Tag Archives: Foster Care

MG – Shark Teeth

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Winston, Sherri. Shark Teeth. Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2024, 978-1-547-60850-1. $17.99. 304 p. Grades 4-8.

Sharkita also known as “Kita” is constantly in fear of the other shoe dropping. She has assumed the role of “mom” too many times to trust that it won’t happen again. She’s been separated from her siblings and put in foster care by social services too many times to believe now that Mama is home and seems to have stopped drinking and going out with her friends that everything will be okay and that things have changed. When Kita’s new Assistant Principal and dance coach asks some questions about Kita’s homelife she is determined to keep her and her siblings together, so she lies to keep up appearances when the truth is Mama has been going out again and leaving the kids at home alone. With the fear of being separated from her siblings constantly looming, Kita feels more and more anxious and questions if being together and neglected by Mama is really what is best for her and her siblings.

THOUGHTS: Oof. This one hit hard. It touches on so many different topics in such a genuine and realistic manner that it is at times hard to read. You want what’s best for Kita and her siblings, but the reality of leaving/being separated from her mother and siblings is hard to grasp. 

Realistic Fiction

Elem./MG – Deer Run Home

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LeZotte, Ann Clare. Deer Run Home. Scholastic Press, 2024, 978-1-339-02190-0. $18.99. 224 p. Grades 5-8.

Effie was born Deaf, but no one in her family uses her language, ASL, to communicate. After an incident happened at her mom’s house, Effie and Deja are sent to move in with their father. After her ASL interpreter at school realizes that Effie may be suffering from some neglect at home with her father, she is determined to help her and get her out of that unsafe environment. 

THOUGHTS: WOW. This book blew me out of the water. There are so many different layers to Effie’s story, and it truly makes your heart hurt while also slowly putting it back together. I personally had no idea about language deprivation. This book is highly recommended for all middle school and upper elementary school libraries. 

Realistic Fiction

Effie endures food insecurity and abuse before being rescued from her living situation by a school-based interpreter. Effie is a member of the Deaf community, but no one else at home will learn American Sign Language (ASL). She recently has moved with her older sister, Deja, from their mom and stepfather’s home into their dad’s trailer. The deer outside their home capture Effie’s attention, but the deer are in danger—their safe habitat is vanishing as new homes are built, and the deer are left without anywhere to go. The deer are used as a metaphor throughout the story for Effie’s own journey. Effie is much happier at school than home; there, Miss Kathy, her ASL interpreter, gives her a voice to communicate. Miss Kathy suspects Effie’s home life is abusive and that she is harboring trauma, so the interpreter begins to investigate and intervene. Although this book offers a happy ending for Effie, the story is riddled with trauma and the sad realities of addiction and abuse.

THOUGHTS: This story is an emotional roller coaster and contains the triggering topics of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Themes are executed in a developmentally appropriate way for middle school students. The novel-in-verse format and shorter length (just over 200 pages) make this book accessible to readers. Authentic representation of Deaf community and other diverse abilities (Cerebral Palsy also represented through Cait’s character). Recommended for readers of realistic novel-in-verse survival stories like Lisa Fipps’s And Then, Boom!

Realistic Fiction

MG – Onyx & Beyond

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McBride, Amber. Onyx & Beyond. Feiwel & Friends, 2024. 978-1-250-90878-7. $17.99. 224 p. Grades 4-8.

Onyx, who goes by “X”, lives with his mom. When she starts to show signs of early onset dementia, he tries to continue living as if everything at home is fine, because the last thing he wants is Child Protective Services to know what’s going on for fear that they will take him away and place him in foster care. And while he tries to keep it together and not let anyone know what is really happening, the Civil Rights Movement is ramping up and he starts to wonder if he is truly safe anywhere.

THOUGHTS: This book is based on the author, Amber McBride’s, father’s story growing up in the height of the Civil Rights Movement while dealing with a mother who had health challenges. It is beautifully heartbreaking to read this book knowing it is based on someone’s lived experience. This book received a starred Kirkus review and would be wonderful for middle level learners to read!

Historical Fiction 

MG – The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman

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Choldenko, Gennifer. The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman. Alfred A. Knopf, 2024. 978-1-524-71892-3. 320 p. $99.99. Grades 5-8.

