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This poignant coming-of-age story is set against the verdant landscape and sultry atmosphere of the Florida Keys Ben Floyd has a lot on his mind. In only eighteen months he will be old enough to get a learner’s permit to drive, but that seems a lifetime away. Ben enjoys the close-knit group of friends in his small neighborhood, but lately he has been longing for a taste of adventure. Keeping an eye on his younger brother Cody is getting to be a big responsibility. And he is confused by complicated feelings he has for his lifelong friend, Cass. An unexpected turn of events finds the Floyd family in the Florida Keys over Christmas vacation and offers Ben a welcome opportunity to escape the n...
This moving, coming-of-age story follows a young white girl who overcomes family prejudice and cultural differences when she befriends a black girl in a small working-class town Twelve-year-old Cassie narrates the dramatic events that unfold when Jemmie, an African-American girl, and her family move in next door. Despite their parents’ deeply held prejudice against each other’s family—exemplified by the fence Cassie’s father builds between their two houses—the girls find they share more similarities than differences. Mutual interests in reading and running draw them together, and their wariness of each other disappears. But when their parents find out about the burgeoning friendship, each girl is forbidden to see the other. A family crisis and celebration provide opportunities for the families to reach an understanding. Author Adrian Fogelin addresses the complex issues of bigotry and tolerance with sensitivity and intelligence. Readers will find her story of how two adolescent girls, through their own example, teach racial tolerance to the adults in a small Florida town powerful and compelling.
When Fish tries to escape from the responsibilities of his overachieving life, he gains a new understanding of the dangers of neglecting his connections and commitments to others For Fisher Brown, bearing the responsibility for the well-being and happiness of the people around him is a heavy burden to shoulder. Not long after his mother’s sudden departure, Fisher lost interest in school and was well on his way to becoming a classic underachiever at school. But now—under the strict supervision of his high school counselor father—he is jockeying for position at the top of his high school class. It’s a challenging role, and one he has doubts about. But as long as Fisher single-mindedly ...
This sensitive and often humorous book tells the story of an adolescent boy who begins to find himself after the people he has always depended on let him down. Alone. That’s how thirteen-year-old Justin feels these days. His older brother Duane has left home, enlisting in the Army, and his father has walked out, maybe for good this time. His mom is too depressed to get out of bed, much less pay the bills and keep food in the refrigerator. And if that’s not enough, his best buddy Ben has a new girlfriend and no longer has time to hang out. There’s not much left for Justin to do but to put his brain in neutral and slide into the state he calls “the Big Nothing.” But slowly Justin dis...
How do you face life without a place to call home? Award-winning author Adrian Fogelin follows up her critically acclaimed novel Crossing Jordan with the story of a young girl’s trials and triumphs as she tries to find a home. With warmth and humor, Fogelin has created a memorable character in Anna, who must deal with the loss of her family and adjust to living in a foster home. Feeling abandoned and alone, Anna turns to her closest companion, her explorer journal. With the help of a scrawny new friend named Eb, Anna discovers a sense of belonging . . . and her own place in the world.
A move from an impoverished tenement to an unfinished suburban development turns thirteen-year-old Socko’s world inside out It’s summer vacation, and Socko and his best friend Damien are hanging around the Kludge apartments, taking care to avoid the local gang members. When Socko’s great-grandfather suddenly offers to buy a house in the suburbs, Socko’s mom jumps at the chance to leave the bad neighborhood. Socko hates to leave Damien behind, but they pack up their few belongings and move to Moon Ridge Estates. Nothing there is even remotely what Socko had imagined—Moon Ridge is a lonely wasteland of half-finished houses. Socko tries to make the best of a bad situation, hopping on his skateboard to explore the empty streets that are now his private domain. Constructing new lives will involve taking some risks, but in time a ragtag community begins to rally around the struggling development. With humor and heart, Adrian Fogelin weaves a timely story of loyalty, family, community, and economic hardship.
Award-winning author Adrian Fogelin’s latest book for middle readers follows an unlikely but enduring friendship that is forged between two adolescent girls. Anna Casey likes living in North Florida with biology teacher Miss Johnette, her latest foster mother. Best of all, Miss J wants to adopt Anna. Still, it is hard to grow into a new family, a new life, and a new school all at once, especially when you’ve been rootless nearly all of your life. Mica Delano likes living aboard her sailboat, the Martina, which is docked at a marina in the Florida Keys. Best of all, the marina’s owners, whom she calls Aunt Emma and Uncle Bert, try hard to make up for the sometimes inattentive parenting ...
It's the last summer before Cass, Jemmie, Ben, and Justin hit high school. Friends for years, they all know that everything will be different for them once school starts. Then Ben's kid brother Cody discovers an old fedora, left behind by a mysterious missing uncle, at the back of a closet. When Cody puts the hat on, it becomes "magic" to him. Ben and his friends are too old to believe in mystical hats - until the magic begins to work and Cody leads the gang to an abandoned building in the woods. Little do they suspect that this old property with a tragic past might just change them all forever.
When Roxanne discovers her absent mother's teenage diary, she finds some painful but important answers to the unsolved questions of her past and possibilities for a different future. For twelve-year-old Rox, there are two things in life she can count on: her beloved grandmother, Mimi, and her weekend job at the flea market. But outside this fragile weekend world, she's lost. A so-so student with few aspirations for higher education, she feels out of place at school. And who is she anyway? Her teenage mother left when she was only three months old and her father's identity is a mystery. And no one, least of all Mimi, will talk about what happened. But then her cousin John Martin brings home a girlfriend from college who has very different ideas about the way life works. And when Rox discovers her mother's teenage diary, she begins discovering some answers to her own past and her future. With gentle wit and an uncanny sensitivity, author Adrian Fogelin captures the fragility of life's certainties in this moving novel of an adolescent girl's struggles to find her way in the world.
When everyone that Justin depends on lets him down, he begins discovering himself with the help of a new friend and some newly found talents. Alone. That's how thirteen-year-old Justin feels these days. His older brother Duane has left home, enlisting in the Army, and his father has walked out, maybe for good this time. His mom is too depressed to get out of bed. And if that's not enough, his best buddy Ben has a new girlfriend and no longer has time to hang out. There's not much left for Justin to do but to put his brain in neutral and slide into the state he calls "the Big Nothing." But slowly Justin discovers he has more resources than he thinks. With the help of his classmate Jemmie and her grandmother, Nana Grace, he learns that underneath all the noisy confusion in his brain lies a talent for music. As he spends time with Jemmie, he begins to understand how simple notes make complex music, and how simple feelings can turn into deep emotions. Award-winning author Adrian Fogelin once again offers readers an emotionally charged story featuring a sympathetic adolescent trying to make sense of the people and world around him.