Depression, Marshall, an African American boy, uses lessons learned in arithmetic class and guidance from his mother to figure out how many beans are in a jar in order to win her a new sewing machine in a contest.






Publisher: Albert Whitman & Co., 1 v. (unpaged)

8th Grade Superzero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich

Abstract: After half-heartedly joining his church youth group's project at a homeless shelter near his Brooklyn middle school, eighth-grade "loser" Reggie McKnight is inspired to run for school office on a platform of making a real difference in the community.







Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books, 324 p.

Culture Clash by L. Divine

Abstract: Fed up with the way her school is handling Cultural Awareness Day, Jayd decides to form the first African Student Union. At the same time, she can't deny her attraction for Emilio, the new Latino sophomore at South Bay High.






Publisher: Dafina, 220 p.