After their mom disappears, sixth-grader Hank Hooperman and his three-year-old sister, Boo, are left to survive on their own. Hank can’t go to school—who would watch Boo? Hank doesn’t ever want to be separated from his sister, so Hank’s resourcefulness leads the sibling pair across the city to the doorstep of Lou Ann, an elderly family friend. Lou Ann welcomes little Boo into her home, and the toddler thrives under her care. Lou Ann has a thinly veiled disdain for Hank, who she sees as potentially too much like his trouble-making mother. Even still, Lou Ann keeps Hank safe at her home and enrolls him in the local middle school. Days turn into weeks, and although Hank makes fast friends at his new school playing basketball, he is preoccupied by the search for his mother. After Hank discovers his mother has been sent to jail and then rehab for a DUI-related offense, he begs Lou Ann’s next door neighbor, Ray, to help the family reconnect. When Hank finally reunites with his mother, it isn’t all what he expected. His mother places Hank in an impossible situation. Will this be the detrimental ‘tenth mistake’ that Hank Hooperman makes?

THOUGHTS: Readers will be emotionally invested in Hank and Boo’s well-being from the get-go. It’s a heartbreaking tale: this realistic yet age-appropriate look at a mother’s substance abuse and the foster care system thankfully has positivity and hope infused throughout the story. This title could be a potential companion to Lisa Fipps’ novel in verse, And Then, Boom. A must purchase for all middle school realistic fiction collections.

Realistic Fiction

MG – Lasagna Means I Love You

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O’Shaughnessy, Kate. Lasagna Means I Love You. Alfred A. Knopf, 2023. 978-1-984-89387-1. $17.99. 360 p. Grades 5-7.

Mo lives with her beloved Nan in a New York City apartment. But when Nan gets sick and passes away, and her uncle (her only living relative) is unwilling to serve as her guardian, Mo enters the foster care system. Mo’s grandmother left her a notebook and left her a letter, which advised taking up a hobby, but Mo isn’t sure until she stumbles across a cookbook featuring a family’s recipes. She decides to take up the hobby of cooking, specifically cooking recipes handed down through families. She chronicles her experiences and her life in foster care in letters she writes in her notebook to her Nan. After Mo’s first placement doesn’t work out, she is placed with a couple who are fostering her with the intent of adoption. In a more stable environment, Mo expands her family recipe cooking project, starting a blog and posting cooking videos to TikTok. She begins to meet with a therapist to help her process and deal with her feelings of grief and loss and being in foster care. But when her foster family makes a surprising decision, it seems like Mo may have lost her chance for a forever home. Could her recipe project hold the answer to a potential home?

THOUGHTS: This is a moving story about an experience in the foster care system. Mo deals with many emotions–grief, loss, anger, loneliness, and fear, just to name a few. She is passionate about her family recipe project, is a good friend, and is willing to open herself up to new friendships. Many readers, even those who may not have experiences in foster care, will be able to relate to Mo. Budding chefs also will enjoy the recipes incorporated throughout the text. Perhaps, like Mo, they will be inspired to give the recipe a try. Recommended.

Realistic Fiction

YA – Invisible Son

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Johnson, Kim. Invisible Son. Random House, 2023. 978-0-593-48210-0. 394 p. $18.99. Grades 7-12.

Andre Jackson has just returned from his time at a juvenile detention center for a crime he didn’t commit, but one he copped to in order to save a friend. Matched with an eager, well-intentioned probation officer, Marcus Smith, Andre’s re-entry to his grandparents’ home, one of the only African American families left in a gentrified neighborhood in Portland, Oregon, is made even more difficult with the rumors of a new kind of virus people are catching. The well-to-do Whitakers across the street have two biological children, Brian and Kate, and three adopted ones, Sierra, Eric, and Luis. When the police fingered Andre for possession of stolen items, the imposing and politically ambitious Mr. Whitaker offered his own lawyer for Andre’s defense. Now, two months later, Andre views the seemingly perfect Whitaker family with suspicion. Sierra, his former girlfriend, never visited him in prison. Her brother Eric has run away without a word to anyone, including Sierra. Mr. Whitaker’s superficially kind gestures may hide some ugly secrets while his wife’s aloofness may mask her real feelings about Andre and her adopted African American and Mexican children. In addition, Andre has to grapple with the biased former probation officer, Cowboy Jim Adkins, following him and threatening him. Andre knows he was set up for the crime, but doesn’t know how to prove it. When Andre comes across information that indicates that Eric may not be a runaway, Andre believes finding Eric is the key to his real freedom. If working out why he was framed while still keeping on the straight and narrow wasn’t stressful enough, Andre tackles the world of COVID with its casualties and the protests following George Floyd’s killing. Author Kim Johnson finds an authentic voice in the character of Andre Jackson and develops an intricate plot of a young Black teen searching for justice during the beginning stages of the pandemic. An added bonus is that each chapter has a musical score, and Andre’s playlist is included.

