Reviews and Blog Posts: Realistic Fiction

Butter is so obese that he doesn't even get teased at school any more--he is invisible. He has an online relationship with Anna, who has no idea who he really is, a few friends from FitFab, where he goes every summer, and his saxophone, which he turns to for comfort...

Sixteen-year-old Bobby used to spend his days shooting hoops and eating pizza, but now his life revolves around his newborn daughter, Feather. Bobby loves his daughter more than anything else, but this story does not romanticize the sleepless nights and stress of teenage parenthood. Told in alternating chapters that travel...

Jane doesn't remember leaving the party. She just knows she woke up the next day in a hospital room, paralyzed, being told she's lucky to be alive after that car hit her. But was it an accident, or is someone trying to kill her? As Jane's memories slowly return, she...

Kendra has been in therapy to deal with the memories that are coming back to her about the abuse she was subjected to as a child. While therapy, and art, and friends and teachers help, Kendra still feels the need to cut herself to relieve the pressure and make herself...

Dwight is a pretty strange kid and isn't super popular at school. One day, he shows up with an origami Yoda finger puppet on his hand that gives out advice. The weird thing: Yoda is always right! The force really is with origami Yoda! Yoda helps kids do better in...

Megan is stuck in VT with her artist parents for the summer. She'd rather be home in NYC, or with her best friend, Lucy, who is in MA for the summer. Here, there is no internet, no cell phone reception, and no TV. There IS mandatory art time every morning...

Kevin from Shakespeare Bats Cleanup is back! In that book, Kevin was sidelined from baseball and learned that he also has a passion for writing poetry. In this book, he's still playing baseball, still writing poetry, and trying to balance the two. He's also dealing with his girlfriend Mira,...

How long can you be bullied and survive? Daelyn has reached her limit. For as long as she can remember, she has been teased, bullied and abused, emotionally, verbally, physically. The adults in her life have contributed to this by participating in or ignoring it. Daelyn has tried to unsuccessfully...

While you might think this book is all about steroid use in sports (yes, the issue does come up), it wasn't the main focus. Boost is a portrait of a girl who is passionate about sports and is willing to work hard to meet her goals. Savvy and her family...

Roz's sister and best friend Eva isn't talking to her. Roz isn't sure why--does it have something to do with Roz wanting Eva's boyfriend, Bryan? What about the fight that Roz had with her cheerleading friend Carmen? What about that lead role in Shakespeare's As You Like It that they're...