Reviews and Blog Posts: Realistic Fiction

More than anything, Zoe wants to play the piano. She daydreams about herself in a flowing gown, sitting at a grand piano, playing on the stage at Carnegie Hall. In reality, Zoe's dad buys her a Perfectone D-60, an electric organ. Not the same thing at all! Other things are...

Maggie's grandfather, a famous photojournalist called Gee, has just died, leaving her a special package. Rather than opening it right away, Maggie goes through a long grieving process. When she opens the package, it sends her on the journey of a lifetime. This is a jump story, one where several...

Jade is a high school senior in Seattle. All of her friends and even her family are going through major changes and growing pains. Jade herself has anxiety. The only thing that helps calm her is lighting saint candles and watching the online elephant cam from a nearby zoo. When...

It's Floss's birthday when her mum tells her that they're going to move to Australia for six months. But what about Floss's weekends with her dad? Mum has a new husband and a new baby but Dad doesn't have anyone but Floss. She makes the hard decision to stay behind...

Mena Reece does NOT want to start the new school year. She's been kicked out of church, lost all of her friends, and her parents aren't speaking to her, either. She THOUGHT that being a good Christian meant telling the truth and treating people well, but when she did the...

Are you tired of books with sick kids dying bravely, teaching everyone a lesson? Then this book is for you! Not only does Izzy, 15, NOT die from lymphoma, but she doesn't always have a positive attitude about it. Learn from Izzy what it's really like to get diagnosed, be...

Meet Jen Dik Seong, Dixie to her friends. Part of her practices the ancient Korean martial art of hapiko, which connects her to her culture and makes her parents proud, part of her is a typical L.A. chick lusting after surfer boy Adam. As she trains for the hapkido championship,...

Angie never felt like a girl. From not liking dresses to not feeling right when told to lineup by gender for gym class, her whole life leads up to one little change that makes a big difference. Angie becomes Grady, she is now he, and he becomes comfortable with himself...

Clio's father is an adventurer and a charmer, but the qualities that make him fun are the same qualities that make him difficult. Out of the blue, her dad wants Clio to join him on a yacht in the Mediterranean for the summer. Clio has just accepted a job at...

Leon isn't very popular and hangs out with the "brains" and he's fine with that. But when he is assigned a project to make a new sex-ed video for the 6th and 7th graders, Leon finds himself the center of a lot of attention, both good and bad. This book...