THOUGHTS: This novel unearths several current issues: gentrification, racism, transracial adoption, and the recent pandemic. There are many layers at work, too: the shame Andre’s family feels about this good son being imprisoned; the facade of the white Whitaker family as the do-gooders; the contrast between the two different probation officers; and Andre’s own conflict in his inability to defend himself properly despite his innocence. Setting the story during the pandemic also brings up recent memories of being confined, lack of resources, and, of course, the strain on the health system and the deaths of many. I believe this book is a good title for class reading in a literature circle or summer reading assignment. Much to discuss here, especially as we go into another election cycle, perhaps with the candidate that denied the existence of the virus at the start.

Realistic Fiction

MG – Nothing Else but Miracles

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Albus, Kate. Nothing Else but Miracles. Margaret Ferguson Books, Holiday House, 2023. 978-0-823-45163-0 $17.99. 278 p. Grades 4-7.

The Bryne children–seventeen-year-old Fish, eleven-year-old Dory, and six-year-old Pike–are on their own in the middle of World War II after their dad enlists. Their mother died a few years prior, but Pop is sure the tight knit Lower East Side neighborhood will take care of his children while he’s away. And they do. The ethnically diverse neighbors lavish food and care on the small family. No one anticipates, though, the entrance of a mean-spirited landlord after the sudden death of the kindly one. Dory, the protagonist, is a magnet for trouble, and does little to avoid getting in scrapes. When the new landlord presses to see their elusive father and threatens foster care, Dory takes it upon herself to find a solution. Caputo’s, their friend’s Italian restaurant, houses an ancient dumb waiter that acts like an elevator. Dory sneaks in and risks all to try out the unused equipment only to find that the ascending floors reveal an abandoned hotel. Once school is out for the summer, the family takes up residence there, avoiding detection from both social services and the restaurant staff. Until D-Day. Pop’s letters–and the rent checks–stop coming. Fish takes a job to help the money situation, but as more of the neighborhood’s fathers’ and sons’ blue service stars get replaced by gold, the children’s fear that Pop may not be coming back grows more real. This historical fiction book gives a vivid picture of a working class New York City neighborhood in the 40’s. Author Albus creates a memorable character with spunky Dory and does not stint on mystery or historical background. All characters seem to be white.

THOUGHTS: Though not a deep read about life during World War II, Nothing Else But Miracles drops a lot of names, places, and objects connected to the time. Give this book to readers interested in World War II stateside. Similar to Island Spies by Sheila Turnage, this book has some suspense, but the former has higher stakes for the country (spies vs. foster care, Pop’s return). Pair with the poignant The War That Saved My Life, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley’s book with its exquisite narrative and soulful characterization. Albus’s book is so much lighter, even with the loss of life. The reader never gets the same feeling here as one gets when Ava (in Bradley’s book) describes sleeping on sheets for the first time. A footnote: at one point, the family wants to go to the observation deck of the Empire State Building and needs $3.00, a small fortune at that time. I researched this and found that the Empire State Building did charge $1.00 admission. However, as a twelve-year-old New Yorker in the sixties, I recall walking into the lobby of the Empire State Building one evening and just taking the elevator up for free. My siblings confirm this.

Historical Fiction

Elem./MG – Classic Graphic Remix (Series Fiction)

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Classic Graphic Remix. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2019-2022. $45.62 (Set of 3), $12.25 (individual pbk. titles). 256 p. Grades 3-8.

Weir, Ivy Noelle. Anne of West Philly. A Modern Graphic Retelling of Anne of Green Gables. 2022. 978-0-316-45978-5.
Terciero, Rey. Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: A Modern Graphic Retelling of Little Women. 2019. 978-0-316-52286-1.
Weir, Ivy Noelle. The Secret Garden on 81st Street: A Modern Graphic Retelling of The Secret Garden. 2021. 978-0-316-45970-9. 

Fans of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s classic girl coming of age novel, Anne of Green Gables, will appreciate this 21st century graphic novel spin off set in West Philadelphia. Anne Shirley has brown skin paired with the characteristic red hair. The basic plot follows the original with brother and sister, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, fostering teenage Anne. Like that book, Anne makes friends with Diana and Gilbert; Marilla accuses her of stealing her prized broach; Anne inadvertently gets Diana tipsy. Other parts of the story display the same unflagitable, optimistic Anne in modern times enthusiastically interested in science and robotics, experiencing a glimmer of first romance with another girl, and finding her place in the world. The mention of familiar places like Clark Park and the typical Victorian twins make this graphic retelling illustrated with appealing and colorful drawings a special treat for native Philadelphians in particular, but the urban setting is mostly generic. There is no in-depth story or involved character development here, but reluctant readers may grasp on to this oldie but goodie in its new packaging.

THOUGHTS: An attractive way to introduce students to the classic book, Anne of West Philly is a fun book that is part of a series of classic retellings in different American cities. One is Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy [Little Women] by Rey Terciero and The Secret Garden on 81st Street by Ivy Noelle Weir.

Graphic Novel          Bernadette Cooke, School District of Philadelphia
Realistic Fiction

MG – Thanks a Lot, Universe

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Lucas, Chad. Thanks a Lot, Universe. Amulet, 2021. 978-1-419-75102-8. 279 p. $16.99. Grades 5-8.

Brian and Ezra, both 13 years old, are classmates at school, and on the same basketball team. But that’s where the similarities end. Ezra, who is biracial, appears to Brian as cool, confident, and popular, while Brian, who is white, suffers from crippling social anxiety (or Super Awkward Weirdo Syndrome, as he labels it). Ezra thinks Brian seems interesting, but doesn’t go out of his way to befriend the boy until the bottom drops out of Brian’s life. On his 13th birthday, Brian awakens to discover that his father has disappeared (to evade capture by police) and his mother is unconscious from a drug overdose. In the ensuing days, Brian tries to keep his life together, after he and his younger brother, Ritchie, are placed in foster care. But eventually Brian takes Ritchie and runs away. Ezra soon gets involved in the search for Brian, and after locating the brothers, makes it his mission to befriend the young man. Along the way, Ezra is trying to understand himself as well. His circle of friends is evolving, as some of the boys become interested in girls, while Ezra is coming to terms with the fact that he is gay, and has a crush on Brian. Two well adjusted high school students provide a sounding board for both boys as they attempt to navigate the life they have been given. While racial issues are touched upon, mental health takes center stage. Brian is terrified he will be labeled “crazy” since his mother suffers with mental health issues. While these seventh grade boys are far more comfortable discussing their feelings and expressing concern for each other’s emotional well-being than your average middle schooler, the book is a marvelous, feel-good display of masculine friendship. The story, alternating between Ezra’s and Brian’s point of view, grabs hold from the opening page, and doesn’t stop until the end. Brian and Ezra are both such sympathetic characters readers will wholeheartedly root for them to find happiness. And maybe all those really nice people are what make the book so heartwarming.

THOUGHTS: Highly recommended. While there may be too many unrealistically nice people in the story, including a helpful police officer, a teacher who takes in Brian and Richie, and a pair of high school teenagers who befriend Ezra and Brian, it is worth it for the good feelings it engenders. There is no perfect ending – dad goes to prison, Ezra loses a friend, mom is still unstable – but the book still leaves you smiling. With main characters that are 13-years-old and in 7th grade, this book should have wider appeal than just middle grade. The timely issues of race and mental health make this a great fit for 7th and 8th graders. Hopefully readers will take to heart the message to befriend and understand shy kids, and to look out for each other. Perfect to pair with The Boys in the Back Row by Mike Jung.

Realistic Fiction          Nancy Nadig, Penn Manor SD

Brian, who suffers from Super Awkward Weirdo Syndrome (SAWS), as he calls it, is used to having a rough time in junior high; he is a good basketball player, but feels too shy to talk to his teammates off the court. He often deals with bullying, and his dad wants him to be tougher and stand up to those who make him even more socially miserable. Then, life gets much harder when his dad suddenly leaves the family. Suddenly, Brian is taking care of his younger brother, navigating foster care, and still dealing with his social anxiety, bullies, and every-day adolescent stress. Luckily, a support system shows up to help when Ezra, a teammate from basketball, and a group of caring adults step in. Meanwhile, Ezra is dealing with uncomfortable tension between his childhood best friends, his growing interest in music and playing the guitar, and his changing feelings about boys.

THOUGHTS: This is a beautiful story about supportive friends in times of struggle. The characters in the story experience the difficulties of growing up and demonstrate the positive influences that good people and good friends can have during a teen’s formative years. This book also portrays several positive coming-out experiences and sensitively handles the struggles of a LGBTQ+ teen.

Realistic Fiction          Erin Faulkner, Cumberland Valley SD

YA – The Life I’m In

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Flake, Sharon G. The Life I’m In. Scholastic Press, 2021. $18.99. 978-1-338-57317-6. Grades 9-12.

In Sharon G. Flake’s best selling novel, The Skin I’m In, Charlese–Char–Jones is the confident bully wreaking havoc on the life of the diffident and vulnerable Maleeka. In The Life I’m In, African-American Char appears as the main character, still inwardly grieving for the loss of her beloved parents, and continuing to make bad decisions. Her older sister and guardian, Juju, has begun to get her life together–stopping the house parties and securing a job in a bank–and needs Char–sixteen and a seventh-grade drop out–to live with their grandparents in Alabama. At the start of this reluctant bus trip, Char is flippant and rude, comical and outspoken. The passengers are alternately annoyed and amused by her unself- conscious antics. When young, white mother, April gets on the bus with her three-month old biracial baby, Char’s maternal instincts urge her to assist April. Bound for a job, April shows the distressed signs of living rough on the streets. To provide for her child, she sells narcotics and sexual favors to truck drivers; she suppresses suspicion about this new employment that requires she pay for the position. When April disembarks the bus with baby Cricket in tow, naive Char decides she will go out on her own and not continue to Alabama. Thinking it is temporary, she volunteers to take care of Cricket when April’s aunt never shows up at the bus station and well-dressed and smooth talking Anthony arrives as April’s ride to Florida. Char enlists all her resources to persuade a hotel proprietor to rent her a suite; she figures out and procures the necessary baby supplies with the money from Juju; she contacts Juju and even the newly reconciled Maleeka to tell them of her actions if not her whereabouts. Char may talk a good game, but she is young, inexperienced, and a virgin. When Char’s funds dwindle and her efforts to find work are hindered by her motherly duties, she runs into Anthony again and, in an attempt to save Cricket, finds herself a victim of sex trafficking. Author Flake describes the depravity of Char’s existence during this time delicately, but does not stint on the truth. Char receives some solace in the community of other girls in Anthony’s pack, who seem to be of different races and backgrounds. When she eventually escapes and is reunited with Juju, Char needs the help of not only her sister, but also Maleeka, her former teacher, Ms. Saunders, and professionals to survive the trauma and feel truly free. The fluid text reflects Char’s actual voice, and her first-person narration gives an intense look into her complex feelings and her maturity as she tries to survive under egregious conditions. Although the stress and suffering Char conveys is painful to read about, readers will find this a compelling book.

THOUGHTS: This is a harsh story to tell, and Sharon Flake tells it well. The book serves as a mirror for those who have suffered sexual abuse or trauma of any kind as well as a window into the lives of people who have experienced homelessness and poverty. The reader leaves feeling not pity but understanding and an admiration for the resilience and effort exerted by trauma victims. It acts as a call for all to refrain from rash judgements and to be kind. Char’s second escape from Anthony seems contrived (would the driver wait for Char as she says good-bye to Maleeka?); however, readers will be rooting for the happy ending.

Realistic Fiction          Bernadette Cooke, School District of Philadelphia